Forums » Role Playing

The Ardgall Chronicles

Jun 26, 2005 Snax_28 link
Chapter 1: The Sedina Movement

.......................
July 26. 4412
.......................

The Daily Senate has learned that Annie Ardgall was executed yesterday evening at sunset in a secret location on the planet Ostcom. She pleaded guilty last Tuesday on charges including fifty two counts of piracy, extortion, and second degree murder; She was the prime suspect in over 150 other murder cases. Ardgall had remained a fugitive for over fifty years until she turned herself into UIT authourities two and a half months ago. Her immediate family, including her great-grandson Senator Rodon Remor and his wife Oshella Remor, are continuing to distance themselves from Ardgall.

“Annie Ardgall is not now, nor was she ever, a part of this family. The Remor family has absolutely no ties to her, nor do we feel any sadness associated with her death. Quite the opposite, we feel relieved that she has been tried, sentenced, and has paid the ultimate price for her heinous crimes against the Union” said Remor when reached at his office in Oment.

While the outer territory traders may be feeling safer with Ardgall now gone, pundits on the other hand are worried that Ardgall’s passing will be viewed as a martyrdom by the various cult like associations that have supported and published her anti-Unionist rantings, and fear a possible increase in pirate activity in the outlying territories.
...................

My great great grandmother was executed when I was sixteen years old. I learned of her death the same as a stranger might, through the media depots, standing in the rain on my way home from school. It was a severely punishable offense in my family to even reference her existence, and in the months before her death, my attempts to visit her in the off world Penitentiary had been quickly stifled by my father’s intimate network of loyal colleagues. No one in my family had spoken to her for over a century, and although I was fascinated by the mystery surrounding her life and the reports in the media about her crimes, there were no family records to discover, and access to archived media transmissions had been effectively blocked by my grandfather decades earlier. I would likely have grown out of my adolescent inquisitiveness had it not been for one thing:

One year earlier, Annie Ardgall told me she was going to turn herself in.

Not personally unfortunately, but through what I dreamt was a vast, complex and secretive network of spies and anti-Unionist loyalists, culminating in my finding a crumpled piece of paper at the bottom of my flight bag one day after school. The message itself was simply a short statement and a name: In one year’s time I will turn myself over to those who seek to end my troublesome existence. Should your mind not be tainted with the greed of your family, seek out Domos Kileranji.

And indeed I did. She was not a hard woman to find, considering that she was a colleague of my father’s and a top level executive of the Orion Corporation. Convincing her that I wasn’t a Senate sneak was a much tougher task, but after a few weeks of discrete persistence, she relented, and agreed to meet with me.

Domos was a very old woman, as old as my grandmother. But although she moved with the assistance of the sleek prosthetic attachments so common to the wealthy UIT elders, her mind and her memories were sharp and alert.

Apparently she had been there with my grandmother in the beginning, the two of them friends since childhood. She had been by Annie’s side until she went into exile, and with the assistance of an anonymous Axia executive, had been supplying Annie’s organization with armaments until just recently when the comm lines stopped being answered.

And so we sat over pot after pot of coffee, and I listened as this woman of two worlds explained to me the life that my grandmother had lived.

My great-great grandmother did not begin life as a pirate. Indeed she was an intensely peaceful person at one time. It began with the Sedina Exploration Treaty of 4244, when the Senate, through an economic embargo and a web of vicious diplomatic lies, forced the sentient inhabitants of Sedina VI to consent to the unregulated exploration and mining of their home planet. Within twenty years, the greed that is known by the Unionists as ambition and success, and the swarms of UIT traders and miners that came to claim the feast that the Senate had laid out before them, had completely destroyed the planet’s ecosystem. The majority of original inhabitants had perished, and the few who remained suffered from a plethora of diseases, environmental sickness, and abuse from the miners who were raping their home.

Having exhausted the resources upon the planet’s surface, and considering that none of the planets inhabitants attended the inaccessible public forums put forth, the Senate had the planet detonated in order to gain access to the immense deposits of Lanthanic ore, hidden deep within the planet’s core. In July of 4265, when the eyes of the UIT public were turned anxiously towards the battle between Oernan and Karun, Sedina VI became nothing more than a field of asteroids, the dust and debris eclipsing the suns light.

These events, along with the Senate’s ongoing willingness to supply armaments to both the Serco and the Itani and, led to massive anti-Unionist protests. Annie had joined the hordes of peaceful objectors who were trying in vain to stop the Senate’s irresponsible actions, but over the years, just as Sedina VI was destroyed, so too was the movement.

The Senate cracked down hard upon anyone who spoke out against their economic progress, and those who spoke up in protest of the Sedina Exploration Treaty were treated no different. In the first five years, over 50,000 people were arrested and held, without charge, in various maximum security penitentiary’s throughout the Territories. Another 4500 simply disappeared, never to be heard from again. By the time that the charges were set in the heart of Sedina VI, the protest movement had been driven deep into the depths of UIT society.

