M.J. Markgraf
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BSE Chapter 3-52
🕑 Added 2025-01-21 13:05:01 +0000 UTC“I won’t lie to you, Kane,” Katalynn said as they slowly walked down one of the empty hallways of the complex, “Harlow surprised us with how many ships he brought with him. He must have been holding them back from the STO because he still had three fleets harassing their border and defending the territory they had claimed. What I’m trying to get at is that even with your impressive defenses, I don’t know if this is a battle we can win.”
“Are you certain?” Alexander asked, feeling a pit of despair open up inside him at the woman’s words.
“Nothing is ever certain until it’s over, but Harlow is no fool. We fought him three times, and he adjusted his tactics to counter ours with each battle. Our chances of winning are going to depend on a few things. We need to take away his main advantage, which is firepower. That includes his plasma missiles as well as any nuclear weapons he might be holding onto. If we can do that, our chances improve slightly.”
“Why only slightly,” Alexander asked.
“Because he will either pull out or shift his tactics. I’ve never seen a pirate so bound and determined to throw everything they have at something. I don’t know what you did to earn this man’s desire, but I doubt it will simply fade away if we chase him off. Assuming we even can, our fleets will be a ghost of their former selves. Even with your ability to repair and modify ships faster than anyone else in Asgardian territory, it will leave us vulnerable…”
Alexander could hear the hesitation in the woman’s tone, so he finished her words for her. “And you would withdraw if you felt like this was a losing battle.”
Katalynn grimaced but did not deny his words. He understood, he couldn’t expect them to simply throw themselves into a meat grinder to save one planet and one man.
“We could relocate most of your people,” she added after a tense silence followed his previous response.
Alexander simply shook his avatar. “I wouldn’t abandon any of these people to that fate. And Harlow would simply come to Asgard to take revenge or look for me if he couldn’t find me here. So, while I appreciate the offer, don’t count us out quite yet. I may still have a few cards to play to help even the odds a bit.”
“Good,” she stated, looking at him sideways. “My opinion of you would have fallen had you agreed.
“Another test of my character?” he asked in annoyance.
“Yes,” she admitted. “Be glad I am the one testing you and not the other Jarls. You saw how Jarl Bergson acted when she saw you. She’s a bit headstrong, but she’s also younger and much more open to change than some of the older Jarls. If you couldn’t handle yourself in front of her or defend your honor when it’s tested, some might think your inclusion to Asgard was political.”
“Was it?” Alexander asked as they walked.
“Everything I do must be factored into my political needs, but we can discuss that later. Tell me about these cards you are holding. I need to know if they will serve a purpose in the battle.”
“I have twenty stealth gunships.” Lucas had been the one to produce the gunships while he was absent at Asgard. They had been meant as a testing platform more than a weapon of war because of some downsides with the process he had discovered, which he quickly pointed out to Katalynn. “The stealth coating isn’t great and there are structural weaknesses with these gunships so I don’t know how much they would affect the outcome of a battle.”
“Railguns?” she asked and Alexander nodded. “Hmm. They probably won’t be instrumental against the thicker armor of the destroyers and cruisers in Harlow’s fleet and with the other issue, probably won’t survive against his frigates and gunships long enough to do any significant damage. Adding them to the fight would just be throwing them to the flame. For now, we will exclude them from the battle plan, but keep the pilots ready, we may find a use for them.”
Alexander simply nodded, not mentioning that the ships were all automated.
“Enough talk about politics and tactics, we will be sick of both shortly. Since we have time while our tacticians and commanders figure out the best course of action for the battle to come, how about you show me around your home?”
He was surprised by the question. “Um… okay. It isn’t quite as impressive as Asgard, but I can think of a few spots that might interest you.”
The pair took the tram to the closest exit to the central dome. The massive expanse of crystal clear material gave an unobstructed view of the night sky. It was quiet in the dome, as it was both night on the surface, and inside the facility.
The place had become a favorite spot for people to get away from the rest of the hustle and bustle of the quickly growing community.
“If memory serves, this dome was caved in the last time I was here.”
Alexander nodded his avatar. “It was.”
“Hmm. Impressive work rebuilding it,” she replied, looking at the structure more than the star-filled view outside.
