"A simple congregation, based entirely on proportional representation of the population!"
"Nonsense, the cities would dominate overwhelmingly and invalidate the will of those outside! One community, one vote!"
"What about the interests of those who actually make things go around? Should the businesses that fund this new government be left without a voice?"
"To allow them to have a seat in this new republic would be the start of an oligarch takeover!"
Ah, the sounds of a fledgling state. What a racket.
Cavia had never had the chance for self-rule before and thanks to suppression over the many generations, they never had the chance to experiment and develop what they liked. There was a rather informal system of internal dispute resolution that apparently did develop within communities, mainly to avoid needing to bringing that oppressive authority of House Hesssin to resolve such matters, but it varied wildly from place to place. Hence why there was a heated discussion on what 'representation' really entailed in a republic.
I chose to let them expression their fierce opinion in these opening salvos, staying mostly quiet through the proceedings. It was important to let them all express their passions first without restraint, so that those watching via CBS could understand the outspoken fire on display coming from their chosen representatives, to show that these people truly wanted what was best and weren't hesitant to speak on it. So whatever government they made was done with true love for their constituents, with little doubt on that matter. To trust what they made was done with the energy to bellow and yell if need be.
However, before it reached a tipping point of hinting at withdrawal or offense, I called things to order. Delegates were firmly stood down and told that the time for the inferno was over; now, it was the time for the forge. Civilized discussion via proposal and rebuttal with a sprinkle of compromise, that would be what established a lasting state. We have seen and taken measure of spirit. Now, to account for the body.
The second day didn't really make much progress between those two modes, but it did let me tally and understand the factions that made up the people here. I suppose in my old life, they might've been called political parties, but they were more fluid than what I'd remembered as. They were more like informal alliances formed between like-minded issues, willing to lend their voice to support a matter so long as they received care in kind. But if such assistance was no reciprocated in kind or if another bloc was more willing to offer support, then they were quite willing to change their minds.
There was no such thing as 'vote alongside the lines till death.' It was always 'we can be swayed if you could provide me a good reason.' How very forward, though I suppose I should have expected of such for the Lancer setting.
Firstly, there were the reformists who wished to focus wholly on internal matters. They wanted to focus and stress the idea of true independence, meaning achieving self-reliance without necessary interference from outside powers. They weren't total isolationists, but really wanted to stress that the government should first be concerned about domestic topics rather than investing in foreign matters. From what I could tell, this faction held the popular opinion in the less-developed regions of Cavia I, those who notably wanted the state to provide more benefits to their citizens first and foremost.
On the opposite side of that spectrum was the progressives, a power bloc that believed firmly that Cavia should look to establish a strong position in the galactic community. They favored working openly with foreign establishments to acquire investments for the benefit of the economy, insisting on the idea that everybody could profit should they work together. Unsurprisingly, Kyle of the Prynth Mining Union was a rather prominent member, alongside those regions with space ports, interacting and dealing business on the regular with Cosmopolitans or even those from other worlds.
Finally, sitting between the reformists and the progressives were the centrists, who definitely straddled the line between. Consisting of the vast majority of developed regions, they weren't above the idea of making friends from afar but also wished to treasure the ones closer to home at first. They liked the idea of making a strong domestic economy, but also wanted to see very healthy interstellar trade as well. Like I said, these factions were quite fluid and in flux, so it wasn't unusual that these centrists were currently the largest.
But I could tell that they were rapidly giving way to the reformists, more and more looking quite drawn to the idea that Cavia had to build itself up before anything else. Which honestly made a lot of sense, as well, they literally were starting from scratch there. Though what I was worried about was how the side eye they threw my way when talking about 'forming their own defense.'
Er. I should probably nip that, before they go 'we'll be better off with our own' and cast my command out.
The end of the second day of deliberations was thankfully the perfect time to inquire politely about a private meeting with the current leader of the reformists. Something that they thankfully accepted, allowing for a closed doors meeting. I couldn't strike any deals, but if I at least had information regarding their intent, then I could hopefully plan around them should they have enough sway to start making very pointed demands.
