[CatKnight]

November 108 S.F.

Janos Alamaris, Governor-General of Whitehorse, sat alone in a room lit by a dingy flourescent bulb simply not up to the challenge of beating back the shadows. A fat man with thick jowls, his pale face appeared almost grey in the dim light while his burgundy uniform shown black.

He sat alone at the head of a small metal table. In the middle perched a holographic projector, forlorn, dark and dusty. No other site on the planet had a projector, so the only use for it was speaking to League warships or receiving the occasional canned message from Terra. Alamaris had seen neither in months. He wondered if they were putting down another rebellion and hadn't bothered to occupy his planet this time. He could find out if he really wanted to: He had his own courier ship for emergency communications, but attracting the unblinking eye of the League Senate invited trouble.

The projector remained dark, but the speaker broke into hissing, reluctant life. The three major cities shared limited phone service thanks to a League satellite.

"Governor?" asked a raspy voice that fought for dominance with static and a low, unpleasant hum.

"Bertrand. I received your pulse rescheduling this meeting. You're very late." Alamaris paused. "Did you have any trouble?"

"Significant," said Bertrand "That is why I'm late. I was forced to visit the outlying towns with your proposal. None on the rails signed on."

"None?" Alamaris paled. If his grip on Whitehorse was already so precarious..

"None," Bertrand confirmed. "As it is, we only have six."

"I wanted eight, minimum!" They'd identified twenty possible sites...

"You have six. I visited every settlement capable of financing and maintaining a team. They're it."

Alamaris closed his eyes. "Who?"

"The three cities of course: New Haven, Blackwell and Portland. In addition: Hanover, Selenica and Rio Grande."

Mostly eastern towns: Not necessarily a bad thing, though it moved the potential league's power block far from the capital. "Very well. Are you in Portland now?"

"Yes. I'll catch the morning rail. I should be back by sundown tomorrow."

At that moment the tone and static allied to defeat Bertrand, then the signal failed entirely.

Janos stared at the silent receiver for several minutes. If the Star League was 'busy,' then it was up to him to maintain order...not to mention his position. He hoped finding a way to unite the colony's disparate settlements in a friendly rivalry, a base-ball league, would keep the people...distracted.

"Bread and Circuses," he muttered.
*******

"F-ing Imperial!" hissed Erik Harding as he watched the burgundy clad officer leave the Portland communications tower.

"Sh!" hissed his friend, Charlie. "He'll hear you!"

"Let him. He's with the governor. Far as I'm concerned the governor can kiss my pale, white..."

Charlie, shorter by a head but stronger, grabbed Erik's arm and hustled him into an alley.

"Look," he said. "I know what they did to your pa, but that was twelve years ago."

"It was yesterday," snapped Erik, his usual reply to such reason. "They had no reason to be here. We weren't doing nothing."

Twelve years ago several Rim worlds rose in rebellion against the distant League, citing inattention, inefficiency, high taxes, and poor representation. The League put the rebels down with terrifying force, then just to make sure, occupied every colony ... even the loyal ones like Whitehorse.

Fifty thousand soldiers descended on a planet that barely held three times that total. Their presence devastated the planet's fragile food supply, and duties paid to support them broke the economy. Soon the rebellion they were sent to deter broke out...and was crushed at Harrowdale.

Since that day locals called Harrowdale 'Battledale' or 'Despair', and the Terran Star League 'the Empire'.

"We should go," Charlie insisted. "Your momma will worry."

Mentioning his mother yanked Erik away from daydreams of painful, bloody revenge. "Okay."

"What do you think of this base-ball idea of theirs?" They'd read about it in the morning paper.

"Not sure yet," Erik shrugged. "Maybe I'll try out and show those Imps what for."