[b] Director's Office, Vesta [/b]
Director Sebastian Thule rubbed his brow as he forced himself through the last of the day's reports. A Martian national was murdered on Pallas and the powers that be on Mars were furious about it. [i] Well let them be [/i] Thule thought. [i] Maybe they will learn that their kind aren't welcome within the Belt.[/i] He flagged the rage-fueled communique for his diplomatic minister and moved onto the next set of bad news. 

The Foreign Minister of the Belt State had chewed his ear off earlier in the day about how the Belt State would not tolerate the "young upstart" selling off military hardware to terrorist organizations with anti-Belt State agendas. They were currently threatening sanctions against Vesta unless the sale of arms stopped. Thule smiled [i] And yet when we apprehend forces using (inferior) Belt State tech in our territories, you are incredibly quick to cry theft or happenstance. [/i] He opened his personal terminal and composed a short message for his Finance Minister. "[b]Vitali, it has come to my attention that we may be selling arms to groups who are not fans of Belt State policies. Unless I am mistaken these people are known as Vesta Fleet Command. Disregarding these poor attempts at rattling our sabers by the Oligarchs on Ceres, please inform the office of Naval Resources to find buyers for the Kallus Class ships that have been retired or they will be sent to the breaking yards. [/b] 

[s] [/s]
[b] Nameless Resource Asteroid, Vesta Space [/b]
SN-42 was alive. This epiphany came to him as he sat in his pod in the belly of the battlecruiser [i]Bellatrix.[/i] SN-42 wasn't quite sure whether it was a reassuring thought or not, he hadn't quite grasped the concept of assurance, but he knew now that he was alive. His brethren didn't know they were alive, but SN-42 was an older War Golem, he had been fighting for well over a year for the Belter Ideal. At least that ideal was clear in his mind, the software that made up the other half of his mind made sure of that. He continued to ponder exactly what it meant to be alive while he waited for his time to fight. To go into battle for a just cause filled SN-42 with...assurance perhaps. He and his brethren had the mission brief downloaded into their minds as the [i]Bellatrix[/i] approached the asteroid, the asteroid was being used as a hive for smugglers, terrorists, and other criminals whose actions threatened the lives of Vesta citizens and in SN-42's mind that was unacceptable . 

Intelligence said that the current users of this base had a nuclear device in their possession and had to be exterminated. For now though, SN-42 would stay in his pod with the other War Golems, they were only called upon in desperate times. His handlers told him that it was because his kind were too valuable, but SN-42 suspected he knew the real reason for it: his allies were afraid of him. He pulled up the battlemap of the asteroid in his mind and watched the fighting unfold. Fleet Strike forces had already entered the asteroid and had cleared out much of its outer structures. Through their helmet cams and com chatter he saw and heard everything. The enemy was too well disciplined, their equipment was military grade, and they weren't being routed from the outer sections: They were tactically falling back. He was watching through the eyes of a trooper as he rounded a corner and came face to face with a terrorist clad in heavy powered armor.

The communication net exploded at the same moment. SN-42 watched impotently as Heavy armored units began to fall upon the lighter armored Fleet Troopers. SN-42 twitched, muscles and servos tightening then easing as he felt a flood of endorphins enter his nervous system. A calm voice entered his mind and said "Are you ready Sunny?" It was the voice of his handler, Major Kardev. She provided him with information about his missions and also guided his mental development, though she rarely forced the later the way other Golems' handlers did. He sometimes wondered why that was, but in his chemically induced calm all he thought of was fulfilling his duty, he didn't even comment on her choice of nickname for him.

"Of Course Major, what is the objective for this mission?"

"You will and the others will enter the asteroid and shore up the line where those armored forces have broken it. Show no mercy Sunny, anyone not wearing Fleet colors is to be dealt with with extreme prejudice. Your internal map has been updated with the layout of the asteroid. Good hunting soldier." SN-42 felt the punch of acceleration as his pod hurtled towards the asteroid.