Phoenix Rise

[megarockman]

[i]The war was over. Twelve years of fighting had laid waste to the land. Twisted metal of tanks and planes scattered all around in streets and parks. The once majestic towers that were the center of the country, symbols of its political clout, its economic behemoth, its military might, were now crumbling facades of their former selves. Row after row of ruined houses, once home to mothers and fathers with two children, now abandoned to their fates. The bombed-out husks of industry that brought prosperity and destruction sitting as a reminder of what once was. The lone sound of wind whistling through man's folly, the scavengers of the air having long fled when the sirens of war first wailed through that night and have yet to return. The only activity that could be seen were those few civilians who had somehow survived and hadn't fled to the countryside, huddled around makeshift camps with fires burning whatever could be scavenged. All of them silent witness of the dogs of war.

The chaos was over, too - or at least that was what was proclaimed over the radio. The reality was more...varied. Even if this city used to hold 35 million people, just trying to maintain order in a small fraction of that with the forces we had under our command was going to be damn hard. And we still had to reconnect, rebuild, re-energize, restore, re-everything this land to what it once was. It was an insane goal - we all knew that. But we had to do it.

After all, we were at least partially responsible.[/i]

[megarockman]

[i]Not three hours after our broadcast and we've received a dozen or so offers from far away. The outside world had been quite busy while we were out of touch with it, to put it mildly. "Join us - we'll help you develop with aid!" "Pick us or you'll get attacked!" "Select us, we'll trade you the resources you need!" "We've got training programs designed to help you be ready for battle!" On and on and on - it's become so routine the messages play out like commercials, just going around broadcasting such-and-such alliance to get the name out. Just how far did the old world order break down for it to come to such mechanical advertising?

We hadn't responded to anyone offers of joining alliances yet, limiting ourselves to trade feelers among other small-timers like us. A world this large is going to be extraordinarily complex - it would be our doom to back the wrong horse. Besides, our people come first. We needed to help them out after what we did to them.

Whichever way that meant.[/i]

Edited July 27, 2010 by megarockman

[megarockman]

[i]I'm pretty sure she panicked.

Well, maybe it was just her. I mean, she took a chance on me. I don't know - I'm not really that social of a person.

But...these guys? Seriously, Mai? Why these guys? They're nowhere near the largest or the most powerful and they're...eccentric. Like we need any more weirdness in our lives now.

Well, maybe she knows something I don't. Wouldn't be the first time, I guess. At least the Director's chosen to trust her on this one. "Besides, we still have other options if the Brigade doesn't work out."

I suppose. I'll just have to trust her on this one - I still have a ruined city to secure.[/i]