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The Darkside
Apr. 27th, 2011 07:53 pmHarvey laid in the darkness and counted the streaks of light overhead, and every once in a while, whispered a word when an especially bright flash passed.
It would almost have been romantic — except that he was counting warplanes, not meteorites, and this was a warzone, not a sandy beach or a forest clearing. Over his body was a thermal blanket, blocking his heat signature from the drones overhead, and his mutterings were counting the troop transports, with their larger engine nacelles.
He thought about what each transport meant, what each fighter would require to down, and what the cost would be on the rebel side. And then he thought beyond that, to the families that would never see their sons and daughters return, to the fields that would be wasted and lay fallow until the radioactivity faded. And then he kept counting, because while he was frequently philosophical, he never forgot his duty.
When all the flashes disappeared beyond the horizon, Harvey set up a small transmit tower, sent out a compressed radio ‘squeal’ of his findings, and then set off to the west, towards Bradbury Park. When the snoopers got there, they found nothing but a melted pile of scrap metal.
Agent Briggs was long gone.
---
He had joined up early, early enough that there wasn’t much of an organization among the Independent city-states that had been set up, only discontent at the way that the United Nations Command had been expanding their regulation on the red planet. He portrayed himself as an ex-terran adventurer-turned-farmer who had been driven out of business by the rising regulations on the 'native' producers, and was accepted into the ranks of the then still nascent militia-army.
It wasn't long before he stood up in a town hall meeting and told the rag-tag group, in no uncertain terms, how you couldn't beat an enemy you didn't know. How information, not laser-guns, was going to be the most important resource of this conflict. And how without figuring out the UNC's troop movements and tactical plans, they were all going to die to a superior military force.
A week later, he found himself one of the officers in the newly formed Independent Action Council - and started deploying into the territory that was formally claimed by the UNC, on 'fact-finding missions'. In a short time, those fact finding missions become infiltration missions, and then, after the skirmishes began, Harvey Briggs was called to head the spectre division, responsible for strike-and-fade missions on UNC war materiel.
---
Like his older brother Earl, he was often a man of action. His final stop on the trip was to check Bradbury Park. The Indis knew that there were forces there, but they had never been especially friendly to the Northern forces; he also knew that the Park was going to be the only spot that an entrenched battle could be fought. Because of the tall canyon walls on either side, the air advantage of the UNC would be neutralized by the AA flechettes that the Indis could bring to bear; because of the close quarters, a small force could hold off a much larger one. It was meant to be the Thermopylae of this century.
The only problem, then, were those in the park who had 'not yet figured out their allegiances', as his commander politically commented. Harvey knew that it was false; they had chosen, of course, it just wasn't what his side wanted to see. They had decided to try and stay neutral, to try and weather it without supporting either side, instead choosing to enforce a total DMZ. But when there is independence on the line, when there are lives at stake, there can be no neutrality — at least, none that would be respected by either side, Harvey knew.
It was often something that he thought about; like his younger brother Jonathan, he was also a man of philosophy. He knew that there were lines that were not to be crossed, even in war, even in a war to earn independence. He knew that freedom didn’t exonerate a man of crimes against humanity, and he knew that this mission, a false flag operation, would be one that was perilously close to the line.
But Harvey knew, like both his brothers — whom he had lost contact with shortly after the war began — that in the end, you had to be willing to stand up for your beliefs. Whether they were with the order of a central authority, as Earl had sometimes commented on, or with the right of a man to make and choose his own destiny with no yoke around his neck, as Jonathan used to say, they were willing to stand up and die for what they believed in.
And so was he.
With a final look towards the green park, the paradise on the red planet, he set the UNC hovertruck — loaded with weapons that would hopefully be used against its previous owners — into action, sending it careening towards the verdant park, towards the shimmering biodome. Either it would be brought down by the defenses or it would crash through them, but either way, it would hopefully incite the Park to join the Indis in their battle — according to Harvey’s commander, at least.
If he knew one thing, though, it was that nothing was ever, ever that simple. But it was necessary, and the die was cast, and as he watched the truck start gathering speed, Agent Briggs disappeared into the night, intent not to be where the hunters would surely come searching. He still had work to do.
//
A/N: With![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
beldar and ravenshrinkery , we are the League of LJ Idol Gentlemen, and we bring you the tale of three brothers on three sides on a war that is a little bit of the past, a little bit of the present, and a little bit of the future. We hope you enjoy.
