Slayer Anderson
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Winning Peace - Chapter 40
🕑 Added 2024-08-11 01:19:01 +0000 UTCThe 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.
Comments
Slayer Anderson
That’s extremely amusing. Likely not something I’ll pursue, but a fun thought.
Slayer Anderson
It was a reference, not an exact quote, so she’s excused.
Net Lurker
There is no counter to protoculture reflex weapons. It's a litteral super energy gun powered by a endlessly self renewing power source.
Guilherme Bezerra
Humanity already got the Macross Missile Barrage to counter them.
blackshadow111
“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.” "Pity you weren't paying attention, or you'd know it was called the Deep magic, not the Ancient"
Darth Bayes
Pokeballs. No, seriously. Nonlethal takedowns and handling slaves with explosive implants/collars. It could likely also massively increase freight capacity (which isn't really needed because of nano manufacturing), fighter capacity, and might allow people to carry their mechas with them day-to-day. On the other hand, that might be way too much. Pokeball tech is basically melee range Star Trek transporters with improvements to the storage buffers.
Sif
Babylon 5 tech might work out, there's a host of different weapons and semi-exotic technology to work with there to make the Alliance not too OP for his tastes.
PhotoStorm
well if your going that route. the world devastators from sw would be a good middle ground. allot less resources.
Diego C
Frankly, the only limiting factor on Lopez now is how many months he has between now and the Reapers nigh-inevitably triggering off of him, and how he spends his II charges - and unless he’s actively wasting them on low synergy, low tech trees, it seems unlikely that humanity is going to come out of this story with anything worse than a Pyrrhic victory.
Slayer Anderson
It would be a shame is something happened to that really shiny impressive dreadnought you've got there, like enough antimatter missiles to blot out the sun. That would be just awful.
Net Lurker
He gave the Turians robotech? Including reflex weapons and protoculture? That is way OP to just give away.
Pearl of the Orient
WH40K capital lasers would not even notice the armor of Prime relays. They would vaporize Reaper Dreadnoughts
Marius Petrauskas
great update
Guilherme Bezerra
Probably is that if it goes too crazy in the insane sci-fi tech tree people will be terrified instead of sucker punched and then stopping and taking a step back. I do not know exactly what I could suggest here because Ezequiel is in the endgame and a lot of the tech available is just plain terrifying. He kind of already went biotech and nanotech. Maybe just straight up get another special substance for the SA version of "Space Wizards"? Midi-chlorians would be too on the nose. Maybe it is time to go cosmic horror and create some psykers.
tarasque
Nah, there are plenty of them that are just neutral. They just aren’t the ones in power for the most part.
tarasque
Dahak has some really BIG ships, multiple forms of FTL and FTL missiles. Also gravity guns. Star Trek ftl has been mentioned and is an honestly awesome idea. Supreme Commander tech would allow a single person to run a Carrier ship with drones for fighting. It also lets the MC start with just a suit and expand until he is fighting a full fleet battle? Warhammer 40k has their capital class lasers to just ignore ME Barriers. Arpeggio of Blue Steel has Klein bottle shields that can return their fire? Nothing says f@ck you, like beating someone up with their own weapons? Also AI would really piss off the Citadel. Honestly I can’t wait to find out the last Tech. It’s going to be ~GOOD~
Starfall20
Give the gundams FTL rings, from Star wars
godUsoland
Regarding Tech Tree... maybe Shipgirls? That way he can just print out cruisers/frigates that are controlled by individual Shipgirls, thus solving the Lack of Manpower
godUsoland
Ha, I like her! Selena really is the Kryptonite of Ezekiel. Too bad she's already taken, or Zeke & his wife could invite her over a few nights. :) Only 15 chapters left? Wow. Well, things are definitely gonna ramp up then! Is there gonna be a sequel to Winning Peace? Or will it switch to a new story?
Net Lurker
Mass Effect has space fighters and bombers. The System Alliance/Humanity is famous inverse for having them and dedicated carriers. So much so that the Turians started to copy them.
James (Silencian)
For a tech tree Halo has some pretty good options. Super Mac defense stations, covenant anti grav and plasma. Unsc even has some chicken walker mechs for the memes.
Raymond Alderman
Star Wars Episode IV. IIRC Mass Effect doesn't have space fighters and having a swarm of X-Wings show up would be hilarious. Death Star would be funny as well.
Ryune
I don’t actually think any new direct combat boost is needed in all honesty… the woman said it herself, the problem is manpower. He has two options for that in reducing manpower requirements or increasing manpower straight out. I don’t doubt that he has the tech to make a starship effectively the body of a person through DNI or a nerve gear style helmet but Prey style Neuromods that instantly transfer skills or cyberpunk skill chips are also options for increasing manpower… decisions, decisions.
Net Lurker
Give the Gundams star trek DS9 warp drives. Nothing says be afraid more then a murder robot with independent FTL that can show up anywhere
Sumgai101
A death star without the obvious weak point is always a good FAFO showpiece. Nothing shouts military supremacy like mobile planetoid battlestations that can wipe battlefleets singlehandedly, destroy worlds and have enough industrial capacity to build it's own fleet while on the move.
Jeffrey Gassenheimer
Diebuster or Space Battleship are pretty heavy on the “teeth kicking in megatech” end of the scale.
Vesle Triumphant
Blegh opaque polictians. Only in fiction are they good. Real life completely and utterly evil.
