From the World of White Wolf's Trinity

*FILE DUMP*
*Project: Recontact
*Lunar Orbit
*Sol System

Sylvia Halsey stepped up to the podium and looked over her audience as she gathered her thoughts. Hard-looking men and women returned her gaze, though beneath that tough exterior Halsey could see that they shared a fundamental pride and compassion. She expected as much from Legionnaires. Their psionic abilities geared them for battle, but the psychokinetic talent awakened them to a higher level of consciousness. These psions were more than soldiers - they were champions of humanity, and would defend their race to their last breath.

And it was Halsey's job to give the Legionnaires that opportunity.

She nodded sharply, both to regain focus and to greet the soldiers present and watching through holo-relays. A straightforward approach was always best when dealing with the Legions.

"Ni zao. Good morning," she said. "Welcome to Project: Recontact. I hope everyone slept well."

There was some scattered laughter, but Halsey saw a few postures shift with impatience. Time to get on with it. "I'm Sylvia Halsey, head of joint Aeon Trinity/UN operations. All of you know why we're here. In 2075, fifty thousand settlers set out to make a new start, a new beginning. They established the first of Earth's interstellar colonies -- the planet that you are about to jump to, Khantze Lu Ge.

"You already know about the Aberrants, their reign of cataclysmic destruction, and that it took the threat of Earth's own destruction by China's State Council in 2061 to make them step down. All of you are familiar with the last words of Divis Mal as he incinerated the UN SecretaryGeneral: 'Your legacy is our future."'

A few snarls and curses in the crowd. Halsey knew very well how the Legions liked to cram the Aberrants' "legacy" back down their mutated throats at every opportunity. "And we all know that in 2104 the fiends returned to assault humanity once again." More grim looks. Good. They needed to he ready for anything on this mission.

Halsey continued her pep talk. "But this is a new age, and the Aherrants' days are numbered. From the first moment they revealed their existence in the heroic defense of Sydney Spaceport in Australia, the psi orders have demonstrated that they have the power and the will to protect the human race."

She paused, smiling in spite of herself as a few loud "Hear! Hear!" and "Damn straight!"s cut through the air. "The orders' gifts to humanity have been enormous, ranging from the CUre Of deadly diseases to the teleportation of our kind across the galaxy and the exploration of new frontiers."

Quiet set in immediately as Halsey got to the heart of her speech. "In 2114, when we lost the Upeo teleporters and Our deep-space colonies were cut off, Khantze Lu Ge supported three million colonists. With the aid of the ,Eon Trinity, Orgotek, and the other orders, we have a new chariot to the stars: the Leviathan jump ships. It's time to see What's Out there. Remember, we have not been to this colony in five years. We don't know what to expect. But we owe it to Our people to make Sure that they get a new start, a new beginning. Their future is our future."

A final glance around the assemblage showed that Halsey had done her job. The Legionnaires sat a bit straighter, their features were just that much more resolute. And determination and hope shone brightly from their eyes.

"Xiao-xin," Halsey urged. "Be careful."

*Khantze Lu Ge Status
**Lunar Orbit
**Sol System

Jason Haldane called up the Aeon Trinity report on Khantze Lu Ge. It was presented like most Triton Division analyses: informal, but to the point. Link icons flickered across the text image, ready to superimpose a variety of material culled from numerous sources. AEon felt this cross-sourcee tagging helped provide the reader with a more comprehensive understanding of the Subject at hand. Haldane ignored the links, though, since he only needed the basics for the time being.

Alpha Centauri is a trinary star system, the report read, and home to Earth's first and nearest interplanetary colony. Founded in 2087 by a slower- than- tight -speed Chinese space ark that piggybacked the Lito Comet, the Khantze Lu Ge colony was established and named for the Chinese "castle in the sky."

Khantze Lu Ge is a dark, cool planet, orbiting a little less than one AU from its dim orange star. Not even the bright yellow Alpha Centauri A designated by the LuGeian natives as "Er" alleviates the colony's eternal twilight, and the even more distant Proxima Centauri never seems more than a small red moon. The planet's negligible tilt limits comfortable habitation and agriculture to the relatively temperate equatorial regions.

However, the colonists have built a large number of communities in the northern polar regions to service the massive hyper-fusion air regulators that forcibly evaporate the polar caps to thicken the atmosphere. Thermal collectors, artificially lit hydroponic gardens, light augmenting contact lenses and thermal clothing have all contributed to the growth of arcologies in northern areas, which perform important mining and maintenance duties. The KLG spaceport is found at the north-pole city of Kuan.

