Interesting Times - Chapter 55

November 20th, 2173

14:34

Arcturus-System

Arcturus Station

Andrew turned his head slightly towards the right and tensed the muscles in his neck. He heard a satisfying crack and repeated the motion toward the other side.

While keeping most of his focus on the words spoken by the other people in the meeting room, he slowly tensed and untensed every part of his body to get the blood flowing.

Long meetings like the one he was currently participating in had the disadvantage of making his body stiff, especially the parts where he had been hurt by more than scrapes.

Reminders of an active youth, he told himself whenever one of them hurt more than usual.

Andrew's eyes wandered toward the head of the table, where a middle-aged woman with light blond hair and sky-blue eyes sat.

She didn't look a day over thirty-five, and while Andrew knew her correct age, which was also public knowledge as a person of public interest, he would never mention it out loud. Some things just weren't done among colleagues.

One of her hands held her chin up while the other lay flat on the table, her fingers thrumming rhythmically. It wasn't a nervous habit but something she did whenever her focus was divided between listening and thinking further about it.

"And that concludes my report about the readiness of our inner colonies, Madam President," finished Lincoln Finner, the Secretary of the Interior.

"Thank you, Lincoln. How long do you think you will need to finish the report for the Outer Colonies? You mentioned earlier that the report would take some more time," responded the woman at the head of the conference table, Miriam LeBlac, the current president of the Alliance.

"We should get the last pieces of data at the end of the week, and I don't think it will take more than another one after that to get everything compiled in a report."

"Have it on my desk the day you finish, and I'm sure the others will appreciate it too if they get a copy."

"That will not be a problem," answered Finner, slightly bowing his head towards her.

Andrew sighed mentally in relief that he wouldn't have to listen to another report from Finner in the near future. The man might be competent and knew what he was doing, but he also was one of the least gifted oral narrators Andrew had the displeasure to meet.

It wasn't like the information wasn't there. The significant details were easy to find, and the garbage others added to their reports was mostly kept out. Yet, Finner somehow made it possible with the sound of his voice alone to make it sound so dull that one couldn't wait until it was finished.

Perhaps Finner trained himself to do it this way to reduce the number of meetings he had to attend by making it an agony for everyone. It would explain why he had to be present at far fewer meetings with concerned members of the parliament who wanted to be kept in the loop concerning the state of the Alliance. 

It was an even better method than Andrew's reply: "There are parts that you don't have the clearance for," whenever some "concerned" parliament member wanted to know about this or that operation.

"Are there any more questions for Secretary Finner before we move on to the next point of the agenda?" asked President LeBlac while looking every person participating in the eye one after the other.

When she looked at Andrew, he subtly shook his head. He had no questions that needed to be asked right now, and if anything came up he couldn't send one of his own to find out, he would go right to the source in private.

"I've got one question," said the Secretary of Defense, Vincent Welt. "You mentioned that the number of new sign-ups for the Alliance Military has dropped by more than 40% across the Inner Colonies, and while I've seen the same numbers from my people, we don't know why. Do you have any explanation for that?"

"I have," replied Finner. "Most people living in the Inner Colonies believe that with our closer ties to the Citadel and its associated races, the danger of a new conflict that would involve them is incredibly low. Furthermore, the sentiment that the galaxy is safe and that the Alliance doesn't need that big of a military has spread among them. It is a mindset propagated by a few relatively favored politicians. My department doesn't see much of a danger right now, but if that trend continues for much longer, we will intervene and start to reverse it."

"Favored politicians?" asked Welt, wanting clarification.

"Local politicians and some members of the parliament. All part of the so-called "Integration" faction," responded Andrew in place of the Secretary of the Interior. "The AIS already looked into them. Some believe what they are saying, but those with the loudest voice seem to have backers from outside."

There was no question what he meant with "Outside," and it was easy to see from the grimaces what the people present thought about this interference in the internal affairs of the Alliance.

It wasn't something new as the first attempts started from the moment the Alliance first set foot on the Citadel, but, for the most time, there hadn't been any sign that the overtures from the other species in the galaxy were effective since there had been still a lot of distrust toward the newly revealed aliens at the time. 

