Chapter 149 - Eyes Everywhere (Patreon)

“Are you an idiot?” Melissa scoffed. “You can get executed for crimes against the Loeric Dynasty, I don’t care. We should be targeting Athen itself. The main crux of the problem is that Athen is doing extremely well for itself. It has completely flipped the script on what a resource mining colony should be doing.”

She was right: the Loeric Empire never had a history of a planet changing its designation that quickly like what Oliver managed to achieve in the short span of five years. When a new planet is colonized, its specialization would already have been fixed due to either its natural resources, position in the star system or environment.

The surprising surge in the economy for Athen shocked the Loeric Empire, opening up the eyes of the common people as to what is possible. Tudor groaned, already seeing an upcoming headache for what could happen on his planet. “This is a disaster, I’m going to have to spend more on riot control! I already had a few parties planned!!”

“There is a simple way to stop all of this.” Melissa continued, ignoring Tudor who was now paying attention very carefully. “We simply need to destabilize the planet, making it seem as though Athen can’t control or manage itself. Oliver right now will be trying to stabilize the entire planet to further prove that he can manage a planet himself. Such an outcome will spell doom for our people.”

“Or we could just control the flow of information to our colonies.” Han pointed out.

“One way or another, the truth will come out.” Melissa shook her head. Information control was possible, but it was merely suppressing the symptom rather than the root of the problem. “We must dig into Athen and bring out its underlying struggles.”

“It seems you already have this information… spit it out, what do you want from us? Stop trying to twist us around, we’re not idiots.” Tudor grunted at Melissa.

“I already have made contact with a rebellion group on Athen, who claims that Oliver is abusing his authority in New Saint and conducting illegal human trials on unwilling citizens. However, the evidence is slightly lacking, and Oliver had already addressed this publicly in his speech, claiming it’s legal. Even if we fight him in the Emperor’s Court, it will take years to expose him if he was really doing anything illegal.” Melissa explained.

“Ah, so the same thing you did to one of my planets last time. Never learnt your lesson, hm?” Han scoffed.

“Shut it, loser. That was more than ten years ago already, and we agreed to put it behind us. This is what we need to do – we need to make sure that rebellion succeeds without us being involved.”

Tudor pondered for a while, before nodding his head. “Done. I can sacrifice a party of two.”

Han leaned back with his hands supporting his head. “Well if Tudor is supporting you I doubt you need the extra cash from me, so I’m out of this. Unless you promise to remove the five billion L-credit bounties you placed on my head. I’m tired of fighting all of them off.”

“Done.” Melissa did not even try to deny it. All three of them were competitors who continually fought each other behind the scenes. It was only for this specific issue that they were united against a common enemy that threatened to flip the board.

“Did Zachary really think that we were not going to try and stop him?” Tudor wondered, scratching his chin. “I would have pegged him to be a little bit smarter.”

“He’s just a naïve boy, he thinks that if he can get one planet to change, his name will be on the lips of everyone in the Loeric Empire, boosting his chances for the succession race. Look, even the Dynasty of Hawthorn does not dare publicly announce that they support him. They are afraid of the three of us ganging up on them.” Melissa smiled.

“Kyle must be really feeling the heat if he has to find a boat with Zachary. Ever since the mass riots on Athen, their reputation has tanked dramatically. This could also be seen as a way for them to recover some legitimacy as a benevolent Dynasty.” Han pointed out.

Melissa grinned. “Either way, the two of them won’t know what hit them. Let me handle this. With the amount of support, we’re going to provide the rebellion, it’s going to be the best party we’ve seen for a while.”

***

“They must be plotting to overthrow Oliver and kill us right about now,” Kyle said softly, as he stood on the bridge of a destroyer ship. The screens showed him a furious battle in space, with missiles and lasers flying over thousands of kilometres to blast hundreds of thousands of corvettes in a pitched battle over the capital planet of the Loeric Empire.

“Still simulating this? I think you haven’t won once.” Zachary smiled as he entered the simulation, Kyle not caring about his entry and focusing on the battle.

“I saw the announcement. You really know how to rile the people up.” Kyle said, while Zachary walked around the bridge, waving his hands in front of some of the virtual fake bridge crew members, who did not interact with him and only hurriedly executed Kyle’s commands.

“This is the only way to beat my brothers and sisters. If I can’t win by the old rules, I’ll have to flip the tables. Isn’t that what you want to do as well? To end the Dynasties.” Zachary replied.

