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Location: Anderson Rotunda, Ferris Fields

ON:

The Anderson Rotunda was a massive structure made out of the hull of a colonial ship with marble flooring, altered and re-purposed into a large, round, building. It had that classic architectural look and feel of an Earth government building that stands as a tribute to the economical success of the Ferris Fields colony. Captain John Stark momentarily forgot that they were not on Earth upon stepping into the building. While most colonies typically used their colonial vessels to build structures and living spaces, Ferris Fields actually went to the trouble of dismantling their colonial vessels and build actual buildings. The result of which, for those that landed here, was stepping into a city reminiscent of Earth. And they flourished.

Ferris Fields was a human colony located in the Terminus Systems. Among the first of the human colonies to traverse this far into the galaxy, Ferris Fields was found to be a rich source of element zero, which was used in the construction of FTL drives and other various devices. The element typically forms through the interaction of solid matter with the released energy of a supernova. Astronomers had theorized that this system used to be home to a binary star system, based on the unusual amounts of debris fields around the sun and planet. With such a rare and valuable element in such abundance on this world, especially a world with no claim to it from any of the other galactic governments, Ferris Fields was definitely a good find.

The Ferris Fields government, which was independent from the Systems Alliance, had recently open their world to free intergalactic trade. They built a massive, surface-based, spaceport that allowed for ships large or small to land and dock at any time. An open port was what it was, not just for those who have business on Ferris Fields but also for those that were passing through and did not fancy a long space flight. Many private corporations had built mining facilities on the planet, far from the city, who enjoyed the opportunity to commence business negotiations on the same world as the product.

Opening the planet for business on the intergalactic market created some controversy among many of the human colonists, who felt that Ferris Fields was a human colony for humans only. Many were not pleased when aliens started landing here, some even taking up residence, and had called for immigration laws to be put in place against those who are "not of planet Earth" to settle here. That was contrary to the government's interests, which were to become the next center of commerce throughout the Terminus Systems.

With the exception of the mining companies, the local businesses and citizens have built a pro-human coalition and called themselves theFundamentalists Union of Conservative Knowledge, Education, and Diversity (aka F.U.C.K.E.D., for short) and have rallied for the government to shut down the spaceport and only allow human ships to land on the planet. There was widespread fear that the aliens would invade the planet and eventually Ferris Fields would lose its human identity. There were protests all around the government buildings, some of which lead to violence. Local law enforcement was supplemented by Alliance Marines, which the Systems Alliance gladly supplied to protect one of their main suppliers of element zero.

When Stark landed on the planet, he had expected a typical mining colony with old ship hulls for barracks and mining facilities everyone. Instead, the planet lived up to its name. There were fields all over the place. Unlike Earth, Ferris Fields was primarily land-locked throughout the entire surface of the planet, with lakes scattered throughout. The colony itself was built around a large lake, comparable to one of America's Great Lakes, and had an idyllic atmosphere. One would never know that this was a mining planet. Though it was the government's wish to become the next Illium, Ferris Fields felt more like a farming community. The nearest mining facility, owned by Sardonix, was over a hundred miles away.

Though the colony did not have spiraling towers, the city was grand in its own way. The colonists have worked very hard in making this city look and feel like one of the older Earth cities. Trees, parks, streets, etc. were placed carefully throughout that was purposefully designed to make Stark feel like he was on Earth. Gravity was as close to Earth-norm as a planet's gravity could be. Even the foliage looked like it was imported straight from Earth. The air smelled sweeter. He was perplexed. And there were the fields around the city. There were actual fields! The planet lived up to its name.

Captain Stark had originally objected to this assignment. Settling a local government dispute was not his specialty. He had spent most of his career in strategic operations or command for the Corsairs program, deploying special operations throughout the galaxy, primarily espionage against the Batarians and Turians. But, as Admiral Black frequently tells him, his role as a commander must be versatile and capable to adapt to changing circumstance. There was also the concern of Cerberus involvement, which would make this Stark's first foray into investigating Cerberus activities. Though there was no evidence to show that the pro-human terrorist group had anything to do with what was happening on Ferris Fields.

"Evidence shows that since aliens started landing on this planet local crime has grown fifty-eight percent," said Holly Shyte, spokeswoman for the Fundamentalists Union of Conservative Knowledge, Education, and Diversity. The woman, who was clearly in her forties, was wearing a form fitting grey business suit that looked so tight Stark had to wonder how she was able to move around. Her normally auburn hair had streaks of grey while she wore thick-rimmed glasses that magnified her blue eyes. Her demeanor was utterly serious as she spoke in front of the governing council as well as Stark himself.

