Thread: Romeo, Juliet, and the Black

From the Terran balcony came a rough voice, a rough voice that called upon Celeste to speak. With a glance up she looked at the man, eyebrow raised. She had a decision to make though, to lie, or not to lie as she was unaware if her planet had put out an official statement. If it had, she would need to match it word for word, but if not, the reputation of the Martian's relied on her. There was always the truth, that Black light had been sent there to destroy, with orders from ISTC, as a warning to Mercury. But there could be better ways to twist the story, especially with their use of oil-based explosives. That was almost the signature of the Terrans. Looking the puffed-up man in the eye defiantly, Celeste stood. Both her hip-holstered gun and her thigh-sheathed knife were visible. It was clear that she was a soldier, as if anyone in the room didn't already know. Her brunette hair hung long behind her as her hands slid to her sides. She was almost statuesque, exempt from her flickering eyes, attempting to make eye contact with the prevalent leaders in the room before she began. We were perched outside Mercury's gravitational orbit as ISTC gathered for a conference, she began with the truth, but then she deviated. It was her planet, she couldn't let it go to blame. We watched as Terran-like ships approached. We could not confirm if they were from our distance. So, we approached silently to attempt to identify the craft. It then landed on Mercury's complex and we assumed it was terrorist. And though we are agents of Mars, we are also agents of ISTC. She gave pause to let the last nugget of information sink in a bit. A small crackle came over her radio, Don't get too outrageous, but Mars will support your accusations. It was the general. Her hands settled on the metallic barrier in front of her, her strong, battle worn digits clenched slightly over the railing as if she was angry. We then radioed and boarded the complex, Sara's Necklace . In an attempt to track down the intruders, we separated, unsure of how many there were. I am unsure of the rest of my team, but I found an intruder in the data bay, stealing information from the complex. I now know he was intent on not only stealing the data, but blowing the complex to pieces, along with his team. I called out that I was an agent of ISTC and that he was breaking international law. There was no response, so I was ordered to take him in for questioning. Her knuckles suddenly blanched, I was not successful in my apprehension of the suspect. He then located a tab of petroleum-based explosives, as noted by my iris screen and Mercury's investigation, and I fled from the data bay. Upon my arrival to the ships we boarded with, my instinct told me they would not be safe, so the remainder of my team, our four pilots and my captain used the complex's emergency escape pods to return to the Martian ship as the complex exploded, I assumed from more oil-based explosives. She gave a curt nod and returned to her seat. The Martian general stood next, his large black chest plate glinting in the light of the great hall. Upon acting as agents of ISTC, and under the assumption that Mercury is still within ISTC, Black Light was still under orders of ISTC, and protecting the system from terrorists. It is obvious that my sector has lost most of their team, and no longer need to be held accountable for the explosion today. Please be excused, Black Light, sector one. Renric, Celeste, the other three pilots and Captain Tadashi stood to leave the great hall, all rather tired and ready to collapse. They all saluted the general and exited the room, under the assumption that sector two would then fill their seats, as they did. As Celeste left, her eyes trailed upward to the Terran speaker. Was he on the ship today? she wondered, but shook it from her head as she, almost menacingly, made eye contact with the protection of the Terran box. Next time we meet , she promised herself, I will imprison you. They then walked out the doors, and exited the great hall. Renric gave her a pat on the back as well as Tadashi, A drink, anyone? he asked with a hearty laugh. They all nodded and made their way to the diplomatic wing which housed the small bar.