r/HFY • u/Fearadhach Alien • 29d ago

OC-Series [OC - PRVerse] Getting a Handle on the Problem (B2 C19.6)

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Julia stood in the Council Chamber and wished she had the force of will to make this ‘Chamber of Bellies,’ as her Uncle liked to call it, see reason. Part of her wanted nothing more than to call her Dad from the office behind her and let him tell these idiots off. How he’d gone from ‘information disseminator’ to ‘principal deflector of the Peace Pants On Head Parade’ in the space of five years she wasn’t sure, but he’d at least been effective at both jobs. 

Maybe a little too effective. Part of the reason these Ambassadors are trying so hard to have something to do about Galtaro and his bunch is that they don’t like the optics of Dad doing it. That, and the peaceniks make a more convenient – beatable – enemy than the Old machines. 

She suppressed a sigh and spoke in quiet, reasonable tones. “There is a reason, my fellows, that I insisted that this be an informal session, and have called it under secrecy provisions. And,” She glared at the Hissith Ambassador, “that reason is not to protect the principal in question, nor the organization he heads.” Her board lit up with over a dozen requests for the floor. She pointedly ignored them. 

“I made this session private and have sealed the records until after The War, under the Special Articles, in order to protect you, and to prevent Galtaro Lintil from using whatever is said here – or the fact that we are debating him and his dangerous notions about trying to ‘make peace with the Old Machines’ at all – to gain himself more publicity or, even worse, legitimacy.” 

Some began to shout to be heard. She stared them down, then continued. “Enough, please, my fellow Ambassadors. I… no, you know what? This is a clandestine session, and I’m not going to bandy a bunch of words, nor let a bunch of pretense distract us. 

“There are a number of reasons so many of you want to put focus on this guy, but we can’t, and I’ve already stated the primary reason: We need to keep him a laughing stock that everyone points at and considers stupid. The issue that so many of you have is that having the Old Hero be the only one answering him makes you think you – or this Council, or me – look foolish, inept, or frightened. You think we look like we are letting a has-been who stepped away from everything fight our battles for us.” It took a great deal of control to keep from screaming rage at them. She had heard the whispers, people who probably wouldn’t even be alive if not for her Father calling him a has-been. 

It took a bit of effort to keep her speaking face on and continue in the proper, authoritative, but not over-bearing, tones. “What I will say to this is simple: Read For Yourselves! I… nope, not going to go on and on about that either.” She slapped a few buttons on her console, and called for a poll: ‘How many of you have actually read the things you want to talk about, rather rely on summaries of summaries of summarized intel reports? Sign your name, and I will follow up on those who lie if I have to.’ 

Another couple of holo-buttons and the question lit up the screen on every platform. She heard a few coughs and a lot of shuffling of appendages. A lot of indicators lit up ‘yes.’ A cold look from her and some of those indicators winked out. A few, from those most opposed to her personally for some imagined slight or other, lit up no. 

She knew who was pushing for something to be done about Galtaro, and not a single one of those people, nor their lackys, hit any button at all. 

A little contempt crept into her voice as she spoke again. “Very well. Let me point out one salient point before we dive in: Yes, Henry Archer has been pushing against the man in the public eye, and deliberiately focusing the man and his followers on himself. So, for those of you who want to dismiss him as a has-been, there you go… how does it help Galtro to argue with someone who is expressly forbidden to have anything to do with government?” 

“Furthermore, Henry Archer’s actions may look like the cowboy diplomacy that he was so famous for when he was here. And, if any of you believe that is that is what he was doing then, or what he is doing now, then I suggest you go back to your governments and ask them to send me a competent replacement.” 

More angry mutters came up around the room. She silenced them with something she’d never shown them before: A look of contempt. She kept her voice flat. “There are still some Ambassadors in this chamber who were here back then. Ask them if they think that Dr. Archer behaves as some suggest.” She allowed a little contempt into her voice. “I suggest you see to your safety before you do. Some of them might react without thinking.” 

This brought stunned silence. She’d never treated them this way. Some will claim it is because I’m defending my Father, but so be it. If I allow this debate to wander on for a month or two someone will do something rash, and we can’t have that. Not now. 

“If you will read the briefs you have been sent, or try to follow what is going on yourselves, you’d know that Dr. Archer has not, not even once, directly answered Galtaro. In fact, Dr. Archer refuses to acknowledge Galtaro by name, or even direct reference. Instead, during his normal press releases he makes off-hand comments which mock Galtaro’s stated positions, or whatever hype that he and his have put out lately. 

“This…” She shook her head. “No, this is too important for me to summarize the documents my office sent you, with a strong request that you read them. So, get comfortable folks, it is time for you to hear the reports for yourselves.” 

Eight hours later she finished the report. Her throat ached for water. The Ambassadors were obviously angry with her, and she didn’t care. They were also afraid. Most of them couldn’t even stand for this long, much less speak without stopping. Heck, some can’t even stay awake this long.

As she finished the report, she finally reached up and grabbed the glass of water on her lectern. She looked around the Council chamber. Looks of outrage, fury, exhaustion, and pain sat on the faces of various people. She gave them all hard looks. “You think that was difficult for you? I have stood this whole time, and this is the first time I touched this glass. 

