Universal People's Federation

[jonisilk]

It had been three days since Ellison had lost to Reelman. News had quickly circulated and it was damaging his reputation, but Ellison's reputation and his ego were not one and the same. He had an ego, sure, but he was hardly egotistical.

He remembered the words of June Unurka and decided he would rather not see this defeat as failure, but as part of a learning curve. If he was to continue learning, then he should play against the best opposition possible and play his very best game. With this in mind he had approached Ander Reelman and asked him for a rematch. One board, two players.

The offer had been accepted and later that evening, the two of them would sit opposite each other again. This time, it was in Anders dormitory and the only crowd in attendance was their three fellow Martian cadets and two of Anders roommates. Locking horns once more, Ellison gave his best and Reelman responded in kind - the game ground down to a stalemate and the two looked across the board at each other with a new-found respect.

Each had found both an equal and a kindred spirit sitting opposite them. Both of them knew there was much one could learn from the other and over the weeks that followed, they would become close friends.

[jonisilk]

Gathered together in the mess hall, the Martian cadets quietly spoke among themselves. You'd have to strain to hear them, but each knew that the topic of conversation was not for public ears and each was acutely aware of anyone who might be watching them. It was Ander Reelman who was holding court. Ellison was silent, but attentive. Around the table with them sat Farren Teel (14), Oden Bareni (14) and Luke Nassit (13).

For the last ten minutes, he'd been trying to convince them that he could access restricted areas, but he would need their help to pull it off. He'd been timing the changeovers and had observed the access code used to enter on a number of occasions. Getting in would be easy, but once inside, getting out would require help. He needed a diversion - something to distract the new guards - and a signal.

"It's a really bad idea, even if you have worked out what the access code is, you have no idea what's waiting for you on the other side of those doors", said Nassit, "You're going to get caught."

"I don't get caught" Ander quipped. Ellison shook his head to himself - the last week or so had seen Ander adopt him like a little brother, taking him under his wing and mentoring him, but this wasn't a one-sided hero-worship. Ellison could all too clearly see what Ander's faults were. He was brilliant but undisciplined and his cavelier attitude was going to land him in some serious trouble if he didn't watch his step.

"That's not what the redacted info on your file says," muttered Teel, winking at Ander as he looked accusatorially toward him.

"How do you know what m- " Halfway through his question Ander realised who he was talking to - of course he knew, Teel had probably hacked into most other cadets files already.

"We should think about using the vents, you're small Ellison, maybe you could go do some recon, if Nassit here isn't up to it." offered Bareni.

"What? You're not actually considering this are you?" protested Nassit, offended by the suggestion he wasn't equal to the task, but still vehemently opposed to it none-the-less. He looked at Ellison for support.

"Nassit's right, it is a bad idea." Ellison said, "and it could get us all expelled", he concluded, though his mind was already working out how they could pull it off, he knew they needed to gather more info first.

"I still think it could be a test" continued Bareni, "Why else would they put a research facility like this, right next to a military academy? They must know someones going to try and get in and maybe that's the point."

No-one else spoke for a moment, but they all shared a look between themselves - the seed was already planted. This idea would not be going away, but a proper execution depended on proper intelligence and gathering that would mean more time...

[narwhalwarlord]

HOW DO YOU HAVE THIS MUCH GODDAMN TIME? HOW?

I just spent about six hours on homework, and am about to plunge back in and do more. And while I work away, you, with your adult life and stuff, just breeze in and bang together another solid post.

HOW? HOW?

[jonisilk]

HOW DO YOU HAVE THIS MUCH GODDAMN TIME? HOW?

I just spent about six hours on homework, and am about to plunge back in and do more. And while I work away, you, with your adult life and stuff, just breeze in and bang together another solid post.

HOW? HOW?

Lol, it's probably because I don't have six hours of homework to do every night

Although, I have been spending lot of time on here as I'm kind of between writing projects at the moment.

[narwhalwarlord]

That would be it.

[jonisilk]

At the end of a quiet corridor was an air vent. It was one of three that Teel had identified as security camera blank spots, but this one was the nearest one to restricted areas.

In front of it stood three martian cadets, while at the other end of the corridor was a fourth cadet, Berani, who would put on his cap whenever someone was heading in their direction.

This was the signal for the two oldest - Teel and Reelman - to laugh and joke boisterously about their classes, or which of the girls they had their eye on, while the third - Ellison - was sitting next to the vent, but laughing along with them. Behind his back he held a ball of string that led into the vent - on the other end of the string was Nassit, shuffling his way along the inside of the ventilation system.

The string was low-tech, but with a simple system worked out, a couple of tugs on the string would allow them silent communication and would also provide Nassit with a route back through the labyrinth of shafts he was negotiating.

Ellison could feel the ball of string rapidly reducing in size - he gave a tug that indicated they were down to the last meter or so of string. A serious of tugs came back - 'okay, I'l be back' - before the string went limp. Ellison waited.

After about five or six minutes, he suddenly felt the string pull taut again and breathed a sigh of relief. Nassit tugged on the string - 'Let go!' - Ellison did so and watched as the end of the string was pulled into the vent, but not quite around the first corner, before stopping.

A few more minutes passed by and a shuffling sound could be heard coming from the vent as Nassit approached them. A few minutes later and three martians became four, who all made their way back up the corridor toward their fifth compatriot.

They stood in a circle and spoke for less than a minute, before they each split up and made their separate ways back to Ellison's room.