Through out the years, Annie had become a spiritual leader amongst those who opposed the Senates single minded economic drive, and at one point she had surrounded herself with a strong core of support. They organized themselves under the banner of the Sedina Movement, and they attempted to maintain a civil voice throughout the Senates oppression. But before long those who were strong had disappeared from her side, some of their own will, but mostly with the assistance of the Senate’s brutal tactics.

The SM resisted the use of violence for a long period of time, preferring instead to attempt to gather community support through rallies and publications. That is until the day the community turned on them, brandishing violence like a patriotic flag.

In the early days of the Sedina Exploration Treaty, the Senate had employed various public relations strategies to ensure the public support was in their favour. And it was successful enough to keep the issues surrounding the treaty from most people’s minds. But before long, the Senate turned those strategies against the movement itself, and began to try, in vain mostly in the beginning, to instill a sense of fear in the public’s perception of the SM.

But over the next few years, the movement began feeling less and less welcome from the people who attended their impromptu rallies. It began with simple unpleasantness, verbal assaults, threats, but soon grew to a complete intolerance, a murderous hatred. At a rally in one of the outlying mining worlds, the committee was attacked by a large group of miners brandishing the tools of their trade. Of the seventy four members in attendance, only three survived: Annie, and two of her closest loyalists.

Faced with this new threat from the people themselves, Annie and the small remnants of the movement, infuriated and betrayed, fled the territorial space of the UIT. They publicly vowed to continue fighting, at whatever cost, and for whatever means. Without the economic means to challenge the Senate, the only other option for the movement was violence and disruption. Kill the traders and the miners, who like cows and imbeciles, ignorantly move the flesh of so many destroyed worlds to and fro. And disrupt the trade lines. Create fear in the hearts of those who might seek to fulfill the greed that UIT society ingrains into them. She denounced the family name of Remor, and adopted Ardgall, the name of our family from the days before the wars and wormholes.

Annie and her remaining comrades, with their single-minded anti-Unionist aims, found fast friends in the depths of grey space. Those who choose, or are forced to live on the outskirts of society take little persuading to turn their guns upon that same society’s livestock. And so Annie’s war against the traders began.

Annie and her group were quickly branded with the monicher of pirate by the Unionist loyal media outlets, mostly supported by the SM’s willingness to gather any valuables that they found amidst the wreckage of their victim’s ships. For the first few years the reports came fast and furious: murders her and her group may or may not have been responsible for, murders they were responsible for, sightings, rumours, even Annie’s love interests in the various tabloid transmissions.

But inevitably the Senate, realising that her reputation was becoming far more dangerous to the lucrative outer territorial trade routes than any of her direct actions could ever be, placed a choke hold upon the media depots, disallowing them to report upon her activities. A secret agency amidst the Senate’s bureaucracy maintained records of reported sightings and crimes, but those who reported these incidents were relieved of those memories once the agency had gained what it needed.

And so Annie Ardgall became a ghost. A horror story to keep oneself awake and wary on those long trade runs to Odia. To the general UIT public, she became a myth to all but those who heard her voice over their commstations, seconds before their trade vessels became their crematoriums.

That is until she emerged from the shadows over a hundred years later, and handed her life to those who would seek to end it.

The discovery of my Grandmother’s life story was not enough in and of itself to persuade me to take up the fight against the Senate and its unquestioning disciples. For I was not that much different from the rest of the deeply conditioned students of the Unions teachings of commercial utopia. I believed the Senates propaganda that the ways of our people were good and true.

But Domas’ telling of my grandmother’s life began to infringe upon my unquestioning faith in the UIT doctrines. Business deals that I had never had issue with, began to reveal themselves as troublesome, and often just the slightest bit of research would reveal an utter disregard for any who be effected by the aftermath of the deal. Wealth was the only thing that mattered to a deeply conditioned Unionist, and it mattered not how they achieved it.

A few weeks after the death of my grandmother, I returned home from a late night lecture, unexpected by my family as I usually stayed at a friends on these late nights of Senate propaganda. As I quietly passed my father’s study, I overheard his muffled voice, answering and questioning a silent colleague. I paused outside his door and listened there for a while as he explained the details of an extremely lucrative trade deal. From the tone of his hushed voice, it was apparent that this was a deal that was to be kept off the Senate’s books. The TPG corporation was about to complete the sale of a fleet of Type X Marauders to the Serco Armed Forces. A strange deal I thought, as I could not imagine what the Serco would want with a fleet of merchant trade vessels.