Khantze Lu Ge remained under complete Chinese control until 2106, when the Upeo teleporters began to deliver additional colonists. The native LuGeians accepted these newcomers only grudgingly. Still, with the addition of new technologies brought from Earth, the colony quickly grew in self-sufficiency and population.

The loss of the teleporters ensured that only a conventional attempt at recontact could provide any information about the lost colony. In 2116, the Chinese initiated a communication operation using a terawatt laser array to propel a new ship to Alpha Centauri. Sporadic telepathic efforts indicated that the colony sent a similar slow ship to Earth. Still, it would take several years for either ship to arrive at its destination across the nearly impenetrable void.

Technically, KLG is still a Chinese colony. It is ruled by the Ministry of Orbital China, and indeed is the sole headquarters of the Office of Interstellar Affairs. KLG's government is a strict socialist bureaucracy similar in makeup to that of the homeland. The top government official is the Chairman of the Officer of Interstellar Affairs, a position currently held by Chairwoman Jiang. She has been working toward some sort of agreement with colonists of Western descent, possibly involving Khantze Lu Ge declaring independence from China, or at least forming an independent district around NeuBerlin.

From what he understood of the situation, Haldane figured that this would be the main obstacle the mission faced. He would later come to wish fervently that he'd been right.

*Arrival
** Khantze Lu Ge
**Alpha Centauri System

Svaha's emergency klaxons flared before the noetic waves of its emergence from sub-space had subsided. Communications personnel scrambled to position, still somewhat disoriented from the teleportation effect. Within moments, the cause of the alert was discovered: an automated beacon containing dire news.

"Sir!" one of the comm operators called out to Jason Haldane the instant the taisa came onto the bridge. "We have reports that Khantze Lit Ge is under Aberrant invasion!"

Haldane swore, junior officers marveling at the variety and intricacy of his phrasing. "Go to alert status and assume a one-million klick Orbit around the planet. What details do we have, Moselli?"

"Not Much of anything, Sir," comm replied. "The beacon is just a general warning that KLG was invaded, and that resistance is continuing. Initial scans don't show anything out of the ordinary in space, SO I would guess that any conflict is on the planet's surface."

"I don't like guesses." A inoinent's thought and Haldane barked orders. "Get Zheng He underway with full fighter cover. Initiate close orbital Survey. And if anybody sees anything the slightest bit hinkey, scream bloody murder. We don't have any backup, so let's not act stupid."

Activity On Svaha's bridge reached an even higher pitch. Haldane, by contrast, dropped heavily in the captain's chair and let out a heartfelt sigh. "Great. Aberrants overrunning the planet. I just hope there's a planet left to save.

*Planeffall
**Khantze Lu Ge
**Alpha Centauri System

Li ChUng-Liang, Special Director to the Office of Interstellar Security, was not surprised when the classical program stopped in midbroadcast. The official announcement was right on schedule.

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special bulletin from the Office of Public Information," A knowledgeable, reassuring voice said. Li recognized it as Wu Han's, put through a broadcast filter to give it that comforting gravity necessary for such declarations.

"In 2075," the announcement continued, "fifty thousand settlers all sought the same thing: a chance to begin again.

"They packed up their families, everything they owned and went to find Khantze Lu Ge, the first of Earth's interstellar colonies. After a 12-year journey, they set to work creating a new life on a new world - for themselves; one where people could live in peace, tame a new environment and learn about the universe. They built homes and hydroponics farms, and mined the planet's resources."

A fan of history, Li was well familiar with the colony's -- his home's -- past. Those brief words didn't come close to conveying the hardships and triumphs that the first brave settlers experienced. Pride filled Li, reflections on history turning his focus from the current announcement.

"After the Upeo Order revealed its existence in 2106, ships arrived from Earth regularly, transported by people able to teleport through the vastness of space. The ships brought supplies, news about friends and families, and dark tales of Aberrants who attacked Earth. Thankfully, Khantze Lu Ge was safe from the hideous beings.

"Then, one day, the ships simply stopped coming.

"Those of us at the colony were merely nervous at first, but after three long months with no new arrivals, tension grew into fear, and finally panic. We LuGeians were alone. We had to fend for ourselves. We put aside Our fear and continued Our lives. After all, we had swelled to a population of three million. What we could not make, we did without."