The atmosphere between the two was not confrontational, but rather like that of equals. Kyle did not try to dominate Zachary, and Zachary seemed unfettered by the accolades and reputation of Kyle.

Kyle did not respond, instead sending a command for the destroyer to enter orbit, even as he encountered heavy resistance from the ground. The capital planet was defended heavily with planetary-wide installations, and the shields of the destroyer began to flare up.

“The Dynasty of Hawthorn cannot officially support you as of now. The backlash we will suffer from the other Dynasties will be too violent. We are not ready for this. My border fleet needs time to recuperate.” Kyle said.

Kyle was well aware of the upcoming succession race, which was why he agreed to the slovesa ceasefire. It would allow him to pull back the majority of his fleet to exert more military presence in the Dynasty of Hawthorn’s star systems, adding more security and prestige to the Dynasty.

Kyle knew of Zachary’s and Oliver’s plan to instigate the mass riots in Athen. In Kyle’s point of view, if it wasn’t for them, the riots would have manifested themselves anyway in another form. It was better to know that he was in control of the events rather than having them slip away from him. “Stupid Cardenia…”

He truly blamed his idiotic cousin for not managing the planet properly, sighing. It was also hard for him to influence Cardenia, who was very strong-willed and exceptionally lazy.

At least Oliver was much more compliant and controllable, creating a suitable environment for Kyle to develop many of the military projects that he had long wished to do.

The X-12 stimulant was entirely sponsored by him, and it proved to be a huge success. The Loeric Empire’s military was on track to purchase the stimulant in the trillions, and other foreign states too had put forward purchasing orders.

This elevated the Dynasty of Hawthorn even more, which was why the other Dynasties had begun to put economic pressure on the other industries that he controlled, harassing him.

With Athen being able to fast-track such unique innovations, he would eventually come to dominate the military technology market, allowing him to suppress all his competitors in one fell swoop.

Hence, the other Dynasties started to harass the trade routes and fringe industries of the Dynasty of Hawthorn. Naturally, anyone who saw the events in person would claim that it was the work of criminal gangs and dark mercenary outfits, but Kyle knew better than that.

“I understand.” Zachary nodded, understanding Kyle’s situation. “Either way, the three Dynasties are bound to try and intervene in Athen. However, I came here specifically to ask you to not intervene even if they do and you have the border fleet nearby.”

Kyle squinted his eyes. “You’re requesting me to not intervene against the rebellion? That’s ridiculous. If the rebellion truly succeeds and exposes us, everything I have invested would have gone to waste. I am already aware of you intending to run a field test against them, but this is going too far.”

Instead of replying, Zachary handed him a virtual document. Kyle read it quickly, but the moment he read the first line, he stopped the simulation completely, reverting the VR server into a blank white chamber with just the two of them. He continued to read the document in silence, his face not showing any emotions.

“Is the information in this document legitimate?” Kyle asked as he read the last line.

Zachary nodded, after which Kyle immediately deleted the document.

“No one else must know about this. If it’s leaked, it could spell the death of all of us.” Kyle said with a grave tone. “Oliver Athen must not know of this plan.”

“Don’t worry, I will keep a sharp eye on him. He won’t hear a single thing. Not even the other Dynasties can stop us now even if they tried.” Zachary grinned.

***

The New Saint enforcers headquarters was in a hectic state. Tens of thousands of staff, automated floaters carrying cargo and exosuit pilots ran to and fro down the multiple hallways within a shimmering white pillar.

The pillar had a brilliant shine to it, spanning the entire height from the floor to the ceiling of the cavern. The center of the pillar was hollow, a direct pathway connection up to the surface where there was a special landing zone specifically for enforcer units.

Near the top of the pillar, a lecture hall for officers had a marvelous view of the Zone. Major Derfas glanced out of the wide glass wall, looking into the distance at swarms of hovercars darting between buildings.

“A new era is born...” He muttered to himself, before turning around to face a seated audience of close to five hundred of his subordinates including Henry Lesion, who sat near the front row. This was only the physical audience – thousands more were attending virtually.

The audience were not as stable as Major Derfas or Henry, who already knew the planetary unification was around the corner. Many of the officers discussed with passion as to what that meant for the future of the planet. An audible din was present in the lecture hall, until Major Derfas tapped the podium sharply with his exosuit’s finger with a loud metal click.

“Attention.” A single word sent the audience into silence, waiting on every word the Major was about to say.

“I have served in the Legions for decades prior to assuming this role. Never before have I witnessed a colony of the Dynasties achieve such a grand status. Be proud, for today you are no longer subordinates but rulers of your own destiny as a planet – only answering directly to the Emperor, no one else.”

