Divided Loyalties #2

A Station Keeping story, by tycho garen
on 5th September 2008. (commentary)

This is the second and final installment of the sixth Station Keeping episode “Divided Loyalties.” This episode develops the character Nan Gee, who first appeared in Diplomacy Maneuvers. Enjoy and look for a new installment from Knowing Mars starting on Monday.

Nan almost tripped on a box as she walked into her office. “How’d they get that in here?” She wondered.

She put her bag down next to her desk and walked carefully back to the package. There was a blank piece of paper fastened to the top of the box. She lifted it carefully, and on the back she read: “Nan: Hope these help. Hanm will be free.”

The memory of last night’s comm call came rushing back. “I guess it wasn’t a fake or a dream,” she muttered as she set the paper back on top of the box. She sat down at the desk and called up the communications log.

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” She asked, only slightly disturbed that she was talking to herself.

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Divided Loyalties #1

A Station Keeping story, by tycho garen
on 4th September 2008. (commentary)

This is the first installment of the sixth Station Keeping episode “Divided Loyalties,” which will be presented in two parts. This episode develops the character Nan Gee, who first appeared in Diplomacy Maneuvers. Look for the second part, tomorrow.

Nan rolled over for the third time in as many minutes, and tried to ignore in incessant pinging from her communications panel. She was stuck in that twilight space where her grasp of reality and the limits of possibility were tenuous at best.

She relented and stood up. The comm was on the opposite wall and squinting, she stumbled across the room to activate it. “Maybe turning up the lights would help,” she thought, a bit late to do anything about it, and when the video system didn’t activate she was glad that she hadn’t. “Hello?” she asked, after a long moment. She wasn’t used to the audio comm, particularly when half asleep.

“Ms. Gee, I can’t tell you my name,” the voice on the other end spewed from the speaker with an astonishing speed. “But I’m with the Hanmist Resistance, and–” Nan would have cut him off sooner had she not been yawning.

“What do you want. It’s the middle of the damn night up here.” She wasn’t sure what time it was, or even if night was the right word to describe the time on the station. Hell, she didn’t even know if this call was legitimate: the voice wasn’t any that she recognized. Her caller knew more about her than she did him, if it was a him, and she wanted to even that playing field as soon as possible.

“We know your work, and we we’re building a network of supporters. You’re position on Hanm Centre will be very valuable to us when we come–”

“Come? I haven’t been notified of anything.” Nan thumbed up the lights and squared her shoulders, in a hopes of sounding more authoritative.

“We support you, we support Hanm. We just want you to be ready for us when we come…”

“Oh come on, no one actually talks like that,” Nan thought to herself. “How will I get in touch with you?” She changed strategies and hoped that the person on the other end couldn’t hear her eyes rolling: it was probably better to play along with this, even if it were a prank, but she didn’t have to like it. And hell, if there was a Hanmist movement around to talk to her, this couldn’t be a bad thing.

“You’ll know. Do we have your support?”

“I support anything that’s good for Hanm.” Just ambiguous enough, and ultimately true, she thought.

“Good, expect a package with more information soon. Hanm Will be free.” the words were uttered with a dispassionate murmur that sent a tremble down Nan’s spine.

“Ok, thank you.” Nan responded politely before she cut the connection. “Log last transmission and send the details to…” her command was punctuated by a brisk entry of a code for her terminal in her office. There was supposed to be a way for her to do this verbally, but she always felt that it was easier and more secure to just enter the code by hand.

Her command sequence was short, and she still hoped that she’d be able get back to sleep. She cut the lights and stumbled back to bed. The revolution would wait until morning at least.

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“Diplomacy Maneuvers,” 4.2

A Station Keeping story, by tycho garen
on 19th August 2008. (commentary)

This is the second and final part of the fourth Station Keeping episode. Read part one.

“Well, I’ve been working all day to formally lodge the appropriate complaints about the Navy’s presence with the new commander. Our space, ‘much as anyone’s, and all they do is give us notice and expect our help when they need it. After all this, we’re just guests on a station that our people have worked on for a generation!” Nan’s speed increased with her furry, but she sipped the drink to slow her self down.

“What did Eli say?” David asked.

“Eli?”

“The new commander?”

“Oh, do you know him or something?”

