by Aer-ki Jyr
The footage was gruesome, and the comments being left on the videos were a mix of disbelief and justifiable outrage.
In addition to the raw videos that were exploding across YouTube, there were also news stories cropping up elaborating on what had, and was continuing to happen on Tyr. Given that the moon was in another star system, albeit a very close one, there was no way for the public in Sol to know what was going on over there save for the tidbits passing jumpships brought back and the tales from travelers who’d witnessed the events, few that there were.
The summary that his staff had put together indicated that these videos and stories were sprouting up all over the Sol internet with no known source, and that the public was reacting harshly. The major news networks had held off on reporting on the story, demanding to get Star Force’s explanation before they went public with it, but the groundswell was already happening and anyone who had ever had a doubt about Star Force’s integrity was now going to have evidence to back up that suspicion.
Davis knew that even without having to read the theoretical implications attached to the report. There had always been a lingering anti-Star Force movement, but it had never had any real teeth after the first century. Star Force had proven itself to be reliable, honest, and above all else the good guys that intervened to stop the bad…a beacon of hope and prosperity for Humanity.
The Word had been trying to diminish that with seemingly random sabotage, but now their aim was both obvious and effective. Even as he read through the report new items were being attached to it as the story continued to grow and spread around the system through the internet and mid-tier news agencies.
The reputation he’d built up over 400 years was being hacked apart in minutes, and he knew there was going to be a segment of the population that he’d never be able to convince otherwise. They’d throw their support to the nearly dead anti-Star Force crowd, giving them new life and resources…which The Word would no doubt gain from, in the form of a social wedge, at least, that they could subtly hammer into various cracks they discovered or would create.
Davis knew this would quickly turn into a nightmare if he didn’t jump on it. Some of the public was already lost, but 400 years of consistency wouldn’t be so idly abandoned by many, and they needed to know the truth before their minds could run wild with theories.
Touching a key on the edge of his desk he brought up holographic keyboard and started tapping on the touchscreen tabletop, requesting immediate contact be made with the Brazilian ambassador. Then he sent a request to security’s intelligence division to have them break down the missile strike footage, which he knew to be phony, so they could get that out to the media as soon as possible. The Archons’ reports had indicated the hull breach was caused by an internal explosion of unknown origin, but given the camera set up outside he had no doubt The Word had killed all those people just for this photo op.
Star Force had succeeded in kicking The Word out of their sanctuary, but their enemy had turned that defeat into an advantage…and had probably been planning this ever since they’d infiltrated the moon, counting on the fact that Star Force would find them eventually.
Davis sent out many more messages, then got a response back from the Brazilian ambassador. He flipped on his office transmitter and stepped out from behind his desk, taking his place on the holopad.
“I’ve just seen the news reports,” Rodrigo said with a very displeased look on his face, “and I can assure you we had no knowledge of this.”
Davis waved off his concern with a swipe of his left hand. “I know you didn’t. This is The Word’s handiwork.”
The ambassador seemed relieved to hear that, though his scowl didn’t fade. “What can we do to assist you in battling this ridiculous propaganda?”
“It’s not all propaganda,” Davis said calmly. “Most of those images are real, I assume, just taken out of context. I intend to make a statement within the next few hours laying out what really happened, including your involvement. I’d have preferred to keep this confrontation with The Word private, but I no longer see how that’s possible. The people need to know the truth, regardless of how many supporters The Word might gain.”
“As you wish,” Rodrigo agreed. “I don’t like admitting how easily they stole Tyr away from us, but you’re correct in pointing out that we need clean air on this. Too many people have died, and now thanks to these brutes their deaths are visible to everyone. If we don’t explain who is at fault it will fall back on Brazil, and Star Force as well.”
“I’m not sure what The Word expects us to do, but I’m going to lay it all out there, including the sabotage they’ve been committing over the past years that you’re not aware of.”
Rodrigo raised an eyebrow. “May I ask?”
“Star Force doesn’t have industrial accidents,” Davis said flatly. “My people are too good for that.”
The ambassador sucked in a deep breath. “Perhaps it is best if you filled everyone in on what you know. Brazil would like to know what else they have been up to. Do you want us to issue a joint statement?”
“No, let me take the lead on this. Brazil can confirm what it likes after the fact.”