The declaration gave rise to a sense of patriotism among the officers listening. Were they really the first colony to be semi-autonomous? A wave of pride and joy surged through the officers.

“Nevertheless, the road ahead is rocky. Not everyone on this planet nor off this planet wants this to happen. A statement declared is of no use until it is put into effect by force.” Major Derfas stated clearly with a grave tone, displaying a presentation on a holographic monitor.

“We are not without precedent, given that other human nations before us have already undergone a similar procedure. Barring the fanatical and cultish nature of certain outliers, each colony would always undergo the same power struggle. Such is the nature of humans.”

The holographic monitor began to show various examples of former colonies in C-class states and D-class states. Each of the examples showed horrific urban battles with extremely dense drone combat as well as orbital engagements.

“I must state very clearly that the Loeric Empire’s Legions will not assist us until the situation escalates far beyond our control – and at that point are we truly a semi-autonomous authority when we require the external intervention of the military?”

While they were subjects under the Emperor, it was a loosely tied militaristic relationship. Subjects such as the Dynasties had their own levied Legions and private military forces that protected their borders. With Athen as a planet being elevated up to a similar level, to not be able to unify their planet would be a clear sign of failure.

Many of the officers immediately understood the implications of such a failure – it means they are not ready. And none of them wanted to be labelled as a failed planet of any kind.

“If you truly understand the implications, that means the unification procedure must be done solely alone by us and without external intervention where possible. Any external help procured must be obtained by our own sole discretion and decision, rather than forced upon us by the Emperor. As such, we cannot allow the planet to devolve into a clear state of war.”

An officer raised his hand. “Sir, if we are well aware that the rebellion, Rockhold and other cities across the planet would resist our advances, does this not constitute a civil war and give reason for the Legions to intervene?”

“As long we showcase the willingness and capabilities of the enforcers to decisively win this civil war within three years or less.” Major Derfas answered. “We must show that we have a strong leading edge over our opponents, and that unification is slowly progressing. A stall, however, would result in the aforementioned reason for the Legions to intervene.”

“That being said, the reason for this meeting is not simply to tell you of the implications, but to announce major changes to the enforcers.” Major Derfas displayed an organizational chart animation, swapping roles around.

“Moving forward, from now on - half of all active New Saint enforcers would be converted into a professional military force known as the Athen Enforcers. This group will be in charge of maintaining law and order across the planet, and is expected to eventually grow to a million combat enforcers.”

A loud wave of murmurs erupted from the audience. This was a huge shift in the organization, and it was not an easy task to convert a peacekeeping police force into an offensive combat force. Much more communication, support and coordination would be needed.

“The starting size of the Athen Enforcers would be approximately 250,000, with the support-to-combat ratio of 1 to 3. The combat personnel will be broken up into eleven combat divisions, and the support staff will be assigned accordingly as well. Check your multi-terminals now for your new posting.”

The officers in the room began to receive serial numbers indicative of their leadership position in the divisions. Henry checked his multi-terminal but did not receive any posting of sorts.

“Combat doctrine, organizational structure and urban operations will be taught separately by ex-Legion veterans, who will temporarily head the divisions. Following this meeting, all posted officers are to attend compulsory VR training on battlefield coordination.”

Another hand shot up. “Sir, are we expected to fight right away?”

“The first operation is under wraps, but yes, squads will be posted out of New Saint to target known rebel suppliers and stockpiles. You will receive your orders starting tomorrow. Only command staff are to remain behind for a secondary briefing. Dismissed.”

A large majority of the audience left the lecture hall in an orderly fashion, leaving only Major Derfas, Henry Lesion and two dozen other officers.

These were all ex-Legion veterans who had fought in border conflicts against the slovesa and other criminal elements from the border, so they naturally rose to a higher position than the others.

“The following briefing is highly classified. I will now explain the objective of the first operation, codenamed: Pitfall.”

The map of Rockhold appeared, but none of the officers were surprised. Rockhold was always a hub for criminal activity, and under a unified planet, such a city would not be allowed to exist.

“The overall goal is this: to occupy and pacify Rockhold. This means eliminating all hostile gang members, which is primarily the Queen’s Guards. We have worked out an agreement with the major gangs to form a joint force for the attack.”

A flowchart of the phases appeared. “We are now in Phase 1, mobilization and equipment procurement. It will take two weeks of manpower training and equipment preparation to make the jump to a offensive armed force. The command chain and operational doctrine will also be solidified over multiple VR simulations.”