Surely enough, as the night blossomed into early morning, my question was answered in full. As the conversation unfolded, I learned that the SAF was intending to use these specially modified Marauders to sneak through the Itani’s defenses in Deneb and Eo, slowly gathering the fleet in an unmonitored sector in Setalli Shinas. When the entire fleet was amassed, they would then deposit their TPG produced Avalon Thermonuclear Torpedoes upon the unsuspecting population of the research planet Oan. State sanctioned terrorism, happily sponsored by your friendly TPG Corporation.

Two days after the story broke in the Daily Senate, the TPG Corporation announced that any trade deals with the Serco were effectively suspended until they investigated the allegations. Of course it was all just a show for the media. In the end my father received a 10,000 credit fine, not even half of a days salary, and was required to make a formal apology to the Senate. The head of the Senate’s Internal Concerns Agency even went so far as to apologize to my father as she handed down her ruling.

When the dust settled, it took my father precious little time to uncover who had leaked the story, costing him billions in trade commissions. And retribution was swift, decisive, and efficient. I was expelled from the family circle, and my corporate rights of kin were revoked, a move that only the head of the UIT Senate had the power to rush through. It was clear that my ambitions to press the laws of ethical trade were not welcome in the Union.

It mattered not though. My mind was decided, and with Domo’s assistance, I was quickly put in touch with what was once again a growing underground movement. Annie’s death had indeed been a martyrdom, and people were once again rallying under her strength.

Domos secretly equipped me with an Orion Centurion, Revision C, equipped with the Axia Corporations heavily modified Positron Blasters. Standard fare for the outer-worlds I was told. As I surged through the upper atmosphere of Oment, escorted viciously by a TPG Strike Force, I patched through to Domos’ secret comm line.

“Domos, can you do me one last favour?”

“Of course love.”

“Can you push through a name change application for me?”

“No more Remor?”

“No, no more Remor. It’s Ardgall now.”

“Hmm, your grandmother would be happy. Gavan Ardgall it is then love. Take care, and keep in touch. Your grandmother was horrible for that.”

“I will.”

.......................
July 26. 4432
......................

Increased pirate activity has been reported from the outlying territories, along with unconfirmed sightings of Senator Remor’s son Gavan Ardgall. Ardgall went into exile when he was disowned by the Remor family twenty years ago after he revealed an illegal TPG arms deal, orchestrated by his father. He has publicly stated his support for the actions of his great great grandmother Annie Ardgall, and is believed to have allied himself with an offshoot of the pirate organization that she created and lead. This year to date 314 UIT merchant vessels have disappeared and are not yet accounted for.

In a related story, public concern is growing over the Senate’s recent privatization of the UIT anti-pirate organization. The security group who won the contract last January, the Vipers, have yet to make any noticeable impact upon the levels of piracy in the outer territories. The head of the Viper organization, known only as Maso, was unavailable for comment as he is reportedly on a month long vacation. Pundits are concerned about his leadership capabilities considering he has taken eight weeks of vacation time during the first six months of the new security contract.

......................

Renewed clashes between Serco and Itani forces have been reported in Deneb, with both sides taking heavy casualties. Arms stocks have risen drastically in response to the reports.....
Jun 26, 2005 Borb II link
Sounds like we have some things in common. :D
Jun 27, 2005 LaMas link
ehm, a little correction guy. I have been away for a mere week...

/maso
Jun 27, 2005 Snax_28 link
:)

Gavan
Jan 25, 2006 moldyman link
Continue it! Gives a view of the Union I've never seen portrayed before. Should make some traders and miners stop and think about what they are doing before they call pirates bloody murderers.
Jan 25, 2006 LordofBlades link
I be liking this very much, it shows to amid 3 societys, drivin my profit, survival, or vengence, all of them cannot remain 'pure' one could say, commited, dedicated and uncorrupted. All three branches of humanity have become corrupt, and bringing this into light, even the UIT have to question themselves.
Jan 26, 2006 jexkerome link
What the F***K are you two talking about? All of us Union ppl are bloody murderin' profit-seeking everyone-has-a-price ypocrites, and none of us try to hide it! Can't believe you've never noticed it...
May 31, 2008 Whytee link
Cool story Gavan. If you could please treat us to chapter two?

Hort
May 31, 2008 davejohn link
The ancient miner pours a dram and enjoys the tale.
Jun 01, 2008 Starpwn link
LordofBlades - It hasn't shown any itani corruption. Mostly UIT, with a little serc terrorism. Everyone thinks itanis are the good guys. Someone needs to make them evil too.
Jun 01, 2008 vIsitor link
@ Starpwn : I thought thats what the Akaneese were for? Sure, the Monastic Order of Eo keeps a public face that the Order of Akan is essentially ostracized from Itani space, but they're hardly adverse to the AoE aiding them (at least in a defensive manner, anyway). Meanwhile, the Akaneese have no compunction against committing atrocities greater than even what the Dominion itself is willing to perform, and take a very aggressive stance in contrast to the OoE's defensive pacifism.