A Call To Arms

[Voyager]

spoken words that do not comfort
all seems small to me
as a conflict without a meaning
a window without a view

"Ross-san... kore-wa...kore-wa desu ka...?"

She sat absolutely still, eyes wide and glowing as the news fed through her processors, registering along with a sense that the entire world had tilted and gravity had failed.

"This is impossible... how could this happen?"

The tall droid behind her set his hand on her shoulder and said nothing, knowing from long experience that some questions were not meant to be answered. The tiny japanese crat stared blankly out the windows, not seeing the stunning sunset outside.

"Pedestals are dangerous things." he thought.

Time slipped away, creeping unmarked like some master assassin. Only the suns slipping below the horizons marked its passing, leaving them in the pale, roseate glow of Yin's eyes in the darkness. Her mind was thrown backwards and wandered in bright and vibrant fields of memory.

i heard when he spoke to millions
he read from the words in gold
they seemed to be amazed
will i feel it too?
cheers and tribute
they seemed to love him
his ideas and thoughts
see his risen glory
not likely he’ll ever stop

He was godlike. Unstoppable, unfathomable and irresistable, Philip Ross spoke and his words washed like a storm of hope and strength over the assembled crowd. He was a physical embodiment of power and confidence. One could not be in this man's presence and be unaffected by the raw charisma he possessed.

She stood in the crowd, eyes wide and shining as she watched and listened. His words were flaming arrows, striking home in her soul and setting her on fire with purpose. His was the nobility and vision of the megacorp and he bequeathed it to the crowd with an assured sincerity that unified them.

With a quiet sigh, Yin closed her eyes. The darkness that held her seemed portentious of some greater darkness approaching. Dark times. Dark acts. The Unicorn Company had come and taken the shining sun of reason away. Their violent assault on omni citizens had been shocking enough in and of itself. Their arresting Philip Ross was unthinkable. Without him, how was there any hope of peace or prosperity?

Something had to be done. It was pointless to sit inactive and mute, when action was now most clearly and urgently called for. She opened her eyes and looked into the darkness that loomed in her room and in her future and summoned the data transcriber subroutines from their dormancy in her mind.


soon it will be i who stand there
i’ll read my speech as well
feeling failures for hundred
and hated for all

Friends, peers and coworkers, I am sure that all of you are by now aware of the events that transpired in Omni-1 and Omni HQ that culminated in the arrest and removal of our esteemed Philip Ross from his office on RubiKa. I understand that the chaos of these unforseen events has disrupted your work and your lives and left you questioning our direction. I am also certain that you are also aware of the prior activities of the Unicorn Company and have questioned the motives that drove their savage, unprovoked and shocking attacks on our fellow employees of the glorious OmniTek megacorporation. If you have not, you should.

I understand that as loyal employees of Omni you, my peers, are hesitant to consider taking up arms against another person working under our banner. As you SHOULD be. However, we have come upon dark days, where Omni has turned upon Omni with intent not simply to disrupt operations, but to deprive some of us of life itself. No reason has been given for the actions of the Unicorn Company and no release has been provided explaining their objectives here on RubiKa. Their actions, however, speak quite clearly. It matters very little that they are sent from Omni Prime. They have clearly shown that they place NO VALUE on OUR objectives as loyal and hardworking employees of Omnitek's Rubikaan operations, and have gone so far as to abduct our leader.

I beseech you all to gather your resolve to fight back and preserve our jobs, our way of life and our very existance. This will not be the last action against us on the part of the Unicorn Company. I project that their attacks on our operations on this planet will increase in number and ferocity in the near future. Shall we mill and panic, running defenseless like some herd of brontos before the butchers? Or shall we persevere and defend our operations, our jobs and our company here on the fertile world of Rubika? I say we shall overcome.

But this is only possible if we are united. Brothers and sisters of Omnitek, rise up and defend yourselves and your company! Do not allow this rogue unit from Prime destroy all that we have worked so diligently to achieve! Unite and take back what is ours, starting with our respected and beloved CEO, Mr Philip Ross.

[Dabblez]

General,

I suggest caution. We need clear intelligence on the events of the past few days before any course of action can be decided and the best interests of the company made clear.

What you advocate is very serious and under normal conditions just suggesting it would be a sackable offence. And yet, as a remote, strategically important colony these are not normal circummstances and taking matters directly into our hands now could potentially indeed save the company time, money and employee lives in the longrun.

But before we do anything, we need better intellignece, something I understand Administrator Kithrak is already busy gathering.

So keep your cool, be vigilant and be ready for anything.

Savoy

[Voyager]

Hai, Mees Kaba, I understand your desire to avert more violence. Truely. I am well aware that there are some who might like to twist my statement and to paint it with the colors of sedition. Surely, there are those who, like those of the clans who favor the politics of those rabid dogs, the Sentinels will celebrate the senseless acts of destruction and disruption these Unicorn Company butchers do. No doubt those same people will use the unsubstantiated claims of the UC that they act on orders from Prime to justify their own unconscionable methods.

Has anyone asked or recieved a valid answer of exactly WHO these troops are acting on orders from? Why have we recieved no official memorandum from Meester Ross's superiors notifying us of such an important change in management and policy? Surely, something of this magnitude might merit SOME form of official notification. There has been none. Nothing. All of this team's activities has been disruptive, destructive and demoralizing. Omnitek did NOT become the fantasticly successful megacorp we are priveledged to work for today by utilizing such poor management and wasteful methods. These actions are no more professional or subtle than those of the filthy rebel Dust Brigade brigands. This is NOT the voice or will of the Omnitek I know and serve. It cannot be.

Intelligence is the soil in which defense is grown. I agree we require MUCH more information than that which we currently possess. However, ferreting out what we may from witnesses to the Omni HQ debacle is but ONE step in preparing ourselves for what surely will come in the near future. The Unicorn Company has turned its weapons on loyal Rubikaan Omni employees TWICE now and has done extensive and expensive damage to Omni property here on Rubika. How much more damage, how many more lives and how much more disruption to the Rubikaan operations must we endure before we move to defend our company's assets (which I will remind you, we are)? How much of a profit loss must Omnitek take from these predations on its Rubikaan interests and assets before we cease our petty squabbling and politicing and move as a unified branch of the megacorp to restore order and assure that our operations do not suffer any decline in the projected profit margins for Omnitek?

You know me. You, of all people know my position in regards to unneccesary acts of agression. What was it that Eternalforce called me... a.... hippy? I have been regarded by some as a pacifist, though I might say that assessment is a little exaggerated. But they are correct in assuming I abhor wasting resources and life if it can at all be avoided. Ask yourself, honestly... would Yin Koresawa advocate ANY violent act if there was any reasonable or plausible alternative? You know the answer is no.

[Vixentrox]

Ross is nothing more than another corporate cog. Just another employee who apperently pissed off his corporate superiors. If you don't like the way your company operates, quit. Pretty simple really. Or stab the next higher ranking person in the back to get to the top to run things your way. As far as the UC folks go, it's not your place to question your superiors employee. Do as your told. If you start thinking for yourself, you might just decide to become clan. Remember employee, OT-RK is just a sub-department of your corporation, nothing more. Although Ross was a ranking man, he was by no means the top man.

[Aerinyi]

Notum is Omni-Prime's reason for investing in this planet. Notum is the beginning and the end of it's involvement with the people of Rubi-Ka. And ultimately, given the choice between people and notum, Omni-Prime will choose the notum. That's where the money is, not in human rights.

Congratulations, you just realized how expendable they think you are.