Rodrigo nodded. “I’ll get things moving on this end.”
Davis nodded and cut the transmission by stepping off the pad. The carpet resealed behind him as he headed back to his desk, but he didn’t sit down. He typed out one last message then headed for the stairs at a jog, wanting to get out ahead of this social revolution as much as he could.
“This looks like a movie to me,” Victor Anderson told his son as he watched one of the viral YouTube videos on a datapad, seeing the cloud of blue smoke billowing out from the canister, obscuring the Archons who’d set it off along with everything else a few seconds later as it reached the camera.
“No way, Dad. This stuff is everywhere. They even blew a hole in the city and vented the atmosphere. You can see the bodies coming out.”
“Why would Star Force do that?” Victor argued.
“I don’t know, but they did. It’s right here!”
“Don’t believe everything you see.”
He heard a noise from the kitchen and suddenly his wife walked into the living room where they were having their little family discussion. “Have you seen the news?”
“I’m showing it to him…he doesn’t believe it.”
“They killed over 100,000 people,” she said earnestly. “I really think it’s time you got a new job.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Victor said, trying to quell the rising tensions despite the fact that he was also concerned. “What does Star Force have to gain from attacking Brazil? More likely this is just some giant hoax to drum up YouTube views.”
“It’s on the regular news channels too,” his wife said, grabbing the remote and turning the vid screen on. When she did a press conference was being shown, with Davis center stage.
Victor frowned, realizing this had to be a lot more serious than he’d given his son credit for if the big man himself was addressing it.
“…which was when I sent an Archon team in to investigate the situation, probe the criminal element, and remove it from Tyr, returning the moon to Brazilian possession.”
“The Archons confirmed that the criminal organization responsible for the takeover was a familiar one. They call themselves The Word, though we know very little about them. Star Force has been hunting them down for over a decade in response to a number of sabotage attempts and successes against our infrastructure. Their personnel are very elusive, and have no qualms with committing suicide to avoid capture. The Archons managed to take several of them alive on Tyr, and we’re still in the process of interrogating them, though their organizational structure appears to be cellular, with each operative only knowing what is necessary for their mission. Thus we are having a difficult time assessing their full capabilities.”
“The takeover of Tyr was a far bolder step that we’d expected of them, but they surpassed it when
they began slaughtering civilians dressed in Archon armor costumes. A lot of you have already seen those vids. They’re little more than actors engaging in real manslaughter. All our troops sent into Tyr were equipped with nonlethal weapons. We didn’t know who was a member of The Word and who was a loyal Brazilian security officer following orders from superiors he thought were legitimate.”
“We stunned and captured the local Brazilians, all the while a replacement force was being sent from Mars to take control of the moon. They didn’t know any more than we did who had been compromised or not, so they sent in an entirely new administration and security force, then began to sort through the local personnel, determining who they could trust and who they could not.”
“While Star Force was fighting and stunning the local population, Word operatives used the chaos to their advantage, staging raids dressed as my people and recording them to create this propaganda. To my current knowledge the deaths you are seeing on those vids are real, but the identity of the attackers has been faked.”
“The missile strike on the city never happened. Star Force had a warship on hand to prevent any ships from leaving. We wanted to contain The Word to the city rather than allow some of them to escape. The explosion that occurred originated from the interior, probably also The Word’s doing, given that the camera that recorded the explosion was neither Star Force nor Brazilian in origin. We believe it was placed there before the assault, along with explosives in the emergency shelter, so they could record their deaths and offer them up to the public as proof of Star Force’s imagined misdeeds.”
“Both Star Force and Brazil wanted to root out this criminal organization quietly, but given their recent wave of propaganda that is no longer an option. But whereas we’ve been keeping quiet in order to hunt down the leads we’ve had, so too has The Word kept knowledge of itself quiet, and that ends today. Following this broadcast I am releasing files of the varying crimes The Word has committed, ranging from thefts, to kidnappings, to murders…bank fraud, smuggling of contraband, copyright violations. You’ll get the full list, but be aware that these are only the activities that we’ve discovered, and there are probably far more that we have not.”
“This is the enemy we face. They know they cannot stand up to us militarily or economically, so they are trying to strike at us through other means. Whether or not you will hear from them now that I’ve outed them, I do not know. Regardless, we are making progress in hunting them down and will continue to do so, but I will tell you this…as a few of you already have heard by word of mouth. Shortly after the reclamation of Tyr, there was an assault on a Star Force city on nearby Glasir.”
