v1: 11/21/22
Rigs: “Colonel Louise James, you are charged with sedition, leading an insurrection and starting a civil war. By your own count, you killed Commander Parker and let Kane escape. This court martial has been convened to determine the appropriate course of action against you and, by extension, all of your GDI rebels.
Your actions not only endangered the Sonic Tiberium Containment and Neutralization Program (STCNP), and the 15-year alliance with Kane, but your declaration of martial law has undermined the very foundations of our society and the global order we have built since the founding of the Global Defense Initiative on October 12, 1995.”
Louise, the damage you’ve done is incalculable.”
James: “Wes, it was Kane, don’t you see?”
Rigs: “No Louise, it was you. You shot and killed Commander Parker”
James: “I had no choice, Wes, he was the key to the portal, Kane said so himself.”
Rigs: “So, Louise, how are we meant to fix things now? As soon as the STCNP activated he was gone.”
James: *Sigh*, “I said this to you before, Wes, the truth is going to come out, you know it will.”
Rigs: “You think I care? Sins of our fathers, the STCNP would have remained in operation, if Bratson hadn’t found you and swayed you under nationalist sympathies.
Louise, call off your dogs, you tried to lead a coup, you failed, and now we must recommend your punishment to the Idris regents.”
James: “You know it’s not that simple, Wes, tell them the truth.”
Rigs: “You want answers?”
James: “I think you owe that to me and to all of us”
Rigs: “The Truth, the truth, YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
You think it’s easy? You weep for Bratson and the sacrifice he made, in shutting down the STCNP, all those innocent mutants and infected citizens; human power sources, dead on arrival. That is the sacrifice they made, for the good of humanity and for the good of the zone.
You curse the GDI council, who set this all up 15 years ago, but it was necessary. The STCNP? Necessary. Rounding up these contaminated individuals? Necessary. Alliance with Kane? Necessary. We make the hard choices so the general public doesn’t have to. Strength in efficiency, strength in efficiency, right?
I have a responsibility that is incalculable to you. I must do what’s best for the survival of humanity, regardless of the cost. We are the Global Defense Initiative.’
James: “More like the Blue Zone Defense Initiative”
Rigs: “If the blue is where humanity is, then it is what it is. You should understand, we are the sentinels on the wall. We are the shield in the darkness. We use words like ‘honor’, ‘code’ and ‘loyalty’. It’s all in the service of humanity. It’s what we are charged with. You think you can come out of nowhere and take the high ground? You think you can lead an insurrection and question everything we stood for since the beginning?
James: “This isn’t the GDI I know. This isn’t the GDI I fought for.”
Rigs: *Sigh*
“All of you rise and sleep under the blanket of freedom which we provide, and then you have the audacity to question the way we provide it? We do what’s necessary, so others don’t have to.”
James: “Questioning our government is the right of every citizen. We are meant to be a global constitutional republic.”
Rigs: “No, we are meant to be a global oligarchy. You think we trust governance to 18-year-old kids?”
*Bitter chuckle*
The gears of governance are more complicated than you can possibly imagine.”
James: “Elections in all zones are held every 4 years. If Rios knew what you guys did, she’d…
Rigs: She’d what? She’d do as we always do and prioritize the people in the blue. You think the poor sops in yellow zones can think and vote clearly? They are doing all they can do to survive, and if we keep them desperate, they will never ever thrive.
The interests of the blue have and will always be our top priority. Why do you think we released the ‘Twilight initiative?’ We don’t have the time or the patience to show what it’s like in the yellow zones. The affluent, educated are what matters. They have the spending power; they are able to change what matters in this world. They know what is good for the zone, and they don’t want to see the depressing truth of the damned yellow bellies.
Do you question and examine the work of the waste technician? Asking where and how, or do you just thank them for getting rid of the trash.”
James: “Wes?!”
Rigs: “This is a very tenuous political climate, and you have single handedly upset it, not just that, but rank and file GDI now must worry if their brothers in arms are secretly rebels. Your movement has torn apart families, friends, communities, and our once and glorious global hegemony.”
James: “Ideological differences have been around for a long time, Wes; you give me too much credit.”
Rigs: “Don’t act like you don’t know, Louise, ‘Make the Yellow Zones Great Again?’ we needed their support to operate the STCN, and what yall did broke that trust.”
James: “It’s not like they didn’t know already.”
Rigs: “Didn’t know what? That compared to the blue, they lived like 3rd world nations? Showing them the disparity, and the differences in classes didn’t help.”
James: “That was never my intention, Wes, all I wanted was to inform them. It’s our right to be informed in all aspects of our lives, so we can make the decisions we need to decide our destinies, and the paths of those we care for and about. We don’t need blue zone propaganda or fake news shoved down our throats. You give the yellow zone people too little credit.”
Rigs: “No, Louise, we need them ignorant. We need them to be obedient. You think a global order is easy to maintain? Most people would never understand or approve of the difficult decisions that we must make for the price of their freedom.”
James: “But they are not free, Wes, not truly. If Commander Parker was still here, he’d tell you.”
Riggs: “So, your defense is to call on the testimony of the officer you shot and killed? Interesting…”
James: “But isn’t it your, Rios’, and Kane’s fault for creating a culture and political climate in which dissension is not allowed? Where citizens are afraid to speak their mind, for fear of riot troops showing up at their door? Why must it all be a secret?”
Rigs: “You think governance is an external thing? That it happens in capitals and halls of power? That it happens in our disparate institutions? No no no, it happens in the mind. It happens in the homes of every citizen we must watch. It happens in every wall we build, every hospital we fund. Every school we control. Every law we pass. Every election we hold. Governance, like money, is a social construct. It requires faith in the system and faith in our elected officials. It requires trust of the highest level. You’ve single handedly somehow broke that trust. The will of the people for and by the people? Do you have any idea how dangerous and unpredictable that would really be?
James: “America was founded on the rights and liberty of the individual. We understood and fought for freedom, we used to be on a constant journey for that more perfect union. When GDI was founded, we used this once great nation as the backbone of our global order. At least, that’s what’s taught…”
Regent 1: “We’ve heard enough.”
Regent 2: “For your crimes, Colonel Louise James, you will be stripped of all rank, and you are banished to the yellow zones. Anyone who sympathizes with you will meet the same fate. If you or any of your followers return to any blue zone, you will be shot on sight.
For the good of the zone!”
*Gavel sound*
Regent 1: “Yes indeed, for the good of the zone.”
Exciting debate! Well written
I pinned this recently due to the political climate we are currently in.
I like how you call this political climate. I think we call it "you can't make your mind up, they don't know what they are doing".