Lord Panther
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Posted - 2006.02.02 07:49:00 -
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Edited by: Lord Panther on 02/02/2006 07:53:12
Lord Panther had just finished the morning incense burning in the temple when an excited novice broke in.
"Your eminence," he exclaimed. "We have an urgent message from the BoB High Command. It says 'Stain has invaded BoB space.' It continues 'No sh*t this is not a drill.'"
Lord Panther grabs the paper out of the quivering young one's hand. "Prepare my clone jump," he shouts. But before it can be made ready another message arrives. It reads, "Invading force wiped out. Homeland secure."
He gets the rector of the homeland temples on the vid screen. He is pleased to hear that the invaders did not damage any of the temples. "They didn't get anywhere near our holy places," said the Rector. "We did see some pretty explosions out in space but that was it."
The holy one summons his advisors. "We are now on a total war footing," he informs them. Orders to check all the warehouses and modules are quickly given out. Insurance is checked on all ships.
It's been sometime since Lord Panther was a small cog in the Stain machine, but he remembers it well. He was a member of the HMMI then. He was against HMMI joining Stain. He didn't believe the promises of good systems. He was overruled.
In the end, he proved to be right. The promises were never fulfilled and HMMI left Stain and merged with the Black Nova Corporation.
It was a natural match. The same qualities that attracted HMMI to BNC existed in Stain. Honorable fights with no backing down, no talking smack on local channels either.
The communiques speak of a rapidly deterorating situation that led to war. The SA offered surrender terms to FIX, terms FIX could not possibily accept. Stain made an agreement with BoB and reneged. A new one was drawn up and they broke that too. The details don't matter. Both sides may have their arguments but when Stain invaded BoB space the argument was over. Exchanges of words had become exchanges of lasers, projectiles, shells and missiles.
Within a short space of time, proud warriors on both sides were filling galactic message boards with boasting and taunting. It is as if their posts were like the battle trumpets of old, sounding out warnings of the approach of fire, destruction and doom.
But none of the boasts and taunts will matter when the lasers get white hot and the ships recoil as they spew forth missiles. Lord Panther mumurs, "Words won't repair breached hulls, they will only make someone want to breach them."
He smiles as he reads their barbs. For all their talk in this and other wars, Lord Panther realizes that it's not just the major fighters who win or lose the wars. There are always good fighters on both sides, although he believes BoB has far more good fighters than he ever saw in Stain.
All of them will have their victories and defeats, but in their boasts the proud ones forget that the scouts, the miners, the support ship pilots, the escorts, the ones who keep the main fighters in the battles, are also important. So too are those who fill out the fleets guiding their ships in strict compliance to the orders given by gang leaders and fleet commanders.
His experience in Stain shows him that BoB does something Stain does not, it treats those others with respect and understanding As he can see from messages sent by those they are not afraid. They are ready to do their duty.
Lord Panther smiles again as he remembers the temples he left behind when HMMI left Stain. He looks out in that direction from the bridge of his ship and says to the ether, "It will be good to visit them again."
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