Post by ender on Dec 24, 2009 22:27:58 GMT -5
The cockpit was dark, with the exception of the small viewscreen. Dark hair falling over his eyes as he stared at it, replaying the last time he had heard from his cousin, Kris, and remembering what had led him to where he was...
UC 0079.05.22
"Markos. You should see it out here, floating over where humanity came from. It's a beautiful, blue marble. Hard to believe that's where something as corrupt as the Federation comes from. You just look out at it though... you almost forget about it." A tall, lean man in his late twenties, dressed sharply in a Zeon Officer's uniform, Kris Steiner was one of the young ensigns assigned to the Chivvay-class cruiser Dauntless.
"We've been in high orbit, ferrying supplies. It's not like what the battle of Lorum was, but it's a duty that needs done for the Principality." Red warning lights went off. "Well, cousin, looks like the Feddies are wanting to start some trouble, I have to get back to my station. I'll send you another message. I do hope you reconsider, and enlist in the military. It could do you som..." The connection breaks, and the video goes black.
Three days later, Markos stands in front of the enlistment officer, signing the papers to join up. "Son, why are you joining up? You've finished University, and can lead a great private life as a citizen. Why the military?" Blue eyes bored into Markos, as if examining his very soul, looking to see if he was wanting at all.
"No, sir. I'd only be a civilian. Life without civic duty. It's the duty of each and every citizen to answer the call when it's given. The Principality needs all to answer, to defend her borders, and to fight for true independence away from the Earth Federation. The planet may be beautiful, but it doesn't have the right to govern us when they can't even see us." The answer seemed to roll off of the tongue, even as his posture stiffened, a small smirk crawling onto his face.
The enlistment officer looked at him again, then down at the papers. "Says here your cousin served with the Dauntless, one of the ships assigned to the Orbital Supply Fleet that was lost when the feddies attacked three days ago. I hope you're not doing this for some revenge scheme, son. Many pilots have died like that, and it's a fools errand." He chomped on a cigar as he spoke, smoke spewing from his mouth between words. Either he was trying to weed out anyone who didn't have the conviction to join up, or to see if there were any doubts in his mind, Markos couldn't really tell. It was getting on his nerves, though. Maybe part of the reason he was signing up was to avenge his cousin, but in reality, it was due to what Kris had always said.
Duty to ones Nation and ones Family was paramount, it defined what you could do as a citizen. To forgo that duty was to forgo citizenship. How could you really have any say in what might happen if you aren't willing to fight and die for that nation. Kris was the one that had handed Markos his first book by a philosopher, Plato's Republic. To think like that, to be willing to read books like that, was something that Markos could never repay Kris for.
And now Kris was dead, but had died fighting for a cause he believed in. A cause Markos himself believes in.
"No. This isn't a revenge plot. If that were the case, I'd just head on down to Earth, and join some terrorist organization. No, this is bigger than me, bigger than my cousin, bigger than everything. It's about a vision of Spacenoid independence from Earth-sphere influence. It's like how the former United States had wanted to seperate from the British Empire. At some point, you have to break away, and I'm willing to put my life on the line, just like Kris was. Now, are you going to keep wasting my time with questions, or are you going to let me get on that shuttle?"
The officer smiled, taking the cigar out of his mouth, and pressed it into an ashtray, pushing out one last plume of smoke from his lips, then standing. "Welcome to the Zeon Military, grunt. Get moving!"
Current Day
He keeps watching the video, idly feeling at the material of his normal suit. The road had been a long time getting here, going through basic training and the pilot academy. Meeting his former wingmates, and now, California Base, under orders from Garma Zabi. Where else would the road take him? Who else, like Sascha, would it bring along with him? It didn't really matter. A small smile, the same smile that he had when he first signed up, crawled onto his face.
"Sieg Zeon. For the Principality, and for my family."
UC 0079.05.22
"Markos. You should see it out here, floating over where humanity came from. It's a beautiful, blue marble. Hard to believe that's where something as corrupt as the Federation comes from. You just look out at it though... you almost forget about it." A tall, lean man in his late twenties, dressed sharply in a Zeon Officer's uniform, Kris Steiner was one of the young ensigns assigned to the Chivvay-class cruiser Dauntless.
"We've been in high orbit, ferrying supplies. It's not like what the battle of Lorum was, but it's a duty that needs done for the Principality." Red warning lights went off. "Well, cousin, looks like the Feddies are wanting to start some trouble, I have to get back to my station. I'll send you another message. I do hope you reconsider, and enlist in the military. It could do you som..." The connection breaks, and the video goes black.
Three days later, Markos stands in front of the enlistment officer, signing the papers to join up. "Son, why are you joining up? You've finished University, and can lead a great private life as a citizen. Why the military?" Blue eyes bored into Markos, as if examining his very soul, looking to see if he was wanting at all.
"No, sir. I'd only be a civilian. Life without civic duty. It's the duty of each and every citizen to answer the call when it's given. The Principality needs all to answer, to defend her borders, and to fight for true independence away from the Earth Federation. The planet may be beautiful, but it doesn't have the right to govern us when they can't even see us." The answer seemed to roll off of the tongue, even as his posture stiffened, a small smirk crawling onto his face.
The enlistment officer looked at him again, then down at the papers. "Says here your cousin served with the Dauntless, one of the ships assigned to the Orbital Supply Fleet that was lost when the feddies attacked three days ago. I hope you're not doing this for some revenge scheme, son. Many pilots have died like that, and it's a fools errand." He chomped on a cigar as he spoke, smoke spewing from his mouth between words. Either he was trying to weed out anyone who didn't have the conviction to join up, or to see if there were any doubts in his mind, Markos couldn't really tell. It was getting on his nerves, though. Maybe part of the reason he was signing up was to avenge his cousin, but in reality, it was due to what Kris had always said.
Duty to ones Nation and ones Family was paramount, it defined what you could do as a citizen. To forgo that duty was to forgo citizenship. How could you really have any say in what might happen if you aren't willing to fight and die for that nation. Kris was the one that had handed Markos his first book by a philosopher, Plato's Republic. To think like that, to be willing to read books like that, was something that Markos could never repay Kris for.
And now Kris was dead, but had died fighting for a cause he believed in. A cause Markos himself believes in.
"No. This isn't a revenge plot. If that were the case, I'd just head on down to Earth, and join some terrorist organization. No, this is bigger than me, bigger than my cousin, bigger than everything. It's about a vision of Spacenoid independence from Earth-sphere influence. It's like how the former United States had wanted to seperate from the British Empire. At some point, you have to break away, and I'm willing to put my life on the line, just like Kris was. Now, are you going to keep wasting my time with questions, or are you going to let me get on that shuttle?"
The officer smiled, taking the cigar out of his mouth, and pressed it into an ashtray, pushing out one last plume of smoke from his lips, then standing. "Welcome to the Zeon Military, grunt. Get moving!"
Current Day
He keeps watching the video, idly feeling at the material of his normal suit. The road had been a long time getting here, going through basic training and the pilot academy. Meeting his former wingmates, and now, California Base, under orders from Garma Zabi. Where else would the road take him? Who else, like Sascha, would it bring along with him? It didn't really matter. A small smile, the same smile that he had when he first signed up, crawled onto his face.
"Sieg Zeon. For the Principality, and for my family."