“That attack was accomplished by The Word’s private army. We do not know how large it is, or where they are based, but they attacked one of our spaceports in full combat gear and were quickly subdued. We have them now as prisoners, but while their attack seemed to be futile, it was in fact a ruse to pull security away from the area where we were holding The Word prisoners from Tyr, including one of their leaders we managed to capture.”
Davis hesitated, and you could see the fire in his eyes. “Six men dressed as civilians attacked the holding area and fought their way in to where the prisoners were being held. Once they found their leader, they detonated an explosive they were carrying, killing him so that we could not gleam any further secrets from The Word.”
“The other 5 were killed before they could detonate themselves…and yes, we did lose several Star Force personnel in both the attack and the explosion.”
“So there you have it…the truth. I know many of you will believe what you want to believe, and honestly I don’t care about you. I’m standing here explaining this to the rest of you so that you will have the truth available to you in this war of lies The Word is waging. These men are evil, and will do whatever they deem necessary to accomplish their agenda, and what that is we still don’t fully know. They are secretive, intelligent, amoral, and dangerous. They thrive on corruption and deceit, which is why it is important that you know the truth.”
“I will say that The Word isn’t the only threat out there, and there are many that Star Force deals with without you ever knowing about it. We don’t do this to hide it from you, but because you don’t need to know. This isn’t a game or entertainment or a hobby. This is real people’s lives being affected by evil men, and Star Force exists to hunt them down and stop them…not to record it in vids to play for the rest of you on the news.”
“I would have preferred to have dealt with The Word quietly, but they have begun to wage a different kind of war. They strike at us with lies…thus we strike back with the truth.”
On that seemingly abrupt end Davis stepped out of camera, leaving only the Pacific ocean backdrop as seen from a tower in Atlantis in place for a few seconds, then the news anchors reappeared and began to weigh in on the revelations.
“Damn,” Victor whispered.
“Cover up,” his son declared instantly.
The father pointed a stern finger at his son. “You shut your mouth. Sean Davis is the most trustworthy person on this planet. If he says Star Force didn’t do this, then that’s the truth.”
“Whatever,” his son said walking him off.
“I don’t know what to think,” his wife said, sitting down next to him as they continued to watch the newsfeeds, which were just now being updated with the data the Director had promised would follow.
Victor glared at her. “Who are you willing to trust more, a corporation with a track record 400 years long or some anonymous poster on YouTube?”
“If Star Force isn’t responsible, how could they have let this happen?” she countered.
Victor turned away from her gaze, looking back at the vid screen. “Davis said this Word was dangerous.”
“It’s Star Force,” she countered. “They can defend us against aliens, but not some tiny criminal organization?”
“Who managed to take over an entire moon without anyone noticing.”
“That’s just my point!”
“It wasn’t a Star Force moon,” Victor said, huffing. “If the damn Brazilians can’t hang onto their own territory that’s not Star Force’s fault!”
She raised her right hand, forestalling any other comments. “I’m not trying to fight, I just don’t know what to believe right now.”
“Star Force wouldn’t do this.”
“I wish I could be sure of that.”
Victor didn’t say anything after that, nor did his wife. They just sat watching the list of alleged Word crimes being displayed and commented upon by the news anchors.
Two weeks later the first public broadcast from The Word broke its way onto the internet, with an unremarkable man laying out their mandate to return Humanity to its true purpose while defending it against outside threats. The man, who talked very much like an average everyday citizen, pointed out that they did not want to destroy Star Force, but that its leaders had lost their way and must be replaced, for the organization itself was key to Humanity’s survival and prosperity…and that they were exposing the corruption and murderous vein within the mega corporation so that the rest of society could cleanse it.
From that day on the confrontation between Star Force and The Word would be a public one, with the latter gaining followers by the droves, managing to unite the anti-Star Force sentiment in a way no nation had succeeded in doing before and creating a true and almost instantaneous split within Human society.
The sides had been laid out, and every nation, corporation, and person was rushing to pick one or another, drawing in old vendettas to the new social battlefield and escalating the tension far more than The Word could ever have done on its own.
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