Posted Oct. 13, 2018, 11:50 p.m. by Civilian Stephen Binns (Head of the Chamber of Commerce) (Liam Schoepp)
Tenebris was not the kind of place that Stephen was used to. Having grown up on Earth, he had been surrounded by the Federation, and the comforts that they provided. Not once had he ever thought that it could get as bad as here. Stalls were erected all around him, filled to the brim with all sorts of trinkets. Some caught his eye, but most reflected the sorry state that this planet was in. He watched as a man pushed an old woman to the ground as he tried to get his cart through the heavy traffic. Stephen was about to go over and help, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw his bother Simon shake his head, “I wouldn’t recommend doing that.” Stephen was about to ask why when the sound of a disrupter firing was heard. Turning his head, Stephen saw the woman pointing a smoking disrupter at the place where the man used to be. As two of the security officers with them went to deal with the issue, Simon directed Stephen away from the incident, “As you can see, with the collapse of the government of this world, anarchy has settled. That is why we are here, to restore the peace, and prevents things like that from happening.” Finally, they reached an area marked off by a large fence, and Star-Fleet personnel stationed at the entryway. Seeing the two approaching, one of the guards nodded before the gate started to slide open. Walking over to a nearby bench, Simon sat down and motioned for Stephen to do the same, “Do you see now why I didn’t want you to come?”
Sitting, Stephen drank out of the bottle of water that he was carrying, “I’m sorry, but Star-Fleet asked for me to help analyze what was left of the economy here. It is rather hard to do that from on board a spaceship.”
“That’s why we have holodecks, to create perfect replicas while keeping civilians like you out of danger!” Taking a deep breath, the officer rubbed the bridge of his nose, “I would like to say that I am surprised, but your bleeding heart has gotten you into more trouble than not.”
Looking over the city of black metal, Stephen found his eyes drawn to the husk of what was once the government tower, “Is it so wrong to want the best for people, to treat them as I would like to be treated?”
Simon rolled his eyes, “It is when they will stab you in the back the first chance they get. Don’t pretend you didn’t notice the looks that the people were giving you. Without our escort, you probably wouldn’t have lasted a minute.”
“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean that it is their fault.” Stephen pulled out his datapadd, “Poverty is what most of these people knew before the collapse, and now that there is even less structure than before, they don’t know what to do. What we have to do is teach them that there is a better way, a way that doesn’t involve having to resort to violence.”
“And I suppose you have your grand plan all thought out?”
“Well… I do have a basic plan to set up an economic framework once a new government is elected, that is assuming that Star-Fleet does not establish a permanent presence here.”
A pitying smile grew on Simon’s face, “I know your opinion on the matter, but we both know that Star-Fleet will not get involved unless they absolutely have to. They will probably help a new government get in power, and then take a back seat, only intervening if another collapse happens. Sure there might be some support, but I highly doubt that there will be as big of a presence as you would like.”
Now it was Stephen’s turn to sigh, “I know, but I can’t help but think that we are doing it the wrong way. We can’t just throw supplies at this problem and hope that it gets better. We have to actually do something.”
Simon placed his hand on his brother’s back, “Well, once I become head of Star-Fleet Command, then I’ll see what I can do. Until then, I guess that we just have to work with what we have.”
“Perhaps,” Stephen watched as a fog decided over the tower, blocking it from site, “But I still wish that we could do more.”
Stephen Binns (Economic Consultant)
Tenebris was exactly the kind of place that Shari was used to. Having grown up on a planet such like this, she had been surrounded by the greed, corruption, and the difficulties that they provided. Honestly, this wasn’t even the worst place that she had visited. While the people were rather vulgar, they still lacked something that prevented them from falling even deeper, or climbing higher. Structure. Once they started forming around something, whether it be a government or a gang, then things would change. Right now, everyone was dependent on each other, meaning that there were no sides to draw lines with yet. Once those lines were drawn, then value would start to be placed on lives, it would become an us vs them situation, something that Shari was far too used to. Luckily for these people, Shari had a plan. She had seen Stephen’s notes about what needed to be done to bring order, and she was going to do exactly that, albeit with different methods that what he would have used.
“Please, I’m begging you, I’ll tell you all that I know!” In front of her was a snivelling coward, his head trapped under the boot of one of her Klingon underlings.
Walking forward, she bent down slightly in order to make eye contact with the terrified man, “Oh really, and how do I know that you won’t lie to me?” A subtle hand signal made the pressure from the boot increase, causing the man to cry out in pain.
“I promise that I won’t lie, really!” How cute, he thought that he would just take her word for it. She knew the type, they were willing to do whatever they were asked, but once enough pressure was applied, the would sing like a canary.
Lifting up her hand, she motioned over a Betazoid woman. She was rather new to Shari’s organization, but was showing great promise. Of course, she couldn’t take all of the credit for this acquisition, as Stephen was the one who hired her as an assistant, causing Shari to do some digging on her past. Upon realizing who exactly she was, she offered the woman an opportunity, to help the person that gave her a chance when no one else would. It was rather simple, Valexa would keep an eye on Stephen for Shari when she was not around, along with helping Shari every once and awhile, while Shari would make sure to use that information gathered to help her husband. It worked out rather nicely Shari needed a competent mind reader, and Valexa was one of the best. The way that she could get around a person’s metal barriers was quite astounding, and while Shari had others that were almost as good, none of them were as loyal as the betazoid that worked for her husband.
A few minutes later, and the man was twitching on the ground, barely responsive to outside stimuli. Valexa took her hand off of the man’s head and stood up, ignoring the drool that had started to fall out of the man’s mouth, “Marsona Kansa, that is the man that we are looking for. He has managed to gather some support, but his position is rather unstable at the moment. If we take him out, the rest should fall in line.”
“Perfect,” Shari’s mouth had grown a predatory smile, “and I assume you have his location?”
“Yes ma’am.” Valexa paused, “Though I thought that you would like to know something.”
The tone of Valexa’s voice made Shari’s smile disappear, “What is it?”
Valexa pulled out her flask and took a deep swig before continuing, “It’s about how he keeps his subordinates loyal..”
Shari Binns (Crime Lord)
Cold, so cold. Why was it so cold? Metal bars separated her from the person next to her. She didn’t know how long she had been in the darkness, it had been so long.
But that was good. Darkness was good. Darkness meant that she could not see what was going on, darkness meant that she could pretend that the screams were far away, and not close by. Darkness meant that she was safe… for now. Clutching at the small stone in her hands, she was barely able to rock back and forth. It was her only companion. It listened to her whispers, and kept her from falling into the state that she had seen many others in. It was her only friend, and she would never let it go. Finally, the cold became too much to bear, and she curled up on her side, her white hair falling across her face. Perhaps it would be warmer later, once she woke back up....
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