OBT Forum

Director-General’s Office
Geneva, Swiss Administrative Region
Terra, Terran Hegemony
June 29th, 3026

Director-General Angus Hamilton was fuming. That perfidious bitch! She dares tell me what to do? Oh, I will fix her goddamned hash. I will not tolerate any such violations of the Hegemony’s sovereignty. The rest of the Inner Sphere will lose their fear of us and we’ll be overrun within the damn year. No, I did the right thing ordering the fleet to Hesperus and…

He heard his secretary cry, “Minister, you can’t go in there without an appoi-!” the strangled word dying as the door to Hamilton’s office flew open with a bang. Hamilton made for his sidearm, but released his grip on the laser pistol strapped to his thigh as soon as the intruder was revealed to be the head of the Department of Terran Affairs, James Michaels. Michaels, was fifty-two, slightly heavyset and suffering from a receding hairline that strangely enough, improved his handsome stature. James was known as a straight shooter among the DoTA, and had done a great deal of work smoothing the transition since ComStar’s removal. Like Hamilton, both had served in the ComGuards, and had shared the dream of the Terran Hegemony reborn. The fury drawn across his face, however, was anything but the usual pleasant visage one usually saw when they met each other.

“YOU BASTARD!” Michaels screamed, loud enough to make even the guards he was pushing through to get into the office jump involuntarily as he long tossed a folder onto Hamilton’s ornate but cluttered desk.

Hamilton waved the guards to let him pass and close the door, “Greetings, James, what can I do for…”

“Call back the fleet before you restart the war! You read the same report just I did Angus, the Lyrans didn’t kill a soul. They used a derivative of BZ on the tech facility they raided. Nobody’s dead. The only casualty was one guy going nuts! Oh, but I guess we can’t miss having a bit of Lyran blood lust again, can we?”

“James, please. I get it. Your son was on the Amanda Cameron. He was a good boy, and we all loved him. I’m sorry for his loss, but he died rebuilding the Hegemony. If there was…”

“Enough!” James exclaimed. “This isn’t about my kid. This is about your personal vendetta with Katrina Steiner getting out of hand! How the fuck did you expect them to react? I saw what you did—I saw the opening—but Steiner’s got the Estates General so riled up over Skye we’re lucky all she authorized was the theft. The Lyrans aren’t going to just forgive and forget!”

Hamilton continued to keep is composure, and tried to interject, “This is how it starts James. One little nibble at a time before there’s nothing left. We have to show all of them we’re not to be trifled with.”

“Bullshit, you saw the early diplomatic cables, this could have been avoided. But no, Angus, you had to turn your pretty fleet loose. My pretty fleet! My BOYS! I hate the Lyrans for what they did to the Amanda Cameron over Wyatt, but this has to stop.”

Michael’s shoulder’s slumped, like the wind spilling out a sail. He looked down at the floor for a moment or two before raising his chin. His eyes were bloodshot, and filled with sadness, but also determination.

“Angus, I’ve been with you since the beginning, and Lord knows I’ve given more to our cause than most, but I can’t follow you any longer.”

“James, wait…”

Michaels continued, “This has got to stop. The Terran Hegemony was supposed to mean something. We were building it to become something ComStar, or the House Lords could never be. We’ve pissed on that meaning Angus, all of us. Wyatt and Skye, they’re only the beginning. If we don’t change course soon we’ll be adding new names to places like Rocky, New Dallas and Lone Star. We can’t allow that to happen. My son didn’t die so we could turn the dream into a nightmare. I won’t be a part of our descent into hell.”

Michaels slowly reached behind his back, and with one smooth motion pulled a small holdout pistol. He placed the pistol against his temple.

“I’m sorry Angus, but this has to stop,” Michaels said as Hamilton reached out for him. It was too late, and Michaels pulled the trigger.

Angus Hamilton, first Director-General of the reformed Terran Hegemony stood silent for a moment, watching the growing pool of blood form around the misshapen remains of Michael’s head. He moved only to wave off the guards who quickly stormed into the room in response to the gunshot. 

Hamilton looked down at his hands, and for the first time saw the blood covering his uniform and skin. He looked back to the body, the body of his friend. Not breaking his gaze, Hamilton moved towards the communicator on his desk. Slowly and deliberately he dialed the Commanding General’s office as tears welled up around his eyes.

“Pat, recall the troops. We need to talk…”

Ouch.

Very well written.

Is the Terran Hegemony a democracy or a banana republic? 

Nicely done.

None of the above.