With Pride and Blood 1 (Patreon)

With Pride and Blood - or ‘Time to make Humanity the Greatest Ever, at the Expense of some scum from outer space!’ (Mass Effect, Senator Armstrong!SI)

Irony is within the soul of bullshit.

After all, when you are born to become the greatest bullshitter, you tend to make some big ass ripples when history gives you a free pass to take over a declining nation. If I have to be honest, being reborn as Steven Armstrong in a world without  Patriots, PMCs, and other crap that was tied to the world of Metal Gear.

No Big Boss, no Solid Snake and… no Raiden.

It sounded like a freebie and a half, but I wasn’t willing to just take this ‘glorious path to success’ without some precautions. I spent decades of this new life settling myself for politics after joining the Marines. I could have gone Pro for Football as the OG Armstrong could have, but boy I wanted to make big changes in the world and I knew dipshits would have stopped me from doing so.

Hence why I took a serious effort in being a ‘brilliant lad’. My service in the Marines was monumental. It was around the time I started to invest in Nanomachines, and the end result was that I became one of the first ‘Super-Soldiers’ that were able to do some impressive work. The Middle East was ‘interesting’ to explore, but it was the installation of ‘democratic regimes’ that reminded me that this was a shitty world regardless of the ‘goodness’ of my country. Too many crappy bureaucrats from all sides, but I planned for this mess to be dealt with accordingly.

2006, Afghanistan is fully stabilized as the Talebans are decimated courtesy of yours and fellow war-buddies. Likewise, other countries got deprived of radical scumbaggery as soon as I was done with the operations there. Retirement from the army comes with great honors and medals. Many of which felt unfulfilling for the reasons behind the wars themselves.

2008, I managed to snatch a nominee for a minor role under the GOP’s leadership in Texas. Politics here are different from those back ‘home’. The GOP is more belligerent and war-pathy while the Democrats are… focusing the most on Climate-Change. I couldn’t recognize any politicians as they were all new faces, but I am already making a list with people that ‘had to go’.

2010, I got a nomination for Governor of Texas and ended up winning it at the next election. The GOP wants veterans in the forefront and they think I am some sort of puppet to their plans. I let them think as much because I want them to back me. I won the election, I became Governor with a Super-Majority to push through legislation and I started to ‘experiment’ with my socio-economic plans.

Technology is nationally manipulated by this Earth’s Big Tech in a way that is quite unhealthy, so I have to wrestle about some of the companies’ control to get good shit given to the declining agriculture. Proper fertilizer with any of the shit that cripples the crops’ yield but rather expands it, stuff that makes the fields super-fertile for prolonged periods and improved tools to produce one of the strongest economies in the country.

The industry was ‘touched’ too as incentives were made for small businesses to move in from other states where taxes were rising up to worrying levels. In less than two years into my mandate, Texas was becoming one of the top states in the union by GDP alone, with its population experiencing a potential boom in growth.

I had to get a lot of smart people on the case- I was no mad genius of politics, but I knew where to look and what I was looking for. The staff I got was still among the best Texas had to rely on: efficient, serious, and devoid of bribery because I put my down on some shit proposed by the party.

By 2009, I was already plotting my departure from the GOP. It was still too early considering the favors I had on them, but I had to get this plot happening before I got ousted by them. So, I started to ‘charm’ some Democrats. There were plenty of moderates that were growing weary of the mainstream ideas proposed by the national leadership and had also turned worried over some radical changes in the leading staff.

Yanking them to my side proved to be easier than I thought, but it was work of years of careful probing and talking. They were already supporting me with some of the Bills I passed through, replacing the support of some GOP hardliners that couldn’t accept some of the ‘weakness’ I was showing in regard to the climate.

I wasn’t a Hippie about it, but I knew that the economy can be better if a slow process to ditch oil-based technologies for something the country could produce in large quantities and thus cut us from being dependent on others. Capitalism was still the core of my ideas, but the notion that we were growing so reliant on other nations’ resources was proof that we had to wake the fuck up. Speeches were made, and soon I got what I had been craving for a while: national recognition.

The bloody idiot of a President took a step to ‘condemn my soft ideas on Climate Change’. She was a Democrat, and he got torched for it as I turned fire with hell-tier inferno. If there’s something no GOP had the balls to try was to condemn me on my general politics. The methods? Maybe, but none was idiotic enough to actually go balls in with the notion I was ‘doing things wrong’.

The Prez was quite the troublesome woman. She was… well,  ‘first Woman President’ grade of irritation, but one that was clearly unfit for the job and had relied on the notion of being a ‘woman’. Ironic that this very detail would prove to be the  cause of backlash after my ‘response’. I gave some speeches to condemn this accusation back, but the best part was when I managed to get my Private Investigators to snoop into her shit and unraveled a few interesting shit about her.

