Winning Peace - Chapter 40 (Patreon)

The Prime Minister Selena Orbis sighed as she stared at me.

She and I were studies in contrast. She was rather infamously professional outside of a few jokes she cracked at her political opponents' expense. Her clothing emphasized that facet of her personality with her outfit of choice being a suit that would look more at home two centuries ago, making her appear as a young woman who was somewhat out of time rather than a simpering modern politician out to court favor. Her black hair didn't have highlights or a modified gene-sequence that allowed for bioluminescence, nor did her eyes for that matter. They were a standard sky blue, not unattractive, but rather basic by the standards of modern fashion.

It was all part of her 'brand,' I knew. She was young, for all that such a thing actually mattered in a society of immortals, being in her early thirties when she first achieved the position two years ago. However, she was perceived as a more conservative figure than most people twice her age due to... well, the various upsets humanity had gone through in the past few decades. In fact, she was likely within a few years of the last individual who had been born prior to the dissemination of my 'cure' for the Last Bark, which enshrined her as a potent piece of nostalgia for the regressive factions that were steadily losing power in parliament.

Not that she actually was any of those things.

Selena had seemingly made it her life's work to make her political views as opaque as possible while being actively sympathetic towards as many different sides as possible. Instead of the un-person political puppet that usually resulted in, however, Selena used her political ambiguity to build bridges, create compromises, and smother embers of discontent.

In some ways, I admired her, if I were to speak about her candidly.

She had many personality traits that I didn't and, in many instances, wished I had possessed. Even if I could 'download' information about a given subject, my ability to interact with others and get them to do what I wanted without coming across heavy-handed was always a bit lacking.

One more reason I'd needed to take a step back.

I did my best work out of sight, after all.

“You've created a great deal of work for me, Dr. Lopez,” Selena sighed, matching me in leaning back in her exceptionally comfortable office chairs. That was one of the best perks of living in the future, honestly. The chairs were just the fucking best. I hadn't had to deal with a painfully hard brightly-colored plastic piece of shit in decades.

“I've done a comparative analysis,” I replied bluntly. “The amount of work I've created for you is contrasted by the amount of criticism being directed at me instead of your administration.”

“A fact which is not lost on me,” the Prime Minister assured me. “And the primary reason that I'm not actually all that irritated by your stunts. Still, even if there won't be all that many negative repercussions from what you've done, there will be consequences.”

“There are consequences to everything, including inaction,” I shrugged.

Prime Minister Orbis nodded, rubbing at her chin. “I've reviewed the technology that you gave the turians and, given you didn't disclose anything my cabinet deems a vital and proprietary military secret technology, those 'consequences' won't involve criminal charges or jail time.”

“Regardless of my flippant attitude, I am actually aware of the legal code. Especially since-” I began, only to be interrupted.

“-you wrote most if it, yes. I'm well aware.” The younger woman fixed me with a stern look. “I may not have been there when the ancient magic was written, but I have had it cited to me by my predecessors for just such an occasion, Dr. Lopez.”

I slowly closed my mouth, nodding respectfully. “Narnia. Good taste and a sharp wit. You're lucky I'm married.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, spare me. My husbands are more than enough for me to deal with, and I very much doubt you would respond as well as they do to a cattle prod and riding crop.”

I blinked. “Huh. So this is what it's like meeting your personal kryptonite. It's equal-parts fascinating and frustrating.”

The Prime Minister snorted. “Hmph. That's mildly amusing, I suppose. However, one thing I've always wanted to ask you... why de-fictionalize media like this? You're most famous for your recreation of gundam technologies, but I've seen the analysis of some of your lesser-known projects. Portal, Ghost in the Shell, Marvel Comics, and now-”

She tapped the report on the technology the turians had 'discovered' from ancient ruins.

“-Robotech.” She finished, frowning curiously. “Why bother with such ancient pieces of media?”

