It'd take time however for Erica's request to be go through and be processed by Harrison Armory. Even longer before they sent anybody our way, assuming that they would respond positively that is. But I struggled to imagine a reason for why they would not with a Lancer directly backing the idea. Then again, it was extremely lucky that Erica was probably not the only recognized mech ace in their ranks.
Eh. Either way, I'll worry about it when news comes in from them then.
Otherwise from that single empty seat for the time being, I managed to create and staff my basic starting departments. In 4x terms, I now possessed coverage over majority of most relevant stats. The only field I was arguably lacking in was regarding advancing technologies, but that'd be difficult to do. What with the science of Lancer as a setting already being so far advanced.
It's not to say that there still could be something related to the field that I could look into establishing, but for the moment, I'd run out of political momentum to prod congress to fund and support. This was still a very fresh government, so they were wary of expanding too quickly and too recklessly, which I really did appreciate. It was a good idea given this was their first try at self-rule.
I was less appreciative though when they decided to host a debate regarding the size of our armed forces. Oh dear. Though I supposed I did have fair warning from Chloe and the reformists that this was an argument they would be having sooner or later.
Alongside an...interesting shift in ideals that made me raise my eyebrow.
Th reformists were now the ones who advocated for maintaining current numbers, which was probably the most neutral option to this debate. How curiously perplexing. Also equally befuddling was how it was the centrists who pushed for a reduced armed force, citing budgetary and supply concerns. As part of public transparency into our supply consumption, they balked at just how much it took to maintain an active army and complained that we surely didn't need all these clones doing nothing but kicking rocks currently.
Eh. They kinda had a point. And at least it was more sensibly based than the progressive position of 'we should already begin purchasing capital ships en masse from Harrison Armory.' I think I'll need to have a chat with the Prynth Mining Union later if they've lost track of money's value.
For now though, I decided to sit in and listen to these arguments myself in congress. However, I noted very strongly that it would be highly irresponsible for me to declare a stance in this matter, given my dual role as both Premier and Commander. Thus did I excuse myself, allowing me to just watch the arguments as they come. It'd make for interesting political theater, I supposed.
Had I known what actually would unfold during those debates, I should've instead just waited for the edited highlights on the omninet. Instead, it accidentally turned into a live broadcast failure that just really nailed me to the wall here.
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The arguments started out plain and well-structured at first. The various elected representatives of varying party allegiances stepped up to have a say. Reformists, centrists, and progressives all declared their opinion and stance on the matter. I actually did pay attention to that, keeping a mental tally on where the votes laid.
The reformists, being currently the largest political bloc in congress, were holding steady. Which was the best outcome, in my opinion, as they really wanted our military to remain at its current size. Something that I could take to keep maintaining a happy status quo.
I was actually very surprised to see Chloe pushing for this position, even giving a rather interesting debate that also explained why the reformists liked this. "Under our existing numbers, we have secured a victory over aggressors from afar. It is proof that if we wish to only act in self-defense but still decisively seize triumph, so I believe maintaining our current levels would be for the best. We must entrust the decision of such to the expert opinion of their senior officers."
A neutral-enough position, I suppose. It sounded like she was leaving room open for further expansion, but holding a hand to halt any immediate or aggressive growth. Which suited me quite fine with how fine things currently were.
Meanwhile, the centrists' position was the second most-popular. They pushed for an almost alarming level of downsizing, citing how the budgets for domestic growth must come from somewhere. Ah, so maybe my aggressive push on creating those departments so quickly made them balk at the price of development? Well, it had to come from somewhere, and I had planned on Harrison Armory footing a good chunk of the bill in time.
But the knee-jerk reaction now was also telling, hm. Especially the way one of them had framed it in. "We are faced with a difficult question regarding the road we take for our growth. Do we prioritize our military spending, or do we prioritize domestic expenditures? As much as I would love to say we ought to do both, our economy cannot yet handle it! We would bankrupt our credit-less administration so quickly!"
Hey, hey. I was working on that. Dammit, why did I proclaim that I was going to stay silent regarding this matter? Oh, because I really wanted to stress that I was supporting a real civilian government, make it clear that this wasn't a military state but a state with a military. Ugh.
As tempted as I was to tell Veronica to just send a message to all the elected representatives explaining the current ongoing backroom negotiations, it wouldn't do to raise their hopes and dash them so brutally. That'd be the quickest way for a vote of no confidence to be slapped in my face, at least in my head. Plus, if Harrison Armory were to catch wind of this from some blabbermouth, then they could perhaps bend me over the barrel and force me to accept rather unsavory things.
I didn't trust a megacorp to not screw me over the moment they held a gun to my head. Unlike the progressives, which held a perilously dangerous stance to the matter. One I certainly did not appreciate.
"The success achieved by Commander Moores was made barely possible thanks to him having insisted on maintaining these current numbers throughout the provisional arrangement. A compromise that put him, and the lives of Cavian citizens, in peril had it not been for tactical brilliance! Which is why we must truly secure ourselves from future aggression with immediate military expansion. Let us all grit our teeth and bear temporary hardship for a time, then reap the benefits of security now instead of later!"
