Letter Bee

Star Wars - Liberation

Colin Cooper forced himself to walk down the ramp to his new slave quarters, resisting the urge to just slump down in despair as he saw the grim reality of servitude close around him. He looked around for a place where he can be most productive, somewhere far away from the frightening glow of the smelters. In the end, he would, if the Overseer didn't stop him, move towards the conveyor belt where slave-miners were supposed to sort the ores by quality and join whoever was doing the sorting, making a hurried "Sorry," for the intrusion if there was anyone else there. He would then begin seperating the good ores that carried purer quality metal from the bad ores that had more rock and base materials; he knew how to do so because his Engineering course in University included a lot of lessons in Geology, thanks to the overlap between the two subjects.

Noticing that his new Mining Guild slave wear was clinging tightly to his shoulders, retaining heat and sweat and ensuring maximum discomfort while ensuring actual safety, Colin pushed himself to find a rythm in his work and to do said work as efficiently as possible in order not to anger the whip-carrying Overseer. He was still in shock and would be for the first few hours, but knew that he couldn't let that influence him. Forget about your old life, he thought. You're a slave now. You will be one forever.

He missed Lisa; his parents, not so much. He also missed the Headmaster of his University. But as he worked on, Colin found a sense of...acceptance? Yeah, he was getting accustomed to his fate; after all, society on Armania was based on class and caste anyway; he'd just switched to a lower one. And what life was free of anguish anyway?

The structure of the ore crawler is linear; the captain is most probably at the cockpit. And a place as big as this must have communication equipment. And also an infirmary for minor injuries and cases where it was cost-effective to take care of slaves. And a reactor; do not forget a reactor. And of course, maintenance rooms for spare parts. His brain wandered even as his hands kept perfectly sorting the ores, thinking treacherous thoughts. Colin noticed this, and forcefully clamped down on his mind, knowing full well that:

That there is no escape, not even inside your head. The slavers will get to you, get in your head, make you so frightened of them that even your sleep and dreams will suffer. That is my life. That is my fate. Just accept it; maybe they'll give you slight rewards for being obedient.

Do not cry. Hold back your tears until they give you a shower or a meal or until it is time for rest. Remind yourself: You are this forever.

"I am a slave forever," he involuntarily spoke in a haunted tone that tried to convey pain and despair, "And I will always be."

@Sep

Star Wars - Liberation

Name: Colin Cooper

Species: Human

Age: 18

Appearance:


Reason for Imprisonment: Alleged possession and use of drugs; Colin continues to protest innocence and medical diagnostics have shown that he is clean, but the relevant doctor did not appear at Colin's trial; another doctor who had a different, probably faked set of medical reports was at the witness stand instead. Not helping is the fact that judicial system in Armania moves really slow and the real culprit is rich and well-connected enough to keep the wheels of justice turning in his favor.

Equipment: The clothes on his back and whatever mining equipment that his overseers see fit to entrust him.

Skills: Colin is an engineering student with a minor in architecture; in practical terms, this means that he can see the weak and strong points of a structure or machine, operate basic equipment, and know some programming skills. He also knows droidspeak. Other skills are singing and sketching, the latter for both practical (blueprints and schematics) and artistic reasons. And of course, he can - theoretically - repurpose mining equipment into weapons and disable mechanical/electronic safeguards against revolt.

Weaknesses: Colin is naive, physically weak, and despite having lived through the Seperatist occupation, sheltered from the worst aspects of the world. Therefore, being imprisoned and enslaved is a shock to him, having to endure hard and brutal conditions, even more so. Not merely that, but he is naturally submissive, so it takes someone else to plant the seed of revolt in him. And finally, he is afraid of fire and high temperatures, of being burnt alive; he does not like the idea that Human flesh cooks just as well as that of animals.

History: Colin was born to an upper-middle-class family within Erion Clan. Raised in an atmosphere of optimistic privilege, the boy was meek but showed promise in his studies. Bullied in school at an early age because of his small and thin build, he had to rely on his elder sister, Lisa, to protect him; she did so using her loud voice to shout down those who used insults and teasing while reporting to the teachers those who resorted to physical violence. This had the effect of both ensuring a peaceful and happy childhood for Colin and causing him to grow 'soft'.

Nevertheless, the optimistic life continued and Colin decided to try and get into a University run by the Alaxian Clan, which still exceeded the Erion clan in the creation and use of 'practical' technology. This was hard because the Clans were in a state of cold war with each other then. However, the Clan member who controlled said University was open to intelligent and scientific minds from all Clans (some speculated that he was merely trying to poach them for his own group) and accepted Colin when the latter aced his entrance exams.

Then came the Seperatist occupation; during which the University Facilities were put to work repairing droids and basic low-priority communications technology in exchange for being left relatively untouched. Colin learned a lot about Seperatist technology from helping maintain droids and basic radios, and even learn modern droidspeak. But despite that, Colin knew that the Seperatists were an occupying force and he was only helping them for his family's sake; while he avoided being treated cruelly, he knew that that was only because he was needed. Droids were cold and unfeeling, and the slightest misstep was the difference between comfort and pain; he hated it.

And when the Empire finally came and restored things to normal, Colin was one of the first to welcome them, confident that he can go on leave from the University at last; to his parents and sister, who had grown into a great beauty. And for a while, all was happy.

Then, said sister got a boyfriend, a rich nobleman who was one of the sons of the Clan Ylarn head. This would have been a moment of joy, and their parents clearly treated it as such due to the opportunity to form an alliance with an up-and-coming power. But Colin quickly noticed that the rich noble was abusive and unfaithful and that his sister cannot just shout him down because then she would be punished by her family and even clan.