“I had good people working on it, otherwise it would likely still be in a state of disrepair.” She glanced at him and Alexander felt the need to defend himself. “I would have gotten to it eventually, it was just that I had more important things going on.”
“That’s because you lack focus, Kane,” Katalynn said as she walked farther into the now lush interior of the dome.
“What do you mean I lack focus? I managed to modify your ship as well as one of mine in the same timeframe that I had given you originally. If that isn’t focus I don’t know what is,” he responded defensively.
“I’m not talking about your engineering accomplishments, Kane,” Katalynn stated. “I’m referring to where your priorities lay. Take me for example. While I would love to spend my days honing my fighting, I put my people first, even if it’s at the expense of my time. I’m not saying what you have built here isn’t impressive, but you need to eventually decide if you wish to be a simple engineer or a leader.”
“I have and always will do everything in my power to protect my daughter and everything I have built.”
She glanced at him. “I don’t doubt your sincerity. Defending your family is all well and good, but you’re not just a father. I didn’t offer this position of Jarl to you so you could neglect the people below you. They are just as important as all your gadgets.”
Instead of getting angry at the statement, he took a step back to process the woman’s words. She may be right, but that didn’t mean he was wrong either.
After minutes of silence, he finally spoke. “I’m not like normal people. I can’t simply care about them because you say I should.”
Katalynn sighed at his response. “Loki said you might feel this way, but I don’t believe that to be true. If you didn’t care, you would have taken me up on my earlier offer to evacuate as many as possible. I think you are already on the way to figuring this out, but it never hurts to hear it from someone else. Learn to care about the citizens. If not you’re just going to end up like another self-serving asshole, and the universe has enough of those already. With your skills, I believe that would be a great disservice to humanity's future.”
“You only say that because you want access to my inventions,” he stated quietly.
“That is certainly one aspect of why I chose to speak to you about this issue,” she admitted. “But not the only one. I saw how out of depth you were when you came to me, yet you still put everything on the line to speak to someone you thought was a pirate. You may claim that it was only for your daughter and the infrastructure you put together here, but I have my doubts about that. Humanity needs more people who care, Kane. That is the main reason why I extended the offer to join the Asgardians. I won’t lie to you, you have a rough road to travel to get these people to put their faith in you, but I think you will get there eventually. I will help where I can but when I took my position the populace already supported me so my experience will be limited in that fashion.”
“I expected a nice outing where I showed you around. I didn’t expect to be lambasted for my choices,” he muttered.
“The truth is never convenient,” she admitted. “Nor is advice generally well received when given to people who stick their heads in the sand to ignore the bigger picture. Tell me, how many people do you have that will call you out on your bullshit?”
“A few maybe, why?” he asked.
“Good. Surround yourself with more of those types of people and you will eventually figure out how to rule effectively. Now, where to next?”
Alexander sighed and gestured down a side tunnel that led toward his workshop. Their walk there was quiet as he processed what she had said to him. He found it hard to accept that she was right. Mostly because he didn’t want to contemplate the day when Yulia was all grown up or when she got married and started a family of her own.
This was something that had been at the back of his mind for a long time, yet he didn’t want to think about it. Alexander had to be old. Even if he hadn’t been activated back in 2050 where his memories seemed to end, he had to be older than even Dr. Lund, and she was the oldest known living human that Alexander had met.
The average life expectancy of humans was all over the place in this era, ranging anywhere from eighty to one hundred and twenty in some worlds. Most of it depended on access to high-end medical services at a young age.
Assuming his power source was self-sustaining, that meant that barring catastrophic failure to his body, he would likely outlive every single person he knew. The thought sent an uncomfortable feeling down his body.
Logically he knew he had already outlived all of his friends and family from back in 2050, but that was different because he didn’t remember who they were or how he felt about them. That would not be the case going forward.
Before the existential dread could overwhelm him, he shoved it back into his subconscious to pick at later. There would be time to come to terms with those issues at some point. Right now he needed to focus on showing Katalynn around and after that, getting rid of Harlow.
“Nice and easy issues to handle,” he spoke quietly.
“Did you say something?” Katalynn asked.
“I said we are almost there,” he lied.
They soon entered Alexander’s workshop. He had expected it to be quiet and empty, but he found Yulia and Lucas working on something.
“Yulia, Lucas! You two best not be modifying that augment gear again. I told you that was a one-time occurrence.”
