Winston Chronicles: Qob/Tranquility Universe; The Guardian Response (Written by Joe Manning)

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2018

 

The Guardian Response

(A Winston Chronicle written by Joe Manning)

 

 

“Unspeakable District;” Close to the remains of the Winston Garage.

14 hours after the Attack.

 

Over twenty hovering A/V recorders sprang into the air like bees disturbed from a nest. They all pointed toward the makeshift platform, nothing more than a large display shelf turned on its side. The crowd slowly fell silent waiting for the speaker to reach the voice amplifier.

 

The media assemblage had been herded into a cleared area at the back of an abandoned hardware store, where no windows offered a view of the scene outside. Lighting had been quickly strung up along the wall and platform, but the area was still dim and all but a cleared path to the old store’s entrance was shrouded in darkness. It made the reporters uneasy -- possibly the intent -- to know the rumors that this store and all the still-derelict structures of the strip mall were haunted, that strange noises were often heard from below the city platform’s surface and shadowy figures seen flitting in and out of front doors. Even if the superstitious whispers came only from the vagrants who picked at the ruins of the strip mall, this area of the Sunset District had had a bad reputation for years.

 

The Sunset District in general had once been prosperous, in the days when Tranquility was first born. As the city grew and Sunrise District sprang up to provide new more expensive housing, class division began to take hold. Sunset District became the Unspeakable District to the layman, a nesting place for the poor souls who found their way to Tranquility with little wealth to share. Failing to find the fortunes that the brochures had promised, many turned to desperate means to survive, and the crime rate began to climb.

 

It was said that the strip mall’s neighborhood had been caught in the grip of a terrible gang. When business owners began to abandon the area; driven away by the extorting and vandalizing band of criminals. The neighborhood became a ruin, abandoned even by the gang itself. Eventually, its only purpose in Tranquility was to serve as a battleground between Guardian patrols and the bikers of the Cycles of Death. That changed when the garage opened across the street.

 

As the speeder garage attracted a heightened Guardian presence to the neighborhood, criminals and vagrants began emigrating to other areas. New business owners took their place, claiming the abandoned storefronts and ushering in a wave of renovation and commercial growth. The garage had been a beacon around which rallied champions of the prosperity that Tranquility was supposed to represent, the prosperity that had abandoned Sunset District. Then the beacon was snuffed out. Sunset District, it seemed, would resist any renovation. Now the locals and the Tranquility press wondered what the neighborhood’s future would hold, whether the garage would soon be another object of “supernatural” rumors.

 

The new Marshall of Tranquility’s Guardians, the fiercely energetic woman who had risen through the ranks by exposing the corruption of her peers and superiors, strode up to the amplifier. Her tall form was wrapped in the white leather of a Marshall’s jumpsuit, and the silver star on her breast caught the meager light and flashed. Her short blond hair was drawn back, neat and straight, over her scalp and her face showed determination and, perhaps, barely concealed anger.

 

“Amanda Savoy, Marshall of Tranquility City will speak,” the public relations’ officer’s voice announced the woman’s arrival over the nearby speakers.

 

“Thank you all for your patience,” the Marshall said.

 

“I will begin with the facts as we are aware of them at this time, though I warn you that we are still investigating this incident and that there are several points which we have deemed classified for the time being.

 

“Fourteen hours ago, the Winston Garage across the street became the target of a brutal attack during a ceremony honoring the garage’s owner Daniel Winston. Eyewitness reports combined with analysis of the scene suggests the involvement of a local Nausicaan gang known as the Cycles of Death.

 

“We can confirm the unfortunate deaths of Daniel Winston and all seventeen Guardian officers who were present at the ceremony, including Sunset District Sheriff Iktar Senar and his personal Deputy Ethan Shrike. Families of the other officers are still being contacted and their names will not be released at this time. Additionally, we can confirm that three guests of honor -- local Klingon civic leaders -- were present at the ceremony. Two of these lost their lives in the attack and the third was rushed to a local care facility with severe injuries.

 

“It is believed that there were six attackers. Though we are not prepared to disclose details at this time, all six of the assailants were killed during the attack. We believe that this was a small group of the larger organization, carrying out this attack on behalf of the gang’s leaders. The intent was clearly to catch a large group of Guardian officers, including the ranking officers of Sunset District, in one place. It is also possible that the gang intended to disrupt the speeder services being provided by the Winston Garage to Sunset District’s patrols, services which were allowing the Guardians to keep pace with the gang’s vehicles. The garage, unfortunately, was lost, burned to the ground in the wake of the attack.

 

“This most recent attack is the most brutal and focused effort in a long history of violence perpetrated by this biker gang against Guardian forces in the District. Its intent was to weaken and possibly to scare off Guardian presence in the district. I can assure you that it will accomplish neither goal. As I speak, Guardian personnel are being redirected from other Districts to secure this area and to sniff out the trail that is surely to lead to the gang’s leaders. In short time, the Cycles of Death will be made to answer for these heinous crimes and this neighborhood will be kept on its recent path of improvement.

 

“The Winston Garage was an instrumental component in uplifting this area from its downtrodden state. Its loss, rather than diminishing that spirit of reform in the Sunset District, should give it new life. Presented now is the opportunity for citizens of the District to find new purpose and new hope for their lives by enlisting with the Guardians and helping us root out these undesirable elements from our city. The Guardians are here to ensure your safety and to make your city a pleasant refuge for all. Give us your help for your own sake and for the sake of your neighbors and your loved ones.

 

“This call I send out also to the District’s Klingon population. The anger you must surely feel for this brazen attack on your esteemed representatives is also the anger that I feel. I urge you to direct your anger into a constructive purpose. Lend your aid to the Guardians so that, together, we may bring justice upon the perpetrators of the attack. In this District that has long fostered sentiments of social isolation and self-interest, we need cooperation now more than ever. Help us retake the Sunset District.

 

“Until a replacement is named for Sheriff Senar, I will be directly overseeing Guardian operations in the Sunset District. Deputy Knorr of Latinum District is currently on site managing the investigation and he will act as my Deputy here for the time being. The Guardian presence in this District is only going to be strengthened by these events.

 

“Now, are there any questions?”