Posted by Civilian Eryn Romanov (Colonial Intelligence Agent) in Attack at City Center: Four Days Later - Protests (Governor’s Tower) // TAG CIA, Police, CCDA, Governor, and anyone interested

Posted by Civilian Kenzo B’tren-Hyrushi (Governor) in Attack at City Center: Four Days Later - Protests (Governor’s Tower) // TAG CIA, Police, CCDA, Governor, and anyone interested

Posted by Civilian Molly Holloway (CEO - Holloway Industries) in Attack at City Center: Four Days Later - Protests (Governor’s Tower) // TAG CIA, Police, CCDA, Governor, and anyone interested
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

The woman had shown up seemingly from nowhere, but she seemed to be willing to hear what he had to say. With a smile, the man waved his megaphone and opened his mouth to reply, but the people around him had other plans. With their urging, the man felt empowered. Yes, he could do this! Hyrushi was incredibly dumb by offering him a platform to speak on, and with so many people watching he would easily be able to spread the message he was there to deliver.

Joseph walked slowly from the main entrance to the Government tower, He’d given quiet orders to his officers to prepare for the crowd as soon as it formed. In plain view of the crowd there where three police hovercars hanging around and several uniformed officers around the Governors platform, of course the damned man hadn’t informed him before making a public display, but then of course he’d not met a decent politician with an ounce of self preservation in them. He received a report regarding some true instigator and that bothered him, this all felt off. He tapped his wrist console a few times granting his RRU permission to set up around the tower to respond to any potential armed threat.

His knee protested the rapid walk as he made his way behind the governor. Joseph was one of the most recognizable faces in the Colony government, having been Commissioner for longer than most others, even serving as Governor for a time, and his presence behind the Governor could lend some weight behind his words.

Commissioner Karlson

There was a ripple of recognition as Karlson moved up behind Hyrushi. Relief was palapable from those that were calmer but confused and curious as to what was going on. They trusted him and as soft murmurs passed between people standing beside each other, it was easy to repeat and spread it further. “Karlson!” and “He’s one of us!” spread for a moment among the crowd.

Hyrushi felt the presence behind him and let his mind reach out slightly. Ah, Commisioner Karlson. he thought and turned around long enough to look at the man and say “Thank you, Commissioner. Your presence is much appreciated.” and he turned back to the crowd.

Hyrushi, Gov

Nicholas passed gently into the tower, not making any fuss of his presence, but not concealing it either. Kenzo’s remarks were working. For the time being. He positioned himself where he could get to the Governor quickly, if something went wrong. He spied Eryn in the crowd. Good work, Agent. one corner of his mouth curled in a slight smile.

-Nicholas James, CIA Director

The quiet nervous woman in the crowd remained that way, but Eryn noticed James arrival. It wasn’t quite relief but all three of them were here now and that was good.

With a smile on his face and still firmly holding his megaphone, the man started to make his way through the crowd. The people he passed by encouraging him, chanting the same chants he had started. Oh what an incredible day to be a citizen on OED. Soon, all the people standing on the plaza would rebel against the governor and he would be in the first shuttle out to Risa with a pile of credits in his pocket.

When he was almost to the podium, the man lifted his megaphone again and spoke. “Don’t let yourselves be fooled by this man!” He said pointing to Hyrushi. Of course he will tell you that the new shield is a good thing! That you worked hard for it! That you voted for it! And why did you? Because THEY TOLD YOU TO!!!” The crowed cheered again. “And who told you that it was a good thing?” He pointed at Hyrushi.

“KENZO HYRUSHI!” The crowd roared in unison. It was clear that the excitement was ramping up again, even with the presence of the security detachment, but so far no one tried to advance over the podium again.

An engineer in the crowd, a well educated man, hard working, had lived on Oed for many years now was suddenly overwhelmed with doubt and a sudden need to speak his truth. “NO! I worked on that shield! It gives us air, protects us from the vacuum of space! That’s all. You are misinformed!” He called out at Megaphone.

“Yeah!” The man continued into the megaphone. “But here’s what they didn’t tell you! A year ago, a missile strike happened on Earth, in New York City. You remember it! You’ve all seen it on the news!”

