Fielding was awoken during Planetfall by Public Affairs Officer Hutama. Having met her at many a trade summit, the Oceanian politico had made his own social calculations and bet that the hard-nosed American executive would be important to the fate of the mission. She quickly assessed the situation. The Anarchist revolt had been well underway but was fortunately confined to several below-decks and the promenade, where they made mischief. The Spartans were seen as the most dangerous threat- Captain Garland had mysteriously disappeared en route to entreating with the self-declared Colonel Santiago, and was feared to be a hostage of them. As cryobay after cryobay of crew and colonists were haphazardly deactivated prematurely, rumors abounded of still more armed groups fighting with the remnants of the Security team and the few U.N. peacekeepers freshly awakened under the command of Bolivar.

Having combated survivalists before, Fielding immediately requested dossiers of the identified members of the Spartans. Working with Hutama and awakened members of her staff, she determined that the majority of them were former members of the department who had sided with the colonel only after the death of Chief of Security Joachim Ortega. Cross-referencing with U.N. records, they further discovered that many of them had no prior histories of involvement in radical political activity, while those tagged as Santiago's lieutenants did show signs of suspect behavior. Fielding deduced that it was likely that the core Spartan leaders' powergrab had forced much of the security staff to side with them- these were conscripts coerced to mutiny, not true believers.

Based on this hypothesis, Fielding devised a strategy for rescuing the captain and ending the mutiny once and for all. She recommended to the rest of the command staff that a second diplomatic mission be sent to barter for Garland's life. If the negotiations were to fail, members of the Spartan Coalition most resistant to Santiago's command would stage a counter-mutiny of their own, neutralizing the colonel and her co-conspirators. Loyalist forces would simultaneously stage attacks on all other Spartan holdings during the confusion. Perhaps by capturing or eliminating the Spartan leadership, those forces would either willingly stand down, or be routed by false orders.

To achieve this, Fielding offered to handle the clandestine communications with potential disaffected Spartan counter-mutineers. Hutama, who had developed a network of his own within the crew, volunteered to facilitate the delivery of messages between the two parties. She also suggested that a non-U.N. escort be used for this second mission- both to ensure the lack of potential defectors among their ranks, and to present the Spartans with a less hated opposition.

Responses to the Plan

While Bolivar was skeptical of these roundabout machinations, Godwinson was outright livid at the scheme. To reward treachery with more treachery, making a mockery of the peace process with violent deceit- that was repulsive behavior on the verge of satanic. She was the lone dissenter. Having already sent their teams to fight and die against the Spartans, both Zakharov and Daoming were willing to support a speedy end to the insurrection, and found the data-driven solution admirable. Skye, having recently been rescued alongside her botanists as one of her beloved hydroponics labs had burned, tended to her wounds and declined to comment. Hutama, sowing the seeds for future favors, declared that the plan was sound. Élodie shrugged a Gallic shrug- she was well-versed in her nation's bloody history of revolution and counterrevolution. Thakur was away from the bridge playing at peace as a free agent with her awakened followers, and the rest of the provisional council deigned to involve her in their decisions. Others were likewise in the thick of it, providing aid to colonists or fixing the ship. Ebner had not yet been awoken.

Finally, Chief of Surgery and provisional X.O. Pravin Lal spoke. As distasteful as he found the conspiracy to be, he had to grudgingly admit that Santiago had struck first. Even the watchmen had to guard themselves against further plots. But he did moderate Fielding's proposal. He approved the idea of communicating with potential counter-revolters among the Spartans. At the very least, they could pressure their leaders to stand down, and not outright slay them in reprisal.

Lal agreed that a second mission had to be attempted. But he rejected the idea of inspiring a mass mutiny in reverse. At least, not until sufficient time had passed until after the negotiations. If anything, he pointed out, the first step would be to agree to a ceasefire. If that could be achieved, the U.N. mission and the Spartans would then forge an agreement agreeable to all sides. A ceasefire would be crucial, and not impossible. Get that and the rest could be accomplished; no need for fomenting violence.

This plan was accepted and adopted, with Godwinson continuing to voice her opposition and her outrage. As a conciliatory move, Lal nominated her to be part of the peace party, more to Fielding's amusement than anything. She immediately began contacting potential Spartan dissidents, aided by Zakharov's technicians in devising a way to send covert transmissions via quicklinks.

Throughout this planning, stowaway CEO Nwabudike Morgan curiously watched the proceedings. Having made himself an unwelcome unofficial advisor to the provisional council, he was uncharacteristically mute during Fielding's presentation of her plan and its debate. No bon mots on its flaws, nor withering remarks towards its merits.