And while the attitude and sentiment toward aliens had improved, it wasn't like there was unconditional trust between humanity and everyone else. Not enough time had passed for something like that to happen, and the sheer "Otherness" wasn't helping, as humans had always been apprehensive of what they considered "Other."

"Are you keeping an eye on them?" asked President LeBlac, frowning as she thought about the implications outside interference could have on the internal situation of the Alliance.

"Of course," replied Andrew, a tiny smirk finding its way on his face. "We got their names, the amount of money they got, the promises they made and got, and are currently occupied with getting all the names of those who wish to mettle with the Alliance's politics."

"When you have the names, forward them to our ambassador on the Citadel. Anita would have more use for it than any of us," ordered President Leblanc, and Andrew nodded to show that he would do so the moment his people were finished with the investigation.

"Did that answer all your questions, Vincent?"

"It did, Ma'am," answered Welt. "A few others may come up in the future, but those can be answered outside this frame." 

"Very well," said President LeBlac. "Then let us continue with your report about the readiness of our armed forces and the situation at our border with the Batarians. Andrew, I expect you to add your information whenever you think something should be known to us all."

With a nod, Andrew signaled that he understood her order. He would let everyone know bits and pieces that were not too confidential to make sense of the situation and, more importantly, help plan for the future.

Anything else would be for the president's ears and only hers.

Except if Welt needed to hear something, too, he corrected himself quickly.

Sometimes, it was tempting to keep information to oneself, to feel like the most knowledgeable person in the room.

Yet, important information had to be shared among those he saw as allies, or else the Alliance would be slow to react to any events needing a quick response.

Furthermore, Andrew would still know more than anyone else. It simply was his job to know things others don't.

And he was very good at his job.

Welt coughed sightly and straightened his posture before beginning his report.

"I will begin with the conscription rates across the Alliance. As we already heard, the rates dropped among the Inner Colonies by 40%, and Earth has even decreased by 50% compared to the last few years."

"Earth hasn't shown a lot of people wanting to join the military in the past decade. So even if the rates decreased by 50% in actual numbers, that shouldn't be too much of a hassle. It's the safest and most protected planet in the Alliance. So, of course, the people wouldn't feel they needed to join the military to keep themselves safe," inserted Secretary Finner.

"A point to note, Lincoln, but please let Vincent continue his report and only interject when you have a question or need clarification," chided President LeBlac lightly without ever looking Finner's way, who lowered his head respectfully in apology toward Welt.

Welt waved the apology away, not disgruntled by the interruption in the slightest.

"Vincent is right. Earthers never signed up in the same percentage as the Inner or Outer Colonies, but they are still a high enough number to be concerned about if the trend continues. Speaking about them, the Outer Colonies show no sign of deviance outside the expected. Some years more sign up, some less."

"And what are the total numbers of our forces?" asked President LeBlac. "On how many can we count on in case of emergency?"

"If we ignore those still in training and anything still in the process of being established? 1st to 6th fleets are combat-ready, and we're in the end phase of getting the 7th fleet up to our standards. Each fleet is headed by a dreadnought supported by at least two carriers. Furthermore, a dozen destroyers are part of each fleet, which use the modular adaptation technology, which means that should we be thrown into a situation where the Treaty of Farixen is simply ink on paper, we will be able to update them with the same mass accelerator cannon we have on our dreadnought ships. But they have enough firepower without the upgrade to become dangerous for any starship, regardless of their classification."

Welt took a moment to refill the empty glass before him with water from the pitcher on the table.

He drank half the glass before lowering it on the table and continued without further ado.

"Besides our heavy hitters, our fleets are supplemented by around twenty cruisers and 50 frigates. After the 7th fleet is up and running, we plan to increase the number of destroyers, cruisers, frigates, and carriers by 50% in each fleet. If you want, I could pull up the numbers on our fighters, but I don't think that will be necessary right now."

The collective shaking of heads confirmed Welt's suspicion.

"Of course, besides the number of fighting ships I just mentioned, every fleet possesses numerous support ships, too. Their task is to either make repairs on-site or ferry troops and supplies to combat theatres. That doesn't mean our combat ships do not possess military personnel trained for shipside or ground combat, but the numbers are too low for serious operations planetside."

