A Knife in the Dark
Many would think that position, power and money would be proof for a family against the Shadow government that rules in the Marches. In the case of the slaughtered Collingwoods not even the armor of class, position and money were enough to keep the Cabal’s enforcers at bay. Both Collingwoods were destroyed in the presence of Ghaer Raller, the misshapen Varg’r rumored to be the Shadow’s public enforcer on Regina. (see Free Thoughts Issue 8)
John “Tiger” Collingwood was, on the surface, a perfect tool for exploiting Regina for the “Imperial” government. He was a product of the extreme upper class of Imperial society, a graduate of the Imperial Military Academy with a reputation for ruthlessness that had been awarded with steady promotion his entire career. While publicly cool with his father, Spencer Collingwood, he was nevertheless the son of the third most powerful man in the Domain of Deneb. None of this was enough to save him from the Shadow’s Jackal.
What happened to John “Tiger” Collingwood at the exclusive wedding reception of Corina LING-Armstrong is described as an accident “involving an unfamiliar firearm”. The fact that only six months earlier Field Marshall Collingwood had qualified “Expert” with the same model pistol has been pointedly ignored in all the official reports. The one witness whose own signed report indicates he left the scene of the shooting before the police arrived to deal with a “security matter” was, not surprisingly, Sergeant Major Ghaer Raller.
Less than twenty four hours later that same Sergeant Major Raller would be one of two “unidentified” Marines who arrived at the Ducal Compound moments before Spencer Collingwood, Lord Exchequer of the Domain of Deneb “committed suicide”. Few acts known to the public more illustrate, for those willing to see the truth, the terrifying range the Shadows have when dealing death to any who oppose them.
According to the Regina Medical Examiner’s Office Spencer Collingwood committed suicide with a “small caliber handgun” that inflicted “sufficient damage” to cause his death. According to sources in that same office the coroner had to use DNA identification to identify the
Sergeant Major Raller did not give a report to the Regina Police and yet in the few news photos from the scene Raller’s unmistakable profile is scene being wheeled out of the building on a stretcher while an unidentified Marine carries his own weapon slung and a Military Technologies Model 6 gauss rifle in his hand. There is no record of any medical care being given to Ghaer Raller or any Varg’r matching his description at any legitimate medical center that evening.
The next day the Collingwoods’ children were torn from their mother, Caroline Collingwood, and forcibly “enrolled” at a military boarding school on Rhylanor. A school with ties to the arch war criminal Darryl Tranek. This no doubt was to keep John Collingwood’s widow from ever telling the truth about the night her father-in-law died.
The only remaining official witness to the events of that evening departed less than a week later, no doubt driven to flight for fear of his very life. This writer can confirm from his own experience the nearly overwhelming feeling of dread that Raller, no doubt a powerful psionic , can project. Being subjected to this dark, misshapen being daily in the tight confines of the Military Governor’s office broke Androchev’s spirit and the long service veteran fled his post with his family.
Raller was a “good soldier” and stepped into power, illegally using the title “Lieutenant Governor”. Raller held the office briefly until one of his masters, the deadly and taciturn Duke William Grey, arrived “unannounced” and replaced the Varg’r with a nonentity place holder to keep the seat of power warm. Grey brought Raller, now a lower profile First Sergeant, to Jewell no doubt to enforce the Shadows’ will on the rubber stamp Congress of Nobles.
We all have heard how Corina LING-Armstrong, “our hope” to the deluded Red Shirts, won by one vote. How transparent a farce! There was never any doubt that the bloody handed Ling stooge would be our controller. Just look at First Sergeant Ghaer Raller, a simple Marine assigned to her Ducal Guard. And a reminder of who truly rules Regina.