Molotov

It's always complicated trying to find the transmission. Unless you're a security agent tracking the Nightingales or a trusted supporter and ally of the group, there's no way of knowing when and where Vox Libertas will hit the airwaves. Maybe it's on a different signal than last night, or operating on a hacked wavelength. It's almost certainly being broadcast from a different location entirely. But, somehow, you found it, and the transmission begins much the same as the last one you tuned in to, with the crackling of static and an Old World song.

"...is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,

Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?

Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?

For the Movement makes us strong!"

There's more static, then a pause. Suddenly, the radio comes back to life, and you're greeted with a warm male voice, speaking in subdued British English.

"Good evening, friends. Welcome to Vox Libertas. As ever, I am Delegate Catiline, bringing you the truth that you deserve.

"The reports from our operatives in the Victoria Factory District are rather heartening, for once. It seems that the British colonial administration has suffered a series of defeats at the hands of revolutionary forces, resulting in the widespread withdrawal of the fascist government to Clearwater City. Our hearts and minds go out to the common people of New Glasgow and the Young Scots, who have no doubt suffered at the hands of British administration, and we call upon the British Security Forces to stand down from their aggression in Clearwater.

"In the northwest, popular action has seen another victory in Nueva Cumaná as attempts to locate camps of the movement have failed once more. Director al-Malika released a statement in acknowledgement of the situation there."

Another pause for static, then you hear a recording of a woman's voice, calm and with only the slightest hint of an accent.

'In the words of a great man, slavery is the daughter of darkness. The people of Nueva Cumaná have seen the light, and are well within their rights as free men and women to oppose any who would drag them back to darkness. I wish them the best of luck. Solidarity.'

"Elsewhere, reactionary crackdowns on the Occupy Liberty One movement and a Neo-Nazi terrorist attack on the people of New Europa have left the casualty count rising with no end in sight. While it is perhaps naive to hope that the governments of the North American Union and ESA will begin to take a strong stance against fascism and brutality, we nonetheless exhort the leadership of those settlements involved to act humanely and work with their citizens, ourselves, and all progressive forces of Mars to uphold justice, liberty, and equality.

"In lighter news, brothers and sisters, I am pleased to announce that our efforts north of Mahd ahd Dhahab have helped ensure the ongoing survival of our friends in the scattered settlements. Operatives there will continue working around the clock not only to coordinate relief efforts, but to bring the settlements to self-sufficiency.

"That's all the news I have for you, friends. We may be living in trying times, but the Movement will not cease simply because the sky is darkening. It is the role of every operative, volunteer, and ally to make our commitment to a free and just Mars a reality. We are the ones who dare to struggle, the ones who will rally the common people of the Red Planet together for a new era. With the torch of knowledge in one hand and a saboteur's tools in the other, we shall overcome.

"To my brothers and sisters, I say: strive for peace but prepare for resistance. To those who would condemn us, I wish to remind you of one simple fact. We are healers. We know that sometimes the best way to treat an infection is to cut it out. We are scholars. We have seen the greatness mankind is capable of and we have seen the face of naked tyranny. Do not mistake our compassion for tolerance of injustice. Do not mistake our love of knowledge for weakness.

"Solidarity."

The broadcasts, you've noticed, are gaining in frequency, though they remain erratic. When you find it, there's a customary moment of silence before the chorus of an old song given new life starts in.

Alza la bandera revolucionaria
que del triunfo sin cesar nos lleva en pos
Alza la bandera revolucionaria
que del triunfo sin cesar nos lleva en pos

En pie pueblo obrero, ¡a la batalla!
hay que derrocar a la reacción.

¡A las Barricadas! ¡A las Barricadas!
por el triunfo de nuestra Revolución!
¡A las Barricadas! ¡A las Barricadas!
por el triunfo de nuestra Revolución.*

"Good evening, friends, and welcome to Vox Libertas. I am Delegate Catiline, with the news for all children of Free Mars.

"As I speak, I'm looking over the report from Unity City. Right now, the Julian Anthony and Lucio Cabañas Commandos have claimed responsibility for an ambush that claimed the lives of three Fascist invaders. In what is presumed to be the Tarsus pocket, the all-Muslim Abu Ali Mustafa Commando continues to strike against the National Front paramilitary, removing the leadership of the reactionary Neo-Nazi movement one head at a time.