“Simultaneously with Phase 1, enforcers squad will strike across the planet, targeting small suppliers that have been selling parts to the rebellion. Over the course of the two weeks we shall slowly squeeze the supply network.”

“Phase 2 would involve a tightening of the net that we cast. We hit medium to major suppliers that are loosely tied with Rockhold, as well as implement significant barriers to entering or leaving Rockhold beyond their stipulated borders, restricting access. Travel restrictions on inners and outers from New Saint towards Rockhold will be announced. This phase should take about another two weeks.”

“Wouldn’t this give time for the Queen’s Guards to prepare and set up for a defense of the city?” Henry asked.

“The delay is unavoidable. We need to buy time for our ground troops as well, and I suspect the Queen’s Guards are already aware they are the next biggest fish on the chopping block. If we strike as fast as we could, they would still have weeks to prepare in advance.” Major Derfas replied.

“Moving on, Phase 3 involves preliminary bombing and attacks. The major gangs will serve as the main force in this phase, running an insurgent war within Rockhold itself. It is predicted the outbreak of the skirmishes may cause civilians to evacuate the city, about 70% will evacuate.”

“That’s still a ten million civilian population you’re talking about. Every other house could have a family or two.” One of the officers pointed out.

Major Derfas nodded. “For Phase 3, we will not be in active conflict yet. The key is to showcase the unrest in Rockhold within its own people, which will give us the greater moral impetus and support from our citizens to intervene. We will control the opinion of the media to ensure there is stable war support.”

“Phase 3 is expected to occur over two-three weeks, giving enough time for the majority of the population to flee. An evacuation suggestion will be broadcasted on the planet’s network. The next Phase 4 will be the real offensive, using the information collected from the major gangs and our own embedded informants to target key defence zones.”

“Phase 4 is not going to be easy,” Henry mused. “We’re covering a large metropolitan area that has both supersurface and subsurface structures.”

“Indeed, which is why I would now present a brief general overview of how the offense goes.”

The two-dimensional map was laid out at the front of the podium, with the officers standing around. “There are more than a hundred sectors in Rockhold, each representing the size of a small town. Each and every single building would have to be cleared of enemies.” Major Derfas pointed to an example high-rise apartment.

“The civilian population in Rockhold has access to weaponry that can threaten our forces, so for the entire duration of the offensive urban operation, ALL civilians who remained behind and did not leave due to the evacuation notice are considered to be hostile on sight unless outright surrendering. If they surrender they must be restrained immediately to prevent any issues.”

“Can’t we just level the city then? Since we’re ignoring civilian casualties.” Another officer quizzed.

“We will bombard key Queen’s Guards emplacements, but not indiscriminately. The media is continuously watching so we must maintain high moral ground.” Major Derfas shook his head.

“Phase 4 is expected to take three months. Forces will be continually rotated to maintain high cohesion after which we will begin stabilization operations.”

“Sir, won’t the rebellion intervene in the fight? No doubt they would use this as a chance to attack New Saint or cut off our supply lines.” Henry asked.

“Indeed, we will not be able to commit all of our active combat forces to the battle itself. We will need to protect our supply and communication lines in order to retain the initiative. For New Saint, we shall rely on the remaining half of the New Saint enforcers to assist as well.”

“More information on the deep details of the operations can be found in a data package that has already been sent to your desks. Please read them as soon as possible, the data will be self-purged after a day to prevent espionage.” Major Derfas concluded, dismissing them.

Henry stayed behind, frowning as he still stared at the map intently. “The battle won’t end until we gain full control of the Queen’s Tower and kill or capture the Queen. She somehow has a Dynasty exosuit, probably through the black market. We need a specialized team to hunt and take her down.”

“Maddy and his 1st Generation Keepers will handle that. The 2nd Generation Keepers will serve as a division of their own, and will strike heavily defended sectors in the city. We have a clear supply, logistical and tech advantage. As long as we follow doctrine where possible and remain fluid, we will win.”

“The rebellion is too large of an unknown factor. They could strike anywhere in New Saint. I also wouldn’t put it past The Queen to use chemical or biological weapons against us.”

“The rebellion does not have a stable supply network, which is the reason for Phase 1 and Phase 2. The rebellion cannot face us in a conventional direct conflict. As for chemical weapons, both you and I have rich experience in dealing with such attacks from the Beyond. We will prepare adequately.”

Henry nodded, staring back at the map of Rockhold. “Finally, a united planet. Maybe then we can find true peace.”