Fearless In Giving

[Valodya Bassarov]

the next thread

[Lady Blue]

The acorns explode just as we enter Capital City's harbor. Immediately all the steam engines shut down as the harbor tug pulls us into dock... I feel a lot better fighting this sort of battle with a carefully designed berth preventing the ship from sinking.

I respond to Violet: We require proof of your nonattack or we will retaliate with manala-enhanced nuclear weapons. We do not desire war, but an attack on our strategic manufacturing capacity is an act of war.

[Lady Violet]

"You really should handle this, sir. This isn't my place." I say to Lin Sat.

Why would we attack a factory of yours which means very little to us. We have other concerns. I think that logic speaks for us. Lin Sat and I gave no orders for any such attack, nor was it in the interest of any Ministry. If you attack, Red Infinity will surely remain unscathed, and civilians and nature will suffer. You are a knat to our power, your threats have no weight.

[Lady Blue]

The old matra Better Dead than Red echoes through my mind. I send a response:

If you did not attack us who did? Some of your past actions make "trust" a difficult point between us. We have had recent bad relations with the anarchist group but this is not their style. Plus our warship has just been attacked by envriomentalists, and we expect further attacks. Again, I demand that you prove these actions were not carried out by you.

[Lady Violet]

"If you demand proof, go to the Ministry of Terror. The sorcerer Kaschei can take you back in time to the events as they unfolded. You can see for yourself the truth of what happened."

[Lady Blue]

I think about it for a moment, and then send my response:

I will agree to that plan, if you agree to come aboard this ship yourself as an assurance of your goodwill. I do not wish to be the one to push the button, but as we sit now I feel as if I have little choice. I await your answer.

[Lady Violet]

I am not afraid of the FRA so I figure that I have no reason not to agree to meet her.

"Can I meet the FRA in Capital City instead? Surely you have an HQ there. I get sick at sea."

[Lady Blue]

That is fair. Meet me at the FRA capital building in one minute. I immediately have Anima teleport me to the building, where we are met by a full battalion of elite troops. I wait for Lady Violet to arrive, then teleport to the Ministry of Terror.

["Zero" Americanski]

Finally after forty minutes the boiler has built up sufficient pressure to drive the train at significant speeds. "ALL ABOARD!!!!" I page throuought the base, signifying that everyone that is sceduled to board the train is to do so now. I also inform the rebels that I will need a fireman to shovel coal for me, and I impatiently wait for someone to show up in the cab with me.

[Lady Violet]

I arrive in Capital City at the HQ and take a seat.

[Zinn]

((Sooo... the house has been destroyed again, right?))

Bloody f**king headache, is the first thing Zinn thinks as she comes to. the second, third, and fourth thoughts pertain to her current location, is it safe, and how she got to wherever she is.

Zinn notices she is outside the ex-anarchist base.

Then, she remembers the destruction.

She makes a silent "oh" with her mouth, and then, covered in soot and sitting in the rubble, she writes an e-mail on her laptop, which is mysteriously unscathed.

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Dear Lady Blue,
I would like to apologize for the behavior of two of my anarchist associates. What they did to you was a violation of the anarchist code of ethics and personal responsibility. I am very, very sorry. I know that I cannot account for their actions, but, since I am still alive, I am somewhat glad that you understand that this was the action of a few individuals. There aren't adjectives in the English language that express how I feel towards Antero Black and Sasha Kropotkin now. I know how you feel, to some extent.

On the other hand, you have killed my very dear friend, the pacifist Simona Weil. You killed an innocent woman. I hope that that haunts you until the end of your days. Make no mistake, I am not threatening you. I believe that revenge is wrong. I suppose this will have to rest on your concience. Thank you for the money to rebuild our home, but one cannot replace a human life with any amount of money. Simona Weil was a gentle, forgiving person, who saw the best in humanity. Perhaps that was her folly.
Sincerely,
Locke
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Zinn sends the e-mail. Then, she decides to look for...

She realizes where they are, suddenly.

Zinn teleports to meet the others, in Capital City.

She wonders, briefly how she knew that.

She also wants to get some ibuprofen or something for her headache. Since she is in Capital City, they probably have some.

[Lady Blue]

I recieve Zinn's email a minute before Lady Violet arrives, and I again regret my decision to shell Amstradam. I can never forgive Antero Black for what he did to me, though I can avenge myself on him and Sasha more directly when I do recapture them...

I arrive at the Ministry of Terror and knock on Kasechi's door, and hope he has been briefed on this.

[Zinn]

"Hello everyone," Zinn says darkly.

"Fancy seeing you blokes again."

She blinks, hard, runs her fingers through her hair, and adjusts her glasses. She wonders if she will ever get rid of those tics. Perhaps she has Tourette's or something.

"Anyone have an aspirin? I have one hell of a headache."

[Nova Kollontai]

I turn and see Zinn. I thought the LIF had her.

"How did you escape them? What is going on? I am new here and a day after I joined we got bombed and the FRA captured me. Is this common?"

[Mary Warren]

Mary writes a report.

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The adjustment was a sucess, with no complications, but it is too soon to tell whether the desired effect has been acheived.
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