The two jumped slightly at his entry.
“Yulia, you told me he would be busy all night. That’s the only reason I agreed to help out.” Lucas shook his head before turning to Alexander. “Sorry, Alex. And no, I wasn’t helping her modify the augment suit. I was helping her improve her go-cart’s performance.”
“You mean cheating?” Alexander asked pointedly, looking over at his daughter who hung her head.
Lucas defended his daughter’s actions. “Hold on now. It’s not cheating if it’s within the rules of their races…or otherwise not covered by the rules,” he muttered that last part. “Anyway,” he said happily, trying to draw Alexander’s attention away from their actions. “Who’s your very tall and lovely friend?”
Katalynn only snorted at the man’s compliment. “I prefer my men to have a bit of meat on their bones.”
“What does that mean?” Yulia leaned over to Lucas and whispered.
Lucas leaned back over to the girl and whispered back. “Have your dad explain it to you.”
Alexander simply groaned internally as he heard it all. He was pretty sure Katalynn had heard it as well.
“This is Lagetha Katalynn Char,” he finally stated, seeing as Katalynn didn’t seem obliged to tell them herself.
Lucas clapped his hands together and chuckled nervously. “Well, this is awkward. It was nice meeting you, Lagertha, but I think it’s past time I get some sleep.”
The man didn’t wait for an invitation to leave as he hurried out of the workshop.
Alexander didn’t miss Katalynn’s gaze lingering on the man as he left. When she turned back, she caught him staring. The woman looked unfazed by that.
“If he bulked up, he may have a chance,” she said simply. Then she turned toward Yulia. “So this is your daughter?”
“Yulia, come say hi to our guest.”
Showing no fear, the girl hurried over. “You’re super tall, but not as tall as Alex. One day, I’ll be as tall as Alex.”
Katalynn smiled. “That is a worthy goal to shoot for. Now, what is a go-cart and why would you attempt to cheat with it?” That last question came out as an order and the girl stiffened like she had been caught with her hand in a cookie jar.
Alexander really needed to learn how Katalynn got these sorts of reactions from people, it might come in handy if he had to discipline his daughter down the line.
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I'll be transparent, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. Specifically the second part of the conversation with Char where she brings up his leadership shortcomings, but I'm curious what you all think, let me know.
Comments
Nexis
Alex did everything to build something from nothing. Technological, society and political. He also spend all his spare time with his daughter. He did not even had a need to sleep and worked 24 hours a day. Alex also learned how to split tasks to other people and etablish a leadership. And now someone who knows basicly nothing about him tells him he did so much wrong and had his focus on the stuff that is not so importened. If he did spend his time like she told him, there would be no BSE anymore. She has almost no information what he went through and is trying to correct him. She behaves similar like a Boss or political figure which tries to talk someone else down in what he has accomplished to have a better standing above those other people, in this case Alex. It is a tactic that workes only against people who have no spine or an inferiority complex. This behavior is perfect if you want press those people to give there all while never standing up to you. Normaly done to design engineers to get them to work over hours in the company without pay because you let them feel that they should have accomplished more in there normal work time. Design engineers because there social skills often lag because of there technical focus. With programmers it is basicly the same. In case of our MC, it is to get his technology and other stuff for basicly much less that it is worth. Thats the kind person this Katalynn is. Someone i started to realy dislike.
Supernova Wizard
The conversation was okay, but the interaction with Yulia is my favorite part.
Bunten44
Are you saying trial by combat is not an effective way to decide who should lead a people? This is preposterous. Clearly, whoever can beat someone with a pointy stick the best is qualified to be the leader of a government spreading across multiple star systems. After all the rule of Katalynn is both stable and prosperous from what we have seen.
Shmooggie
Honestly, I see Mr. Boney, having a better chance. Still… there’s a solid 1/50 chance!
Silver Beard
Not that one; fortunately, she's still preteen. Whole story is one rush job after another. After Harlow's defeat he'll have a small breather from the corps and can finish his station and begin to build up his fleet. (Admit I'm getting tired of the rebuilding scrap montage) Harlow's bounty alone will let him buy quite a few modules for his Academy. Surely someone going through will catch his notice and prove a worthy companion for his daughter.
