These massive breaks are becoming troublesome to me. I can't say what the problem is other than emotional toll of various things. Also family related stuff, just wanting to work on other projects, distractions in other things. It's all very annoying and I'm not happy with how long this stuff is taking. I'm hoping to correct that.
As for Chapter 24, best to get started now.
A lot of this is set up, mostly to get the pieces in the position on wanted them for what is leading into the end of this arc. I also wanted to further explore the issues between the UNSC and the civilians they're sworn to protect. In this case, both sides are right, but both are wrong. There is no easy answer to this discussion.
The UNSC is a military organization, it is not primarily designed to consider civilian needs. They took power during the crisis of the Covenant's invasion, but non-military functions of government proceed forward regardless. Social programs, commerce, taxes, industry, they all move on whether or not we're at war with anything. The issue the UNSC faces is managing various colonies in the middle of a war, and sadly they aren't exactly built for that. There method of managing is basically deciding which outer colony is more strategically viable, which they can afford to lose. And while that's a callous attitude to any outsider, for the UNSC it's the only practical solution. They cannot defend every planet, some will have to be sacrificed. Otherwise, it's some other world that will pay the price.
But Maisey and her colonists are right as well. They are directly affected by these decisions and it's of little comfort to them when someone from the UNSC can only shrug and say "Sorry, we try our best." Because knowing they tried doesn't bring back their families, homes or lives. Worse off is when you feel the UNSC has done you direct harm and now they're punishing you for taking matters into your own hands. If the UNSC's best method of "protecting" them is to say "you're on your own", is that surprising when the Colonists respond with an act of violent desperation?
Haverson isn't wrong in saying Maisey's people have to own up to what they did, but in the given circumstances, is it really that important to pursue this? In Haverson's mind, if he doesn't someone else will and they will not be as sympathetic. Maisey herself is unwilling to let her anger go, because all that matters to her is that when she sees Haverson she just sees another stooge of the UNSC here to harm her family. And while she can be reasonable, as can Haverson, they both have chips in their shoulders they're unwilling to forgo.
I think primarily the issue with Haverson and Maisey is a fundamental lack of perspective. Haverson is big picture, the galactic war, humanity's extinction, how everything is going to die if they don't make the hard choices in this fight. He doesn't like doing them, but he feels they need to. It's the only way they're going to save anyone. Could you make the same drastic, dire decisions Haverson and others have to make?
Maisey is little picture, the smaller details, the stuff that gets missed when you don't pay attention to it as much. The people who have to deal with the results of decisions made for them, the colonies who aren't lucky enough to be protected because they're not rich enough or valuable enough. She doesn't see the war in its entire scope, she sees it from the ground. From the perspective of how the regular civie, without fancy guns or the training to protect themselves the same way a Marine can, has to survive on their own. No help was coming, no one was going to ride in and save them, would you do nothing and let the end come? Or would you fight to protect everything you love?
Haverson has looked at the bigger picture so long he's forgotten about the little people within it. Maisey can only see those little people and not the full scope of the threat. Both are missing key details in order to make informed reactions to the other and it's driving them in very conflicting directions.
Shepard, being a soldier in the field, knows both sides better than most. He's had to make calls based on those very same questions, morality versus what is practical. Safe vs risky. He let the Rachni go because he was willing to take the risk rather than destroy an entire species. He killed the Heretic Geth because he felt it was more practical and made more sense. He saved the Council because it was the right thing to do. He burned that ranting Weylock Krogan because he wasn't going to let a chance to take down an enemy slip by.
So he understands both worlds, he knows both Haverson and Maisey have good reasons for feeling the way they do and has done what they have done. He is trying his best to get them to come together, but it's harder than it looks because these are deep seated problematic things that make it harder for either side to accept the other. This is something that is a bit beyond Shepard at this point to fix in a few talks, despite his diplomatic abilities.
It's gonna take something a lot more drastic to resolve these problems... or maybe an attack on the colony can do that.
You might have noticed I brought Boz into the middle of things. Mainly because we haven't seen him in a while. I feel bad about him not showing up and wanted to remind folks he still exists, he's still doing his thing and this allows him to get into a position to be in the middle of the action. I enjoy Boz, he's a fun guy to write. He's still as much of a scoundrel as any other kig-yar, he's just slightly less of a dick. He's not very hateful, I don't see him being capable of that. I don't even think he hates Juk, the conspiracy drug addict who keeps calling into his show. He's more concerned for him than anything.
Varvok's sympathies for this little farming community of humans is growing. More than I think he'd have imagined. So much so he's going out of his way to try and be a voice for them. It's probably more than he feels pursuing any investigation over what happened is pointless. They're here for the relic, let's just get it and go. Everything else is a distraction, but that indifference is somewhat leading him to side with the colonists regardless and he clearly has an element of admiration for them. This is again a part of his growing development and leading to some big changes in his mindset come the end of this storyline.
And I had to add in some more stuff with Samara and Kowalski, if only to get the perspectives of other people outside the main conflict. And to keep the pressure on Zek because I can't just let him get off scott free concerning this whole sugar thing. That is going to continue to be a problem.
Little happened on the Brain Team front, save for Rowan getting more backstory. I don't write nearly enough characters that remind me of myself. But Rowan is close, very close. I'm not nearly as smart as her, or as technically adept, but I recognize her foibles. I suppose I put a few of those in... and I might have been a little inspired by a certain reboot of a character on a certain tv show on Netflix, I'll admit that much.
We also got to see more of what actually happened ten years ago when the freighter got captured. That was a big reveal to be sure. So yes, Maisey was telling the truth, but not everyone was as against her people as it seems. Not that it mattered, they still ended up falling in line with their captain and didn't mutiny against him when the chips were down. So they're justified to a degree in their resentment. But clearly something is going on that they didn't expect. Someone planned for them to come here, to these exact coordinates. And that is disconcerting to say the least.
However, revelation on that will have to wait until we resolve Lurz's little raid here and the Spartans taking down those Sentinels several miles away. This is not a good situation for anyone, will they get out of this alive? Here's hoping, we still got a couple more chapters to go before this story wraps.
Well, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll get a better output for this year and be done this story at last. Here's hoping, to 2020 everyone!
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