Pirates

You give a bad name to all Grounded. You are more a disgrace than those who go to fight for Humans.

[[email protected]]

 

We only steal from the flightless. It's not our fault that the Stargazers do their best to restrict the trade of power crystals. If it was up to them only the flightless would have technology and us grounded would all be living in poverty.

It's because of pirates like us that Grounded villages have a steady supply of power crystals smuggled from Avos, you should be more grateful. What's wrong with stealing from an oppressive theocracy?

Skylancer

 

Stealing from bad or angry people with an already low tolerance hold, then going ahead and giving those items to people they already dislike. Sounds like you are painting a target on their back. Join the 25th century. Everyone else survives fine without Avian crystals.

-Nichebird.

 

I agree. While I love crystals, and I do not understand alien technology well, it is better to adapt than bring the fury of the Stargazers to our homes. Even without crystals we can preserve our culture. Thievery is still thievery.

[[email protected]]

 

Whoah. As long as you're fighting for something, it's worth fighting for. Good or bad, pally. As an Avian, and I'd consider myself Grounded to simplify things, who's apart of the USAF, I ain't fighting for the humans. I'm fighting to be a better person.
-Smokestack

 

You joined the human military, and then say you're not fighting for humans?

That's some impressive mental gymnastics.

-Skylancer

 

I am sure those Humans are out there, saving Grounded villages from Flightless fanatics and promoting our culture. I've seen you on the street. You wear Human clothes and speak Human words. You are hardly even Avian. But at least you are not a thief.

[[email protected]]

 

It matters not who joins us for what reasons. We are far from where we can advance human wants or needs. We are mainly here to serve, help, and protect.

-Frosty ((Britton))

 

You're speaking as if you know me. I was raised in an Ex penal colony among criminals after having been exiled with my parents from Avos. You do what you can to survive. Even now, as I try to reconnect with other Avians, it doesn't do any good persecuting or judging a bird by his clothing and words. Maybe I ain't Avian, but if being Avian means putting other Avians down, maybe it's alright.

They gave me a chance and gave me the resources I need to keep my own business alive. Maybe a United System is more than just a human thing. And at least they don't treat me like shit.

-Smokestack

 

Pirates will meet their judgement in the next life. With any luck, it shall not be a long wait.

Praise Kluex,
Ashenwing

 

hss nibbles not like stuped kloex avins. is go drown in pit ov stoopd jooce becuz ur stooped

-Nibbles

 

Florans, luckily enough, will not have to be suffered in the afterlife.

Praise Kluex,
Ashenwing

 

nibles not have suffer stupped burdmans either when is ded

-Nibbles

 

There are bad apples everywhere. Joining the human military is fine, but I have not seen you or your fellows do any major contributions to help make the sector a better place. If you had, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but I have not seen the marines do one single truly good thing so far, and far, far too many questionable things, including nearly crippling a fellow Grounded and needlessly endangering civilians.

Where the pluck were you and your avians when the Flightless showed up and started to corrall Grounded in Katune, huh?

-Glauen.

 

Can't hold us accountable when the person who runs Katune will not even allow us to carry a single pistol or knife in there.
We'd like to help, but first they have to let us.

Besides, Katune should probably work on its security. There's been a lot of mishaps happening recently and I haven't seen one properly armed guard. Are they even trained? Are they hired on word of mouth? They don't even have standard equipment or anything that differentiates them from another civilian. This raises major problems. Sure, the people who live there might know who the law is but those who have never been there before and visit, have no idea who's security and who is not. Someone could easily pose as a guard.

The point is: if you'd let us help you, we would. All that is needed is a simple: "Requesting assistance from US operatives, we need help."

-Veon

 

From what I was told you were the security force behind Katune first and foremost, and you decided to abandon it. Your people left a thriving colony to its own devices and without a proper security force; it goes against everything that I worked for when I used to be a Tower Guard; the entire point is to take up arms so others will not. Put our own lives on the line so civilians can live their lives as normally as possible. And you abandoned it to go to the Freezer and do nothing else.

What is the point, then? You claim to be marines to "serve, help and protect", but you have your hands tied when the sector needed it the most? Max forbidden you from carrying guns... why? It was clearly something -you- did, or a collection of all the questionable things you've done. There were several calls over the radio requesting help... but no. The group that is supposed to "serve, help and protect" cannot do anything at all when we needed their help the most. The one time you could have shown up and done something truly good, and you didn't.

And you wonder why the marines are not liked in the sector. You should leave them while you can, kin. Actually help your people who are in dire need at the moment.

-Glauen.

 

Believe it or not most of the security wasn't even ex-USAF personnel. Heck, I wasn't even security. Back then there weren't more than 3-4 people that belonged to the old detachment. Most of the security force was made up by ex-mercenaries, who have no relations to the United Systems.