Even worse, it turned out that his sister's boyfriend wanted to cheat on her with Colin himself, due to the latter's good looks. Colin refused, and in a moment of defiance, he threatened to use every means he could to persuade his sister to leave him; the two can just defect to Clan Alaxian if the noble tried to make life in Clan Erion unbearable. In response, the rich young man said:

"Enjoy one last long lonely night under the stars, then," before turning to go. Sure enough, one starry night later, Campus Police arrested Colin when the latter tried to go back to the University to pursue a new course in 'Modern Galactic Tech' and ask for the Headmaster's help in his upcoming defection. A local form of Spice had been found in his toolbox, hidden in a small tube; enough grounds for an arrest. Colin protested his innocence; his Headmaster and the campus doctors stood with him but Clans Ylarn and Erion purposefully had Clan Alaxian's head exclude them from the trial.

And with that, the young man was imprisoned in one of Armania's prisons...on his eighteenth birthday, to boot.

((Sep gave his acceptance in Discord))

Precipice of War - The Big Leagues of NRP (Only generous tippers need apply)

@Keyguyperson, The Worker Co-Operatives in Subic Bay are ready to betray the Philippines to Japan if you want, but notify me first if you're going to use them for courtesy's sake?

Precipice of War - The Big Leagues of NRP (Only generous tippers need apply)

Iron lady, Part Five

It was rare that Priscilla Aglipay-Rizal invited members of the Catholic Church - from which her father's Philippine Independent Church had split off a long time ago - into her home and her study. It was even rarer that she actually listened to them. And it was almost unheard of that she admitted to them being correct about something she disagreed with.

Yet it had happened, and Priscilla can only look at the photographs and financial books and written testimony with dismay before saying, "Father Agustin, the Co-operatives in Subic Bay had promised me their loyalty. They told me they can manage the former US base and former US assets as efficiently as possible as they were formerly employed by the Americans. But they never told me - they never told me they'd profit from the labor of children!"

Father Agustin, a short and stocky old man with wispy white hair wearing a straw hat and a long black robe, looked at Priscilla with pity. He would then say: "You are like your father, believing that the baby was to be thrown out with the bathwater, that all laws can be replaced with yours'. Yet all leaders have limits; they are not the Most High."

A purse of his lips. "Nevertheless, you have to accept that the Worker Co-operatives in Subic have made the former US base a den of sin and inequity; the illegitimate Half-Filipino children of former US soldiers slave away alongside Vietnamese and Rohingya in the garment factories, Malays from Sabah handle toxic waste and remove unexploded ordnance alongside Khmer youths. Refugees from the rest of Southeast Asia are forced into prostitution or other forms of grueling work, as they are not Filipino citizens and thus covered by the New Labor Code."

Priscilla's face hardened. "I will begin proceedings against them immediately; send out the Police to stop them and bring them to trial -"

Father Agustin raised his hand. "This is not wartime, and as you said, the oppressed refugees and immigrants are not covered by the law's protection. Nor are they protected by common human decency. Will you violate your own laws when the Most High himself does not? Is that what your new sect has taught you?"

Priscilla thought it over. She couldn't just do nothing, but Father Agustin was right; her laws had allowed for this to happen. The Philippines was a democracy and she preferred it that way; she was even planning to do a Cincinnatus once her second term was up. And she will not compromise this democracy just to cover up her mistakes. So the Lady President relaxed, sitting back on a modest chair.

Her next words were: "How did you collect this evidence? I presume the Catholic Church has deigned to walk among the poor and downtrodden once more?" That last part was an unecessary barb and one Priscilla would have cursed herself for in earlier days. But right now, she was not above pettiness...nor asking for an apology later. "Forgive me; old prejudices assert themselves."

"I wouldn't be a priest if I didn't forgive," Father Agustin was nonplussed. "The Old Faith still maintains a lot of followers even among the corrupt, still ministers to the bodies and souls of those they exploit. Under the banner of missionary work, we keep our ears and eyes open, extending what help we could." A purse of his lips as he prepared an admission. "And your new sect, under your father's successors, have walked this battlefield as well; all differences fade in the struggle to succor the poor."

A nod from Priscilla. "Gather evidence, then, Father Agustin, and help those who I cannot help. From this moment on, you and yours' are under my protection; my reputation, my place, my power, I am prepared to sacrifice them all if it would help your cause. Those who proclaim yourselves your enemies proclaim themselves mine as well."

Already, the Lady President was measuring her assets, going through her mental list of friends and allies to see who would resist the temptation to put their narrow interests above the interests of thier nation. A coalition would need to be built in order to defeat the increasingly over-mighty enemies in Subic, and preparations made to drive a wedge within the unprincipled elements in that place itself. Steps had to be taken in order to ensure that what was happening there was not happening elsewhere as well; more investigation needed to be done.

Father Agustin nodded. "Thank you for your help. If you had not agreed, we would have turned to Japan via the See of Nagasaki, or even the Godless Hou Tsai Tang. I am glad not to have used that weapon."

The implications were clear; Father Agustin could destroy her credibility with the wider world and her credibility as a member of the Unified Left by exposing the actions of unscrupulous Co-operatives in her country. If he had ideas for other demands in his head, she would be unable to refuse them. As it is, she had to rely on his integrity...the integrity of a Catholic.

Looking for [MxM] partner

-Deleted-

Falling Skies: Wavering Valor (Mecha, Space Opera)

Decided I am not a good fit for Falling Skies after all...