Dark Fate, Chapter 205

Chapter 205 – Visit

(Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen, Panama City, Panama)

President Jairo Arnal sighed as he waited on the tarmac at the airport. He had been proud to become President of Panama. When he ran, he had great dreams of ways to help improve the lives of the Panamanian people. But before any of those could be put into place, the Initialization happened, and all his dreams burned to ash.

The two years since the Initialization had been hell. He had done his best, he knew that. There was nothing more that he could have done. It had taken everything he could manage just to keep the country from falling apart at the seams. Even then, all he could do was vainly try and slow the decline into ‘failed state’ territory.

Unfortunately, that was all he could do, and it wasn’t enough. Which had eventually brought the adventurers to demand a change. Though he hadn’t protested too much. Anyone with a working brain knew how things were going to end up if they kept on as they were, and those who were too thick to understand were dead by now. A grim reminder of the realities of this new world.

As the incoming shuttles came into sight, he snuck a glance at the two people standing with him. To his right was Luz Cortés, his Foreign Minister, and the one who had invited the Ceresans in. Of course, the suggestion to bring in Ceres had actually come from the woman to his left, Keira Hyde, an American who had been on vacation when the System Initialization happened, and had stepped up to become the de facto leader of Bocas del Toro province. She was one of the more powerful adventurers in the country, in terms of influence, and her levels weren’t too far behind, either.

“Well, Mr. President,” Hyde said, “I am sorry that it came to this.”

“As am I, Señora Hyde. But I don’t hold any animosity towards you, or the other adventurers. My only regret is that I was not able to keep my country afloat through my own efforts.”

“For what it is worth, sir, the people I’ve talked to always approved of your leadership, before the Initialization. And, speaking from personal experience, sometimes you can do everything right, and still lose. That’s how I lost my leg, back when I was in the Corps. No fault of mine, but that didn’t change the fact that the leg was gone.”

“I suppose that is some comfort. Yes, we were wounded by the Initialization. Wounded deeply enough that we could only slow the bleeding. I would rather accept another’s help, even if it means losing much, rather than drag the rest of my country down because of misplaced pride.”

Cortés chuckled. “And that is why people followed you, even through the disaster of the Initialization, sir. We’ve seen too many leaders that would never admit when they were beaten, and just as many that were too weak to accomplish anything. Having someone strong enough to push their ideas through, but not delusional enough to believe he was God was a pleasant change.”

“I’m glad you think so, old friend,” Jairo laughed, “because I fully intend to nominate you for the Governor position after I step down.” He held up a hand to silence the other two’s protests. “I’m a symbol of the old Panama, the pre-System Panama. We need a new leader for this new era, but it must be someone people in the country already know, and trust. And, no offense to you, Señora Hyde, but it must be someone from Panama.”

“None taken,” Hyde grinned. “I wouldn’t have accepted the job anyways. Bad enough that a white American gringo is in charge of one of the provinces. Putting me in charge of the whole country would send a terrible message.”

Their conversation was cut short, there, as two Ceresan shuttles landed on the tarmac, with a flight of four of those iconic x-winged ‘Hunters’ as escorts. They landed in a perfect formation shuttles with their rears pointed towards them, with the fighters touching down precisely half a second behind the shuttles, in a circle facing outward. He knew it was showmanship, but it was impressive all the same. A perfect landing by one pilot was a mark of skill. Getting six to land perfectly, in unison? That was discipline and training, and spoke well of how Ceres treated their military.

Looking closer, he realized that the shuttles were not the same type he’d seen the Ceresans using before. These looked like the ‘Renegades’ he had seen pictures of on television, so they must be the new ‘Outlaw’ craft he had heard about. Made sense that Ceres was showing off some of their new craft to their new colony? Ally? Fellow member of the Ceresan Empire, whatever the term ended up being.

