You know, the first thing that I think a lot of people would've done when waking up the far-future world of Lancer would've been to see if they could become one such titular pilot. To be one of those aces in mechs, fighting the good fight. Me?
I probably would've just wanted to figure out a way to see if I could somehow move to the Galactic Core. Because hey, it's a literal utopia with all your needs fulfilled by Union, that perfect government.
What fucking luck that I woke up as somebody who not only lived outside of that, but who also held a military rank with a government who managed to destroy one of those capital worlds, killing untold numbers of Metropolitans as their last act of spite before the Mirrorsmoke Mercenary Company squashed them.
And now all surviving members of said defunct state, including yours truly, had a massive bounty on their heads. Dead or alive, wanted for 'aiding' a terrorist state. Yep, that was how they labeled it, to really lean into the angle that I was just another one of those maniacs, despite being absolutely sure that this young noble fuckboy I awoke in never probably even fired a gun in his life.
He'd probably order one of his servants to do it instead, or maybe just one of his ship gunner's to do it instead.
Maybe I could argue that these hands of mine were very clean, manicured almost with how my very rich house had bought the officer commission to just get rid of me. Maybe I could argue that they weren't actually even mine, on account of having just woken up in this universe. Maybe I could argue that 'I' had actually just deposed of a real nasty planetary ruler as part of my direct orders, executed perfectly even as my former superiors engaging in a suicidal attack run on Union.
All of that, and maybe I'd get the grace of a firing squad if somebody decided to take pity and take me in alive.
Well, that's assuming that I was going to even be alive for them to act on that. Because the locals had just seen the news, and were about to popular revolution my ass. So yeah.
I probably would've taken up waking up somewhere else over this.
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"What do we want?!"
"FREEDOM!"
"What do they deserve?!"
"DEATH!!"
"What will we do!?!"
"FIGHT!!!"
"Hostility detected. Per military protocol, dissident suppression is to be executed-"
"Don't you dare execute anything, let alone these people!" I hissed at my nonplussed NHP aide, Veronica. The projection of the shackled artificial intelligence raised an eyebrow but said nothing further, standing crisply at attention.
Her words still sparked conversation with my gathered officers. "She's right, you know," drawled Major Rowles of the attached army detachment. "It's standing policy of the Half Committee to not tolerate rebellious sentiment among the populace."
"It's also the standing policy of the Half Committee that ThirdComm is weak and would collapse at the first strike of a real blow against them," rebutted Captain Feng of my subordinate naval force. "But as the Half Committee doesn't seem to particularly exist anymore, we appear to be at something of an impasse."
"One that we can't win," slurred Lieutenant Aliyah as he threw back a drink, one of the remains from that victory party the task force had prematurely thrown the night after our conquest of the planet. Talk about sobering up quickly in the morning when news of our government's collapse had reached us. "Because when soldiers and sailors alike start asking me for their manna pay stubs, I'm going to start having to give them some very bad news."
The more junior officers shifted uncomfortably, though I couldn't tell if it was because of the pounding hangover or the impending mutiny. I certainly was still feeling the aftereffects of the Osiris Chug, but maybe it was because 'I' was now present that the worst of it had greatly lessened. But just because of that didn't mean that the crisis we faced was any less dire.
"Commander," Veronica mentioned, eyes flicking over security footage of the growing mob outside our commandeered mansion-headquarters. "I have positive identification of weapons among the dissidents. Escalating classification to rebel. Per military protocol, rebel presence is to be exterminated-"
"Stop and belay all existing commands or protocols from the Half Committee!" I barked, causing a few winces from the loudness of my voice. "Effectively immediately, disregard and discard mission parameters. That applies to all of you as well, as we are now effectively soldiers without a flag to fight for."
"So we're mercenaries then?" Rowles asked with a glint in her eyes. "Warlords?"
"We shouldn't stoop to such barbarism!" Feng hissed. "We are professionals!"
"So a PMC then? Guess we're Mirrorsmoke two-point-oh."
"I would rather die than surrender this uniform-!"
"Then surrender your command instead, if you cannot follow my orders," I coldly cut-off, glaring first at him then at everybody else. "Everybody. We are in full crisis mode. Which means that there can be no room for second-guessing, no room for wringing your hands in protest.