Li remembered that time well. He was ashamed to recall that the panic gripped him as well those few short years ago. Ironic, of course, since the colony had been isolated for years before the psions ever came on the scene. Becoming so once again was truly a minor concern, especially in light of what came after.

As if on cue, Wit's altered voice proclaimed, "Then it happened: the Aberrants discovered our home. They swept in and destroyed our very first settlement, Kuan, which had grown up around the colony's spaceport and air manufacturing stations. Thousands of women, children and the elderly were enslaved or killed. Those who could fight were pitted against their own people."

Li's reverie shifted to much darker thoughts. He'd seen many of these atrocities first- hand, the Aberrants thundering in with no care for the devastation they caused. Li knew that they weren't the violently mindless brutes that Aeon Trinity propaganda often made them out to be. The creatures were all too intelligent, in fact. This made them even more frightening, since Aberrant cleverness was combined with a total lack of mercy or compassion.

"The Aberrants then stood poised to launch offensives against every settlement on the planet," Wu Han continued, building to the climax of this propaganda piece. "We were defenseless against the horde. That's when we first heard it: the unmistakable whine of an Earth dropship, the Seventh Legion insignia emblazoned on its hull.

"Salvation has arrived!"

Li was stirred in spite of himself. He was loyal to Khantze Lu Ge first and Mother China a distant second. Still, Wu's words gave Li hope and inspiration. With forces from Earth, the LuGeians had a chance to drive off the Aberrants. That was the point of this broadcast, after all. To stir the populace - and hopefully strike fear into any Aberrants listening - with the thought of retribution. Of vengeance.

"Behind me is the renowned Phoenix Squadron," Wu continued, "deploying from a newly arrived dropship transport. Taisa Jason Haldane, commander of the Seventh Legion frigate Morant, assures me that the Seventh Legion is here in force, and that it is supported by the Federated States of America, the European Community and the Chinese military.

Here's the heart of it, Li thought. If this doesn't get the LuGeians ready to fight, nothing will.

"Taisa Haldane, have you engaged the Aberrants?"

"Absolutely!" The strong, molasses voice of the Legions commander rang out, arresting with natural authority. "This is the first large Aberrant colony we've found. If we eliminate them now, we will be able to contain the threat as a whole. They attacked our jump ship, Svaha, earlier today. My guess is that they wanted to take a look at what we had. Several dozen of the mutants flew at us through space - without suits! We scrambled the fighters immediately and not one of the bastards got within 300 kilometers of the ship. The frigate Lao Tzu sustained light damage from some type of energy beam, but one of Morant's fusion warheads sent a pack of the things straight to Hell."

Li grinned at the Australian's speech. Such blunt word choices might offend some LuGeians, but Li thought it was just what the planet needed at the moment. Human cultural differences were nothing in light of the menace Khantze Lu Ge faced currently.

Taisa Haldane's voice carried a similar conviction as he barked, "We are here and we mean to stay!"

*Invasion

<**Khantze Lu Ge
*Alpha Centauri System

Rosabel Stansfield found fellow Prot'eus agent Zhao Feng's encrypted log hidden in a database of hundreds of entertainment holosims. Stansfield learned almost immediately after arrival on KLG that Zhao had been missing for some time. Stansfield presumed the worst, and scrolling through Zhao Feng's log entries, she saw she was right.

Entry 3.4.2118

Very few psions were here when the Aberrants invaded. When the colony lost contact with Earth, the Ministry of Psionic Affairs was left with a small office in the capital, Veng-lai. A single squad of Legionnaires and a handful of Orgotek technicians were unable to return home. No known ISRA or Norca representatives were present when the Upeo vanished, but the NeuBerlin medic luckily retained a husband-and-wife team of Aesculapians. A few Trinity agents were also stranded, mostly just neutrals staffing the +-on colonial embassy.

Last month, technical investigators rushed to examine the site of what appeared to be a major collapse of the polar mines. Desperate calls for help alerted the rest of the colony to the fact that Aberrants had found the world and apparently taken up residence in the glacial cave system in sector N-B. A heroic rescue mission was staged by the remaining Phoenix Squadron soldiers, and their sacrifice allowed a hundred refugees to escape.

