INFORMATION: All the original factions are present, plus two from Alien Crossfire (I think too many factions clog up the story). The new ones present are the Cybernetic Consciousness and the Free Drones. A little information on the map, to those of you who own the game the map is from 'the map of planet' option when playing a game. There are three continents; the large Central Continent where most of the factions are, the Hive Continent where Chairman Yang's people live a solitary existence and the Long Continent which is uninhabited. The Gains live in the Northeast of the Central Continent, the Morganites the Northwest, the Spartans in the West (around the Monsoon Jungle), the University in the East, the Peacekeepers in the middles (at the North of a long, shallow inlet of water), the Believers due South from the University (beside the Dunes), the Consciousness around the rainy Planetneck and the Drones South of them in the peninsula.
And now for the story to begin. Enjoy! This is my first ever story so any criticism is good.
The Remaining Sunlight
'Man has killed man from the beginning of time, and each new frontier has brought new ways and new places to die. Why should the future be different?' -Col. Corazan Santiago
'Planet: A Survivalist's Guide'
Sparta Command, MY2245
Colonel Santiago looked over the rooftops of Sparta Command, into the setting sun which perched on Planet's horizon. It cast a golden glow over the blocky buildings that belonged to a faction which would much rather spend the day fighting in the arenas than building houses.
She had made this. This living testament to the power of self defence, a warrior's paradise. A fortress that made the other faction leaders green with envy, and begged for their soldiers to be trained there.
The stillness of the moment brought back long forgotten memories of the past. How she had been orphaned at the tender age of eight, and had to fend for not only herself but also her younger siblings in a world that had become increasingly more hostile. That was why she joined the Spartans, that was why she commandeered a colony pod long ago on the Unity. So she could found a faction whose people could defend themselves from anything that the Universe threw at them, a faction whose people were to noble to bully and intimidate weaker people.
And they call Lal the ideologist
And still Santiago remembered, the early days of Planetfall. Eking out an existence underneath two burning suns. It had been hard and they had trouble surviving, but surviving is what the Spartans are all about, and they pulled through and finally come to the masterpiece that was displayed before her right now.
The Colonel gave an uncharacteristic smile, it would take a madman with a planetbuster to destroy all that she had created.
And she would never allow that to happen.
-
Gaia's High Garden
Staring at exactly the same sun was Lady Deirdre Skye. Her private quarters were located on the West side of the second largest fungal tower in her capital, Gaia's High Garden and was in a perfect position to watch Alpha Centauri A sink beneath the horizon.
A lot had been happening on Planet recently; Deirdre did not like this turn of events one bit, Morgan's business leaders were calling for commerce rates to be doubled, to 'help harness the full potential of energy transactions' as one Morgan lackey had called it. The University, Morgans steadfast ally since god only knows when was backing this scheme. However Zakharov did not seem to be grasping the social implications of this, maybe his neurones were clogged with some chemical coolant or whatnot, his University faction was being eaten away from the inside. 145 years of toil had given his University drones a cynical view of life. They were ready to rebel, and the Believers watched passively, waiting for all hell to break loose and praying to god for an opening in the University's defences.
Free Market economics and dirty transactional companies were the new factions on Planet, bringing with them a wave on consumerism, poverty and , of course, mind worms. She had always distanced herself from other factions, however the Gaians were taking their place on Chiron somewhat haltingly as they grew in power, or rather, other factions lessened in power, as their policies slowly destroyed them.
Humans had always disturbed Deirdre, with their cold intelligence and aptitude for violence. Sometimes she had to convince herself she was one of them.
She wiped a stray lock of hair from hair face and swept it behind her ear. She would probably have to do it again in several minutes, wiping her hair back from her face seemed to be a habit.
It had been another hard day at the Biolabs. Instead of dissecting parts of Planet in order to extend the boundaries of science, Deirdre had been making ointments and beauty products for Morgan. This was not totally due to greed, if Morgan found her as a useful resource he would not try to invade her…. again.
But splicing Planet's and Earth's genes to make products to satisfy the egos of rich Morganites was just as demanding as researching the native life.
Most of all she hated the politics of her job, which were inescapable as a faction leader. Honestly, she didn't mind who the other factions were ruled by, as long as she could carry on with her research. Except maybe Pravin. He truly seemed to care for his people. It was a shame he tried to knit the factions back together instead of working on his own. If he had then maybe the Peacekeepers would be much more powerful.