“Why not?” I sighed and shrugged. “I suppose it started as a hobby, way back before I got to the moon, even. Before I got rich and started my own company, the games, anime, and cartoons that were over a century old basically had no copyright protection and could be downloaded easily. Their resolution was also primitive, so they didn't take up much storage space.”

That had been what had gotten me through those first ugly years of poverty and deprivation. It helped, of course, that they allowed me to relive fond memories and drown out the worst moments with nostalgia.

I stared off into the middle distance for a moment.

Maybe that was it.

 “They were a part of my childhood,” I admitted candidly, finding myself smiling fondly. “I think... I just wanted to make connections to other people. Especially being surrounded by so many tragedies. These little pieces of what made me, me were something I could let other people have to share who I was.”

Selena Orbis stared at me for a long moment, her expression conveying a significant amount of surprise as her eyebrows rose skyward. “I won't lie, I was expecting another deflection. That's a surprisingly intimate confession.”

I grinned slightly. “Well, you are the first person to ever actually ask me, if you can believe it.”

She nodded, her dark hair shifting with the motion. “I wouldn't be surprised. You're a hard man to pin down, and an even harder one to get a straight answer out of.”

We sat for a moment, enjoying a more agreeable quiet than the one which had hung between us at the start of the meeting. After it began to stretch into awkwardness, I decided to give her the win and let her field a question instead of forcing her to come to me.

“So, what's next?” I asked, crossing one leg over the other.

Selena hummed in the back of her throat. “Well, since you've neatly cut through the bureaucratic red tape designed to prevent this kind of wide-ranging technological exchange without compromising our military preparedness, I'm going to nominate you for the position on a more permanent basis.”

I chuckled. “I thought you said, 'no negative repercussions.'”

 Selena's lips twitched as she crossed her arms. “The other option would be to call you in as something of a maverick problem solver to diplomatic hotspots as they erupt. In this instance, I'd want you on tap for the eventual meeting between the Systems Alliance and the New Prothean Empire.”

“I'll take the latter of the two,” I stated firmly.

She blinked, frowning. “I hadn't expected that. Permanent liaison to the Hierarchy would seem to be much more up your alley. Admittedly, I'm also not entirely comfortable sending you to defuse a an already-hot conflict which threatens to devolve into a full-scale war.”

I was, in all honesty, surprised that there wasn't more blame being shot at me for the entire 'battle.' Perhaps I really was yesterdays' news at this point? The buzz on the neo-net centered around blaming the expansionist alien empire for deciding to walk into a trap and then firing first before anyone could respond to the hails.

I suppose I'm being a bit too cynical with regard to human tendencies, but the fact that I did actually manage to defuse the whole turian situation. So the fact that another alien fleet woke up and chose violence isn't really my fault.

“I suppose I would ask in reply whether or not you believed I could actually make the situation worse?” I posed the question bluntly, then preempted her before she could reply. “And whether or not you'd expect any other diplomat you sent to survive the experience.”

That stopped her cold for a long moment as she clearly reconsidered the matter. “You... make a good point. Given your 'experimental prototype,' it's readily apparent that you have technology beyond what you've shared with humanity at large. If I decide to submit this plan for consideration, I'll want your assurance that you won't reveal more than is absolutely necessary to your mission or that is readily available to the Alliance. It's easy to tell given the turian records that none of the other civilizations of the galaxy have your nanofabrication units, so we're already going to be a tempting target.”

“Which is why you've already begun moving a second mine-crafter into position around the star in the Shanxi system. Between the two of those, they'll be producing enough antimatter mines to completely obliterate any further incoming fleets,” I nodded, approving of the decision.

There was the slightest pause in her response, likely an internalization that I knew about an order which had been given at the highest levels of secrecy. “Indeed. We'll also be increasing the numbers of minefields around various important choke points throughout the entirety of the Alliance at a whole. While I can't guarantee that we'll be invulnerable given the unknown tactical and strategic mindsets and technological capabilities, I want us to be as prepared as possible for an attempted invasion of our space.”