The large, rotund, room they were in sat about fifty people. Many of whom were local reporters and journalists, representatives from local businesses as well as the larger corporations, Holly Shyte and her entourage, and the governing council of Ferris Fields. Stark and his men sat in the lower left quadrant of the room while everyone else were divided into their own quadrants, the governing council sitting on a slightly raised platform. At the head of the governing council sat the Governor, Jenny Reed. Reed was an overweight, triple-chinned, supremely bald man who was smoking a cigar and wearing a cowboy hat. He wore a dark suit that was made specifically for him with the chain of a golden pocket watch hanging out of his pocket. The man was breathing irregularly from an untreated heart condition and his face was as red as a red giant sun. The man gave Shyte a quizzical look.

Stark cleared his throat. "In the time span you have provided," he spoke, facing the woman from F.U.C.K.E.D., "ninety-eight percent of these crimes were committed by humans. There were seventeen cases of grand larceny, six cases of sexual assault one of which the victim was a Salarian woman, and only two violent crimes both of which were human against human. The Ferris Fields Police Department has done a commendable job in maintaining law and order and I expect they will continue to do so. Also, let me point out that most of these crimes would probably still have occurred even if the spaceport never opened."

"I will have to disagree with you on that point, sir," Shyte spoke up. "The alien arrival has put the good people of Ferris Fields on edge, which makes them more prone to committing criminal acts when they feel their sovereignty is inthreatened."

"Inthreatened is...not a real word," Stark winced. He looked down at this prepared notes then looked back up to see that Shyte looked flustered. Governor Jenny Reed stifled a laugh while the reporters were all taking pictures with their hover cameras and taking notes.

Stark was not used to the public stage. Black operations did not typically involve speaking eloquently to reporters or politicians. He realized he must have embarrassed the woman, publicly, in front of all the reporters on the planet. It was now going to be much more difficult to get her to compromise on the issue of intergalactic trade on the planet. What was worse was that she had the support of nearly forty percent of the colony, which was approximately fifty thousand people. A civilian uprising could lead to civil war and mass destruction throughout the colony. Stark did not want that.

The death and destruction aside, from the point-of-view as a representative of the Systems Alliance, a civil war on Ferris Fields would cut the Alliance off one of their major element zero suppliers. They could not send a fleet of ships to Ferris Fields without the threat of war from the other powers in the Terminus Systems. It was a delicate situation which Stark had just made more delicate. A single woman's pride could mean ruin for them all.

The worst part was, she knew she was in a position of power.

"Captain Stark," she seethed, unable to hide her contempt, "do not pretend that you are here representing the best interest of Ferris Fields. Your mandate is to maintain the Alliance's element zero supply by negotiating some sort of compromise between the Fundamentalists and the Governing Council. My people and I have certain inalienable human rights not to allow the contamination of our species by introducing a disruptive element that could potentially destroy the paradise that we have worked so hard to create. We have succeeded in defending our world from the likes of the Blood Pack and Blue Suns mercenary groups, only to open the doors to the aliens who have fostered those groups."

"We have already instituted policies that will disallow any corporations known to do business with terrorist groups from landing on this planet," Governor Jenny Reed bellowed, his voice subdued from a constricted throat due to his massive weight. "Blood Pack, Blue Suns, Cerberus, Eclipse, and all the other terrorist or terrorist-watch groups are not welcome in Ferris Fields!"

The governor started coughing hysterically as he wiped his lip with a handkerchief. The man was breathing more heavily than normal and he looked as though he were sweating under that dark suit. Stark frowned worriedly then turned back to Reed.

"Yet they have been landing in secret," Shyte snarled. "Vorcha in the alleys, Asari hiding among the whores in the brothels, Turians in the pool halls, planting the seeds of chaos in our world."

"Well, an educated person would have taken note that you seem to know a lot about these "secret" landings and you have fertilized those seeds causing the chaos to grow rapidly," Stark said matter-of-factly. If he stayed quiet enough, he could faintly hear the protestors in the background chant "Hell no! Tell the Aliens to go!" over and over again. "Just look outside at the demonstrators causing a massive disruption to the day-to-day activities of this planet."

"It is just a peaceful, organized protest by the good citizens of this fine world," Shyte said proudly, a self-satisfied smile on her face. "Humans standing up for their rights to live an alien-free life..."