“YEAH!” Chanted the crowd.

“Who was the name attached to that attack? Lucas Holloway! The man responsible for Holloway Heavy Industries!” He pointed at a tall building in the distance, easily recognizable by anyone as HHI’s main headquarters. “And now, four days ago, a missile strike happens here! They…” He pointed at the HHI building in the distance again. “… are bringing the attacks here! And how? If we had the old dome NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED! YOU WERE LIED TO! LIED TO BY THE MAN STANDING HERE NEXT TO ME!” The man was screaming in an almost apoplectic fit now. “Yes you voted for it!!! But you voted for it because you were told that it would make OED a better place! Instead it was all a ruse between the Holloway family, the CCDA, and our man of the hour here!” He pointed at Hyrushi once again. “This was just the first of many attacks! Do you want that to happen? It could have been anyone inside that shuttle! Your children! Your wives! Your parents! Think about your family! Who is looking out for them?”

Megaphone Man and the Protesters

Concern, fear, no one wanted to be a target. Again gazes turned to Karlson. He was one of them he would tell them what was going on. One woman, she had children, their preschool near the shuttle crash, but no one else had been hurt. The police and school system had acted quickly and gotten the children to safety. Karlson and his police department kept the colony safe and since he was in charge crime and corruption was down and didn’t affect the day to day. She suddenly needed to hear from him. “Commissioner Karlson! Tell us! What’s going on? What’s the truth?!”

The man needed to be silenced. He was spouting lies and creating dangerous accusations. It would be so easy, and over in a moment. Her gaze landed on megaphone man. A brain aneurysm is what it would look like and no one would ever know the difference. She’d done it before, more times than she wanted to count. The autopsy would show a sudden massive aneurysm and it would spread through the news that the man starting the protests was suffering from brain damage. They were lucky he hadn’t incited a riot in his delirium. But it would take a couple of days for the official results. Together for Peace would run away with accusations in the mean time, but it would by James, Vonn, and herself time. Killing Megaphone wasn’t going to stop this. She needed to focus on the man in the jacket. Gaze still rivited on Megaphone she allowed her self to listen and observe everything about the man.

Hyrushi then did something no one had ever seen, and even fewer expected.

He burst out laughing.

The eyes of the man holding the megaphone darted to Hyrushi as he started laughing. Surprise was evident to both empaths and non-empaths alike.

He laughed for almost ten full seconds, long enough to make the point, but not so long that the shock would wear off and people would grow angry. Those trained to spot such things would see it as a wholly faked laugh… but it was a very well-done fake. Hyrushi then looked at the man with the megaphone and inclined his head. “I do apologize. That was entirely unprofessional. But please… allow me to repeat what you just said so that these fine people are entirely clear as to what you are telling them.” He then turned and looked at the crowd.

“This man, passionate as he is, is also unfortunately a fool. No,I do not know him. But like you, I am listening to him. I want you all to think about what he just said.” Hyrushi steadied himself and focused his mind on a small group right in front. He began using his empathy to inatill a sense of calm in them, allowing them to listen without anger.

The group listened attentively, the feelings of tranquility and calmness washing through them. They felt at peace, as the Governor spoke.

Eryn recognized what Hyrushi was doing and turned her attention back to leather jacket man. He was her target and he was the one with answers, or the path to them.

“Yes, I have spoken in favor of the planetary atmospheric shield many times. We even held over a dozen colonial government hearings, all open to the public and broadcasted live across the city, on the subject. Think about what was said… not by me… but by you. You wanted more room… more places to grow your families… more natural places… more opportunities for jobs and growth and expansion. You wanted that. The atmospheric shield was created specifically to address those wants. The shield was never my idea. Nor HHI. Not even the Federation or Star Fleet. It came from you, the people. And what has the atmospheric shield brought to us? More room. More space to expand and help your families grow. Natural sights and sounds. More jobs. More opportunity. More space to call ours. And that is a result of you, not me. You are the ones making all of that possible. I manage the Colony, that is my job. But you build it. I have never, not once, told you what to do. I have asked you for your views. My job as Governor is not, nor has it ever been, to tell you what to do. My job is to ask you what you want and need, and then try to make that happen.”