The bodies of the Legionnaires were never discovered, but rumors abound among the lucky survivors of that first assault. Some say the Legionnaires managed to free themselves only to freeze to death in the tunnels. Others suggest that the Aberrants ate them. Perhaps the most reliable eyewitness account indicated that the Legionnaires escaped through one of the Aberrant warps. What becomes of a human after passing through a warp is unknown, though I don't hold out for their survival.

Entry 7.25.2118

Over the past six months, the Aberrants focused on seizing mining facilities and polar arcologies. Atrocities and deaths mounted as they dominated station after station. Then they struck the spaceport near the polar settlement Kuan. Realizing that the Aberrants would have unquestioned field superiority if they managed to control the remaining hybrid craft, Orgotek technicians staged a brave last stand while they sabotaged every aircraft and hybrid left. The raiding Aberrants were enraged; the only electrokinetic to survive was Li Chung-Liang, who escaped in a damaged Mantis Cargo Lifter. Moments later, the spaceport fusion generator detonated, killing seven Aberrants -- more than in any other single action to date.

The newly returned Li was barely able to push his way through the cheering crowd of European immigrants and Chinese natives as he tried to report to the Office of Interstellar Security. Li left a half-hour later to stand stunned while Chairwoman Jiang declared him Special Director of the office. It proved a wise move, I think. Without Li's leadership, and the joint respect he draws from eastern and western resistance fighters alike, the colony would have fallen to the Aberrants a long time ago. As a talented photokinetic specialist, the Special Director leads troops in a guerrilla war of smoke and mirrors. He has apparently grown exceedingly grim over the months, however.

One further dangerous development is the discovery of an Aberrant cult called the Legions of Mal. When or how these human traitors came to Khantze Lu Ge is unknown, but it will take some time for the Ministry of Psionic Affairs to find them all. They could cause untold damage. Apparently, they believe Divis Mal wilt return, and when he does they will take their rightful place at his side as ruters of Earth. But first the cultists seem set upon demonstrating their worthiness by winning Lu Ge for the Aberrants. Cult members have a secret base of operations, and have infiltrated LuGeian society. They are determined to incite radicals among North American and European colonists against reactionaries among Chinese settlers. There have been problems with nationalist and racist rivalries for over a decade, and this is just the sort of spark that could start a fire. I am initiating a Proteus infiltration here, but we are short of resources. There's no other choice, though. We need somebody to put a stop to this fast.

Entry 10.8.2118

Things are very bad. About two months ago the polar city of Kuan and all of the planet's air manufacturing stations fell to Aberrants. They have destroyed the spaceport, too. I pray that Aeon will find us somehow, and that the return expeditionary vessel we launched two years ago, Homeward Bound, still functions. It has been four years since our last direct contact with Earth.

The fact that today is exactly nine years after the last public appearance of Chitra Bhanu proxy Bhurano made me think to check some of the files on the Bhanu raids that the orders' conducted that year. It is apparent to me that the Aberrant leader Kali is frighteningly similar to case #SVSM-1378. Chitra Bhanu researchers apparently rescued an Aberrant woman from enforced slavery in the Bengali district of India.

She was being held, due to an apparent similarity to the goddess Kali, chained to a dais, in lotus position. Seized files showed that she required months of physical therapy before she could use her atrophied leg muscles again. She was apparently freed inadvertently during a raid on the Bhanu facility in which she was kept.

Her subsequent whereabouts could not be ascertained. It is, of course, this blatant harboring and aiding of Aberrants that finally brought about the doom of the Chitra Bhanu.

According to Kuan refugees, the Aberrant leader Kati is female and supposedly of Indian extraction. If this Aberrant is the same one from the Bharm case study, she has clearly changed as her taint has advanced. She is larger, possibly a little over two meters in height, midnight black, possessed of talons, large tusk-like fangs, and four well-muscled fully functional arms.

She seems to have retained some degree of physical beauty, however, as individuals often recount being struck by her appearance in a not entirety unpleasant fashion. Gruesomely, she seems to have indulged in the taking of trophies, and is known to wear several severed hands on her person. Kali has been observed utilizing the warp ability, and thus it is possible that she has traveled here from Earth. She is attended by a hundred or more Aberrants.

Entry 1.31.2119

Some sort of rift seems to be developing between the Aberrants. Kali's lieutenant, a creature known as Yog-Death, has declared that it is the "One Who Has Returned", and that Kali is nothing but an impostor posing as a god. Reports from the polar region indicate that bloody infighting is underway.

