Sta.sh
FTS -XI- The Ledge
by ~PhiftyLocation: Perguaine (Sub-District Capital), Laula System, ULP District 6, Sub-District 13
Sivon stood before Sub-District headquarters. They had doubtless been grand once, when this planet was the leading edge of an expanding League frontier and not the last fragile hold out on a contracting border. The terraforming had not quite been completed and the air was slightly more corrosive then Earth norm, a factor the settlers hadn’t thought they had to worry about when they began construction of the headquarters nearly twenty-five years ago. It was obvious that the colonists had high hopes for their little frontier colony on Perguaine, it could be seen in the very architecture of the place, if you could see past the crumbling walls. The building’s front was a study in classic architecture, huge columns supporting the top of a high entrance. The door was an open hole in the wall rimmed by what had once been ornately carved stone. The most spectacular part of the building, even in its disintegration, was a huge mosaic, just below an open gap with stone railings sticking out of the side that had been a balcony. It had obviously been meant to be some sort of grand symbol of unstoppable exploration and unshakable unity. Now it was naught but a mess, crystalline tiles were cracked and corroded and what had once been a meticulously put together scene of starships blasting into space was now filled with random holes and was barely recognizable. Lights glowed from behind shattered glass and out from behind the mismatched and pealing sealant in the holes that were once windows. This building was once representative of the district, in a turn of irony it still was, ramshackle, under-funded, nearly abandoned. It was characteristic of many of the border districts, as the League began experiencing supply and moral problems it slowly began to collapse inward on itself, reinforcing the core worlds at the expense of the outlying ones that were once its most valued and proudest children. It was no surprise that the people who once thought themselves the leaders of a wave of League expansion would become the ones most vulnerable to Roderis’s type of propaganda when the League abandoned them. The planet was ripe for exploitation. The only frightening part was that the dammed priest had spotted it before Sivon had.
Sivon walked up the rickety stairs, he had avoided the elevator, for fear that it might fall apart while he was riding up it. He found his way from the bottom floor to the office of the sub-sector "Touchstone Officer", the officer who was a native of the area that kept in contact with the Sector Coordinator from the ULP. Unfortunately (for the sub-sector) the ULP Administrator's only contact with the people of the sector was the Touchstone Officer, which meant that the Administrator, an overpaid, overweight man who rarely left his cruiser, was extremely out of touch with a sector that was rapidly falling into disrepair and disarray. It took him a few cautious minutes before Sivon made it to the top floor where the office was. He took a moment at the landing of the fourth floor to brush the grey dust from his black overcoat and composed himself. Sivon then strode confidently into the office where he came face to face with a disheveled man in the uniform of a ULP diplomatic officer with the number of his Sub-District embroidered in gold trim on his right shoulder. Sivon reached out a hand to introduce himself. “I’m from Roderis, I heard you might be interested in hearing from us.” A casual look revealed that the rest of the uniform had once consisted of deep blues and grays in a wavy pattern but now was almost so faded as to be barely able to tell one color from the other.
“Jon Keays, the,” the man grimaced, “Touchstone Officer for Sub-District 13.” Keays griped Sivon’s hand, squeezing it firmly, before quickly withdrawing. A spasm of worry passed over the man’s face. “I’m afraid we have a problem, it was my intent to bring you here and organize with you a way to dedicate this sub-districts resources to your,” he coughed slightly uncomfortable, “crusade against the League.” Rubbing one hand against his upper arm, he continued, “Simply put, the League has abandoned us and the promise of the Crusaders to bring attention back to the lesser districts and Antarean support is quite tempting.”
“The problem?”
“Right after you landed we got a communication. The Coordinator has told us that he is sending a man for a surprise inspection. In fact, the ship should come out of hyperspace any minute now. With your permission, we will move your ship under cover.”
“A wise move.” Sivon ran his fingers down his chin. “I have an idea, would you permit me to play the part of your assistant?” His fingers withdrew inside the long sleeve of his coat and there was an audible tap. Sivon’s garment tightened up around him, it’s colors changing and long flowing lines narrowing. In a few seconds he was wearing a sparkling clean uniform of official assistant.
Keays gulped, “wow,” and stuck a finger under his own slightly loosened collar nervously. “It’s a… umm, a little too perfect, if you know what I mean?” He gestured at his own well worn suit.
Sivon nodded, the man was smarter then he looked, and keyed a button inside the nanopore and a wave of light flashed from top to bottom, leaving a slightly dirty and equally worn garment in its wake. “Now go to your desk and follow my lead.”
The administrator shot a nervous look at Sivon and then turned around and headed back to go behind his desk. Sivon turned and made his careful way back down the stairs, hearing them creak dangerously as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. When he got to the bottom, after what felt like an infinity of time, he brushed the dust from his hands and took up an ‘at attention’ position at the door to the building. A low hum sounded in the air which slowly began to get louder and louder until there was a rumbling that seemed to penetrate to his very bones. A silver, clean, bullet shaped, blue and silver landing pod came down in front of the building blowing sand and dirt into the air all around it. The ship soundlessly extended four legs which pounded into the ground with an audible thump.
“Hello sir.” Sivon extended his hand out to the plump clean man in a new ULP suit. “I’m the assistant to the Touchstone Officer here.”
The man harrumphed self-importantly and grabbed Sivon’s hand with a large meaty paw. “Second Assistant to the Sub-Sector Coordinator,” he replied with a slow pompous accent, drawing out the beginning of ‘Coordinator.’
Motioning the assistant up, Sivon brought him up the stairs, which seemed about to break under the man’s weight. As they entered the Touchstone Officer’s excuse for an office Sivon spoke at once. “I told our visitor that you were busy, shall I take him outside to the balcony to await you while you finish your business?”
Keays looked up at Sivon, insight flashing through his eyes in a moment. “Yes, of course,” he rejoined dismissively, as if this was standard procedure.
Sivon turned to the assistant, who was sweating from the walk up, and caught his eye, “After you, sir.”
The man blinked, breaking the contact, “of course.”
Assuredly and haughtily, each step weighted with the importance of his rank, the assistant walked straight out the door. There was a load crumbling sound and a somewhat wet smack.
Sivon walked right to the rim of the door and looked down with vague disgust. He then turned to Keays. “Care to accompany me to the ground floor?”
There wasn’t much recognizable on the ground where the pompous assistant had taken his final step. Sivon nodded pleasantly and turned to the now ex-Touchstone Officer, “Welcome to the revolution Jon.”
His eyes wide Keays shook Sivon’s hand with far more confidence then the first time. “They probably are going to come and see what happened to him. What should I say?”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of them.”
Keays looked up at the mosaic, where two uneven lines ploughed their way through the glorious symbolism of League expansion. “You know, I think I like it better this way.”