"...On an alien planet," Stark finished. "Ms. Shyte, humans are the most ethnically diverse species in the galaxy. Chinese, Belgian, Irish, Vietnamese, even the Los Vegans are all different types of humans. We embrace our differences, not-"

"Don't presume to lecture me on the diversity of humanity!" said Shyte, enraged. "I was on Benning when the Batarians attacked! Both my husband and my son were killed by a Batarian death squad and the Alliance soldiers that were supposed to protect them were not around! Those filthy things should never be allowed here to destroy this peaceful place! NOT EVER!"

For a moment, there was stunned silence. Stark remembered the incident on Benning; he was there running tactical for the Alliance Marine Response Unit. And he knew why those Alliance soldiers, two infiltrators, were not present when the death squads started killing the general populace.

"Ms. Shyte," Stark started quietly. But he was not allowed to finish.

"Enough," Governor Jenny Reed stood up. Stark noted that it took some effort for the larger man to stand. "Ms. Shyte, I am sorry for your loss, but the fact of the matter is, free and open intergalactic trade is good for this planet's financial future. There will be no compromise-" he coughed "-no...backing down-" he coughed again, this time more violently "-and we will not relent-"

Stark frowned as the governor collapsed to the floor, coughing and wheezing. There was a general hysteria as many of the reporters with the holocams surrounded the governor on the floor to record the event. Stark rushed into the crowd, ordering them to get out of the way, to give the poor man some air. One of the reporters, a woman who came all the way out from the Citadel, shouted something about freedom of the press and attempted to question the governor. Stark elbowed her and pushed her out of the way as he knelt down by the governor.

"We have a medical emergency at the Anderson Rotunda, my location," Stark spoke into his omni-tool, calling for his personnel. Governor Reed was clasping his chest. The men from his unit responded right away and that they will arrive momentarily.

"It...feels...like I've been run over...by something heavy," Reed gasped.

"Do you feel numbness on your arms?" Stark asked gently as he used his omni-tool to scan the governor's metabolism. He felt his belt for a pack of medi-gel and then remembered that he did not typically carry medi-gel when he was in dress uniform.

Reed managed a weak nod.

"Okay, you are currently experiencing sudden cardiac arrest," Stark said quietly. How the governor did not see this coming two hundred pounds ago, he'll never know. "I want you to take deep breaths through your nose, slowly but surly. Breathed in as far as you can go, then breathe out. Do not stifle the urge to cough."

"Thank...you..." he gasped as he obeyed.

"He sounds like a Volus!" Shyte said loudly, comparing the raspy, heavy breathing tones of a Volus speaking through his encounter suit. "Are you sure that the governor is who he says he is? Maybe he's a Volus disguised to look like Governor Reed!"

"Alright," Stark had enough, "that's it, get the fuck out! Security, clear the room!"

Though Captain Stark had no authority here, the security guards responded to his commanding tone and began to clear the room. Shyte was escorted out gently as she smirked in Stark's direction. Stark knew that, despite her ramblings about humanity for humans, she lost hers a long time ago. That was why she was so cavalier about the Governor's predicament. Stark was not a psychologist, but he knew that woman was no longer a person inside. He saw it in her eyes.

Stark's men arrived; a security force along with two medics and his yeoman, who walked up to him. Stark watched as the medics injected some type of blood thinner to help with the blood-flow and placed a respirator mask on the governor's face. Air was pushing its way into the governor's lungs as color returned to the man's cheeks.

"Captain," the young man spoke. "I have to tell you something."

"Can it wait?" Stark said impatiently as he knelt by the governor. He was distracted by the governor's condition. The rest of the governing council stood by at a respectable distance as well as the local security, letting in only essential personnel.

"No sir, I'm sorry but it can't," said the yeoman softly. "There was an explosion at the spaceport. A civilian passenger liner with over five hundred passengers and crew took off and exploded at five hundred feet. The debris rained down all over the port, but the bulk of the damage was at the local data centre."

Stark turned to the yeoman. There was little time to process the information; he stood to his feet then activated his omni-tool's communication unit. "I want a manifest of the liner that exploded as well as telemetry data from the control tower. Work with Ferris Fields police to close down the spaceport and begin active scanning for possible explosive devices. Until we know more, we will proceed with the assumption that this is a terrorist event. I want all air and space traffic grounded and have any arriving ships assume an orbital pattern until further notice."

"Sir," the yeoman spoke, "we're going to need the governor's permission to shut down the spaceport."

Stark nodded and turned to Reed. Instead of seeing the governor look back, he saw the forlorn faces of his medics stare back at him. Governor Jenny Reed laid still, no longer breathed, as one of the medics bowed her head. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, sadly. "The Governor is dead."

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