"Elsewhere, the Movement continues to grow. Operatives in the Free Settlements of the South work hand-in-hand with the ostensibly "Illegal" refugees and farmers. Liberty One has shown its refusal to bow down to the Jericho tsars with a new series of protests outside MacFaye-Gunther-Xiao's regional headquarters, and the Chinese cabal has shown its true hand with their attempted massacre of the Korean Liberation Organization. We exhort the Federation's officials to make amends for their crimes beyond reason, or face retaliation.

I turn now to the Society's Director, Operative al-Malika. Before I go, my friends, remember no matter how dark the skies are getting, we're continuing to approach the horizon. We may have to take a step back now and then, but we're making it up with two giant leaps forward. The People united may never be defeated. Solidarity."

In contrast to Catiline's smooth, steady voice and her own normally calm tone, when the Director speaks, her voice seems to carry much more emotion than usual.

"My fellow operatives and friends of the Movement, you know me. I'm not about to waste words on a speech when others are shedding blood for the cause. I only want you to know a few simple facts.

"I'm not going to argue with Operative Catiline. These are dark times, and you don't need me to tell you that. But we of the Society are ready for whatever they throw at us. Why? Because we're more than humanitarians. We're the ones who built Mars: the workers, scientists, and farmers who transformed the planet from the dream of a few generals and astronauts into a home for us all. If they take our homes, what do we have left? Nothing. But if we defend ourselves, fight back and take what we made, we'll have everything to gain. Earth may mean a million different things to us, but Mars is just two. Our home. Our future.

So let's go, sisters and brothers. To the barricades, to the offices, farms, and factories. To our future. Solidarity."

*Raise the revolutionary flag
which from triumph unceasingly bears us high
Raise the revolutionary flag
which from triumph unceasingly bears us high

Worker, on your feet. To battle!
Reaction must be overthrown.

To the barricades, to the barricades!
For the triumph of our Revolution!
To the barricades, to the barricades!
For the triumph of our Revolution!

"...and this act, this sacred act of iconoclasm, will be how they know us. We have gained their attention with fire, brothers and sisters. The die is cast, and there will be no mercy for swine.

Solidarity."

This isn't the usual Vox Libertas broadcast. There's no music save for the blaring of sirens and occasional gunfire, and the calm, collected tone of Delegate Catiline has been replaced by an aggressive-sounding Irishman broadcasting over the clatter of yet another battle in the agricultural settlements outside Clearwater.

Stranger still, you didn't even have to try to find the signal. Could it be that the elusive pirate radio station has finally gone public?

"This is Operative Eoghan of the Samuel Marquette Commando, with a message for the citizens of Mars."

You hear an explosion, followed by more gunshots and shouting in Spanish, English, Arabic, and Russian. Briefly, one voice is heard over all of it, shouting in English, "Up against the fucking wall, pig!"

"The Nightingale Society-Bogdanovist Movement has declared Colonel-General Zakharov and his band of fellow slavers at Gorchakov Camp anathema. For their crimes against humanity, including forced labor, persecution, and support of genocidal regimes, the leadership of the Russian Directorate is now hereby declared an enemy of the people.

"We are not the Rangers or Europol. No Earth government or international organization has recognized us. The legitimacy of our decision is derived from the children of Mars themselves, our brothers and sisters. The laws of the oligarchs and fascists will not restrain us from acting against the Martian representative of Russian oppression. The Movement does not negotiate with terrorists.

"From this moment onward, we are at war with the Zakharov clique until their reign of terror ceases. We call upon those oppressed by the Fascist state in Gorchakov and Moscow alike to join us, as children of the same humanity, entitled to the same liberty and equality as-"

Even further gunshots, including the distinctive sound of a machine gun. Through the static, you think you can make out the approach of several vehicles as the shouting grows louder and more frenzied.

"As every human being. Soldiers of Russia, we do not wish to fight you. Throw down your arms, cross the battle lines, and join us against your true enemy: the tyrants and murderers who lie to you, control you, and send you off to die-"

The noise of the battle continues to get louder and louder, as if it was closer to the ham radio. Somebody cries out in Arabic, "He's down! Fall back!" Closer to the radio, perhaps right next to it, a pistol is being loaded.