"So that means we are using something akin to troop transporters?" asked President LeBlac.

"Yes, Ma'am. Usually, our carriers could serve that purpose, too, and ferry our troops via gunships or shuttles down to a planet. But Dr. Hoshiyume presented us with a new design around half a year back that would allow us to land the support ship and use it as a mobile base on the planet itself. Their defensive systems are perfect to give them a secure place to retreat and rest. Furthermore, using the transporters to carry the heavy equipment has freed up enough space for other things. As such, I have authorized the addition of around twenty transporters for every fleet. And before questions concerning the financial side come up. I've already submitted a budget report, and everything is within the yearly allowance the parliament approves."

"How far along is our special project in the Olympus system?"

The short twitch of Welt's lips told Andrew everything he needed to know about how the project was going. Not that he needed it. After all, he was the person who ensured that no concrete news about the project sickered through to the rest of the galaxy, and the only thing the galaxy knew were baseless rumors. Rumors that he buried under a ton of others that sounded more and less fantastical than that the Alliance was building Super-Dreadnoughts in a system that had no access to the mass relay network.

One couldn't destroy knowledge, especially rumors, once it went out to the people, but one could make sure it sounded like a lie. And it was only the hardcore conspiracy fanatics giving those rumors any time nowadays.

Of course, the Salarians had their suspicions. After all, they knew that it was possible to travel to systems outside the reach of the mass relays, and Andrew would bet that they would try to find out if there was any truth to those rumors when they got their DR drives to work flawlessly.

It would take the Salarians two more years to complete the DR drive to work in the same range as the Alliance's from five years ago and to work out the kinks around it at Andrew's estimation, and another two to come close to theirs.

Nothing the AIS could do would stop it, yet perhaps they could delay it for another year or two. Enough for the Alliance's scientists to develop an even more sophisticated model.

At least, that would happen if the president decided she didn't want to go through with Andrew's plan to play nice with the Salarians.

After all, if the other side would get what they wanted regardless of your actions, why not help them achieve their goal and take compensation for the help rendered?

In Andrew's mind, that would be preferable, but that would depend on the president's decision. If she decided to sabotage the Salarian's research instead, Andrew would grumble for a short minute and then get to work immediately.

Yet, he somehow had the feeling it wouldn't come to that. After all, the president was giving his suggestion some serious thought if she hadn't decided what to do after he gave the proposal two weeks ago.

"... and because of that, we will see some slight delay in the construction," finished Welt, and Andrew noticed that he hadn't focused on the conversation to consciously follow it. Of course, he already knew the reason for the delay, but it would have been interesting to know what Welt had said and what not to compare it with his own information about the situation.

No matter, he would later look through the transcript before filing the copies in the AIS and the presidential archives.

"When can we expect them to be ready to be integrated into our forces? And I don't mean when the field tests begin," asked President LeBlac with a raised eyebrow that conveyed her annoyance at the delay.

Andrew had to stop the slight smile from forming on his face. He knew she wanted to reveal the Ruler-Class ships while holding her position as president since she was expected to win the next election. It would have been the crowning achievement of her career that would have cemented her position in history as the president who led the Alliance when they created something the galaxy had never seen since the first Asari had started forming words into sentences.

After all, nobody knew what the Protheans built during the peak of their civilization.

"The projected timeframe is around 2180 for the first, probably in the later half of the year. Testing will begin in 2179 and will take no longer than a year to find any issues that would prevent the ship's integration into our forces. If there are any, we'll take care of them. It should help with getting the other two ready for deployment. Their construction should be finished in early 2183, and joining our forces later that year."

"It may not happen during our tenure, but we should be happy that it's happening this century at least," Lincoln commented with a sigh.

A sentiment that was shared by President LeBlac if Andrew interpreted her audible exhale correctly.

"Will it really take that long? Can't we accelerate the building process?"

"We could," said Andrew, drawing the attention toward him. "I was there when the project was first discussed and started and have watched over it until now, keeping unfriendly eyes away. I probably know more about the project than anyone else except Dr. Hoshiyume. If you look for the transcript of that particular discussion in the presidential archives, you will find that the first completion date was around five years from now." Andrew directed the last sentence directly toward President LeBlac, hiding his chide behind the softness of his words.