Entry 2.8.2119

We are doomed. Mafaa-3 laser messages have finally made the 4.3-light-year journey from Earthspace to us.

It appears that on 9.19.2114, the Upeo wa Macho all disappeared simultaneously with the destruction of the space station Esperanza. That explains why we lost contact with home. They have promised to continue to send us information and to mount a supply mission, which certainly must have been done by now. But that still means that any more news will be four years outdated, and a rescue mission may be 10 years away.

I begin to suspect that the Ministry representatives here have known this for some time and have chosen to keep it quiet. Apparently, they have managed to engage in sporadic telepathic communication with Earth. I must discover what else they are hiding.

*Fears
**Alpha Centauri System
**Khantze Lu Ge

Lian Yih keyed her agent into electronic life. The program flickered silently into being, the miniature sensei icon bowing respectfully to indicate its readiness.

"Record for text file conversion."

"Recording," the Computer agent replied.

"Lian Yih, Ministry of Psionic Affairs, official report on conditions of Khantze Lu Ge colony." Lian paused to sip her coffee, a Western affectation she'd picked up in spite of herself.

"I am most sad to report that the situation on this world is not at all as we expected or hoped.

A little less than two years ago, Khantze Lu Ge was invaded by a large group of Aberrants. Fortunately, they hold only the northern polar city of Kuan; the rest of the world is still independent, if embattled."

Lian scrolled down notes on a datapad as she continued. "When the Leviathan Svaha emerged from jump, we were greeted by an automated beacon warning of the invasion. The ship went on immediate alert status. Close orbital survey revealed moderate damage in and around Kuan. Sensor readings indicated extensive Aberrant activity all around the north polar region. Scans of several other cities, aided by remote viewing by several ISRA operatives, confirmed that the cities of Veng-lai, NeuBerlin and Lu Yen were free of any visible Aberrant presence. We initiated tight-beam radio broadcasts to Veng-lai. Upon receiving a response on standard emergency frequencies, the fleet moved to a lower altitude and I supplemented our conversation with telepathic communication."

Another sip of coffee. Lian took advantage of the pause to regain control of her emotions. Many people were afraid of Aberrants, but Lian felt an almost pathological fear of the creatures. The Ministry agent knew that she would be taken out of field service if this problem became apparent to her superiors. Luckily, Lian's telepathic abilities were sufficient to suppress the most debilitating aspects of her phobia. It hadn't affected her work yet, and Lian felt confident that she could keep it under control.

"According to unsubstantiated reports, the Aberrants first arrived near the north pole and assembled their forces in glacial caves." Another look at the dpad. "They took over Kuan in a surprise attack shortly thereafter. Reports from refugees and resistance fighters indicate that the settlement's population has been enslaved in a manner similar to the occupation of Olympus by the Space Brigade, although this is a less benevolent group.

"Since that attack, there has been an ongoing battle between Aberrant and human forces on this once-peaceful world. The invaders seem to be engaged in a campaign of slow and gradual conquests. Other small settlements near Kuan fell within six months of the initial invasion. Kuan radio stations have been broadcasting pro-Aberrant propaganda -" Lian shuddered even over her psionic emotional suppression "- over the entire planet, and frequent raids have been staged on military sites in other cities, presumably to weaken targets. The Aberrants here seem quite insane, but are far from stupid."

Lian smiled humorlessly. "I suspect they believed they had as much time as needed to defeat the colonists and decided to proceed slowly with their conquest, to minimize the effectiveness of resistance forces."

She required a couple gulps of coffee to make it through the next part. "The Aberrants also seem to have spent a great deal of time ensuring that humans in captured regions are put to work. Kuan and other captured towns are patrolled by Aberrants and their human allies. Attempts to escape are punished severely and the populace lives in constant fear.

Apparently, the only way to lead a safe and moderately comfortable existence is to cooperate fully with the Aberrants, obeying their insane whims without question and turning fellow humans in for 'crimes' against the Aberrant regime. Reports from a few refugees indicate that Kuan is a totalitarian state run by monstrous madmen."

Lian hit the pause key and waited for her quickened breathing to subside. The mere thought of being dominated by Aberrants cast a sheet of panic over the Ministry agent. Much as she felt for his fellow humans currently under Aberrant subjugation, Lian was ashamed to feel relief that she was not among their number.

Push that aside, Lian told herself. Focus on the information. Mother China had to know the status of her far-flung colony. Lian cleared her throat and toggled the pause key again.

