System Supervillain, Chapter 160

Chapter 160 – Considerations

As expected of someone in his position, Druxl was very happy to spill what information he thought would make him look more valuable to me. There were facilities on Thraxl Secunda to process the Systemite, and create System Foci, and there were even a couple finished pieces in the vault. After all, even if the civil war hadn’t completely killed trade within the Empire, trade ships weren’t coming to this system. Other than Systemite, the resources on Secunda were found anywhere in the Empire, and Prime was dying. No trade ship would make the journey to potentially, maybe, possibly get one or two items, no matter how much they might sell for on the open or black markets.

While I was interrogating him, Web Mistress had gone through the planetary network on Secunda, searching all the facilities there. The humans were not kept isolated, but mixed in with all the other slaves working in the mines, processing centers, farming habitats, and so on. Tracking them was easy, since they were all wearing devices to monitor their vital signs, and they all appeared to be in good health. Not perfect, but certainly better than any of the survivors in Srusk had been. She even secured a database with everyone’s names, skills, and other such information.

More of Druxl’s story checked out. Not just official records, but also private journals from different individuals kept on terminals that were password locked, but connected to the network, confirmed that, ever since the previous Planet Leader, Thraxl Secunda had been quietly changing its structure, until now, it was almost unrecognizable when compared to other Gel-nak mining worlds. The slave species were slaves in name only, and their living conditions were the best that could be had under Imperial Law. There was even a slave council, which helped adjudicate disputes between slaves, without needing the Slavetenders or Slavewatchers to get involved, and they regularly met with Druxl to offer suggestions about how things could be improved, while remaining within minimum compliance standards.

I ended the call with a promise to consider his offer, once the fleet guarding Thraxl was dealt with. Thankfully, Nemesis was at work this whole time, so their numbers had thinned. Once more, the pulse torpedoes proved excellent for knocking out groups of fighters at once, and the much longer range on our weapons made sure that the few fighters that were missed in the blasts got taken out before they could get into range. Even if the fighters were smaller than the Rhuk, my ship’s targeting systems were too good, ensuring hits basically every time we fired. Even if they devoted themselves to dodging, our guns still hit on a 16 or under when rolling the 3d6 attack roll.

Of the original two hundred fighters, only nine remained, and they were desperately flying towards Thraxl Prime. Guess they figured that trying scavenge food on the frozen world had a higher survival chance than attempting to keep fighting. Can’t say that I blamed them, either. Nemesis certainly wasn’t going to show them any mercy. After all, the only reason they were able to flee the battle was because he had other toys to chew on.

Speaking of the actual warships, they were not having a good day, either. One of the destroyers was dead, thanks to a reactor breach. Two cruisers were crippled, their engines not responding on account of a gravity lance ripping through them. And one of the battleships was currently leaking atmosphere as it flew on a collision course with Thraxl Prime’s moon.

Which meant I had a bit of time on my hands, waiting on the ships to either die, or flee. First things first. Check and see the number of Administrators in the system. Only three entries. Oris, Web Mistress, and myself. Either the last Local Administrator had been in the city I nuked, or they’d eventually died along with most of the planet. Well, that was one thing I didn’t need to worry about.

Next thing, I needed to chat with the Brits. Unlike in Srusk, where I had a clear point on an inhabited and valuable planet to open the portal at, the situation in the Thraxl system could best be described as fucked. The only real choices for opening the portal were a mostly dead world transforming into an ice world, and a Venus-type hellscape where everyone stayed inside protected habitats. They’d probably want a bit of input, there.

Quantum link active.

Secure communication between Device 1 (Rhuk) and Device 4 (United Kingdom) enabled.

Iceblade: Hello there, anyone listening to this?

Knave: Oh, Iceblade! I take it that you’re almost ready for me and the lads to come through and have some fun?

Iceblade: Well, about that. We’ve had a couple complications. Can you loop in one of the hero types as well? Maybe someone from the military, too?

Knave: Sounds important. Wait a tick.

GreenKnight has entered the chat.

GeneralEllis has entered the chat.

GreenKnight: Iceblade, Knave says you have news about the situation in Epsilon Eridani?

Iceblade: Yes. We are currently engaged with the fleet here, and things are on a predictable trajectory in that regard. However, the situation on the ground is problematic.

GeneralEllis: Problematic how?

Iceblade: The ecosystem of Thraxl Prime was not prepared for an ice age, it seems, and the civil war caused by the rest of the Royal Line getting killed off has prevented the normal flow of trade through the Empire. Thraxl Prime has gone from a population of roughly 7.1 billion to something in the low tens of thousands. That’s a die-off of over 99.999%. While there are still survivors scattered around the planet, supplies are low and there are reports of cannibalism.

GeneralEllis: Mother of God.

Knave: Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch.

GreenKnight: What about the people who were taken from London?

Iceblade: Confirmed count from the Gel-nak side is 874,239 people taken as slaves from the London incursion. However, most of them were moved out of the city before the Emperor arrived. Apparently, the Planet Leader decided that it was best not to let the already upset Emperor see the unruly slaves.

GreenKnight: So, most would have survived the nuclear strike?

Iceblade: Yes. Most were redistributed around Thraxl Prime. I don’t have any further information on them. However, 325 thousand were sent to Thraxl Secunda, a Venus-type world which hosts some profitable mines.