In Andrew's opinion, she should have read everything about the project before bringing it up, especially why it should take until the late 70s to finish it.

"And why was the first finishing date set for 78?" asked Finner while President LeBlac only watched Andrew with narrowed eyes, letting Finner ask the question.

Andrew's eyes flashed quickly to Welt, watching his reaction to the question. His face could be mistaken for a statue. Not a single expression or twitch of facial muscles could be seen.

Satisfied that the Secretary of Defense knew the reasons behind the late finishing date, Andrew turned to Finner and explained: "There are multiple reasons for that. The first one is obviously secrecy. Getting enough materials to the Olympus system for a single Ruler-class ship without anyone noticing or asking where all those materials are disappearing to. It's one of our goals. We do not want others, be it the Citadel Council or even the less-than-friendly parties inside the parliament, to know what we're building. Raise that number from one to three, and the difficulty triples, too. The second reason is our position in the galactic community. Those agreeing to the project in the first place desired to ensure that there wouldn't be any immediate hostile actions from the others when we unveil the Ruler class. That's why your predecessors tried to build closer ties with the Turians. If we could get friendly relations with them, they would not decry our actions as acts of war or try to take them away. They will want our help to build one for themselves.

Furthermore, as it will cause tensions anyway, unveiling so much firepower will do it. No matter the circumstances, we wanted to give the Alliance more time to build up its power base to have a better chance at defending ourselves should the worst-case scenario happen and a war with the Citadel break out." 

"Do you think a war will happen?" asked President LeBlac.

"Yes," said Andrew without hesitation, shocking two people in the room. "Perhaps it will not be called a war, but we will take serious military actions before the turn of the decade, maybe even before its halfway point."

"Our enemy?" President LeBlac's words were short and commanding, exactly how Andrew expected from a leader who focused on her task of protecting the people who looked towards her for guidance.

"The Batarians," answered Welt in Andrew's place. "They want to take us down a peg or two and can barely wait for a chance."

"Shouldn't they still be concerned about the anti-government elements inside their territory?" asked Finner.

"Not as much as we hoped," replied Andrew. "While they started strong, especially with outside help," he didn't mention the help came from the AIS as that was implied and would only lead to negative consequences if mentioned aloud, "the Batarian government and military were surprisingly apt in finding and taking them down. Our projections show that in a year, most of the anti-government movement's leaders will either be dead or imprisoned. The rest will disappear into insignificance and do nothing more than be an occasional thorn in the Hegemony's side."

"Not even with support?" asked President LeBlac.

"Not even with support," confirmed Andrew.

"Yet, that does not mean we will have to fear an attack from the Batarians. At least, not for the next two to three years. While the anti-government movement couldn't accomplish its stated goals of changing the government, it still managed to destabilize it and the region where the revolution happened enough that the Batarians would concentrate on fixing the damage first before anything else. It should give us enough time to prepare for anything they will do. And the AIS believes they will use their connections with the pirate and slaver gangs in that part of the galaxy to plan an attack."

"Plausible deniability?" asked Finner with a raised eyebrow that conveyed his thoughts about that strategy.

"Flimsy plausible deniability, but yes," answered Andrew without missing a beat. "It worked for them before, and that was when they orchestrated an attack on a minor Asari colony. If the Council isn't willing to act when it's one of theirs, I don't believe they will look twice at our case should we bring it to their attention."

"Then we will have to do it ourselves," decided President LeBlac with an edge to her tone. "Will we be able to do it?"

She directed the question toward Welt, who looked back with hard eyes.

"Without a doubt, Ma'am," he answered, and not even a speck of uncertainty could be heard in his voice or seen on his face. "Even should the AIS fail to find out where and when the attack happens, we will repel them with minimal casualties. Our patrols can reinforce any colony at the border with the Batarians fast, and our colonial defense systems will give the attacking fleet a pounding before they arrive."

"Counterstrike options?"

"Quick and merciless," answered Welt. "But I believe Andrew already has a target in mind for such an operation."

