[Battletech] A Life Worth Living For

[Y] Sports? Sports! - (Accelerate the growth of a native All Sports League.)

A CUP OF CHAI PART 3

A Hero? Estela never thought of herself as a hero. A hero raced into a burning building to save others, or performed first aid in an car accident. She was just a woman trying to prevent someone from being hurt. According to the Lakshmibasti Local reporter she had become an online viral sensation by calmly handling what could have been a dangerous situation. What if the person had a weapon or attacked her? Was she scared? Estela told the reporter that she focused on the training her father had taught her while boxing. Focusing on your opponent and watching for any cues of movement. During her interview with the reporter she demonstrated the equipment and exercises while her father told them of Estela's history. While her sisters tried to catch the reporters attention the reporter stayed focus on her. She told them of how her father and her family believed in her and that she was trying to establish sports and athletic programs for women to little results. Finally she took a picture with all her family for the story. Estela thought that would be the end of it but she was very wrong.

When she came to work two days later Puja greeted her with the biggest smile and showed where she had made a poster of Estela's story. She was already telling Estela that because of her business had doubled and that she would need to possibly hire another person. Estela was going to have a raise and the stall would always have a job for her. Estela thanked her and went back to her work but every so often someone would come to shake a hand, take a picture, or just say thank you, many of them women of her age or younger. She found out that some girls in Secondary School had created a fan club for her and there was talks of some sort of donation campaign for the sports program. Estela was becoming overwhelmed by it. She was just a woman and wanted to be left alone. One evening she sat with her father after working out in the gym at home. "Father, am I a hero? I do not feel like one. I was just, being a good person."

"Sweetheart. A hero does not wear a cape or a mask, they do have have any special powers or skills. Sometimes a hero is an ordinary man or woman who fights for what is right. They fight for justice for themselves and others. They help others not expecting any reward or recognition. They do not need prompting. They just do it. I know your sisters were always in front and your mother and I seemed to neglect you. When you told me you wanted to train to be a boxer was one of the proudest moments of my life. The second was this story. Parents always praise their children to others, but this story showed the world YOUR goodness. Always know you are my Estela and I am proud of you."

"Father I like working in the stall but I feel something more. I should be doing something bigger. What do you suggest?" "Girl, it is time you make your own decisions. My advice to you is to be yourself, never try to model yourself after others. Your heart will lead you."

The next day walking to work she saw a new recruitment poster for the Police Service. She hardly glanced at them in the past but now she read the requirements and took a picture with her comm. When she arrived there was some sort of excitement and she could see her eldest sister Violeta was there talking to Damla. Oh no, what is she telling her? she thought. As soon as she was close enough Violeta yelled loud enough for all to hear. "ESTELA! LOOK! LOOK! WE JUST GOT THIS LETTER FOR YOU BY COURIER AND YOU NEED TO OPEN IT ITS FROM THE PRESIDENT OPEN OPEN OPEN." Estela looked at the seal and placed her thumb on it to accept it. It was an invitation from the President's Office to meet. Oh no.

POLITICAL CALCULATIONS

"A have a question for you my love", said Vijya. "Why are you so concerned about some young woman working at a tea stall?". Every morning Ashia and Vijya would go for a walk together before the children woke up or have a cup of tea while sitting on the patio. While Ashia had political instincts her husband would see things from a different view, a result of his medical training. While Ashia was the vibrant one with her eyepatch and speaking Vijya was a tall, lean man with a trimmed beard and mustache standing at the background. He was the Doctor to Aisha's Politician, but most importantly he was her partner. He was there at her worst and experienced it all. She valued his advice above all and prayed every day for his health.

"Vijya. Do you know what Tara has been working on the last three days on her Terminal?" "School Work the last time I checked." "Yes true but she has become a fan of the Estela woman. Her and her friends in school have joined some fan group online and they are raising money for girls and women's sports." "Did you spy on her?" "Of course not. I may be a mother but I am not a spy. Besides she told me all about it. I had my staff do some research on Estela. She is an average student, her father was in the Alliance Militia and his family comes from a long line of boxers." "So? I read all of this from the news article. Did you need a staff to research this?" "No, but she has no political ambitions, all she works on is her sports programs and that tea stall. She is a blank slate for the Party." "Do you think she could be valuable for the Elections. Aren't you worrying unnecessarily?" "It is better to have a asset that we do not need than need an asset we do not have. Besides, a sports program for the youth is good for health, it gives people a goal, a way to work as a team, a way to compete safely. People who never would have interacted with each other bond over sports. We can create a common culture through sport. If I had her strength, maybe I would not have lost my eye." "Are you ok? Do you need anything?"

"No my love. It is time to go to work."

When the news spread on the just established local internet that Glowple would be focusing its efforts on a balanced biosphere to reduce the time needed to terraform the planet fully, speculations ran wild as people tried to figure out what that would mean for them, and in what type of biome they would live once things were starting to progress. To the disappointment of many an Indian, the capital hadn't been established in one of the projected jungle biomes but in a temperate zone, where they would experience mild summers, rainy autumns, snowy winters, and flowery springs. This news was also met with fervent prayers and teary praising by those who knew they were spared from (S)pain 2.0, their stay on a planet with an average temperature of "you can wear a jacket and not die of immediate heatstroke" having entirely altered the outlook of even the most ardent nostalgic and homesick spaniard.

Yet, the discussion surrounding plans of Glowple to begin the stage of seeding higher plant life with dandelions of all things was considerably more cooled...until it was mentioned that the strands they had brought with them glowed. Really, their Cooperative's name had the literal product that made them famous in it, the Glow Apple. Did people think they weren't about to spread some of that bioluminescent goodness around? Well, they didn't, not really. Still, the idea of vast fields of shimmering dandelions in the night, alongside the mental images of tens of thousands of their luminous seeds floating in the air on a warm summer's night, touched more than one person's heart and captured more than one artist's imagination.

And just as it seemed as if people would start calming down from the terraforming trend beginning to grip the young colony, another blow was struck that saw people bitterly divided. The Great Eared Nightjar wasn't meant to create such a craze, but it still did, as photos of the bird were shared and people seemed to like it, like, really like it, with discussions around the bird dominating the social sphere for a short while. One thing that people agreed on, beyond the need to immediately create a monarchy with the bird as its sigil and the declaration of Praya's undying devotion to this bird's holy divinity, was that it would make for a perfect symbol on either the crest or the flag of Praya. Perhaps in black with wings spread on a purple and yellow background? Or would it be better to have the Nightjar sit proudly instead? Decisions decisions...

Well, one other decision that people needed to make was whether or not they liked the new festivals and national holidays created in a drive by the government to promote cross-cultural understanding and cohesion, arguing that people celebrating a common cause will be bound tighter together and be less prone to infighting. And while that theory would need time and years to come to potential fruition, one thing was certain: people loved any excuse to have a day off.

Religious Holidays
(1-Day Moratorium)
(Plan vote with below. Choose 5 (five), of which 2 (two) must be Hindu, 1 (one) Christian, and 1 (one) Muslim.)
[] [Religious Holidays] (Write-In)

National Holidays
(Plan vote with above. Write 5 (five) holiday concepts, like a worker's day, family day, remembrance day, military day, etc.)
[] [National Holidays] (Write-In)