"I will listen to your suggestions and complaints equally. But I cannot promise that I will act on them, or even lead by consensus." I placed my hands firmly against the table that they were seated around."If you cannot in good conscience obey all orders that come directly from me at present, now is your time to gracefully surrender your command and walk away. I won't hold it against you, and wish you luck in wherever you decide to go next from here. But don't expect to hold onto your rank or get anything else from me ever again."
There was a pause, then Aliyah burped. "Sure. I'm getting the hell out of here," he declared, roughly pushing his chair back and rising. "Plenty of other Disaporan worlds out there to disappear in. Also, go to hell rich boy. I'll be toasting your rich head when it's on a pike by the end of the day."
He very professionally flipped me off, then left. Seconds later, some others hesitantly followed along, people who probably saw the opportunity to finally leave the shadow of the Half Committee behind and try to seek a new beginning for themselves. It was something that I genuinely wished them the best for, almost applauding them for the rationality of jumping off a sinking ship.
I only wished I could join them, but I've seen the bounty for my head. I wouldn't survive trying to disappear among the masses of humanity in space, not when Union itself was backing the order. I'd have to be constantly on the run, looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life for whatever Lancer wanted to come after my ass.
Plus, it'd also be admitting that I was guilty of the crime they accused me of, which I most certainly was not. But my defense would be meaningless in the courts as nobody would care to defend me. My words just simply had no power to back them, as shown by how people had just left.
Yet critically, there were those who stayed.
Rowles and Feng stayed siting in place even as a few of their subordinates left the room, jaws only slightly tightening with their departure. And while many in the logistics corps followed their former superior's example, obviously having seen themselves the hopelessness of the situation, there were those who stayed rooted in their seats. Others also stayed and I could see the myriad of reasons reflected in their eyes and expressions.
Loyalists, whose discipline to the military code kept them in the ranks.
Idealists, whom believed that perhaps, something better could be made here of all places.
Survivalists, who trusted that staying together was the best way to avoid being hung separately.
And machines, those who simply had no other place to go.
After a few minutes, I turned and studied Veronica, who stayed still in place after it all. Of course she would stayed as her 'shackles' likely coded her to remain true to the chain of command despite everything. But still I wanted to offer that chance to her as well. "My offer is open to you too. You don't have to stay."
"...Commander Moores, I possess insufficient data to make a calculate a logical decision," she plainly said. "Please provide additional input."
"Once again, the AI is right," Rowles called out, resting her cheek against a propped hand. "I was only half-joking about becoming warlords. Is that what we are now?"
"No," I flatly declared, turning to address the remaining officers. "We are not going to become a military dictatorship. But before we proceed any further, one thing must be addressed. Warrant Officer Nasir!"
One of the few remaining junior officers started in their seat, hurriedly rising up. "Sir!"
"You are promoted to Lieutenant now, and will lead the logistics corps. Do you accept this duty?"
"I-" They choked before nervously swallowing. "Sir, yes sir! I will do my best!"
"Good." Now my senior command staff was back filled up. A bit crude, but given what I'd recalled, Nasir had always been doing Aliyah's work already. The old quartermaster just held onto his position via seniority and connections, which wasn't going to fly in this moment of immediate crisis. "In light of your recent promotion, I will grant you time to adjust and take inventory.
"But later, I want a detailed report on the state of our supplies, alongside an estimation of how long we can continue to maintain our existing forces. It's important to understand how long we can last out here, especially with how we can pretty much assume our supply line to be cut."
"U-understood Commander! I'll get right on that after the meeting!"
Feng spoke up next, eyes trained on the growing crowd outside. "It doesn't matter how long we can last with our existing supply lines if we don't survive the next few hours. Commander, it may be more prudent to evacuate and abandon the world already, retreating to the safety of planetary orbit-"
"And then to where?" I interrupted, understanding his argument but finding a flaw. "Our neighbors are remnants of Half Committee like us, but will undoubtedly be having their own vision for what comes next- and how many bodies it may take."
His face tightened slightly. "You think that we'll be folded into their forces? It...isn't unlikely."