Kenzo kept the group in front calm, but was careful to not overly influence them into falsely liking his words. He then put a hand on the megaphone holding man’s shoulder. “Our esteemed fellow citizen has mentioned an attack a year ago. The one on Lucas Holloway. He also said that the recent attack here on Lucas Holloway was a precursor of future attacks on you. That HHI is bringing these attacks here. Stop and think… one attack was a year ago, and it focused on Lucas Holloway. A full year later, there is another attack… again focused solely on Lucas Holloway. Each attack… one target. Each time, no collateral victims, save for Lucas Holloway’s personal driver. So how are two separate attacks on one person a year and a billion kilometers apart a precursor to attacks on you? Quite simply, they are not. The attacks have been claimed, have they not? Together for Peace has claimed the attacks. They said the attacks are a result of HHI’s weapons development. Do any of you develop weapons for HHI? Do your children? Your wives? Your parents? No, they do not.” Hyrushi looked directly at the megaphone man. “And I’m sorry my friend, but no… it could not have been just ‘anyone’ in that shuttle. It was specifically Lucas Holloway. Just as it was specifically Lucas Holloway a year ago on Earth.” Kenzo looked back at the crowd. “And here you all stand, chanting and yelling about something that is patently false. Why? I mean, you and I absolutely have something to be angry about. Very angry. But this?” and he pointed at the megaphone man. “This is not it. This is a well-intentioned but obvious mistake. The target of your anger shouldn’t be the colonial government. It shouldn’t even be the Holloway family.” Kenzo subtly shifted the calming at the group to feelings of righteous indignation.

“We should be angry that an outside group, a terrorist group at that, thinks they can tell Oed V what to do! That they believe the dedicated and hard working people of this colony are theirs to manipulate! We should be angry that anyone who doesn’t make this place their home thinks they can tell us what do and how to think!” He looked at the megaphone man and locked his obsidian eyes on the man’s. He slowly held out his hand to the man and said “So what is it going to be? Are we Oed V together? Or are we going to keep letting strangers tell us how to live?!”

Hyrushi, Governor

The moment the men locked eyes, Hyrushi would be able to feel the emotional turmoil going on inside the man. He had held the megaphone back up, ready to tell the crowd why the Governor was wrong, but on the other hand, Hyrushi’s last words had clearly taken some effect on him. And so he held the megaphone firmly, but no sound came from it.

Vonn was watching the crowd, and it was clear the Governor’s were having some effect. Vonn opened a secured comm channel to James and Romanov. =/\= Recommend we take the instigator now. The crowd is about to make a strong swing one way or another. Extraction avaible for Agent Romanov and the target. One block to the east. City power truck. =/\=

Vonn, CIA

Nicholas spoke quietly =/\=Take him.=/\= His hand moved silently to hover over a phaser pistol attached to his belt.

Eryn glanced at the target in front of her and slipped the small PaDD out of her pocket and then nodded once, very slightly as she slipped it away. Her gaze turned on the man, and in two quick steps she was next to him. With a practiced ease that was scary even to her she lashed out at the man’s mind creating pain and disorientation that didn’t abate. If that didn’t work, a quick jolt of almost too many volts went through him at the small palm sized weapon she pressed to his side. The man was suddenly doubled over in pain, his head splitting, the pain intense enough to make him sick to his stomach. Eryn caught him around the waist draping an arm around her shoulders and led him east away from the crowd. “It’s alright, I’ve got you. Let me help.” All the while the pain didn’t subside. As they made their way she glanced around for Vonn and made straight for the city power truck.

Romanov, CIA

Nicholas nodded watching Eryn do her job well. He turned his attention to what to do about the remaining malcontents. Especially on the off chance they meant harm on the Governor.

—CIA Director

At the front of the crowd, the man lowered his megaphone and smiled, slowly reaching out to Hyrushi’s held out hand and shaking it. “Yes Sir. We are OED V together.” The change might come as a surprise to many, but unbeknownst to them, it came at the exact time Romanov shocked the man in a leather jacket.

