The Other Rebellion 2 (Patreon)

The Other Rebellion 2 - or ‘How the United States of Etheria came to be’ (Semi-Crackfic She-Ra, Human!SI)

When it comes to asserting a new country within a time of war, some elements have to be observed and focused upon.

First, a working military force that is just enough to preserve the sovereignty of the new country while also keeping up with the population’s needs. Food was, after all, a luxury in time of war, and while the Whispering Woods didn’t lack the fertile ground to expand farms, the ways this had to be legally explained was through the means of ‘treasury bonds’.

The gold found in the captured bases which were the tributes that had been previously given by the villages to the Horde to ‘keep them peaceful’ were now given back to us. But rather than enacting a simple reparation effort, I decided to use this opportunity to set up a gold reserve and, from there, establish a gold standard for a secondary currency.

The sudden appearance of ‘Etherian Dollars’ was a risky move on my part. Cash, regardless of it being coins or paper currency, required a ‘limitation’ before any abuse of printing would end up with economic issues.

So, Dollars were kept to a minimum and mostly used by the state with businessmen that could then use the papers to buy back things from the government. The idea was to create a semi-nationalized industry that relied on the pseudo-factories owned by the rudimentary merchant class available.

This world was a rather mind-boggling thing in the matters of the economy as energy weapons and vehicles were a thing while some traditional clothes and house-building was just the same as any Late Medieval-Early Renaissance civilization.

That had to be changed within proper time and effort.

Still, more food was to be expected as people migrating from all around and joining the call were quick to accept the new job opportunities of working the fields. The army we had was made by rookies, but the old officers that had tried to find peace in this area and were now forced back into the war were more than happy to drill the troops into shape.

A fully-disciplined military force, mixed with the equipment we stole from the Horde, was going to be a terrific army to face. Mostly in terms of defensive purposes due to the forward bases being easy to then fully fortify and then be used to repel potential attempts from the Horde to retake those.

In the last week, there have been two small assaults. All of which were pushed back with no casualties. It was clear those were probing moves to determine the strength of our defenses, and I didn’t hesitate to call a few military meetings to determine any potential issues within the small fortresses.

Any secondary entrances, any unexpected path around those- anything that could be exploited to decimate our forces and have a clear path to the Republican soil.

Some concerns were raised in regard to the limited military supplies and thus some blacksmiths and scholars were hired to produce ways to easily create ammunition, repairing tools and even secure ways to crack into the Horde’s communications system and know what they were up to.

Once we have their system decrypted, we will have greater understanding on how to react to their assault and when to expect a potential major offensive. I doubted they were going to leave us hanging without a major ‘retaliation’ for too long, so I was preparing my new ‘fellow Etherians’ to brace for that attack.

The lives in the villages were shifting considerably as being part of the war became less of an ‘exciting thing’ and more of a harsh reality that adults had to help children go through without having them lose their innocence.

Games were offered to teach the kids what to do in case the ‘big mean Hordak soldiers’ tried to get them. Hunters had them learn how to create traps that could be used to their advantage in case it was needed or even just to help them know how to hunt for their own food.

It was a gritty reality of things, but it wasn’t the least worrisome thing possible. Not when we also received a message from the Kingdom of Bright Moon. King Angella wanted to have a summit about a possible alliance.

I was tempted to outright refuse it, but considering the mixed feelings the people had on the matter, an outright rejection without ‘showing some interest’ may be perceived as a self-destructive attitude or, worse, a tyrant’s trait on my part.

So, as much as I didn’t like dabbling into alliances just yet as our current defenses were just fine at the moment, I decided to agree on the matter. I had a council of villages’ representatives work as my replacement for the time being where no laws would be passed while the military was on high alert for potential surprise attacks while I was out of the Republican border.

The trip took a little more than a full day to unfold and… we were escorted through the Capital Castle, with my assistant and my secretary following closely as I personally spearheaded the small entourage to our destination.

The large chamber for the meeting was already full with most of the alliance’s members, all princesses plus Queen Angella. And as I walked up to my reserved chair with my small group, I heard the announcer speak to introduce me as a jolt of excitement went through my brain.

“President of the Etherian Republic, John Bukharin!”

It’s show time!

—----d-d-d-d—-----

Princess Glimmer was curious about the topic of this unexpected meeting.

She had heard of the recent rise of this ‘Republic’, but she was particularly surprised when her mother appeared quite nervous about it. Glimmer was quite sure her mother was also unaware of what a Republic was, so she couldn’t exactly tell why her widowed parent was behaving like this.

It was clear that this meeting was not much of an extension of the membership for the Rebellion to the Etherian Republic, yet the pinkette was unsure what was going on at this point.

As her gaze finally found the sight of the so-called President Bukharin, Glimmer felt surprised by how young he was. He was older than her, obviously, but she expected an old man, something akin to the old advisors that aided her mother in times of need.

The confident strut also caught her attention. While some would call it out as an arrogant pace, the way the President moved was one of wariness and gauging reactions. And as far as the princess knew, he was getting the kind of attention he had hoped for as he smiled while sitting down.