“Which will mean increasing the number of active duty personnel and calling up another fleet, won't it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“We'll be asking the rachni and accosians to take on auxillary and patrol roles throughout the Alliance so we can concentrate on bringing more combat craft into service. We'll be looking at putting three full fleets into active rotation in the next three years, though that will stretch our available human resources to the breaking point.”

“Part of the reason obviously being this... 'Citadel,'” I noted, only mildly surprised she was going for the full three-fleet increase. It would, as she'd said, tax humanity's current pool of skilled labor to outfit that many ships.

“Even if the New Prothean Empire does not allow slavery under the explicit terms of chattel bondage, the Citadel does. There are a number of detractors who, in my opinion, are exercising the most wishful thinking to hope that the turians are lying to us, but this Batarian Hegemony in particular makes our prospects of tolerable allies thin. It's for that reason that I'm largely willing to overlook how much aid you've given to the Hierarchy.”

As Orbis finished, I nodded in understanding. “You want them to still be around once the short-bus politicians realize that they're the best option for an alliance we have available.”

“I wouldn't put it quiet so bluntly, but yes.” Orbis grimaced. “Having put my best people on the matter to look for inconsistencies over the past two weeks, I'm growing more and more sure of my decision. Which is why you made the decision you did, wasn't it?”

I chuckled and nodded. “I agree with your assessment on the matter. The turians' data, while it may be slanted, is not fundamentally deceptive or dishonest.”

Selena hummed, nodding along. “They're a tad militaristic for my tastes, and I don't enjoy what this up-arming is doing to public sentiment, but needs must when the devil drives.”

“When will you push for a formal alliance?” I asked curiously.

“It's much too soon for that. If the protheans prove as aggressive and unreasonable as they've made themselves appear to be it will only help my case, but it's too soon to give an exact timeline yet.”

“imminently understandable,” I replied.

“Still, it would help my position if I could weasel a few incremental advancements out of our resident genius,” Orbis hinted.

I frowned and considered the implied request.

 There was a significant part of me that wished it didn't have to be this way, that I could convince the various peoples of the galaxy to simply cooperate and live peacefully. It was a naive and childish impulse that probably arose from watching too much anime, but lingered because I had the power to make it happen...

But, it wouldn't be real, if I forced it. It would be the Prothean Empire's version of 'peace.' One created by force of arms. It was annoying to come to the same realization over and over again after facing recurring second-thoughts and a lack of surety, but it was also reassuring. Even after everything I'd gone through, everything I'd striven for and achieved, everything I'd done to myself, I still had these doubts.

I was still, in many ways, 'only human.'

Even as Selena and I finished our talks and I found an empty hallway to edit the footage in order to disappear, the thoughts lingered. I'd need to step up my game, considering I was now tangling with the would-be galactic hegemons.

And it was too early to pull out the ace I was holding in my sleeve, yet.

No, I'd need something a bit more... off the wall, perhaps?

Evangelion? Heh, the idea was amusing, but no. Too much crazy bullshit, especially in the Rebuild series. And the Re;Rebuild the studio did a decade after Anno died. Who says shounen has a monopoly on escalation? No, I'd kept my choices relatively tame for a good reason, then supplemented canon technology with things of my own design.

I'd have to consider it. I was capable enough to stick it to the protheans without tapping into something really insane, but... I also wanted to kick the Citadel's teeth in.

Just a little.

~~~

Winning Peace is no officially in the 'End Game' chapters. We probably have about fifteen more before the story is complete. Maybe a few less. Ezekiel is at the height of his power, he's figured out his life in large part, all that's left is to nudge the galaxy into a place that doesn't mean bugging him every time a planet catches fire.

As a final treat for those interested in it, our MC is considering expanding into another tech tree outside of what he has right now in order to cause some aliens a few migraines. I have a few ideas, but I'm open to suggestions in the comments.

Next chapter will either be Entrepreneurial Spirit or The Hand We're Dealt.