“Now and always, my friend… now and always.” Hyrushi said and shook the man’s hand.

The pain was unlike the man had ever experienced, making it impossible for him to respond. Weak, he allowed himself to be dragged by the woman away from the crowd.

“Who are you? What do you want from me!?” The pain didn’t subside, but the shock was wearing out, and he managed to utter a few words in a strained voice. “I was just watching the protests like anybody else! Let me go!”

The Protesters, Megaphone Man, and Leather Jacket Man

Turning back to the crowd, Hyrushi held up the megaphone man’s hand like he had just won the Galactic Heavyweight Boxing Championship. “Oed V! Always together!” he yelled and the crowd erupted in cheers. As they yelled and cheered, Hyrushi turned to the megaphone man and said “I gave you my word, and I meant it. You are not in trouble. But I am going to ask you to talk to the Commissioner and someone from my staff about all of this, ok? No charges, no detainment… in fact when you are done, I’d like to thank you for everything you have done by taking you and your family to dinner.”

The man beamed as the Governor lifted his hand and he joined the crowd in cheer.

“Thank you, Sir.” He nodded at Hyrushi as he spoke to him. “I will be more than happy to answer any questions they may have.” He seemed genuinely happy and in completely different spirits than just moments ago.

Hyrushi then looked out over the crowd and let go of the man’s hand. He put his hands up for quiet, and a few moments later he began to speak.

“Citizens… Friends… Neighbors… today was a good day. Yes, it started off rough. But we learned an amazing lesson today. That we are one people. No matter what species we are, where we hail from, or what politics we adhere to… we are Oed V. Together. And no one can break that apart. Yes, we will get mad at one another. I will make mistakes and you will call me on them. And I want you to call me on them. Because just like today… mistakes were made. But together, by talking and listening to one another… we fixed it. We are now stronger than we were yesterday. And tomorrow we will be stronger still. As long as we hold true to one another, we will never falter in our journey… our journey to make Oed V whole and home once more!” After soime more cheering, Hyrushi looked down at the podium and lifted the shoe that had been hurled at him earlier. “To whomever threw this, I apologize… but I’m keeping this as a reminder of today.” and he mocked smelling it and making a face. “Whew… after a thorough cleaning, of course.” and the crowd roared with laughter. Hyrushi let them laugh for several long moments and then said “Now then… we all have work to do. So why don’t we let the good Commissioner Karlson stop worrying about us and everyone head home or go spend some time with your friends or family. I think we’ve all earned a break, don’t you?”

Hyrushi, Gov.

The crowd cheered and it didn’t take long to start dispersing, many enjoying the walk through the park. Some dragged their signs with them, but many left them by the many garbage collection bins scattered through the park.

It was a sunny afternoon, perfect to celebrate the people’s renewed faith in Governor Hyrushi’s leadership.

Megaphone Man and The Protesters

Not wanting to draw attention and distract the Governor from the situation, a security guard quietly approached Karlson. “Commissioner, the new Lieutenant Governor has arrived and her ID has been authenticated. Should we get her clearance and bring her up, or should we hold off until the situation stabilizes some more?”

~Security

OOC: Moved the extraction of the target to this thread: https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf6/oedv/posts/184541/

Romanov

Hyrushi overheard and walked to the Commissioner and said “Commissioner Karlson, I thought you might want to have a word with our friend here.” and he gestured to the man with the now-silent megaphone. He looked at the Securoty officer and said “I’ll meet with the Lt. Governor now. Have her meet me in my office.” He turned back to Katlson and said “Something was odd about this. We need to find found out what.”

Hyrushi, Gov.

Over James’ ear wig came Romanov’s voice. =/\=Ve need to identify zhe man at zhe protest. He vas mumbling about being paid credits. If he has already been paid, zhe techs at zhe varehouse can identify and trace zhe money.=/\=

Romanov

=/\=Noted.=/\= Nicholas responded, though he didn’t hide that his curiosity was piqued. He decided to follow Karlson and listen in. The protester might at least give his own name. And that would be more than enough to follow the money.

-CIA Director