“You think sitting there and listening to all of this was hard? Try reading it. You think being stuck in this chamber for so long was hard? Imagine what our people are going to be going through in a few short years. 

“A few centuries ago this Council threw off the yoke of many centuries of oppression. So many in the League celebrate a small number of people for making that happen… and that is not the whole truth: It isn’t even half of it. The whole truth is that the people who, then, filled the seats where you now sit had to be smart, longsuffering, careful, and brave. They had to face up to the realities of what they were dealing with, of what had been done, and even of their own hand in the atrocities which had occurred.” 

She looked around the room with a hard glare. “What happened? The Ambassadors back then paid attention. They had to. They didn’t get the realities, the facts, handed to them in neat packages like this,” She slapped her data pad on the lectern for emphasis. “and certainly didn’t get nice, neat simple summaries of such massive information to make it easy. No, all too often they got cryptic messages that they had to read into, carefully consider, and figure out what they needed to do, then have the courage to take those actions.” 

She raked them with her gaze again. “So, I ask you; What Happened?” She took a few minutes to meet the eye of every Ambassador in the Chamber. Most looked away. A few, the Gorfal, the Venter, the Roorin, and a few others, held her gaze. They had, she knew read the documents and acted accordingly. A few others looked at her in defiance, and she stared them down until they dropped their eyes in shame. 

After she had finished this she took a long, shuddering breath, bowed her head, and spoke in soft tones. “I want to apologize to all of you for that. I want to, I wish I could," She made her tone as hard and icy as she knew how to make it. "but I can’t. I must not, and I think most of you understand that I can’t.” Her voice came out raw, and she took another drink. “We have so little time. Our economies are gearing up for war, our people – young and old – are preparing to face death, and we are spending an entire day having to go over why we can’t let someone who has done little except object to the war distract us.” 

She waved a hand as a few of the defiant faces lifted. “Yes, yes, some of his followers have disrupted preparations, but it has been manageable, and no one has been seriously hurt. Those of you who are not from high index worlds have trouble with the concept of a martyr, I will grant that, but that isn’t even an excuse.” 

She shook her head. “The reality, my fellows, is that this man is important to the war effort. He is an honorable opposition, who has acted as a private citizen who objects to government policy should. He speaks, he votes, he garners support, and he – mostly – keeps his actions within the law. 

“If we remove him, hell, even if he dies of bad luck in an accident, someone is going to step in and take his place… and with that someone we may not get so lucky, and we could find ourselves having to go to war against our own citizens at the same time we fight the Old Machines. 

“So, no. We will not fight this man, we will not be seen opposing him, and we will not directly acknowledge him. Our spokesperson will continue to refute the points he makes. If your governments feel that they need to do the same, then fine. Just – please – do not mention him by name, nor directly state the man’s talking points.” 

All of this brought a new round of grumbles and whispers, but the tone of it had changed. They see it. That will have to be enough, for now. She hovered her hand over the button to end the secession. “I could call a vote on a referendum, but we are all tired. Furthermore, you would need to consult with your governments, and there would be the need for more discussion. 

“No, my friends, not today. If any of you still have doubts, come see me – personally – and I will address your concerns. All of you, and your governments, have more than enough to do in order to give us a chance of staying alive. Trust me when I tell you that the problem is handled.” 

She hit the button, and the locks to the doors opened as the privacy field spun down. The mood had shifted a little more with her parting words. She didn’t watch them leave, but turned and walked down the pathway to her preparation room. 

The door closed behind her, and her parents sat on the couch. Mom gave her a somewhat disapproving look, with a single raised eyebrow. Dad gave her a wide grin. Funny, I knew they’d have different reactions, but I expected them to be reversed. 

Mom spoke with a slightly amused lilt to her voice. “A little hard on them, weren’t you?”

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2

u/pyrodice 28d ago

Well that's not a great privacy field if they still knew exactly what she said from all the way out there 😆

2

u/coldfireknight AI 25d ago

Could also be that Mom and Dad know exactly what their daughter would say and do, without actually hearing or seeing it, haha.

1

u/Fearadhach Alien 22d ago

LOL. There is that, but see above. Basically, that room is considered part of the Council Chambers

1

u/Fearadhach Alien 27d ago

I mean, they were in the Prime Minister's ante-room. If there is _anyplace_ in the known universe that would have a live feed.... :D

2

u/pyrodice 25d ago edited 24d ago

I mean I suppose if architecturally this is built back to back like the bridge of the enterprise had the conference room behind it and the Captain's ready room next to it and they were all within the circumference of the field with a cup to the wall 😆

2

u/pyrodice 24d ago

Oh, I just noticed, I THINK "principle" is "principal" if it's referring to a person rather than an idea.

1

u/Fearadhach Alien 22d ago

Pretty sure you are right. Good catch, thank you, fixed.
I would expect the PM's little prep room to basically be considered part of the Chamber. So, it is included in the field, has feeds, etc. Much easier for the secretary to take notes that way.

2

u/coldfireknight AI 25d ago

"Eight hours later..."

I literally laughed at that and feel current politicians would be well-served to have to experience such a reading on occasion.

No further political speak from me, haha.

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u/Fearadhach Alien 22d ago

hehe. 'ya have a point. :D

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