The red-haired President had some… ‘past issues’. Which had reached to the present as she still did a few of those. So, rather than just raise a scandal from the past, I just made a call to the right media outlet, got their toughest bastards of paparazzi ready for a ‘raid’, and then had the bitch ruined in a way that no politician had ever experienced on such a scale.

US President Marten caught in an Orgy! Minors reported to have been captured on Camera as the primary ‘delicacy’ of the party.

The article added more through the info I provided them anonymously with all the right sources. Yes, I, Steven Armstrong, didn’t make it the fuck up, and the results were glorious.

A Congressional Commission, the resignation of the president, a grand shift of popular consent towards the GOP and- I hit the GOP back.

In 2011, I announced my removal from the GOP and the formation of the ‘Patriotic Party’ with the next hours of that announcement followed by other proclamations of Democrats and Republicans switching sides to join mine.

I had cut the cord connecting me to those last foes of mine, and the race for 2012 proved to be… pleasant. I had made plans to be a genuine and hardworking fellow that didn’t engage in sexual activities. I had sex, lots of it to test out the prowess of nanomachine-boosted stamina and the few foursomes I engaged confirmed I was quite the virile guy in that regard.

It was during the race that I introduced my current nanomachine condition as the fruit of a lot of specialized technology meant to create a healthier humanity with minimal issues. Nanomachines had been up to some debates for a while, but my introduction to it created a curious upswing in their favor. I mentioned how long I had been using it, and how effective the technology was if used within the right limitations of it.

I wasn’t trying to be superman, but the technology would allow me to pull a legit Armstrong in due time. At this point, however, it gave me a boost to my vitality and allowed my body to have a higher life expectancy. One that can be expanded further with more technological advances and funds.

I promised that funds would be stanced to render Americans’ livelihood greater by promoting by all means a grand reduction on costs for the technology and other medicines through Government’s money to tank most of the expenses.

This proved to be quite a popular move, and one that, despite some irritating articles from the old guard’s media opposed to this, managed to win us a lot of votes during the Election.

With Democrats and Republicans crippled, I was sworn in as President in 2012 with a comfortable majority. President Steven Armstrong… Yes, things were about to change a lot in the country.

2013 and 2014 were characterized by some strong opposition, but I managed to outmatch them by pushing through more scandals. They were so rotten inside that it was easy to see them demolished by the very reporters they were bribing to nag at me.

2015 was centered around the promises I made. I had been setting down the foundation for a lot of points in my programs, and managed to empower the national economy through the affirmation of ‘nanomachine improvements meant to expand the workforce, not lessen it’. One of the major struggles was the chance of big corpos using this chance to cut on the manpower. Legislation to restrict the means to fire workers and money to ‘lessen’ the thoughts of firing half the workforce seemed to keep the morons at bay.

Money was being spent en masse, but cutting through some of the bullshit programs coming from previous administrations proved to be enough to prevent further indebting. In fact, a campaign to lessen the national debt was started there, but I confessed in public this wasn’t happening within a mandate or two.

2016, I got re-elected to a new mandate with a greater majority.

2020, same.

2024, you know the drill.

While a couple of dumbasses whined over my re-elections, the fact I was being a competent leader that wanted to ‘fix the country and its economy’ was a strong sentiment that the grand majority of people wanted to see fulfilled.

Healthcare was mended in a way that allowed the privates some freedom, but the people had to deal with less costs. An effort was made to bring down the medicines for dangerous illnesses and cancer-related meds were almost given for free to those dealing with it.

Likewise, I had started to implement changes to the national industry to start promoting nature-saving procedures. The conversion would take a few years, but the expenses wouldn’t fuck with the national budget and wouldn’t cause any cuts to other programs.

And where many would think I focused only on the economic aspects of the country, I also saw fit to reorganize the defense situation. The country had been wasting funds inefficiently and I had to reshuffle the Military Staff so that cost-saving reforms could be made while also focusing on expanding the quality of the armed forces.

Equipment to expand training for all recruits were prepared, plans were made to provide all troops the means to also expand their physical capacity to soothe any worries of the standards dropping with the rise of women in the military force. The US needed a good ol’ shake up to be ready for future conflicts.

2048, I am still the president, I kind of became a bit of a ‘permanent feature’ with the nation and democracy was still roaring strong despite this. I would subject myself to the electoral system and keep on winning. I am in my 80s, but I still looked to be in my mid 30s with a hot ‘daddy bod’ from what my infamous ‘Girls for Daddy Armstrong Fanclub’ tended to bring up online.

The internet is still some of the weirdest shit possible, but I had taken steps to fix it at this point by eliminating elements of the dark web and removing it from existence. Sometimes even ‘directly’ via the Secret Service.

2060, China becomes a democracy. I would like to say I had strong-armed the situation, but they had been setting themselves up for an implosion and I just ‘helped them’ for that to happen early.

2065, Space-related technology allows for plans of expansions beyond Earth to be made. An international expedition is outfitted and a settlement is built on the Moon. The ‘Armstrong Station’ (which I had no hand in naming and would have loved to call something else) was thus created as the first extraterrestrial colony.