"We're just a single, almost supplementary task force that pales in comparison to them. This planetary conquest was meant to be a side objective that we just happened to be available to spare for- and resistance was so light that we barely suffered losses."
"In comparison, the surrounding conquests are likely to have seen more fighting- and thus would be more desperate to bring us into their ranks, stripping us of command." Feng gave a singular punctual nod. "No further complaints. We live or die by ourselves."
"Might be dying soon if we don't handle the locals," Rowles tersely said. "You know, the previous ruler might've been a real piece of work who demanded gold statues everywhere and constantly embezzled public funds- but he still was what the people knew. He employed the more desperate as his private little army that we, er, slaughtered."
Unfortunately, her description of such was quite accurate to the 'fights' as I remembered them, if you could even call it them. It was pretty one-sided, as even a semi-professional army could crush the woefully underarmed garrison. "It won't endear us to their families, but we did follow the rules of law throughout, and offered them terms of surrender."
"True, but I suspect the only thing that'll win them over now is that bastard's head on a stick. But seeing as how it looks like he fled the coop before we even arrived, the people will be wanting yours instead."
I sucked in a deep breath. "Unless we offer them a third alternative. Major, ready your forces for a security cordon. I will speak to the people directly."
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When the mansion's gates swung open by themselves, the mob outside first thought that perhaps their words had caused sympathizers inside to stop barring the way. But then cries of fear and dismay rang out as armed soldiers, clad head to toe in body armor, emerged with shields to shove them back. The instinct to flee was strong and many scrambled back for a few moments, allowing the invaders to clear out a space in front of the lavish compound.
Then the anger and desperation returned and the mob surged back, ready to renew their assault. But once again, the effort faltered and shattered when a new threat emerged, walking to the front from around back where it had been stored. It was a mechanized chassis, or a mech as it was far more colloquially known- an SP1 Everest, the more common military model out there. Painted in the scheme of the Half Committee, the red splotches across the white paint was almost like blood splattered across the hull.
The rifle of the mech was pointedly carefully up and away from the protesters, but the sight of the war machine was enough to give pause. Long enough for a few military personnel in more casual everyday clothes to hurry out and set a podium with speakers. Then they hastily retreated to stand in the background as I strode out, my debut immediately garnering a renewal of seeming hostilities.
"Monster! Murderer!"
"Give me back my daughter, you butcher-!"
"Go to hell and join the rest of the Half Committee!"
...As much as I didn't want to say it wasn't the me of yesterday, it still was my responsibility in a way. I don't know what god or divinity had decided to shove me in this body and have me take over the mind of the one who inhabited it before, but I knew all 'his' memories. I knew that he had been the one to give the order to begin the invasion when the offer of mercy had been rejected. And in some ways, the conquest of the world was justified, to depose of the despot that had previously preyed upon supply convoys of the Half Committee.
But life was harder because of it, loved ones were dead, and the supposed government that should've taken responsibility was gone in a flash fire. Leaving nobody else to blame for the tragedy that had occurred. In a way, I could understand, because nobody deserved to have war visited upon them.
Yet at the same time, vengeance for the dead wasn't going to do anything for the living. And since those who stayed decided to trust me, I at least had the obligation to see them through. If only to make sure they got their due, alongside the people of the world we'd taken over.
I approached the podium and tapped the microphone. That was the cue for Major Rowles in her Everest to emit a loud binary screech, one that instantly cut through the rioting as people covered their uncovered ears. The soldiers' helmets filtered out the noise and I was wearing earplugs myself, meaning that I remained looking cool and unaffected while the shrieking was cut after a few moments.
As the locals rubbed at their eardrums sourly, I began to speak, the speakers carrying my voice through the cold air. "Good day, people of Cavia. This, I believe, is the first time many of you will hear me though, regrettably for some, it will be your second.
"I am Commander Matthew Moores of the Seventh Expeditionary Task Force, formerly of the Half Committee that declared itself the legitimate successors to SecComm. Under such pretexts, the Half Committee became at odds with ThirdComm and thus waged conflict to seek to unseat the current Union." I sucked in a deep breath. "However, as of today, there are confirmed reports that the Half Committee has officially dissolved- meaning that we are now soldiers without a flag to fight for.