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Prior to the meeting, Veronica helpfully supplied me with information regarding who I was going to meet. Former deputy administrator Chloe was perhaps one of the only reasons why people didn't starve so badly under House Hessin, undertaking what was supposed to have been her boss' job had they not been too preoccupied schmoozing with the regime. Very notably, she was often excluded from being a recipient of any benefit, likely as a cost-cutting measure to ensure that the top remained fat while the rest had bare scraps to work with.
Nonetheless, she continued her job, even when the Half Committee was invading Cavia. It earned her quite a positive reputation, just about everybody on the streets knowing as the 'Baker' for all the bread she distributed out. Which made her a font of popular support.
Was this perhaps her ultimate goal to survive through the regime, then emerge out the other side a public angel? Maybe but behind these closed doors, she was my private devil. Because she was a pacifist in the extreme.
"Commander Moores, the people are thankful for your service. But I believe it best that you begin preparations for dismissal and departure once this new administration is settled."
Well, at least she was frank in her demands, alongside being consistent with what my NHP had predicted. "I understand, but am disappointed you feel such. The idea of what is currently a foreign military in your home must be quite unsettling, but I had hoped that you see my force are only here to help maintain peace and order."
"If you were peacekeepers, then you would not be carrying guns," she bluntly told. "If you were lawmakers, then you would pick up the gavel, not the baton.
"A professional military that maintains a standing force to deal with 'eventualities' will be inevitable find such problems, the hammer for want of a nail." She looked at me with quite an intense stare. "Manna spent building or constructing weapons of destruction are resources that could be to much better benefits for all instead of just the soldiery."
Chloe...wasn't wrong there. Yet I had to point out the problem with her argument. "I haven't yet so much as spent a single resource on expanding my forces. What work we're doing is just right now restoring the hydroponics facilities so that we might be able to feed us all."
"That, I am sure the people and I are grateful for. But consider as well that we are only in this predicament because of how many extra mouths we must feed, including yourself."
"Would you deny us a good meal because we are from afar?"
"...I would deny a foreign soldier quarters without sound reason or compensation. I'm afraid that is how it looks so far to me, Commander. You have yet to prove otherwise."
The talk went nowhere that night and come the third day, she forced it through a critical talking point that really gave me quite the headache.
"While I am sure that many of us are grateful for the Commander's present leadership, it would behoove ourselves to assess where his occupying forces would stand in the wake of this new government we take," Chloe orated to the rest of the representatives, turning to give me at least a polite nod while she expertly wielded the dagger. "We do hold gratitude for him in exiling House Hessin, but now that the threat is gone, what purpose does an armed soldiery have anymore? What purpose is there to spending resource on upkeep for a military that does not need to brandish its edge?"
I gritted my teeth and cursed that I was trying to play fair as chairman. Meaning that while I did have the authority to shut down the argument, it'd look absolutely terrible. Especially when Melhof and his camera team were present and broadcasting the debate live across the world. Dammit, how could I respond to this without looking too overwhelming…
But before I came up with a suitable rebuttal, somebody already did so for me.
"I object to this portrayal of the Seventh Expeditionary Task Force! They have been nothing but a stabilizing force to ensure that we all are seated at this table, talking like civilized adults instead of pelting each other out in the streets!" The leader of Prynth Mining Union was definitely a supporter of my presence here, the progressives generally opposing this stance of the reformists. "You paint them in the same light as House Hessin, when that certainly isn't the case! All they've done has been to our benefit, you can't deny that."
Chloe's eyes narrowed. "I am not. But I am questioning how this arrangement would continue once we come to manage ourselves."
"We'll leave that to the new government to determine, but we can't invalidate their voice here and now! Hell, the Commander himself is our chairman for these proceedings, something that you did agree to. Not a single person in this room voted otherwise."
I mean, I had. Just that nobody cared.
"Commander Moores had performed splendidly, that I do not deny, but I question whether or not the rest of his command share his proclivities. Especially when they come from worlds beyond Cavia, sharing none of the hardship we've endured but bringing upon us plenty more should we wish to support their military's continued existence."