"The liberated regions of the world have put up a valiant fight, but have only been able to slow the conquest, not stop it. They claim several dozen Aberrant kills, but more than 6,000 humans are known to have died in the fighting." That many innocent people dead, victims of madness and hate. Lian simply didn't understand it. "If we had not returned, the conclusion of this war would have been inevitable. Our arrival offers the colonists hope, but we must act rapidly, with success and with vision if we are to keep these peoples' trust.

"Khantze Lu Ge might have even fallen to the Aberrants already if not for an unexplained phenomenon: a rift formed between two Aberrant camps approximately one year ago. The sides have been fighting each other as well as the colonists ever since.

Aberrant propaganda has even originated from two separate sources, each broadcasting appeals to humans to join one faction over the other. Refugees report that at the beginning of the struggle, the two camps split Kuan in half and constructed a large dividing chasm across the middle of the city by warping away thousands of tons of rock and arcology walls."

It was staggering to consider the power such an endeavor required. Even armed with advanced technology and psionic abilities, Lian couldn't see how humanity would be able to ward off the Aberrants. Her only hope was that the beasts would slaughter one another and save humanity the trouble. Unfortunately, Lian knew that likelihood was slim indeed.

"The dispute seems to be a power struggle," Lian noted, "between the invaders' original leader, known as Kali, and a rival who calls itself Yog-Death."

Lian glanced at the notes at the end of her dpad, and felt nothing but dread. "The progress of Aberrant conquests has slowed dramatically since the feud broke out. However, it seems reasonable to assume that the factions will unite now that they have a greater common enemy us.

*Yog-Death
**Khantze Lu Ge Orbit
**Alpha Centauri System

Jason Haldane popped the data disk in his minicomp and snapped his fingers. The computer started playing the broadcast recording that a frantic ensign had rushed up to Morant's commander just a few moments ago.

"That's right," said a strangely resonant voice over a background of static, "this is Kuan Kali Kommunique - old K3 - your cloud castle in the sky, coming to you live from our studios on the north pole of I Can't Say Lou Gay."

Great. Another uppity Aberrant. Haldane wondered if obnoxious attitude went hand-inhand with the madness that possessed the creatures.

"Yog-Death - what kind of name is that?" K3 continued in his - her? its? - breezy, self- satisfied manner. "Skull-faced, but corpulent. I mean this guy was just a washed-out actor in Bollywood. What, a couple of vids in Bombay and you're a god now? What sort of idiots does he think we are?" Haldane had his own thoughts on that, but didn't waste breath responding to the recording.

"Give me a break, the Aberrant radio jockey continued. "Only reason Yog-Death got those tentacles is because he couldn't hack it as her lover, so Kali cut off his arms and legs. Screamed like a baby, I hear. But he sure got better at his job, yeh?"

Interesting. Haldane opened a new file and commented, "Note to self: have Triton contacts check these rumors for accuracy. The more we know of the Aberrant leaders' actual abilities and limits, the better we can plan retaliation."

K3 rambled on in the meantime, simultaneously talking up and tearing down YogDeath. "You seen his later work? Yeh, lots of talent; finding people and doing all that to them. From what I hear he's still doing that stuff, and they all look as close to Kali as he can find. Guess a god's gotta work, yeh? Please! When you holocritics are finished following your vid idol, come follow a real god. Yeh, come on down to your local denomination of the Temple."

Unless this K3 was a talented voice actor, the petty spite and dripping sarcasm coming from him helped reinforce that the Aberrants were most certainly in conflict with one another. Haldane made another note: "See about setting up our own 'Aberrant propaganda' announcements. A few well-placed transmissions could get the bastards going at each others' throats even more viciously."

"All right, enough talk," the Aberrant spouted glibly (Haldane couldn't agree more). "Here it is, just what you requested, a little Shiva Bang, 'My Goddess, She Rules My World."'

The commander clicked off the recording before the song started. Listening to a frothing sycophant was bad enough. Haldane had no interest in subjecting himself to Aberrant- inspired Bang music.

*Sacrifice
**Khantze Lu Ge
**Alpha Centauri System

Lian Yih stared at her minicomp for a good 30 minutes before she found the resolve to make her report. Finally, after another sip of her everpresent coffee, Lian set her course.

"Record for text file conversion," she said evenly. The sensei acknowledged the request.