It would almost have been romantic — except that he was counting warplanes, not meteorites, and this was a warzone, not a sandy beach or a forest clearing. Over his body was a thermal blanket, blocking his heat signature from the drones overhead, and his mutterings were counting the troop transports, with their larger engine nacelles.
He thought about what each transport meant, what each fighter would require to down, and what the cost would be on the rebel side. And then he thought beyond that, to the families that would never see their sons and daughters return, to the fields that would be wasted and lay fallow until the radioactivity faded. And then he kept counting, because while he was frequently philosophical, he never forgot his duty.
When all the flashes disappeared beyond the horizon, Harvey set up a small transmit tower, sent out a compressed radio ‘squeal’ of his findings, and then set off to the west, towards Bradbury Park. When the snoopers got there, they found nothing but a melted pile of scrap metal.
Agent Briggs was long gone.
---
He had joined up early, early enough that there wasn’t much of an organization among the Independent city-states that had been set up, only discontent at the way that the United Nations Command had been expanding their regulation on the red planet. He portrayed himself as an ex-terran adventurer-turned-farmer who had been driven out of business by the rising regulations on the 'native' producers, and was accepted into the ranks of the then still nascent militia-army.
It wasn't long before he stood up in a town hall meeting and told the rag-tag group, in no uncertain terms, how you couldn't beat an enemy you didn't know. How information, not laser-guns, was going to be the most important resource of this conflict. And how without figuring out the UNC's troop movements and tactical plans, they were all going to die to a superior military force.
A week later, he found himself one of the officers in the newly formed Independent Action Council - and started deploying into the territory that was formally claimed by the UNC, on 'fact-finding missions'. In a short time, those fact finding missions become infiltration missions, and then, after the skirmishes began, Harvey Briggs was called to head the spectre division, responsible for strike-and-fade missions on UNC war materiel.
---
Like his older brother Earl, he was often a man of action. His final stop on the trip was to check Bradbury Park. The Indis knew that there were forces there, but they had never been especially friendly to the Northern forces; he also knew that the Park was going to be the only spot that an entrenched battle could be fought. Because of the tall canyon walls on either side, the air advantage of the UNC would be neutralized by the AA flechettes that the Indis could bring to bear; because of the close quarters, a small force could hold off a much larger one. It was meant to be the Thermopylae of this century.
The only problem, then, were those in the park who had 'not yet figured out their allegiances', as his commander politically commented. Harvey knew that it was false; they had chosen, of course, it just wasn't what his side wanted to see. They had decided to try and stay neutral, to try and weather it without supporting either side, instead choosing to enforce a total DMZ. But when there is independence on the line, when there are lives at stake, there can be no neutrality — at least, none that would be respected by either side, Harvey knew.
It was often something that he thought about; like his younger brother Jonathan, he was also a man of philosophy. He knew that there were lines that were not to be crossed, even in war, even in a war to earn independence. He knew that freedom didn’t exonerate a man of crimes against humanity, and he knew that this mission, a false flag operation, would be one that was perilously close to the line.
But Harvey knew, like both his brothers — whom he had lost contact with shortly after the war began — that in the end, you had to be willing to stand up for your beliefs. Whether they were with the order of a central authority, as Earl had sometimes commented on, or with the right of a man to make and choose his own destiny with no yoke around his neck, as Jonathan used to say, they were willing to stand up and die for what they believed in.
And so was he.
With a final look towards the green park, the paradise on the red planet, he set the UNC hovertruck — loaded with weapons that would hopefully be used against its previous owners — into action, sending it careening towards the verdant park, towards the shimmering biodome. Either it would be brought down by the defenses or it would crash through them, but either way, it would hopefully incite the Park to join the Indis in their battle — according to Harvey’s commander, at least.
If he knew one thing, though, it was that nothing was ever, ever that simple. But it was necessary, and the die was cast, and as he watched the truck start gathering speed, Agent Briggs disappeared into the night, intent not to be where the hunters would surely come searching. He still had work to do.
//
A/N: With
beldar and ravenshrinkery , we are the League of LJ Idol Gentlemen, and we bring you the tale of three brothers on three sides on a war that is a little bit of the past, a little bit of the present, and a little bit of the future. We hope you enjoy.
