Chapter 386 - Tark

Note :

I'm still afraid of moving things too fast, but honestly I feel it's FINALLY time to converge some long running plotlines and get all that sweet, sweet payoff. Which I suppose is kind of the theme of this whole book, with Emilia and Alexandra's party.

I hope you guys enjoy !

Chapter 386

Red Sands Desert, Aurorean Empire

Capital City of Rebirth

Normally, in these summits, all the real deals got made in hallways by aides and secretaries. The kind of trusted flunkies you could nonetheless dump in a hurry if things got heated.

Allya didn't operate like that.

She pushed the cups towards Malcom and Nira. If the representatives of the New Republic and the Tark Hegemony felt it was strange to have the -now- Empress of half the continent serving them drinks, they kept it to themselves.

"So." Said Allya. "As we have covered during the meetings, I have no designs upon member nations' territories or autonomy besides some understandable red lines."

"Red lines the Hegemony wholeheartedly supports." Said Nira, and Malcom nodded.

"The New Republic as well, but that goes without saying."

Given that those red lines were 'no slavery, no discrimination, equality before the law' and a bunch of other stuff, that wasn't surprising. Those were things the Kingdom would have had issue with before she blasted the slavers into oblivion and had the very privileged aristocracy kneeling before her in awe and terror.

Technically she needn't had bothered, but outlining them set the stage and more importantly showed that her letting the Kingdom keep Sunrise wasn't just theater. It wasn't some gesture, it was implied to have been negotiations in exchange for concessions and not just her being magnanimous. Paradoxically, that was better than just being generous. People in positions of power usually didn't trust charity. For them pragmatism was the name of the game. Showing the 'price' she had taken from the Kingdom in exchange for that 'concession' made them think she could be negotiated with.

"Good. So, I have brought you here today for an obvious reason: the war against the Senate." She looked at Nira. "Let me reiterate, before anything goes forward, that my position has not changed. Allow me to state it clearly and with no ambivalence: if the Hegemony annexes a single meter of Republic, and thus Imperial, territory, there will not be a Hegemony once this is over."

Nira had flinched when she'd effectively declared that before the assembly. Now she didn't even blink.

"It has been understood and processed. The Hegemony understands your position."

"Excellent. Then, there are a few things to settle. First and foremost, is Eternity."

There was a flicker of surprise in the neonite's eyes.

"Eternity?"

Clearly she hadn't expected that. And why should she? That province was effectively being puppeteered by Eternia, the dungeon core.

A dungeon core that was one of the most prominent interventionists...straight under Alexandra's leadership, who as far as most people were concerned, was either puppeteering her or so deep into bed with her making a difference between them was academical at best.

The latter was a bit more literal than most would probably expect, but that was another story entirely. As well as Pyn and Emilia's fault.

"Indeed. The Autonomous Province of Eternity is at something of a crossroads. They have, of course, assured the New Republic of their full support and loyalty." They had literally invited an entire army group to camp out in their territory to threaten and pin down the Senate's army groups on the Tarkian border. You couldn't exactly go much further than that in actions, though their commitment had been lacking in words, at least on the public side. "But they have also been negotiating about their status. Though it remains, ultimately, their and the New Republic's decision, the Empire has of course been kept appraised and part of the negotiations."

She was generous with the level of autonomy she was giving the nations under her. Or, more accurately, Alexandra had outlined why that level of autonomy was something they absolutely needed in the short term to pull this thing together to begin with and have it survive the collapse of...well, fucking everything at this point.

But she wasn't 'let parts of your, and thus my, territory break away without involving me' generous.

"Of course."

"I am prepared to let the Province join the Empire as a full member. So is the New Republic. However I am given to understand that the Hegemony has a significant stake and influence within Eternity."

"We do." The ambassador's face was unreadable, but she was probably fuming. Tark had sunk a lot of money, troops and political capital in getting Eternity autonomous, unlocking the trade routes to Gorromar and the rest of the continent beyond. The fact that they'd done this without telling them was a huge blow. Yet another one, after the Far Reach showed up with a dragon.

That was the Hegemony's greatest problem. They misunderstood what 'allies' meant. They were a military dictatorship, for them 'allied forces' was effectively subordinates you could order around.

That made them dangerous. Because they entered those negotiations thinking they held all the cards, only to find out they only had odds and ends while she'd scooped up all the aces. They couldn't form a united front with the Far Reach, nor could they leverage Eternity as a bargaining chip. Which pretty much swept their entire gameplan from underneath them.

Needless to say, having a jingoistic, expansionist military dictatorship who'd sunk all of their resources into a massive rearmament campaign, be scrambling to find a new plan while on your border and on the verge of war was not a good thing.

Fortunately, what made them so prone to misunderstanding that ally relationship made them perfectly primed to entering the Empire. Being a subordinate to the Empire, that they understood no problem.

"Thus I would like to propose a...joint custody. In time, Eternity will stand on its own two feet, but it must learn nationhood and too many things are in motion for the luxury to do them on their own. With the assitance of the New Republic, the Hegemony and, of course, the Empire, they can reach their full potential and bloom despite the otherwise challenging climate currently befalling our world."