Even Pravin would have difficulty sorting this monetary mess out. Deirdre shook her head and wiped her hair behind her ears. Human politics always gave her a headache. The University was going to have a civil war and there was nothing she could do about it.
She just wanted to sink into the interconnected consciousness of Planet. Deirdre closed her eyes and summoned the flame of energy that had been with her since she fist looked down on Chiron. She felt a presence.
Deirdre-Human-Thing>>>
Her and the other faction leaders were playing a high stakes game, gambling with the survival of life on Chiron.
The players had been decided.
The dice had been thrown.
And it still had to be seen who would be left alive to collect the promised reward. Planet or humanity?
-
University Base
Aki Luttinen was making a computer program. But this was no Morgan-Techno-Game, this was the stuff of dreams, or perhaps of nightmares. This was a copy of the program that right now was present in her consciousness, speeding the connections between her neurones.
The pin flashed in the light as Centauri A caught it. She paused from her work, to look out the lab's window. Securing a private lab in the University was easy for a Talent, in the University everything was easy for a Talent.
Centauri A's light shone off the metal towers of University Base, creating the impression that the base was made of light. From this side, the West, Aki could see the mountains that the capital was built upon. Those familiar mountains that were being gently squeezed by millions of tonnes of snow that refused to melt this far up, those mountains that brought the cool air which calmed down the excited minds of philosophers and workers alike, the mountains that everybody thought of when University Base was mentioned. When staring at those icy peaks, silhouetted against the pink sky, Aki was always given the feeling of infinity- how they looked as though they would always be there, and will continue to be there when the last human had made his final breath. Aki shook her head , she was not given to moments of sentimentality but she was amazed, at how a group of researchers could stand for 145 years on this planet. Yes, she was an Earthling, and could only shake her head in admiration as a species once threatened with extinction could be so successful now. But she had a job to do.
With a quick jolt with electricity the program sprang to life. Aki placed it in a special type of scanner she had created to make sure her new creations were acceptable. She leaned against the lab table as the scanner did it's job.
She brushed a speck of dirt off her lab coat and waited as the scanner took it's time.
Yet time was a luxury Aki did not have if she wanted to create the Cybernetic Consciousness.
Her wrist commlink beeped. She had received a message. A meeting of all the University officials at the room Zakharov usually kept for such gatherings.
Finally the scanner completed the job. Her new program was OK. She picked up her creation and rushed to her private quarters to change. She could not let Provost Zakharov know what she was doing.
-
University Base, High Council Meeting Room
"I now formally initiate the University High Council meeting", stated Zakharov in his gravely Russian tones, "the subject is the upcoming Planetary Council vote on commerce rates".
He stopped and looked around the table, at 12 of the University's finest citizens.
"In other words, should I vote yea or nay?"
There were smiles around the table.
"A yes vote would significantly increase our science budget", commented Dega Dahlia, the newest member of 'the team'.
"A yes vote would stifle business in our already straggling economy. Many of the lowest working classes would be out of job and be forced to live in even worse conditions than they already do", observed the Secretary of the Economy.
"A rebellion should be expected", noted Korami Dias, chief psyche advisor.
"We are already experiencing rebellions, this measure would give us money to support more police forces", countered Aki Luttinen.
"Please Provost, I must insist that you vote no. At the moment we are facing unorganised resistance by dissatisfied drones, this measure would only increase the amount of rebellions to maybe even a civil war. It does not matter how large the police forces are, if the whole working classes rise up we will have no choice but to capitulate", Korami continued.
Zakharov looked at her intently and pushed his glasses further up his nose, a nervous habit perhaps? She would have to do more than that to convince him to vote no, he was expecting a major windfall if this policy was successful.
Aki stepped in, this policy was important to her plans, "Miss Dias, are you forgetting that we run the datalinks? That we control their electricity access? Believe me Korami, if there is a significant uprising we will know about it, before it gets out of hand".
"There won't be any electricity if the workers are on strike", muttered Korami. But her contribution to the meeting was minor, the decision had obviously already been made.
"I have decided that the University will vote yea", declared Zakharov, "meeting adjourned".
"Morgan's going to love that", Korami sulked, her genetically engineered beauty turning sour.