<div class="floatright">(http://orig10.deviantart.net/3f32/f/2012/002/5/6/dust_and_smoke_by_shimmering_sword-d4l4dg7.jpg)</div>Name: Darclight<br/>Where: Malta, Stormwatch HQ<br/>Doing What: COMMAND STUFF, IT'S VERY TECHNICAL YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND<br/>Milestones: Riders on the Storm and []<br/>1 PP | 0 Physical | 0 Mental | 0 Emotional | 15xp (of 35xp total)<br/><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Mechanics</div><div class="spoiler_body"></div></div><hr/><br/>"Auxilia?"  Darclight was the first to break in after her banter with the Spider.  "Contact the Remnant first, and give them a couple of days to get a response back to us before we go and enlist CHESS in the matter.  If we have to contact CHESS, skip Thames.  Talk to Falling Petal, or..."  The robot gave the impression that it was thinking, which would hopefully be taken for super-speed-reading data archives of those who had remained with the organization. "...if push comes to shove, talk to Corona.  They'll be fair."  He supposed that with the current team of heroes he had, there would eventually have to be a talk like this, so he decided it would be given now.<br/><br/>"Normally, I wouldn't have to give this speech, but given the specific people we have in this room, I think it's necessary."  Darclight turned to Auxilia.  "Your basic description of CHESS is not wrong.  And your input," he turned to the Spider, "was certainly welcome.  However.  There is one important dimension that was missing from what both of you offered up."  A moment of silence, and then he addressed the Spider.  "I'm probably going to sound a bit like your ex-boss for a moment, so I apologize for that.  CHESS is an incredibly powerful organization, given the best resources and manpower on the planet.  And it is<em>wasted</em>on the current CHESS structural model.  CHESS would be able to do far more if it was set up like Stormwatch or Firewall."<br/><br/>Using his link to the Stormwatch system, he rifled through the profiles before he found Falling Petal.  "You all met Petal at the Simport seaside attack, with the exception of Spider, who...you'll meet sometime face to face, if possible.  I first met her in Japan, during the rampage of the Japanese anti-Kaiju weapon system Kiryu, and the subsequent cleanup.  Over a hundred heroes responded to this incident - Stormwatch Red and Blue, Firewall, and...CHESS.  Now, as Auxilia has explained, every nation involved in CHESS has a base, and heroes it contributes to the overall pool that CHESS possesses.  In theory, a request for aid sent to one CHESS base can trigger a global response from the organization, depending on the sort of crisis that is emerging.  In the Kiryu incident, a request was sent to CHESS for assistance, which was answered, first by CHESS-Korea, and then...CHESS-<em>Australia</em>.  But China is a part of CHESS, and yet...they did not arrive on-scene until nearly six hours after the arrival of the Australian team.  Now, being beat out by Korea was one thing, but Australia possessed no long-range travel capability aside from standard CHESS ramjet."<br/><br/>He paused for a moment.  "I was there, I saw the destruction Kiryu caused firsthand.  I alone<em>stopped</em>it from destroying the Japanese National Science Center with its ace weapon, the Absolute Zero Cannon.  Every hour that China did not arrive was potentially another hour it was allowed to continue its destruction that turned into hours and hours and<em>hours</em>of rebuilding and cleanup."<br/><br/>Darclight continued.  "Allow me to show you something.  I think a few of us in this room will recognize it."  He threw up a picture.  "This is the AR-15 assault rifle, manufactured by Colt Arms of the United States."  He raised his hand.  "Please.  Before anyone asks where I am going with this, hear me out.  The AR-15 is one of the most common weapons in the world, alongside other such things like the AK-47, or Glock handguns.  Now, the UN - CHESS' parent organization - has established a special task force for the securing of nuclear weapons.  This, despite the fact that the only deaths of humans due to atomic detonation happened well over half a century ago.  Nine out of ten deaths globally<em>today</em>are caused by weapons like the AR-15 -<em>this rifle</em>is the true weapon of mass destruction.  But you will never find any action taken to cut down on arms sales by the UN, for precisely one reason - five of the top six arms dealers in the world have permanent seats on the UN Security Council, and any<em>one</em>of them may veto a UN resolution with no recourse."<br/><br/>Then the familiar face of Jorias Quinn.  "Quinn may build a hundred-foot-tall mobile armor equipped with Fusion Cannons and use it to attack Germany, kill a few dozen, injure hundreds, and cause millions if not billions in property damage...but the President of the United States will ship weapons next month that will kill<em>thousands</em>worldwide and no one will try and stop him.  Which brings me to this point: CHESS is a global organization, but it is run by bureaucrats, politicians, and people whose mindset can be summed up thusly: 'It is my job to make sure the interests of my country are looked after.'"<br/><br/>The Stormwatch Red Team leader went on.  "No reasonable person would object to this - British Parliament is there to look after the best interest of British citizens, not Chinese.  Those who run the UN, and CHESS by extension, are not there to look after the well-being of everyone world-wide, they are there to look after their own people.  Especially if that person was elected or appointed by an elected official.  But that mindset of 'my nation first' keeps CHESS from achieving what it can<em>really</em>do.  And don't ask me...ask her."  He turned to the Spider.  "You worked in Recluse's organization for a long time.  How many times did he escape capture or manage to salvage an operation because he can freely cross borders while CHESS has to follow rules and regulations about international operations?  While politicians bickered and played their own version of Game of Thrones?"<br/><br/>Now, the finish.  "A global organization, if it is<em>truly</em>global, cannot owe loyalty to<em>any</em>nation.  That's what I want out of this team, in the end - an organization of heroes, beholden to no nation, and run by people whose cause is service to the heroic ideal.  No human bureaucrats -<em>we</em>run our own ship."