“You could say that, but you already got me to talk. This is your story.” David hoped that she would ignore the fact that he hadn’t really told her very much.

“Ok. Um.” Nan had a bit more of the drink before she started again. “So after sending him a series of reports and requests, he called me in for a meeting, and he just talked to me.”

“He talked? Amazing. He never used to…” David trailed off as he fiddled with something on the terminal screen. “What did he say?”

“Really?” Nan stared at a box on the wall.

David realized she wasn’t really paying attention. “No, of course not. Continue.”

She did: “Well he didn’t seem to have a clue what was going on between the Hanmists and the Navy, and agreed to work with me on station policy and governance. I didn’t have anything to say. I feel like I made an ass of myself.”

“That’s Eli for you, I guess.”

“Being clueless? Or for making an ass of your self in front of.”

David chucked: she was pretty sharp and quick after all, admirable qualities indeed. “So you’re upset, because he’s a reasonable guy…”

“Well I’m not– Why would I– I’m just trying to– Yes,” she said. Its hard when the bad guys turn out to be pretty nice. Makes my job plenty hard. I wasn’t ready for this wrench in the gears.” Nan’s earlier anger returned, but this time it wasn’t shrouded in historical interplanetary relations.

“Well there are plenty of bad guys to go around, and lots of work to be done.”

“Aye.” Nan took another quick swig, and a lopsided grin came over her face. The bottle wasn’t finished, but she was. “Thanks for this, I’d like to pick your brain at some point, but maybe at the beginning of the day rather than the end.”

David’s simple response of “Indeed” was both non-committal and positive. He walked her to the door way of his half finished bar, “This is sure going to be interesting,” he though as he watched Nan Gee walk amongst the light crowd toward the residential side of the station.

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“Diplomacy Maneuvers,” 4.1

A Station Keeping story, by tycho garen
on 18th August 2008. (commentary)

This is the first part of the fourth Station Keeping episode. Part two will drop tomorrow.

Nan Gee really wanted a drink. The bar didn’t look open open yet, but she thought that maybe she’d be able to talk someone there out of one of those beers sitting on the counter. She would pay, it wasn’t like there was anything else to spend her diplomatic-salary on.

David nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw her standing inside the bar. He could have sworn that he had locked the door. “Hello there, we’re not actually open yet, as you can see,” he said, point to the exposed wiring on the wall opposite of the bar. Someday there would be a nice light fixture there. If the designer ever got back to him, that is.

“That’s alright, I just really want one of those,” Nan said pointing at the cases of beers stacked on the bar. It was a local brand that had just been shipped up from Hanm. “I can pay.” She appended, trying to look hopeful.

David paused, unsure of exactly what to do in this situation, he had work to do, and he didn’t want the entire station getting the idea that he was open for business. “What the hell,” he thought. “You like them room temp?” he asked, relenting.

“That’s the way we do it ’round here.” She looked a bit relieved.

“Ok, well we really aren’t open, but I have something to work on in the back, why don’t you join me with your beer and we can talk” David suggested, as he turned. “Oh, what’s your name, by the way,” he asked as he walked.

Nan followed the barkeep, without quite knowing why. It seemed better than any of the alternatives that came to mind. “Right, I’m Nan, Nan Gee: the diplomatic liaison to the station.”

“Oh, right, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” David said, he turned at an open door way and pointed to a chair in an office. “I’m David Conrad, I’m just the bar owner around here, but I suspect that the Navy will probably start begging once the comms are more open, but they won’t get me.” He chuckled.

“Oh, you’re Navy?”

“Used to be. I got to the top, and found there wasn’t much see. Time to move on, you know. They want me back, but know better than to force it.” David said looking at Nan. The tension between the Navy and the people of Hanm was very present on the station, even now, and almost entirely understandable. “So why the rush to get a beer,” it’s still a bit early and all.” David hoped to deflect the conversation away from his past, he also turned in his chair and brought up the display on his workstation.

“It’s been a long day, not that bad, I just don’t know what to make of it, but I’m pretty sure that I have no power, and it’s not like there’s anything else to do on the station yet.” Nan was surprised at her verbosity in front of the stranger, with a navy past, even! But the beer tasted like home, and the decorations on the walls were different, even if the walls themselves looked suspiciously familiar.

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