Eeesh. Talk about the glaze.
Yeah, that argument was absolutely something I didn't want to see winning this debate by any means. If only because, in my opinion, sacrificing public well-being for military expansion was a characteristic of a very nasty government. Getting enough to defend yourself from a galaxy filled with danger was one thing; To shovel cash into the military-industrial complex for merely speculated threats from the unknown was beyond the pale. It was something that I very much wanted to steer this state away from, because that absolutely sounded like 'evil villain' behavior.
Hm, I think I remember something about this from my old life. It was on my lips, about some world leader who delivered a speech when he was...leaving office, I think? Ah, it'll come to me in time.
For now, the arguments between the elected representative came to a close. After a brief recess, it was then a chance for rebuttals and the like, or expert testimonies if members of the Committee were summoned to deliver their expert opinion on the matter. With how most of them currently held military ties like me, they had opted to recuse themselves as well so there was unlikely anybody swayed so.
The various political blocs also looked set in their ways, with few looking either convinced or inclined to vote otherwise. So I expect the vote to be simply called there and then to close out the session, with the current majority taking the stance of 'keep it the same.' Nothing would change.
Which was what I wanted, so huzzah. Without lifting a finger, I got things my way! Most excellent!
In hindsight, I really should have realized that things were going way too smooth right there and then. If only to prepare me for Veronica's voice to come through my lapel, a tone of urgency in her words just as the break began. "Sir. There's been a development."
Oh, wonderful. What was it this time? "Go on."
"There's been another insurgency incident. Another bomb drone attack, this time at the hydroponics facility."
I cursed beneath my breath. Okay, that was a little bad, but we should- Wait. From where I sat, I had a pretty good view of congress. I could see the various representatives...and they seemed to be receiving information from their aides too, looking grave. Had they gotten the news too? How?!
"The incident occurred during mid-livestream of an spinoff to Swords to Plows," my adjutant hurriedly explained, lending horrifying detail to my growing dismay. "Upon review, one can even capture the exact frame where the drone crashed into the facility and detonated. Within minutes, a clip of the incident is already beginning to circle around the omninet. 'Virality' was achieved within the hour."
Fuck, fuck, fuck. There's of course the saying that once something hits the omninet, it never goes away- so no point in even trying to demand it be taken down or censored. Unless of course, it was far too graphic, which...okay, no, I was going to say that, it sounded terrible.
I absolutely didn't want somebody to die so that I could just get this thing taken down.
But I needed to know our options, and also assess the damages. "Anybody killed? Wounded?"
"Much like last time, the drone appears to have been poorly constructed. In addition, the hydroponics facility has been reinforced much better compared to the previous target." Veronica paused, likely accessing the reports in real-time from the on-site response. "Multiple wounded, but none life-threatening or critical. No deaths."
Okay, that was both good and bad. Good in that thank goodness everybody was relatively alright, because each and every life was precious. Bad in that because nobody died or was horrifically maimed, I couldn't try to taking down the clip. Hm, maybe if Melhof had done his legal homework, we could get it on a copyright infringement…?
Wait, wait. There's another I really should be having a word with first. "Can you call Director Apples?"
She dutifully obliged and soon, the clone's voice was coming through the pin lapel. "Commander Moores. I've taken it that you just got the news?" At my confirmation, he gave a heavy sigh. "Thanks for reaching out, I'm in control of the scene now. My brothers and I are fine, but the facility is more than a little rattled. We might be suffering from some food shortages in the near-future."
Sounds like a job for Nasir. A quick call to them confirmed that the Director of Industry was already allocating printers for the repair job. By the time I was done coordinating between the two, the recess was over and the congress resumed. The representatives, they looked shaken. The Baker especially, as she took to the stand- oh.
Oh no.
"Representatives, I am sure that all of you have just seen the news regarding the...terrible incident that has just occurred. A terrorist assault on our farms, caught live on camera no less, by an insurgency movement that clearly has only ill-intent," she declared, placing a hand against the microphone. "I will not lie. We may have once held the embers of revolution in our hearts once, under House Hessin. But that had been directed into a worthy cause, a good fight to overthrow tyranny.
"But never have those embers sparked- and now, of all times, they do it now? Calling what we have made here arguably worse in comparison, enough to act?!" Her normal reservations and inclinations to pacifism seemed hurled aside in that moment with a strong emotion. Oh dear, was she perhaps a fan of the show- so seeing some of the stars get hurt was enough to upset her? "If that is such a case, then perhaps better we live under a tyrant who has our best intentions in mind and acts upon them with all the might we can provide- to secure the peace by any means necessary!"
...Are you kidding me?! The one time she actually starts making exception from those ideals, it's when I really don't want her to! Stars almighty woman, you're giving me a headache!
A good portion of the reformists yelled in consensus about this sudden flip, now abruptly more enthusiastic about expanding the armed forces. Because if they weren't enough to suppress an insurgency to bring about lasting prosperity, then throw them as much as they need to do so! Though the shift also left another group of them out in the cold, attitude turning frigid.