"I have," confirmed Andrew with a nod. "Three worlds with Hegemony support but not officially part of it. Just as the Hegemony would call it a pirate attack, we would call it an anti-pirate and slaver operation. If Hegemony personnel is present during our counterstrikes, they will probably have switched sides and turned traitors to the Hegemony. After all, the Hegemony wouldn't work with such people against the Citadel law, would they?"

"It seems we have the bare bones of a plan for when needed. We will talk about it more when we're closer to the actual event. Let us shelve this topic and move to the next point." President LeBlac shifted in her seat and looked at Andrew. "When can we expect Mr. Denebren to return to Alliance-controlled territory? He's sorely missed."

Andrew knew that this question would come. It was no secret that the two were friends, and Oscar was far too valuable to let him out of the Alliance's influence. Yet, he was too powerful to dictate his actions or even think about restricting his freedom.

Oscar had made himself into the nightmare of every leader.

"Around the turn of the year," Andrew answered with a smile, and he could see how LeBlac's eyebrows raised a few millimeters in surprise, not having expected a definitive answer after he answered vaguely the last few times he had been asked. "His business on Illium will conclude before the year is over, and he already expressed his desire to me to return to the Citadel when everything is over. I probably can convince him to spend some time inside the Alliance. After all, he is due for another visit to the university he founded. Checking in on his holdings on Earth and Terra Nova shouldn't be a problem, too."

"Very well," said President LeBlac. "I look forward to seeing him home again."

"And I'm sure he's looking forward to it, too."

"And his miniature war with Eclipse?" interjected Finner when it looked like the subject of Oscar Denebren was about to be dropped. "Are we truly willing to ignore the elephant in the room and do nothing regarding that?"

"And what should we do about that in your opinion?" asked Welt.

"I don't know," answered Finner honestly, "but I don't think we should let Denebren get away with it without any censor. He started a war. A war with a mercenary organization, but a war nonetheless. While most of it is happening in neutral territory without any Council oversight, and the general populace doesn't know anything more than rumors, it still shines a negative light on the Alliance. It shows that we do not have any control over his actions and makes us seem weak."

"An excellent point," conceded President LeBlac, who had closed her eyes, unwilling to do anything regarding this problem. Yet, she knew that she had to do something.

"I personally have no problems with that," interjected Welt before the president could say anything. "So, he gets rid of a few mercenaries, and everything he does is happening inside the laws governing the galaxy. Disputes between organizations with military power aren't something new. As far as I know, the Blood Pack and Eclipse are at each other's throats like this every twenty years or so. What makes this so different?"

"His close connection to us, the government," replied Finner. "None of the organizations you mentioned have such blatant ties to anyone in the government."

"As you said, obvious ties," countered Welt. "Dig deeper than the surface, and you will find them. After all, it isn't like the AIS had to search much until they found the connection between the Asari councilor and the crime boss of Omega." Welt looked over to Andrew for confirmation of his words and got a nod from Andrew. "I, for my part, am thankful to see how good the ships are, Mr. Denebren is providing for us. We haven't had any combat situations where we could truly put them through their paces. Furthermore, whenever I spoke with one of my Turian contacts, they admired Mr. Denebren's actions. They wanted to do something similar for ages, and now that is happening, especially why it's happening, gets us more points in our favor from them than not."

While Welt and Finner threw their arguments at each other, Andrew observed President LeBlach, who hadn't opened her eyes again. Yet, he could see how her ears twitched with every argument, taking all information in before deciding what to do.

When she finally opened her eyes, she silenced the arguing men with a raised hand, a command that was followed without delay.

She turned toward Andrew and asked: "If we censor Mr. Denebren, what will he do? You know him the best."

"It depends on what you're planning. Yet, Oscar will probably nod and do as you ask. He will understand that you have to act or risk losing face."

"So, keeping him inside Alliance territory and not allowing him to leave for a year or two?"

"House arrest?" asked Andrew, amusement shining through in his voice. "Oh, he will grumble, but do what you want."

"Then, when you speak to each other next, please inform him of this decision before we make it official. It's better he knows of that beforehand, in my opinion."

"Oscar will appreciate it."

"Then that is the end of this discussion," announced President Leblac with a hard stare toward the two other men inside the room. From the looks on their faces, they knew that there would be no changing her mind on the subject in either direction.

"Let's move on with the next point."