The rear hatch on the two shuttles opened, lowering to become access ramps. Not necessary for a VIP shuttle, but these Outlaws were supposed to be multipurpose frames that could be outfitted in many different ways, so it made sense that they would simplify things in that way. Wait, the two shuttles were different. One looked all but empty, save for some seats along the wall, as a platoon of soldiers in advanced armor marched off the ramp in parade formation. The other had more comfortable seating, and saw only seven people stepping off the ramp.

As the soldiers began taking up positions to escort the VIPs, Jairo looked at them. Only two of the group were human. He recognized the Ceresan Foreign Minister, Luisa Morillo, from her time in the Venezuelan government, before the Initialization, when she had been an ambassador to Panama. The man behind her was probably an aide, given how he was acting.

In the front of the group, however, were three demons. Naturally, he recognized King Greene, and Crown Princess Lilith, but the other succubus standing next to the King was an unknown. What really surprised him, however, were the two angels behind the demons, a woman with two sets of wings, and a man with one. There had to be a story there.

Jairo took a breath as the delegation approached, and stepped forward, offering his hand to the King. After all, they weren’t subjects, yet. Not until the papers were signed, and all that. It would send the wrong message to be too subservient. Plus, it was well known by this point that the King didn’t care for much of the pageantry of statecraft, except when it was necessary.

“King Greene, welcome to Panama.”

“President Arnal,” the Demon King of Ceres intoned as he shook his hand, “it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I wish things were under simpler circumstances, but we all have to play with the hand we’re dealt. And, trust me, things are not nearly as bad as they might have been.”

“Considering you’ve been through the end of the world before, I’ll take that as fact.” Jairo then motioned to the two people with him. “This is Luz Cortés, my Foreign Minister, at least until the paperwork is done, and Keira Hyde, one of the primary leaders amongst the adventurers in the country.”

“Lovely to meet the both of you,” King Greene said. “And, I’m sure you already know my daughter, Lilith, also with us is Mhyreth, my familiar, Harahel, one of my pets, Saniel, my daughter’s pet, my Foreign Minister, Luisa Morillo, who you might know from her previous postings with the Venezuelan government, and her chief aide, Luciano Palau. And, of course, a platoon from the Ceres Royal Marines, to ensure no one gets any stupid ideas about our transports, or the rest of us.”

Jairo frowned as he turned, and began walking towards a limousine and a pair of SUVs for the guards. Idly, he noted that half the platoon of Marines followed them, while the other half began setting up equipment to secure the area. “I know no one in my administration is planning on causing trouble, though I can’t promise anything about lone gunmen or the like. Are you expecting someone to be stupid, as you put it? After the rather pointed display of what happened to the paramilitary group that attacked you in New York?”

Princess Lilith shook her head. “I have not foreseen anything with my gifts, or my spells, like I did before the attack in New York. However, like Daddy always says, it is better to prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. That way, you’re never disappointed, and are usually pleasantly surprised.”

Hyde chuckled. “I’ve heard similar ideas, when I was in the Corps. Along with such lovely sayings as ‘Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance’. Though it was typically reduced to five words in front of brass.”

The King chuckled. “Oh, I heard all of those, and more, in the last timeline. And don’t worry about treating me like brass, Ms. Hyde, at least while we’re in private like this. We all have expectations of our offices, in the public eye, but I’d rather have people honestly tell me to fuck off to my face than run around with fake smiles, looking for a nice spot in my back to plant a dagger.”

As they piled into the limousine, Jairo raised an eyebrow as he saw Lilith plant herself in the male angel’s lap. The King had called the winged being Lilith’s pet, but he knew that was just a polite way of saying ‘slave’. Evidently, he wasn’t as subtle as he thought with his glance, because Greene chuckled in the nearby seat, with an angel and demon flanking him.

“Don’t worry, Mr. President. The pets were all legally obtained, both by local laws and by Ceresan law. But, I suppose that is as good a place to start as anywhere. It is no secret that slavery has a well-deserved bad reputation on Earth, for a whole host of valid reasons. Unfortunately, slavery, as the System rules it, is the best way to deal with a whole host of problems.”