Escort Mission

In a few hours, Fielding had established contact with several of the candidate turncoats. Encrypted messages had been sent when the potential defectors were observed to be on guard duty outside of the Spartan lockdown. True to her analysis, all responded favorably to their appeals. In secure calls, the disgruntled former security staff described how the Spartan Coalition had forcibly taken control of the team, the untimely demise of Chief of Security Ortega, and the harsh discipline and ideological zealotry of Colonel Santiago. During these calls Hutama subtly floated the idea of turning against the Spartans, and the potential rebels appeared relieved, even ecstatic. To be freed of the iron rule of the survivalists- how would the provisional council help them? What should they do?

Vindicated, Fielding tallied up these new assets and pushed for a new diplomatic round from Lal. If talks were to fail, at least they would have this trump card up their sleeve. While waiting for approval, she went to a cryosleep chamber to awaken Lt. Colonel James Heid and his team from Empire Management. Though relatively few compared to the Unity security team and the contingent of peacekeepers, or even the gendarme, Heid's private military contractors had been appointed to provide extra security for the mission, should the U.N.'s formations be overwhelmed. The hirer was lost even to Fielding's audit- the identity of whatever nation or corporation who had asked for these elite soldiers of fortune to join mankind's potentially last jaunt into the dark remained unknown.

The mercenary met Fielding's welcome to the land of the living with the respect of an old colleague but expressed surprise at her briefing of what happened, not expecting the mission to have fallen apart so quickly. Heid quickly recovered his composure, relishing at the prospect for action. While he could not awaken his entire squad, enough members to comprise an executive protection team were readied to guard the diplomatic mission. Outfitted with custom-made firepower exceeding the U.N. forces, the Empire Management mercenaries itched for a fight.

They received a far different reception at the Command Module. This time Lal was the one infuriated by Fielding's audacity. Not only was relying on private soldiers unnecessary when mission security was already being roused, to him it was a clear escalation. Force Commander Bolivar was disgusted by their presence- mercenaries, they didn't need that scum. Even Hutama, Fielding's booster, questioned her decision. While Zakharov was indifferent, believing in using any tool at the mission's disposal, the rest of the bridge expressed ambivalence at best, most believing that it added extraneous instability into an already volatile situation.

This was when Morgan chose to speak his piece. He questioned why the Unity command staff was so predisposed against the support of these fine gentlemen. After all, if they had been granted their place in their mission, were they not equally deserving of upholding that mission? What is the difference between a public sector soldier and a private contractor, anyway? You can say the first fights for a country or a cause, but at the end of the day such patriots are still compensated for their efforts. Soldiers wages are still allocated on spending budgets and paid for by taxpayers. Even lofty motives such as patriotism or a love of freedom are quantifiable, the CEO assured them, and convertible to monetary value.

Morgan paused, admiring the shining armor worn by Heid and his squad. He agreed that the reputation of these fighters for hire preceded them. Their efficiency and ferocity was- controversial- to say the least. At this, Lal scoffed and protested the understatement, but Morgan cut him off and continued. But were these Spartans any less fierce? Was this not exactly the purpose for why the Empire Management team was contracted in the first place, to meet any challenge and to protect the crew?

Heid grinned cooly, and agreed that was indeed their job. Morgan approached Bolivar next. Mercenaries might not have been the sort of warrior that the U.N. peacekeepers were greatly fond of, but their addition to the diplomatic mission would paradoxically decrease tensions. Hyper-survivalist terrorists were accustomed to taking potshots at Blue Helmets, whom they regarded as enforcers of a tyrannical global state. In contrast, they often found private contractors to be a less bitter foe, less symbolic of the governments they opposed. Perhaps the Spartans would better behave themselves when faced with non-uniformed protection. This, he concluded as he stared down the commander, was not an insult to the Unity peacekeepers in the least.

This unexpected defense was enough to break the tide in opinion. Zakharov likewise spoke in favor of having the mercenaries accompany the diplomats, and Sochua agreed, albeit reluctantly. Bolivar nodded begrudgingly, and Hutama reasoned that it would at least be a surprise to throw Santiago off-guard. Lal continued his opposition, and Godwinson agreed with him, citing the example of Amaziah of Judah purchasing the service of a hundred thousand Israelites, only to be dissuaded by a prophet of the Lord. A vote was held and the majority favored Fielding's plan, with more than a few abstentions.

(Later, when informed of the situation, the usually-jocular Barre would be momentarily overcome with rage, shaking with anger at how the staff decided to collaborate with the same cutthroats who had despoiled his beloved Africa.)

As a compromise, Godwinson was appointed to head the mission to the Spartans. Fielding, as another one of Santiago's countrymen, would also be present- Lal reasoned that the executive would be less likely to try anything that would put herself in danger. As public affairs officer, Hutama would also go, and potentially act as a moderating influence between the two. Heid, of course, would provide armed escort. And so the gang of four was decided. Before they departed for the Spartans' captive bay, provisional X.O. Lal reminded them of their key objectives: broker a ceasefire, rescue the captain, and prevent further violence.