Quitting a job to return to your roots because you're being pardoned of something others high up in the chain of command did to get you in trouble isn't 'abandoning' a thriving colony to fend for itself, specially when at least another 5-6 experienced members are still around. Max has very petty reasons to dislike the United Systems. Three members of the security force leaving does not warrant a campaign of propaganda that is meant to hurt our reputation. We've never presented a problem nor have we ever taken hostile action against Katune or any of its members. He now even allows the members of the Dionea tribe to threaten the populace at will and provides a safe haven for pirates. Just yesterday I got word from a friend that got robbed by florans, who then went to Katune where he wasn't able to even take his goods back at all because then HE would be held as criminal if he tried to retake them.

What kind of place is Katune turning into?

None of you have ANY sort of reliable proof other than just words to say that we're the bad guys around here.
And we don't just sit around doing nothing, we too go rescue people who send out distress calls. Ask Raml or Alex. Those are just some of the ones we rescue.

We go through gruelling training sessions that are put to use in many occasions. Just because you don't hear of our missions or what we do to protect the sector behind the scenes doesn't mean we haven't done anything. We're not out to become rich and famous. Why do you think me and so many other soldiers keep on getting scars? Do you think we start shooting each other and get ourselves in stupid trouble just because people think we're 'bloodthirsty'? Do you think we torture and beat up civilians and then we get ourselves mad drunk or something? Or that we just sit with our thumbs up our asses?

And you speak as if Grounded are being actively persecuted and executed. The other day I saw one of your friends stoned and the other one knitting up banners. I haven't even seen any Flightless threaten anyone. The only problems I've been hearing about are the ones coming from Katune, who won't accept our help. We're always ready to go, ready to serve and ready to act.

We ARE putting our lives on the line. We DO help, even if you don't know about it. We PROTECT. We keep our missions and movements secret in order to not spread panic among the civilians.

Smoke didn't get his arm chewed up by acid because he was dicking around in the laboratory.
I didn't get these burns because I set the kitchen on fire.
LC Mattulip didn't get those implants because she smoked herself sick.
Greg doesn't have reconstructed bone structure because he fell down a flight of stairs.
Corporal Solour didn't lose that eye because he was running around with scissors.

Many of us have scars and burdens we carry and steel ourselves for it so that others won't have to go through what we do.
We might not be there at all times when you need us, because we are not omnipresent.
We might not know of certain attacks or problems when they happen, because we are not omniscient.
We might not be able to stop every single murder, robbery or genocide, because we are not omnipotent.

But we very well do our damnedest to keep every single one of those from happening. Even if none of these clowns dare accept that.

-PFC Veon Summers

 

From what I heard the security was almost entirely ex-USAF. I may have been wrong, but I still couldn't find any more security after they left and Max was stuck scrambling for help.

You guys are doing things? That's great. Really, great. So good to hear you guys doing undercover operations that don't get out and don't let us know about. Hey, maybe you should tell us so WE KNOW AND START TO TRUST YOU PEOPLE. Because you know what I saw?

I saw USAF walk into my restaurant toting weapons and in full combat gear as if ready to enter a battlefield... to talk to Max.

I saw USAF answer a distress call and pick up a hylotl girl full of shrapnel, refuse to call a doctor and drag her away to her unsterile ship and hand an unknown third party (me) the medkit to apply first aid.

I saw USAF dash into my restaurant in a cluster of nine or so, toting weapons live and scaring customers to... drag away one creepy avian holding a blunt rock in his hand.

I heard the USAF attempted to sabotage weapons delivery of the Dionaea, fail, then lied about it to try to bluff them into not using said weapons.

I saw an USAF via camera feed beat up and kidnap my friend for trying to get him to come clean about lying to someone else. He got shot in the leg and spent twenty four hours in the freezer without medical aid and was nearly crippled for it.

I saw USAF sabotage and ambush me and my friend when we visited our friend's ship to see why he went missing, threathening to kill us both with his SMG.

I saw USAF act in an horrendously uncoordinated and unprofessional manner to aid me when I was threathened by a monster, and when they finally set out to look for it it was already long gone because of their lack of discipline.

When I went to visit the USAF not only are the officers who nearly crippled my friend are still employed, one of them yelled at me for imprisoning him (something that I never did) and verbally assaulted me, saying he could charge ME for verbal assault if he wanted to. If this were Avos they would have long since been tarred for it.

I saw the USAF members acting like spoiled children when out of duty.

And the ONE TIME they could have been useful, they weren't there.

Say what you will of your secret ops that no-one sees. In my eyes and in the eyes of the rest of Antares, you have caused far, FAR too much trouble and you STILL KEEP PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUAL LOOSE CANNONS WHO ACTUALLY WOUNDED GROUNDED IN YOUR RANKS.

Want to help the sector? PROVE TO US.

- Glauen