2067, Armstrong Station would receive a large influx of workers and citizens, turning into ‘New Austin’ as many came from the slightly overpopulated Texas.

2069, Victor Manswell approaches the US Space Agency for an ambitious project. Many billionaires were aching to get their hands on space exploration, with Manswell being the man with the understanding and money to know who to ask. The request was forwarded to my office and… soon I was shaking hands with Victor as the US Space Agency was given an ‘ambitious’ target.

2071, the Manswell Expedition is authorized after two years of preparations and verifications for security’s sake. Instead of the originally planned 300 Colonists, 2000 are selected to take part in the project. Celebrations ensue due to the high chances of success behind the expedition.

2075, world peace is proclaimed as all conflicts have been solved.

2080, Canada’s economy is weak and the political instability urges for a military takeover. A request to join the US is made, and Canada is split into new States to the Union. This mandate would give them a taste of what it feels to have a strong stable leader that knows what has to do.

2090, Mars, Venus, and Neptune have Human colonies that are rapidly expanding with new denizens coming from Earth. Overpopulation has been a widespread issue and the colonization efforts allow for many to find good places to live without dealing with the overcrowding of buildings.

2098, I was asked by some Western Leaders to make an effort to ‘reform’ NATO and the UN. Russia and China had voiced similar opinions and I propose the creation of an ‘Alliance’ of sorts to unify Humanity within a single banner for prosperity’s sake.

Not all countries accept it, but soon I ended up becoming the President of this international group and the US. More reforms come, more things to change, more people to shake hands with and more greatness to achieve. At this point, I cemented a major presence in human history.

2102, the turn of the century is greeted by a discovery on Mars as data related to an ancient civilization that had monitored early humans is found. Researchers flock to this massive discovery and funds are given by the ‘Systems Alliance’ to pursue further understanding of this culture.

At the same time, a call is given to expand the military efforts. Spaceships are overhauled to be prepared for war despite some opposition to such a shift of focus. In the end, the discovery of potential new and hostile species around the galaxy manages to push the struggle in favor of my side- we need big and nasty ships to deal with any troublemaker along the way.

The Alliance Navy is thus created from the brilliant minds of various officers from all over Earth and its colonies. The Alliance Army is also added, but the project is limited to just the US. Saddening, but the US Army is more than happy to become the backbone for future warfare against those threatening mankind. I joined these men for some training sessions, and I could trust them to do some of the finest jobs.

At this point, however, I understood that this was not a normal dimension. The ‘Protheans’ and the discovery of a Mass Relay near Pluto are enough of a warning call that this was Mass Effect… and some idiots were rushing straight into a war we were not ready for.

Requests are made to try and activate the Relay, but all of those are rejected on the basis of caution. The same research these explorers claimed to be driven by were used against them by the mention of more advanced civilizations waiting for us.

The military arm had to be expanded some more, and more members of the Alliance provide resources as China, Russia and Europe give the means to establish a bigger and bulkier effort to reinforce Earth’s finest spearhead.

2112, a forward expedition force is sent through the Mass Relay after activation and Arcturus is found. Some Billionaires try to achieve similar efforts like Manswell, but they are rebuffed. I knew what was soon going to happen, and a more careful expansion was needed to provide the military the means to cover these new colonies.

2115, Arcturus is provided with a colony station beside the planet.

2124, Earth is unified under the Federal Republic of the Systems Alliance.

2128, I push for definitive legislation to provide autonomy to colonies to achieve self-governance within reliance under the Systems Alliance. The process is smooth as it was seen by many as ‘long expected and wanted’ by the colonies and those that supported those back on Earth.

2134, Overpopulation is now a ‘nightmare of the past’. Colonization of protected worlds allows for new colonies to be created and for old ones to be expanded. Terraformation processes are enabled to allow an easier effort.

2145, the colony of Shanxi was created beside another relay. Considering how ‘fragile’ of a traffic stop it was at the time, activation of the relay is delayed by a decade. The SAN (Systems Alliance Navy) and the SAM (Systems Alliance Marines) are able to successfully produce the needed resources and soldiers to provide a solid forward station in the eventuality of first contact.

2157, the restrictions for the activation of ‘Relay Hexagon’ are lifted and explorers activate it.

I remember listening raptly to the agent I sent to Shanxi to keep track of the explorers’ ship. I remember growling as I heard the ships being destroyed by approaching unidentified warships.

Despite my anger towards the Turians, I was more than welcoming of their annoyance- for this was the Pearl Harbor I needed to give them hell and more.

—-----d-d-d-d—----

AN

Chapter was a bit Timeliney on how it was structured, but it was due to it being a massive timeskip after the other. Now things will go at a regular pace from the next chapter onward.

And remember, Armstrong will bring justice in this Walmart of a Galaxy.