Knave: They’re being forced to work the mines, eh? Sounds like a good place to go in.

Iceblade: Wouldn’t be able to do the full military deployment, and fewer of the supers. The atmosphere is toxic, caustic, and crushingly dense all at once. So, you wouldn’t want anyone who could break the habitats by accident.

Iceblade: That said, the Planet Leader for Secunda is an interesting case. I’m transmitting some files now. Suffice to say, the lizard is setting things up so that not just the Gel-nak under him but even the different slave species working on Secunda seem to like him.

GreenKnight: Mind control? Or charisma?

Iceblade: Some charisma, but it is mostly just sheer competence and common sense. The mining colony is self-sufficient for everything except certain medical goods, and the Planet Leader ensures that everyone, including the slaves, are well-fed and taken care of, even giving the slaves some entertainment options and some ability to self-govern and bring complaints or suggestions to him. And any time slaves are shipped in from elsewhere in the Empire, their stories reinforce the image of how good they have it on Secunda.

Knave: You aren’t expecting us to believe this is all out of the goodness of his heart, right?

Iceblade: Of course not. He did it because, when you combine an ‘us against the world’ bunker mentality with ensuring that people are well-fed, clothed, and believe their concerns are being addressed, you are less likely to have slave revolts and work stoppages, which means he can cut down all the Slavewatcher and Slavetender positions to the legally mandated minimum. He can’t actually free the slaves or do anything more without breaking the law, but he’s got a population that thinks he is the best possible outcome for them, all while quietly making himself very wealthy.

GeneralEllis: I take it this Planet Leader asked for your help in some way?

Iceblade: Mostly doing the “don’t kill me” thing, but also looking to see if there is a way he can remain in charge of the planet after the Empire is taken care of. I haven’t given him a commitment one way or another.

King has entered the chat.

King: Just what kind of arrangement are you suggesting, Iceblade?

Iceblade: I’m suggesting nothing. I’m giving information so you can decide things for yourself, your Majesty. There are several interlinked problems. Deploying the portal on Prime will allow you to deploy people more quickly, including the Reset Device that Technician developed to reverse the effects of the ice age on the planet. That would also give you the best chance of searching for and finding any remaining humans on Prime’s surface. However, the lack of working ships means that it would take a very long time to shuttle the humans on Secunda to Prime and move them through the portal back to Earth, though they would remain well-fed and in good condition.

Iceblade: Deploying the portal on Secunda, however, would dramatically limit the numbers and types who could be sent through, and would be effectively abandoning anyone still on Prime, but would allow the humans on Secunda to be more quickly brought home.

Iceblade: Regardless of that choice, the consideration for what happens moving forward needs to be addressed. If you try to remove the current Planet Leader, you’ll likely face a revolt from his loyal followers. Leave him in charge, even temporarily, and you can control the new shape of things, as well as using the expertise he has to continue the profitable mining operations, but without slave labor.

Iceblade: Further complicating things is the nature of the mines on Secunda. While there is plenty of iron and other such things, the most valuable commodity is a rare mineral called Systemite.

GreenKnight: Please tell me that doesn’t do what I think it does.

Iceblade: If you think it can be worked into items which give their wielders the ability to make limited alterations to their Status through the System interface, like an Administrator does, then you’d be right. The substance is stupidly rare, though, and Secunda mines enough for only one or two items each year.

Knave: whistles That’s huge.

Iceblade: Indeed. And without the Planet Leader and his people, you’d have to learn how to work it from scratch.

King: We see. That is a troublesome problem.

Iceblade: If you’ll take a suggestion, then I’d say make him a rajah, like you Brits did in India for ages, and then, once his people have taught you everything they can, allow him to retire somewhere, or ‘retire’ him quietly. Either way, that isn’t the only personnel issue you’re going to need to decide.

GeneralEllis: We need to pick someone to be the Local Administrator for Thraxl, right? Like you did with the Russians in Srusk?

Iceblade: Indeed. And, as I told the Russians, it would be best if one of the ‘reasonable villain’ crowd took that job. You need someone who is capable of turning a blind eye to the nasty things they’ll be able to find out about people, or at least control themselves long enough to turn things over to someone else, and let them deal with it. Any interventions they make that aren’t expressly related to System issues would need to be done with their natural abilities, or not at all.

Knave: Yeah, some of us have been talking, since you informed the Russians about all that. Иней, or Hoarfrost, is one of the better baddies. Be a bit of a loss for the community, her sticking to Srusk for the most part. At any rate, unless someone objected, we were going to suggest either Silver Cutlass or Black Dragon take the gig. Leaning towards Black Dragon, if we can get the environment back to normal on Prime.

King: If the portal is opened on Prime, would you be willing to transport Technician and some others to Secunda, Iceblade?

Iceblade: Sure. They going to set up a portal or similar to expedite getting people between planets?

King: Indeed. And if you can speak with the Planet Leader, tell him that We will agree to granting him the Interim Governor title for Thraxl Secunda, for a period of five years, as he trains Our people in the colony’s methods. After five years, provided he serves well and honestly, he will either be confirmed as the permanent Governor, or be free to retire anywhere in our domain.

Iceblade: Sure, I’ll let him know.