A9 Personal Log, Stardate 180521 - Just like black light is the absence of color...

[Admiral Atragon-9 0]

:: back on the ship, A9 heads to his quarters to clean up, engaging the recording system on his exosuit's left arm ::  Begin suit recording, Personal Log, Admiral Atragon-9, Federation Council representative on the USS Manticore, NCC-5852-A, password ********* {{whirr, thwift}}

 

This mission was a weird one, even by my standards.  By accident, something new was discovered.  That's not weird, that's how all the best discoveries happen.  This discovery is poised to change science as we know it.  Again, not weird, that is just lack of knowledge mixed with marketing hyperbole (the perfect example from ancient history - back the dawn of the 21st century - and the "revolutionary" Segway personal transport).  It is tied to an accelerated admission into the Federation.  I'll say it again, not weird, just politics.  No, the weird part is how this new member planet runs an annual event where they kill each other and my job is to not only keep that under wraps, but to find the locals with the correctly-balanced moral compass and make them disappear, with extreme prejudice.

 

Right, to the basics.  A new chemical element has been found.  Even a trace amount of it in the ground or the walls of an enclosure will block even the most sophisticated scanner, subspace communication and transporter signal.  No booster, repeater or relay can penetrate this block.  Due to it's very nature, it cannot be replicated or manufactured, so it only exists in its natural state and from the natural source, the planet of Statiak.  This new element has been named Faradaymium ("Fy" on the Periodic Table) and the Federation needs to control the only source.  Lucky for the Federation Council, Statiak has applied to join the Federation.  Unlucky for the Federation, it was discovered that the populace has an event called "The Purification," when the people are allowed to take part in ANY crime with no consequences, for a 12 hour period, one day a year.  The political fallout can be managed with carefully crafted media control.  However, the truly unfortunate aspect is why the Fed Council has brought in Special Ops.  It turns out that some do-gooder locals have formed a resistance group that could muddy up the waters, bring down the government, delay the entrance into the Federation.  All of these problems must be avoided at all cost - AT ALL COST.

 

That is where I come in.  This is going to get SO messy that even the usual excuses of Black Ops won't cover it.  They cannot send in any of the Wing to just "kill the good guys," they need someone like me.  Steeped in the traditions and procedures, experienced with methods and skewed goals, and no longer in command of one of their ships.  I am a built-in rogue agent and just the sociopath for the job.  The story has to be that Manticore shows up to see if Statiak is on the level - and that's it.  No one knows the true mission if they have an official role on the ship.  Not Kansas, not Matt, not even Sovak.  Limited exposure for the Council, plausible deniability for the crew.  If this gets out, it's a political and career one-way ticket - and not to the top of the heap, either.

 

Everything was going smoothly, but I didn't plan for Kansas to come back for me right away.  She saw me dispatch Rewac, she saw me take out the rest of the resistance with grenades.  Now I have to see what the Council will do about her, bring her into the fold or put her out on a windy hill.

 

I hate when that happens.  EOM, EOT {{whirr, clunk}}