"It puts us in an uncomfortable and difficult position, as we find ourselves on your world without further orders, or even a directive to go off." My gaze swept over the crowd, who seemed to hang on my words. "And we are not the only ones. Other elements of the Half Committee are still out there, in neighboring systems, and are facing this difficult question as well.
"Some I imagine will try to link up and reestablish a chain of command. Perhaps a Quarter Committee now," I feebly joked, stirring up a few snorts that had people's grips on improvised weapons loosening briefly. "Many others might become soldiers of fortune, or seek service under a different flag. That last one is particularly of interest to us of the Seventh Expeditionary force now, especially in light of your former planetary ruler."
The mention of said individual prompted dark curses and mutterings to circle about the audience. Like I'd said, he hadn't exactly been a well-loved despot. Cavia may have been something he'd inherited the right to rule, but it didn't meant he was the best or most suited for it. If anything, the fact that our relatively light task force had trounced the planetary garrison with almost no effort, alongside the fact that he had already ran the moment we arrived in the system was telling.
But it was very cold comfort for those defenders who still put up a desperate fight, goaded into fighting by propaganda and rumor about the Half Committee. A bunch of which was sadly very true about the former state 'I' had once fought for, but no longer.
"As I am led to believe, he formerly controlled all elements of governance and ruled with total, tyrannical control." And if that wasn't true, very conveniently he wasn't here to refute such accusations. I had a pretty good feeling he couldn't though. "This is not the way of rule that any should suffer, including us. We ourselves have no wish to try and reconnect with disparate elements of the Half Committee to reestablish a chain of command, not when it comes at the risk of being reduced down to thoughtless grunts following orders once again."
There, I saw it. A vague interest, a dim hope in the eyes of the people. They were starting to see that we weren't here to be conquerors or pillagers.
They were a people without soldiers to protect them. We were soldiers without a people to fight for.
The parallel was established. Time to drive it in.
"So to that end, while there will be a brief, transitional military governorship, I will also be calling for local representatives to present themselves and gather in the capital for a conference to draft up a more lasting civilian government!" I announced, causing a wave of shocked and excited whispers to sweep the crowd. Yes, this was what they had desired, a state that actually properly represented the world. Not just somebody who inherited or conquered their way into office- but was chosen for it by the locals.
But I could see there were some murderous glares sent my way, likely not happy about the mention of a military state until then. Which was absolutely, completely understandable, and I moved to reassure such individuals of my intent.
"The martial state until such a conference is enacted will be to maintain public law and order until such a time that a more structured government can take over. I do not intend on enriching myself, and will harshly punish any of my command that attempt to do so under military code of conduct," I warned. "My only request until then is for the general public to cooperate with members of the Seventh Expedition, so long as they demonstrate and act in good faith.
"Aside from that, I urge you to return to your daily lives and to look inwards, to choose the best among yourselves to represent your community at the coming gathering."
I looked up from them and to the gray skies. Dark snow clouds almost always blanketed the planet, but in a rare occurrence, it looked like it was parting ever so slightly to let the rays of the local sun shine down upon the capital.
"I will not lie in that the coming days will be testing for us all. But I vow to do my very best to protect the peace until I am relieved of such command by whatever is created next. It is my hope that in time, my soldiers will find a place to call their new home among you.
"Let us establish a pact of friendship and mutual cooperation in spite of our initial impressions. Let us prove that Cavia can rise, and become a flag recognized by all of Union in time!"
I wasn't expecting there to be any sort of popular reception, as my closing words were more of just a quiet plea for the people to not storm our tense lines. But almost in defiance of such expectations, there was a muted sort of cheer that had me taken aback briefly. Were they perhaps that desperate for leadership after years of living under a tyrant? One who actually took responsibility for their actions?
No, maybe I was just overthinking things. Or underestimating just how dire the civilian side of things were. It's entirely possible that they're perhaps even worse off compared to the military. I guess I'll know come Nasir's report on things, alongside whatever Veronica could provide once the NHP had processed fresh data regarding this planet I now temporarily controlled.