"Why not? It's a dangerous galaxy outside there, more so than what Union likes to pretend. We've tasted it firsthand! Why not have guns at the ready to defend all that we cherish?"
"We could achieve self-defense in the same way by manner of a trained militia that needs only be raised in times of crisis. I see no reason to maintain a standing force otherwise."
On and on the two debated, other voices soon joining in. By the end of the third day, very little progress had been made. Worryingly so. Any progress we had made from the surprise ease of the first day was gone, and I worried that the longer this dragged on, the closer whatever Union bounty-hunters there were came to taking my head.
In my capacity as chairman, I had to do something to make sure that this new administration was formed swiftly. Arguing back and forth without proposed compromise or yield was not going to cut it. So time for another personal appeal to the leader of the reformists, and I think I had an angle to go at it.
"When you say a personal militia, I admire the resolve. But I question if you would know how to run one."
She stiffened slightly and gave me a wary look. "...Your forces could train them, then you'd go away."
"Why would they?" I gently reasoned, laying it out. "You know we presently don't have anywhere else to go. That's why we're fighting so hard for the chance to stay. Would you turn away people in a time of need?"
"There's a difference between offering shelter for a night, and offering quarters to soldiers."
"You seem again to think that I'd be asking the people to sacrifice for a sword. But what I'm trying to stress is that they're not sacrificing for a saber to wield so thoughtlessly- they are investing in a shield, one that will protect and nurture."
"You talk of defending us, but you came as conquerors. Of Half Committee, no less," she bit out and I winced, because yeah. That was still a pretty bad look.
But I had to still try at least.
"Have you talked with the average trooper under my command? Listened to what they want? It isn't riches or glory, not plunder or honor." Well, unless they chatted with Major Rowles. "It's just a place for them to lay their heads down, to maybe a place to spend all their hard-earned pay. That promised farm at the end of service, the acre that they wish to live out the rest of their lives quietly in.
"They want to have friends that won't shoot at them. They want to be good neighbors."
Chloe placed her fingers over and massaged at her eyes, exhaling softly. "...But why here? And why do you think that it's so necessary that we pay for that fence that still divides us? Why not just tear it all down, cast away your arms and become people of peace like me?"
"Sometimes, a good fence is what make for a very good neighbor."
And because that fence also protected me from a Lancer.
Before proceedings began for the fourth day, Veronica urgently alerted me to an issue.
A suspicious package had been found at our normal conference building. Demolition teams were immediately called in and confirmed it to be bomb. Somebody was trying to kill the people trying to write a new government.
I wasted no time and told the delegates we would be resuming our efforts at a secondary location instead for their safety. It was some ways from the first site, so we'd travel via an armored convoy. The representatives were slightly shaken, but grateful that my soldiers were providing professional security. That earned a small scowl on the leader of the reformists but she did thank me all the same in a small tone.
I considered that a little win as I rode in a command APC in the caravan. "Veronica, talk to me. Is that bomb still a threat?"
"Commander, the team have successfully disarmed the improvised explosive device just now," she reported. "I'm receiving their report now. It appears to be very lightweight model with a rather lacking payload."
"Really? No, wait, that's about in line with what we should expect from this apparent grassroots resistance movement," I muttered, putting my hand to my chin in thought. "But something still feels off. Major Rowles assured me that she garrisoned the building with the best she had, so that nobody could intrude or interrupt our deliberations.
"Remind me, where was this bomb discovered?"
"Outside the building, sir, not too far from the back doors. The night security team found it on their patrol."
"It wasn't inside even, or anywhere near the main entrance. Which meant that if it did go off, it would cause minimal damage, if any at all." A grunt escaped my lips. "But why?"
"Additional analysis suggests that the bomb's trigger is also quite lacking. A rudimentary timer system that the demolitions team just had to cut away to disarm."
"Amateur work, or-" My eyes widened and I jerked up in my seat. "They knew that the building was too well-protected. Which means that their goal wasn't to bomb the conference; it was to lure us out!"
Then I let out a slightly undignified yelp when gunfire began to pelt the APC I was in.