[jonisilk]

They sat around and discussed what Nassit had seen.

Beyond the access door for which Reelman already had the first access code, was a long white corridor with a number of other doors leading off it, which Nassit had assumed to be labs. Each of the doors would also require an access code, but Nassit had been fortunate enough to be right on top of a door being entered and had seen the access code used.

Reelman already had the first code, now with this second code he could access an actual lab. What might be in these labs was still an unknown though - Nassit had not been able to go any further as the ventilation shafts went straight up at a 90 degree angle. It wasn't a great deal to go on, but it was a lot more than they knew two hours ago.

"So let's say I slip in when the guard changes, then I access the lab, maybe five minutes to poke about in there, y'know, see what's really going on, then I have to get out, so I'll need someone to distract the guards, but how?" Reelman looked around at the rest of the group.

"It's not a rhetorical question, so feel free to make a suggestion" he added.

Ellison piped-up, "What is the one thing - other than accessing a restricted area - that won't be tolerated?". Looking around the room, he could see that Teel was on the same wavelength.

"We stage a fight as a diversion" Teel responded, before adding, "I'm in."

"Me too", said Ellison. The others looked at him comically, it would be a horrible mismatch even if it it was a fake fight. "What? I can take a punch y'know, I'm tougher than I look".

"You'd have to be", said Berani, as he stood up and faced up to Teel. it was an even match-up, they just had to be able sell the fight to onlookers.

"You've got heart Ellison, but we've got this." He said to the young cadet.

[musashisamurai]

STARTTroll\\\\

If your students have enough time for this, you definitely aren't giving them enough work.

////ENDTroll

I am kinda surprised though-for a military school, it reminds me a lot of Enders' Game. Do they go to boot camp before or after school, and when does Plebe summer, or its equivalent, begin? Usually military academies involve cadets/midshipmen havinga ll their time already scheduled out, getting yelled at by upper classmen and instructors and studying endless amounts of material on military life while esprit de corps and honor are instilled in each cadet.

[Subotai45]

OOC: This is supposed to be more similar to Ender's Game than an actual military academy. It's been a tool for Argentine diplomacy and fun from its founding.

IC: Victoria del Rovia hails from the city of Mar del Plata, a small exclave on Mars, bordered by Aresian territory. Mar del Plata is a traditional home for Argentine nationalists, who have opposed Argentine union with any other power from the days of the Confederacy. Her parents belonged to such a group, and aimed to organize a rebellion to secure Mar del Plata's independence from Venus.

Victoria informed on her parents at the age of nine, placing nation above family, and earning the attention of the central government. Victoria, who had renounced her last name, and created her own, went to Mar del Plata Military High School, preparing her for a future at a Venusian military college, and afterward, a commission in the military.

While there, she showed herself to be exceptionally gifted in her studies, and devout in her love for Venus.

[Subotai45]

Victoria, pressed flat against the floor, her cuttlefish skin perfectly matching the floor, heard the Martians' plans. Shocked at the magnitude of the proposed rule infraction, she crawls back around the corner, the words of the other Martian cadets ringing in her ears. How dare they? she thinks Repaying the governments generosity with such rudeness.

She stalks down the hall in a poor mood, on her way to Venusian History I. The introductory course was deemed a political necessity when non-Venusians were brought to the academy. The class is currently learning about pre-Confederate Venus, which is a hazy subject even for many of the Venusian students.* She shares the class with the other five Martians, who all hail from the Phoenix Corporate Group. The Coordinator of Diplomatic Affairs, in his oh-so-glorious wisdom, thought that her home planet being Mars would enable her to interact with the plutocratic anti-republican Martians.

"What was the primary cause of the Jersey War?" the instructor, an energetic man in his thirties, asks.

"The Jerseyans were land-hungry militarists who threatened Argentine citizens, and had to be taken down in the name of lasting peace on Venus." a boy in the front of the class answers in an exaggerated country drawl. Juan "from San Juan" Fernandez is quite the opposite of Victoria. While she advocates increased central government control, he prefers the system of provincial autonomy. While she believes that a large national security apparatus is necessary for the protection of the state, Juan thinks that "tons of gene-mods and guns", freely distributed, would be perfectly adequate. Victoria denies the existence of separate groups within the Venusian ethnic group, while he believes that New Hope and Argentina have distinct cultural identities that should be treasured. They are constantly at odds, and the history class often devolves into the two leading opposing factions in an argument, or, as they prefer to call it, an "unscheduled debate period".

"I beg to differ," Victoria snaps, "the war was started when interventionist Argentines wanted to weaken a native Venusian power in conjunction with their Aresian masters."

"Really?" Juan retorts "The Jersey Federation conscripted large parts of its populace on two separate occasions, for no reason, internal or external. They threatened Argentine citizens, then prepared to annex an area larger than Argentina itself. War was necessary."

"Then why was it not declared?"

"Are you even listening?" Juan sighs, "the Jersey army outnumbered the Argentine forces at least ten to one. A fast strike was what was needed to defeat them, and warning would have destroyed the war effort."

"If it were so just, then why did all Venusian nations move to oppose Argentina?" Victoria exclaims, feeling as though she won the argument. "Even Argentina's own ally betrayed her."

"The Geenanites were cowardly, greedy, scum. No offense," he says, turning to the Pallisians, descended from the inhabitants of the KGR.

*Like any war except the American Revolution, the Civil War, or WWII for American students.