Jairo nodded. “I’ve heard some of this before, but if you could run it by us again, so that we can go and defend it to our people?”

“Of course. We’ll start off with the two main types of slavery, Judicial and Private. Judicial slavery is just as it appears, a sentence handed down by the government, either through the courts, or, under Ceresan law, as a consequence of defeat within judicial duels. This comes about primarily due to the fact that, after a certain point, it simply becomes impossible to contain prisoners without scaling the prisons to match their level and tier. However, the expense of building an entire prison out of Tier 3 materials and Tier 3 mechanisms, with Tier 3 defenses in place could bankrupt planets, let alone countries. You simply do not find materials of that tier in great abundance, meaning everything is more expensive. On top of the fact that you’d need Tier 3 craftsmen to be doing the work. And you can simply forget about a prison capable of containing a Tier 4, unless you physically exile them to another dimension, or permanently freeze them in time, or something like that. Even that would be insanely expensive, and would be vulnerable to those on the outside attempting to free the prisoner.

“Naturally, the fact that criminals above a certain level are difficult to contain through means like prisons does nothing to curb criminal behavior. Which is where judicial slavery comes in. If you order a slave to not leave the property, they will not. The only way to remove them from the property would be to do it physically, and by force. And, depending on the wording of their order, they might be forced to fight back, with all their power, which limits the effectiveness of rescue attempts.”

“Yes,” Hyde nodded, “and I think everyone has mostly come to accept that reality, even if they haven’t gotten around to putting it directly into law or international treaties. The other alternative is death penalties for a lot more categories of crime. But I believe the part we’d like to know more about is the Private slavery.”

“Well, that comes into the territory of local laws. On Ceres, for instance, there are rules that come into play on when and how someone can be privately enslaved. Contract clauses are one, where someone signs a System contract, and then defaults and becomes a slave. Some people sell themselves into slavery to pay off debts. Others voluntarily accept slavery, for various reasons.

“However, it should be noted that slavery under Ceresan law is not the same as chattel slavery or similar systems from Earth’s past. Yes, Slaves must obey their Masters, but they are not without rights, and Masters who do not provide suitable accommodations for their slaves may find their slaves confiscated by the state, if they aren’t enslaved themselves. Also, a person’s status as a slave does not strip them of any power or authority they possess, or make it so that they cannot hold rank or office. Some of the highest-ranking individuals in the Ceresan government are enslaved, after all, but they are respected by their subordinates, whether slave or free. In most cases, private slavery under Ceresan law is just a change of status, like getting married, or similar.”

“That is a lot to take in,” Jairo said, considering. “And I have heard about the judicial dueling on Ceres. Does it really work?”

“Between the duels and the ‘Black Zones’, violent crime is practically nonexistent on Ceres. Turns out, giving people a legitimate outlet for their violent impulses means they aren’t turned against those who just want to live in peace. Better still, the use of System Contracts also helps to cut down on financial crimes, since the System does not care if your embezzlement scheme hasn’t been discovered, you’re in violation of the contract you signed, and the penalties apply instantly. As more than one individual has discovered, to their embarrassment and misfortune.”

“Sounds too good to be true,” Hyde said. “Next, you’ll tell us that Ceresan politicians are always honest. No offense, Mr. President,” she nodded his way. He waved it off. Jokes about honest politicians were as old as politics, after all.

The King just laughed, though. “Shockingly enough, being brutally honest has done wonders for Ceres. Far more than any level of political games might have gotten us. After all, if you gain and maintain a reputation for always telling the truth, there are many things you might say, that are true, but not true in the way people believe them to be.”

Princess Lilith giggled into her hand. “Daddy likes to say that if you can’t be at least as honest as a demon, then you should re-evaluate your life choices.”

“I see,” Jairo grinned. “This day looks like it is going to be very ‘interesting’, indeed.”