“I would like to start this meeting by praising the successful defense mounted by President Bukharin in holding against the Horde’s assault on the alliance. Your deed deserves commendation.”

Queen Angella’s voice was polite and yet kind. Glimmer could spot a degree of caution too, perhaps in the way her mother was tackling the proper phrasing in this situation. And while it didn’t make much sense at first why the first sentence would be the beginning of this ‘game’, Glimmer was given an answer by the counter-greeting.

“I wish to thank you all for the kind words, however mine was more of rallying than a genuine ‘doing’ the defense. Those that the praise should go to are those that put their lives on the line to preserve the innocence of their children and protect the future of their families.”

“Indeed, a wonderful effort,” Angella confirmed. “Yet, the reason why you have been invited is in regard to your unilateral declaration of independence and the creation of this ‘Etherian Republic’. From our understanding, this is not a temporal thing.”

“It is not,” He remarked. “Is this going to be a problem?”

“Potentially so. Especially in regard to the interests of Plumeria.”

Perfuma raised a hand. “While this may sound weird, the Kingdom of Plumeria has no lingering issues over this development. However, I have to raise a few questions if possible.”

Bukharin nodded. “I will answer those the best I can.”

With that permission, the fellow princess inquired about a few things.

“In the past, the region the Republic now claims has been paying a rather lessened form of taxation. The official excuse was that there was a general lack of work and production in the area but… I was told this may have been a lie. What I would like to know is if this excuse was true or not.”

The president nodded. “It was not. The reason why this excuse was used was a mixture of ‘deflection’ and genuine ‘fear’ from some of the previous administrators. Being that these settlements border with the Horde’s lands, tribute had been forced to be paid. From my understanding, the previous administrators thought that this decision was going to be a permanent solution to this problem despite the many hurdles this presented to the economy.”

“And what was the tribute?”

“It was reclaimed and then used to create special paper-money or bonds to facilitate a growth of work within the settlements, thus providing the people the means to not only acquire respectable jobs but also acquire a boost to their usual wages.”

“How does this system precisely work?” Angella pressed, appearing intrigued. “Surely, the paper-money is not born through speculation.”

…What?

Glimmer was not sure she had ever heard her mother tackle this sort of topic in recent times. The economy of the kingdom was still something that eluded the young princess at time, so for this to suddenly be a matter that needed to be tackled left her a bit clueless.

Still, she listened to the explanation and understood what this ‘Gold Standard’ was all about. It sounded interesting, yet she was confused about what the inflation and interests were all about.

Stuff to ask after the meeting, or even read about. Despite the complex topic, she found it to be surprisingly interesting. And the more the conversation continued, the less nervous everyone appeared to be. It was refreshing, and Glimmer had thought this was going to end well all in all.

Then the military stuff came up, and things changed a bit.

“We will launch a counter-offensive as soon as our industrial and military capacity allows us to.”

“I would suggest keeping on the defensive. An attack against the Horde would not warrant much success.”

“If the attack is launched without a precise good reason, then sure. But if I may express the reasoning behind the need for a degree of offensive capability, I can assure you all that my understanding of the situation is not about ‘let us hit the big bad just because’.”

The terminology was kept simple, but Glimmer knew her mother was going to oppose it and… she was curious. Curious and kind of hopeful this would not lead to a fallout of the meeting.

“What about?” She asked, almost blurted out, and finally ruptured the silence that many other princesses had kept due to the topic hardly mattering to them.

Her question warranted some surprise from her fellow royals, even Adora appeared impressed by this move, while her mother gave her a slightly upset look.

“Well, the focus of these attacks would not be bases, but their establishments in charge of producing pieces of equipment or refined resources. Hordak is extremely reliant on a massive exploitative economy to fuel the war machine of the horde. If sabotage attacks are conducted with precise strikes, it can render the Horde unable to muster any assault and force them to lean back to recover. Giving us the chance to expand our own economies and sustain a better-paced war. It is true that defense is truly important in this sort of war, but the pace of the warfare can’t be ignored.”

“The more we wait, the more the Horde improves its industrial core,” Adora added, agreeing with that view through her loud response. “I do agree. While we can win through our powers, the Horde’s true strength is the capacity to give their troops the means to fight. Without that, they will be unable to muster the same amount of troops they could. And that’s ignoring how rapidly they are expanding.”

“So, you don’t wish to conduct a full-on offensive,” Angella summarized, and Bukharin nodded. “I see…”

Glimmer wasn’t sure how much that would have helped in seeing her mother accept that sort of membership but…

It happened. And, for some reasons…

President Bukharin didn’t look outright happy about it.

—--------d-d-d-d—------

AN

Glimmer is here to help however she can, yet she is unaware she may have coaxed the situation into a development John was not trying to get at. Oh well, she still gets headpats.

Next time!

Also:

POV: Glimmer on the way to fuck with your plans without even wanting to do so.