I, Lian Yih, Ministry of Psionic Affairs, official recommendation on response to Aberrant invasion of Khantze Lu Ge colony."

She found that she could not simply say the words. Instead, Lian began talking about what she had seen of the new world. "I have just completed a patrol of Veng-lai," Lian observed, almost to herself. "This is a harsh world. The air is thin and cold. The light is dim. There is little water and the small seas are full of dangerous mineral salts and toxic microbes. Even the gravity, only slightly greater than Earth's, is uncomfortable.

"Yet my people have settled here. Veng- lai alone is home to 350,000. Shops sell everything from pastries to children's toys. They held a parade for us in the main square, with fireworks and banners. I would not choose to live here, but I am proud of those who do. We must deal with the Aberrant menace and allow these people to make a home again."

There was no looking away. Lian could talk for days about this place that had become home to many, but it would not change the future. It was up to her to take that step. "It is therefore with a heavy heart," she continued, "that I make my recommendation. The only advantage we have over the Aberrants is their current internal strife. If they unite, Khantze Lu Ge is doomed. Even our presence merely offers LuGeians a fighting chance. The Aberrant War proved that we cannot win by conventional means when the enemy is numerous and concentrated. We cannot afford such a war here, even with all of Earth's support.

"However, a jump ship loaded with fusion warheads could end this war. If we strike now, without warning, we will destroy the largest colony of Aberrants in known space. It would mean the sacrifice of fallen cities and their surviving humans, but for humanity's greater good."

Lian fought the trembling in her hand -- a result of her continued emotional suppression as she manually toggled off the recording.

It is done, Lian thought. It gave her no comfort.

*Hope
**Khantze Lu Ge
**Alpha Centauri Systent

Jason Haldane glared at the holoscreen. He wanted to slap that sniveling bastard Lian to within a centimeter of her life. But that would mean letting the coward know that Haldane was more than just a Legionnaire, that he was also a Proteus associate. That would mean revealing to China that he'd had a Ministry agent's secure datapod file hacked.

Haldane knew that China and the Trinity weren't on the best of terms currently, and the Legions had been doing a fine job of neutrality lately. The important thing was fighting Aberrants, not indulging in power plays. Unfortunately, Haldane ended tip joining in these reindeer games since it meant the Legions weren't the only ones out there taking the fight to the nasties. So it was time to play the political game.

Still scowling, Haldane clicked his tongue and talked as the minicomp started recording.

"Secure file," he said. "Refer to copy of Ministry agent Lian Yih's report. I admit that it's bad, but not as bad as it could be. The damn things are here and this is the largest, Most self-sufficient colony we have. I hope this is the only one they've found.

"While I can corroborate the facts in agent Lian's reports, I strongly disagree with her recommendation. There are over 400,000 humans in Aberrant-occupied territory. Fusion-bombing the region would be the single largest mass Murder enacted by humans this century. Sure, it Would solve the Aberrant problem, but so would blowing tip the whole bloody planet! There are people from Australia, the EC and the FSA here - our people. Any decisions on this front can't be left to the Chinese alone.

The desktop felt warm to the touch, a side effect of Haldane's psychokinesis triggering off his emotions. The taisa fought to get his temper under control. "The Aberrants here are mad and wrapped up in some kind of power struggle. Let's hit them fast and hard with as many troops as we can. I think we can kill most of them and drive off the rest. Three of our frigates - Zheng He, Morant, and Quebec - should stay behind to keep a lid on things while the frigate Lao Tzu returns with Svaha.

"Regardless of the plan you folks decide on, it's imperative that every free jump ship be sent here as soon as possible, with as much hardware and as many troops as we can commit. If we give them too much time, they'll forget their differences -- or they might decide that they'll lose and torch as many cities as they can before we strike.

"I've discussed various options with my staff. Yih's plan is too horrific, and we simply cannot evacuate millions of civilians in the presence of an active Aberrant threat. Our only option is to attack these monsters until they flee or die. Unlike the previous war, we have better tech and psions. A Legion or Orgotek trooper in a hioVARG is a match for a rank-and-file Aberrant. It won't be easy and it won't he cheap, but we can win this war without losing Our souls. Send reinforcements as soon as you can. I'll keep things together until then."

Damn straight I will, Haldane thought. What other choice do I have?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

White Wolf put this together in a matter of days as a special favor to us. Each section is written in a different voice, and portrays the different writing styles of the White Wolf team. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks Greg and crew.