So they threw their lot in with the other bunch, to my horror as well. One of them even delivered a stunning refusal to their nominal leader's shift. "Miss Chloe, you must understand that we cannot- will not- ever tolerate any sort of tyranny again! You yourself are Cavian, are you not?! You remember the scars of House Hessin, and understand that an overreach may very well be the source of this discontent! While I obviously do not condone these attacks, they are proof that out there, elements of our people are unsettled enough to take action against what they see as military targets-"
In full breach of etiquette, Chloe fired back with a live mic. "Military targets only because the clones who work on them are soldiers too? For shame! Then would a militia's family be valid targets too!?"
"Your argument is escalating unreasonably into a slippery slope! We must mind the will of our people and represent them all; including the malcontent!"
"Can they even be called citizens if they so willingly desecrate our culture-!"
Oh, fuck this noise.
Veronica seemed to catch wind of me rising from my chair and surreptitiously set my microphone output to maximum value. It meant my single command echoed through the makeshift assembly hall of congress.
"ENOUGH!"
The bickering politicians froze, then turned to face me with sheepish expressions more like playground children caught fighting than grown adults discussion government policy. I glowered at them until they returned to their seats, then cursed under my breath. Dammit, I lost my temper and intervened when I should not have.
Now I was going to have to speak before them on this topic. Though I suppose that since it looked like the vote might end up being tied or closer than what I would've liked, my participation was simply locked in then. I might as well take advantage of this justifiable call to order. "Enough. We cannot lose our heads and our wits from the actions of a few rogue actors. That is what they want to see, to bear witness to us fumbling in wild panic.
"Instead, let us demonstrate a united front. A reminder that we will not be torn down so easily." Some simple platitudes bought me time to think and hastily throw together a possible compromise. A fourth option, now that the third just got shot dead by a wild rebel that I wasn't so mindless of anymore. "I see division on this topic that has been brought to the session today, and I understand this ongoing tragedy has fanned the flames of passion further, threatening to tip it into an inferno. I suppose then it is only right that I ought provide a few words of my own too."
...Hey, brain? Where was my compromise?! One side wanted to triple the defense budget, the other wanted to cut it! Argh, where was the middle ground for this? The position to be made about the inordinate expenditure of arms-
Hang on. It's coming back to me now, the words of that world leader from my old world. He was...a general too even, wasn't he? So he had firsthand witness to the gluttony that was feeding a defense industry, and the consequences thereof.
Yes, let's work off that and crib off a bit from his vibes.
"It is a simple necessity that we must maintain a ready armed force to act at a moment's notice, as the galaxy is hardly so kind as to live and let live. Even the presence of such at our disposal is a deterrence, against those who perhaps plan and plot against us." I sucked in a deep breath. Time for a little dose of cold logistics. "Yet the resources that go into quartering a soldier for war could also very well feed a starving child. The resources to build a war machine, one that could instead be used for consumer application to make everyday living a little bit better.
"We lose ourselves a bit, every time we decide to build a mech for war than peace. To take lives, instead of helping to cultivate them." Hm, wait. Too strong. "It is necessary for our protection however, leading to the paradox of perception where both war and peace cannot coexist in a single shell. Which I believe is what Union preaches especially."
It really was. From what I understood of the Third Committee in its current iteration, they liked to pretend everything was okay. That humanity was advancing all together towards that dream of a utopia for all, when the reality was that only the core worlds could enjoy such luxury. An arguable one at that, gilded and painted over to make sure that none of the ugly disputes that oft went in the shadows surface. But it was that veneer of prosperity which mattered the most to the Metropolitans, free to think that we just had yet to be 'blessed' so.
My hand gripped against the structure before me, squeezing tightly with having borne witness to what they would love to claim ignorance too. The conflict and suffering in war that they would never acknowledge. "I believe...that we must challenge that paradigm. The idea that you cannot have both war and peace at the same time."
The congressional representatives looked towards me, interested in this possible new path I was hinting at. I suppose I should throw them a little more leads, things that may or may not be followed upon in time. Just something to defuse the situation now and let me get to work unbothered. "Swords to Plows demonstrates that a soldier can be a farmer too, when there is no fight to be had. Yet equally when the time comes, they still ready their rifle and go into battle- emerging victorious, no less! Why can it not be that the very same possible adaptation be applied to multiple other factors? Why can it not be that an investment in the military is also an investment in our prosperity at the same time?
"Does it matter if a road sees a family of four travel across it, or a tank that rolls to shield those behind? Does it matter if a power generator illuminates a military base, or shows the light to a festival?" I tossed the seeds over my shoulder, onto a field, and wondered if some of them might sprout. Maybe none would, but at the very least, the image of me hurling them was enough to get them to settle. "I believe that the idea is worth consideration, if congress were to perhaps approve a study for it. But for the time being, given the varying levels of grief we may be afflicted with in wake of this tragedy, I believe it most prudent to perhaps request a postponement on this vote."
I greedily drank from a bottle of water once I was done speaking, keeping an eye on the vote in the meantime. Overwhelmingly in favor of a delay and extended recess to cool the minds. Good, they'll be taking a break.
Meanwhile, I was getting to work.