"-we will fight only those who side with oppression. The Movement endures.

"Solidarity."

Once again, there's no music. Only a familiar voice, speaking in the even tone of a woman who refuses to let her pain slow her down.

“Good evening, Vox Libertas. This is Operative al-Malika of the Abeer al-Fayeed Commando, Director of the Nightingale Society-Bogdanovist Movement.

“Brothers and sisters, a tragedy has struck Mars. I've just been informed by Operative Orestes, acting Subcommander of the Outlier Front, that the multilateral taskforce sent beyond the Outliers to combat the 'Dusters' has been attacked and defeated. There are few, if any, survivors. Fighting alongside the Black Column and the Ricardo Flores Magón Commando were our friends the Rangers, as well as soldiers from IPDF and the 'Four Powers'. But the spirit of unity was not enough for the cause of humanity to prevail. Sixty operatives of the Greater Movement have perished."

“Sixty brothers and sisters. Sixty children of the armed struggle. These veteran soldiers fought to their last breath at the side of friend and foe alike, not for a better tomorrow, but to ensure that there was a tomorrow. While many will point fingers, some at the bureaucrats and fascists, others at us and our allies, our job is only to remember. Leave the blame to those that have something to prove, comrades. The Greater Movement will treat each and every martyr with the honor they bought in blood, whether they came from New Cumaná, the barracks of Kiev, or the streets of Los Angeles.

Static. While the signal is still increasing in frequency and distance, it seems the technicians are still working out of the kinks.

“Either personally or by reputation, we all know someone who fought and died for the safety of the Outliers. My biggest regret is that I only had the fortune to meet a few of our martyrs, but those I had will stay with me for the rest of my days. Operative Vitaly was a medic, an outspoken defender of anarchist ideals as well as a true ambassador of the Maroon spirit. New Cumaná, the Society, and the Greater Movement are all the worse for his loss. Operative Ashanti came to us from a broken home in Liberty One seeking a better way of life, not for herself, but for all humanity, and she fought for that until her last breath. Their stories, and many others, are touching reminders of what Revolutionary Humanism means, and as their comrade and friend, I swear to uphold their memory until my last breath.

“And then there was Operative Tybalt.”

You think you might have just caught a sigh, but with the reception being what it is, it's hard to tell.

“Some of you know the story, others don't. Tybalt was more than one of our finest operatives and a brilliant strategist. He was a man who led truly by example, and more importantly, one of my closest friends. When the Martian Volunteer Relief Program found our efforts blocked by European hegemony and the corporate elite of the North Americans, I was approached by a young man claiming to represent something called the Bogdanovist Movement. He saw our plight, but instead of offering us token words of sympathy, he asked me a question. 'Why, Doctor, do you obey?' The rest, of course, is history.

“Plenty of us are mourning his death, and rightfully so. I'm sure that elsewhere, in Gorchakov and Clearwater, some are celebrating. Maybe that's how he'd have wanted it. Tybalt was a man who was never afraid to make an enemy in the name of liberty and equality. But he was also a man who believed that mourning and grief were less effective than celebration, bravery, and determination.

“And it could very well be that he was right. The Subcommander lives on in all of us. Without him, humanity wouldn't be asking itself the most important question. Had Tybalt been a different sort of man, the armed struggle would be taking a very different shape, if it existed at all. The tide of history ensures the righteousness of our cause, but Operative Tybalt was the first wave. We must ensure there are many more, until we wash away all traces of tyranny, exploitation, and injustice.”

It's quiet for a few seconds as the Director's seems to get more of her natural emotion, the stern passion that the Greater Movement has become accustomed to.

“As such, I call on you to celebrate, brothers and sisters. Honor our dead, mourn if you have to, but don't forget the lessons Tybalt taught us. Remember the units who fought on our behalf to ensure humanity's survival: the Commandos Insurgente Galeano, Jakob von Holst, Ricardo Flores Magón, Fumi Kaneko, Julie Dougan. Remember Ranger Abeer al-Fayeed, a friend to the Greater Movement. Remember the battlecry passed down through the ages, from Catalonia to Che Guevara to Operative Tybalt: Venceremos! We shall overcome.

“Solidarity.”