Nira met her gaze.

"Even if the Hegemony does not join the Empire?"

Allya nodded.

"Why?" Asked the ambassador.

"Because when we were at our most desperate, you sent us light. You sent us weapons, artillery..." They probably guessed that Alex had gotten a lot of her weaponry from them. That wasn't true, she had even gotten gunpowder from the Republic, but she had learned a fair bit from the Tarkian weapons she'd, ah, 'liberated'. Man that felt like a long time ago. You could have written five or six novels in what had happened since. "I do not forget my debts. Ever. We owe you that much."

Nira simply stared, searching her eyes, before sighing.

"And if we join the Empire? Let us stop dancing around. You've extended an olive branch. You know that you're letting us partially have Eternity, or at least influence on them, to satisfy our ambitions. What is the carrot?"

Allya had to stop a surprised look. This was unlike the ambassador, at least the experience she had of her. So what-

Oh.

Oh.

This was tailored for her. They probably had a fairly accurate psychological profile of her, and how she liked to rule by that point. Cutting through the bullshit.

Only 'fairly' accurate however, because there was no way they could plan or anticipate for Alexandra and her influence.

She sure as shit couldn't, and bar Emilia and Ghost, she was the one who probably knew her the best on this planet.

"The carrot is your military and your industry. Let's not mince words, the Hegemony has effectively bankrupted itself and destroyed its citizens standards of living to make this buildup, with the promise of putting an end to the Republic's threats and expanding into the cultivated heartlands to pay for all this hardware. Neither are an option anymore. That not only means you have built quite possibly the finest and most expensive military on the whole continent for nothing, but also that all the factories, shipyards and other businesses which have participated in that rearmament are about to fall flat. Because you won't need more ammo, replacement gun barrels or new ships to replace combat losses. And you certainly won't have the money or resources from new lands to keep that process going."

She gazed at the ambassador, and though she remained inscrutable, there was still some tension radiating off of her. Allya wondered if that was intentional. The woman was a neonite after all.

"Those problems, I can solve." She finished.

"How?"

"The Empire needs a military. I have more money and resources than what I know to do with. Yes, as per the laws of the Empire I will have the New Republic's Army and whatever remains of the Asarian Royal Army under my command. We both know they aren't enough." Malcom didn't look happy but he didn't argue. "I can pay for your military, and give it a purpose your people will be proud of, and proud to have sacrificed for. I can keep your factories turning with a full backlog of orders for the next two fucking centuries just bringing the rest of the Empire's forces up to par. And that's just for the army." She got up, and gestured at various paintings around her office. She had them made over time, though she rarely had the time to look at them nowadays they did give her a sense of peace whenever she did. Each represented Rebirth at its various stages. First an assembly of tents and landed airships, then a village of sandstone...all the way to today, a town finally transitioning into a full blown city. "I don't want horse drawn carts, torches and aqueducts. I want cars, trains, public lighting worthy of the name, running water everywhere with pumps and ducts! And ultimately, I want the same for every single city, in the entire Empire."

She returned to her desk, and leaned over it, her nose almost touching Nira's.

"That is what I can offer you. A future to Tark that isn't just making weapons and sending half of your youth through the war machine, be it as manufacturers of weapons or wielders of them. Yes, I will need your military, your strength and your weapons. But ultimately? I can have you build dreams. Yours and mine. Dreams of prosperity, not nightmares of war."

They stared at each other for a few seconds more, then Nira nodded.

"I will bring your words to the Hegemon. But I think Tark...will join your Empire."

"Good."

"But." The neonite raised a finger. "We will not sit this fight out. The Senate has taken too many lives, cost us too much over the centuries. We will not take the Republic's lands but we will help take the Senate down."

Allya nodded.

"I expected no less. And that is why representative Malcom is here."

She gestured, and he pulled out a set of documents, as Allya pressed a button and the holographic projector inside her desk hummed to life, projecting a map of the south-east of the continent.

"Here are our force dispositions and general plans." Said Malcom, as he slid the pile of documents over to the other representatives. "Also contained is our best estimates of the Senate border force's combat strength, capabilities, and weak points, as well as who would rather join us and who will fight to the bitter end."

"The key to this." Said Allya, slotting in with ease. "Is making it clear that no territory will be taken. Almost all will fight to defend their homes from invaders, but few will if it just means overthrowing their old, corrupt rulers." That was a bit complicated by the New Republic now being under the Empire, but they could deal with that. "So that means official announcements, and a lot of theatrics."

"Isn't that the entire purpose of this summit?" Asked Nira with a smile.

"Perhaps. Are you up for it?"

"Oh I am. But I don't think I'll be the only one." Her smile turned a bit more genuine and...fond? "The Hegemon has been working for decades for an end to this endless cycle of wars. She's not sitting this out either. Tell me, your imperial majesty, have you heard of Hegemony Square?"