Silver Beard
Pacifist approach doesn't fit the Asguardian culture. When the other Jarl questioned him in the previous chapter I expected Kane to trounce her and tell a bot to send her to waste disposal...or maybe to his lab for future experiments or something. You can't be a pussy to confrontation and stay ahead of the game
Shmooggie
Yulia needs a mother!!!
Silver Beard
NEVER. Just stop... notice you didn't get a like?
Silver Beard
Totally agree; if Kane needs a leader role model- she isn't it. It's like teaching a subject you absolutely suck at assuming the student will figure it out after facing all your failures for what? At this point I'm convinced she only leader based on her personal weapon proficiency. That's not Leadership; that's personal accomplishment. Her head is so far up her ass she doesn't know the difference.
Caleb Reusser
Katalynn is not one of the characters that I like. She comes across to me as self-righteous. She is harping on him about things when she is failing to keep her Jarls in line. So it feels to me like she is trying to hold him to a standard that is not held by the rest of her society. Which in turn comes across as she sees someone she can take advantage of because he doesn't know better.
Shmooggie
Katalynn x Alex?!!!
Shmooggie
How tall is katalynn?
Einhander
I think you had the right instinct. The personal lecture seems just that: personal. I think you might be able to red pen most of it for either a later date when they know each other better, or spread it out among smaller lectures from others. Maybe end the chappy with more go cart stuff?
BookwormLich
I feel Alex has been reacting more than advancing with the Asgardians, I mean, yeah he's new in this but I doubt Lagherta is now all savy in politics. Since the beginning Alex has been growing from someone that just wanted a place to build his workshop and raise Yulia to boss of a corporation and now governor and leader... I do agree with Lagherta that he still stretch himself too thin. Anyway, thanks for the chapter.
Des
Being nice to your kid and acquiescing some stuff seems like okay traits for an inexperienced single-dad. Though I can't really remember where she was pushing him around a lot? A healthy relationship requires some give and take from both sides and just because he is the parent and there is a power imbalance he cannot expect her to obey him as if they are in the military. I for one didn't expect Alex to cave in as he did and found it very unexpected (and annoying).
Merlin's Fan
Side note, we should've noticed Alex would roll over from Katalynn... He gets pushed around by Yulia all the time lol
Merlin's Fan
I'm happy with this chapter and the conversation. It helps patch a little of what Alex did on Asgard, but it doesn't forgive him for rolling over as he did. It does at least show that Char saw an opening and took it. It also brings forth an oversight of Alex, albeit this might be because they nearly put his daughter in danger.
Des
I agree that he is not the perfect leader and more of an engineer and finding the right middle-ground is important. From the story itself it does feel as if he found his middle-ground already and just needs to improve. He likely needs to improve his leadership skills and surrounding himself with more competent advisors. Her advising him about his leadership skills while not really having experienced much of it seems... premature? hasty?. The whole "I don't care about others except my daughter" shtick doesn't really feel right. He never ever felt cold or uncaring for others AT ALL. He felt like a very normal empathetic person. Most humans cannot feel much empathy for unknown ppl. That's why reading about wars and deaths in some foreign countries doesn't really impact most. Only by showing faces and telling personal stories as examples can you evoke empathy for ppl you don't know. (But even then without similar experiences it is a lot harder to empathize with others). Also punishing criminals or being harsh on perceived enemies is a very normal human behaviour. That's why countries at war tend to dehumanize the opponent. All the time Kane felt like a pretty normal person emotionally and sympathetically. Okay he sometimes feels a bit more naive and pacifistic than the average joe of this universe but this is actually an important trait of his that elevates him as a character I'd say. I cannot really comprehend how Kane even came to the conclusion that he is uncaring when he clearly isn't. But this has been a theme that has been going on for a while. That another character addresses this felt overdue but maybe the time and/or person aren't correct for that. Also because he never really felt uncaring to others this seems like an issue solely in his self perception (and not how others perceive him) which couldn't be addressed by someone else unless he airs his thoughts/feelings on that matter. Still he is in a body that seemingly runs 24/7 he should have had time for a lot of self reflection in between breaks and possibly come to some conclusions on his own. (PS Thanks for the extra chappies :D)
Gabriel Melnik
Alexander needs more bite in my opinion.
Spencer Herold
I like the conversation a lot, but you are the author.
