The Best Is Yet To Come - 5: Sidelined
12 Jun 2023CrazyGolm
Sidelined - April 3309Officially, the following conversation did not happen.
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Commander CrazyGolm was an interesting specimen.
The woman sifted through the file on this particular Commander. It was a simple paper file, perhaps surprising in this day and age. However, for some scenarios a paper trail was preferable to a digital trace.
As far as her organization was concerned, this was one of those scenarios. And the end justified all means.
Personnel’s location was undisclosed and highly secret, however she was in some sort of conference room. It was a modern, high-tech, yet minimalist suite. Herself and the operative who had compiled the file were currently the sole occupants.
It was no small feat for their organisation to keep tabs on the movers and shakers in the galaxy. But to make sure people knew their place on the chessboard of history, it had to be done.
And with the Thargoid invasion now proceeding as they had for so long anticipated, now was not the time for any hiccups.
“Well, well, well…. What do we have about Mister Golm?” Personnel remarked to the operative.
The operative piped up.
“Firstly, we don’t even know if ‘Golm’ is his true surname, it’s more likely a chosen alias-”
“Never mind that,” Personnel interrupted. It was not unheard of for Commanders to take on psuedonyms when registering for their licences, so she had expected that to be the case.
The operative continued. “Pilot’s Federation Commander. Largely law-abiding. Ex-law enforcer. Comparatively young for his position. Doesn’t take his helmet off much-”
“Everyone knows that.”
“Unfortunately as a result we have no records of his face in any of our databases.”
“Noted. Political affiliation?”
“Overall, he appears to be neutral…. Fragmented records indicate that he originated in the Federation, but is now independent. He remains on friendly terms with all three superpowers, with high ranks in their respective auxiliary navies.
Additionally, it seems he has returned to his squadron.”
“Ah yes, his precious Agency…. Any other counterparts?”
“He appears to be close friends with a Commander Clixer. Unfortunately for us, Clixer’s current location remains unknown. There’s also some evidence of association with the Buurian Protectorate.”
“How about his ranks?”
“Trade rank Elite 1, Exploration rank Ranger, Combat rank Dangerous – no, Deadly now -”
“What about his interests?”
“Primarily combat. After some sort of break, he is presently active in the Thargoid War.
However, intelligence has shown that he is interested in ancient legends, the quest for a particular lost planet, and conspiracy theories – including theories that implicate this organisation-”
“Does he know about Pivot?”
This time Personnel interrupted the operative, her voice was strained. Tense. Apprehensive.
“Pivot?…. Uncertain,” the operative slowly responded.
“What about his ideology? Anything interesting there?”
“Religious.”
“RCM?”
“No. Christianity, unknown denomination.”
What was striking about him was not his skill or prowess or his high rank, but him as a person. Although he was more than capable, he was not the greatest Commander, nor the wealthiest, nor the most experienced.
However, his beliefs, his principles, his faith – they were both perfectly mundane and perfectly radical. That made him stand out, made him go against the flow. In short, he was something else.
And if he knew about Pivot….
“He poses a threat.” Personnel said succinctly.
Their organization had built up so much. Too much was at stake just to have some witless, boy-scout Commander bring it all down now.
Something had to be done. To stop him. Or suppress him at least.
The problem was, how do you put an accomplished Commander out of action without raising suspicion?
They needed something to bog him down.
“Where’s Infrastructure when you need him?” she muttered. He was off playing golf. Of course he was.
Personnel paused. Something had occurred to her.
“Get Finance on the line. I have an idea...”
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