OMeko visits Doctor Styne
Original forum post: #43857159 by IverChekt, 2026-08-14 16:54 (forum time). The text below is the author's post, copied verbatim.
OMeko visits Doctor Styne
The OMeko arrived at the airport in a new private jet. Unlike the simple and modest jet of the past, the new one has the elegant delta wings and aggressive afterburners of a supersonic jet. She steps off with her guard. She's wearing a tie dye t shirt, a bohemian knitted skirt, and a pair of big round sunglasses. Her guards dress in black suits, one carries a leather suitcase chained to her wrist.
With the jet having touched down a heavy car rolled up to the awaiting OMeko and her bodyguards. Once it had stopped a man in a simple navy suit stepped out of passenger side of the car to open its door for the OMeko. He spoke as he stood by the door waiting for the OMeko to get in. "Doctor Styne sends his regards and will greet you once we arrive at the Labunsk."
The OMeko gets in and gets comfortable. She responds to the man by making a peace sign with her fingers. "... Groovy."
The man closed the door after her and then got back into the passenger side seat. Once he had closed his own door the car set off driving across the tarmac until they reached a side entrance which brought them on to the busy streets of Deonec. It was a short enough drive through towering canyons of concrete until the height started to taper off to the old district and the Labusnk square. Entering the square they were waved through a checkpoint where a IFV was posted watch alongside armoured DPO troops. They then went through the empty square to the Labusnk and then down a ramp to its underground parking garage. Now underground they navigated the car park until they went to a door way where Doctor Styne was waiting.
The OMeko didn't wait to be let out, she climbed out of the car with her arms outstretched. "Styne! It's good to see you, and a shame I can't show you around my new office, or my new collection of IverIrosian music."
"Its good to see you as well. I wouldn't have minded a trip over to see IverIros but the current climate simply does not allow it." He then started leading them into the stair well as he continued. "We can head up to my office to chat further."
"There will be plenty of time to show you later. In the meantime, this gave me the excuse to use my new private jet, this one flies at mach 2.5, and still somehow is more reliable than my SUV."
"I think that's a good sign to upgrade the SUV." They now where in a plush corridor where they went to a large office with a heavy wooden desk a large window behind it and then to a side a few armchairs beside a fire place. "Please take a seat and tell me a bit more about why you decided to pop by I can only assume it has something to do with the Bessemer?"
A wide smile crosses the OMeko's lips and her tail swings with joy as she sits down. "You know, I've grown quite fond of your humans' style of state building. Nuclear weapons for deterrence, large armies, and now I'm going to be trying out that human technique of a show of force. Expect us chunes to be on the news for a little while." She said with a chuckle. I need to show the Archgovnerness that the chunes cannot be bullied any longer, that's the big goal for this plan Prime Minister Curtiss and I came up with."
"Levying the threat of fuel sanctions I assume to keep them in line? Do tell me was the entire incident staged to bait them into it or was it more an act exploiting the opportunity dropped on your laps?"
"It wasn't staged. I was actually hoping to make contact with the Lost Boroughs and turn them into something of a proxy. It would have been a much better long term plan. The sanctions was always plan B"
"So simply seizing the moment, what are you trying to get from the Archgoverness? As for a proxy I'd advise against meddling in the Lost Boroughs in future after all the fallout wouldn't be on your back step and while the Cooperation always stands alongside its allies bringing chaos to our lands would not be appreciated."
"The what I get is less important than the what I accomplish with the threat of sanctions. My goal is to show her that I can make her squirm. I think I've accomplished that already. Beyond that, I think I can get a better deal if I settle with her outside of the world forum. We will need the money, of course, but I'm also thinking about seeing if I can... Do you know my daughter Dominula? I may have talked about her before. I think I can finally free her from Neo Metropol's grasp."
"Its an effective use of the world forum for leverage. When do you plan to try broach the deal to them?"
"Soon, but I am going to need a little bit of help from you. The Neo Metropolitans have a massive weakness with negotiations, they're so used to blind obedience they don't know how to make a deal. First thing I need is for the Cooperation to help keep up the ruse, we want to make sure the Archgoverness still thinks sanctions are a possibility."
"I'll do what I can for the get Cooperation to help with your ruse but there certain realities make that a difficult task. We are on the march to war which makes meddling with a neighbor who has pledged support in that war and who's trade offers a certain layer of stability in the economy even after the nuclear strike a hard ask to risk."
"The second thing I need help with might help sweeten the deal a little bit. I know you're having some problems with some people out east. I need a place to do a show of force. If you support me, I will support you, and I can send in ships, bombers, whatever I need to. I just need somewhere to bomb."
"I don't think 'some problems' does justice to a nuclear bomb and two hundred and forty one dead service men and women. The Cooperation is at war but for you that has some benefits it provides you with a rather wide array of targets to pick from near enough to Metropol for your show of force."
"I want to show you something." The OMeko rummages through a leather bag she had with her and then pulls out a wooden model ship. It was hand made and carefully painted. The ship is the IIRN Kase Eagle, a massive battlecruiser with 128 VLS cells and 4 rail guns. She gives it to Doctor Styne. "Keep it, this is a gift, a little model of the pride of the IverIrosian navy. If I have something with that much firepower, I want to use them and make sure the whole world understands the power."
Doctor Styne took the model inspecting it before he set it down on a table. He seemed to mull his words over before he continued. "The advice may be unneeded but all I can say is do not allow this to be an excuse to fall into the trap of hubris."
"I know what I'm doing." The OMeko tries to keep a neutral expression, but her tail flicks with annoyance. "I just need a target. Between the Kase Eagle class cruisers and Awlburn's Pyotr class battleships, we can turn some unwanted coastline into a new harbor."
"While I have every belief in you and that you know what you are doing you should know as well as anyone I hedge my bets. The CID has intelligence on a key smuggling port Atlansk has been using to bring in weapons that should be suitable for your purposes. I'll have someone drop it off to your embassy."
"Perfect. We will wipe it off the map. If you need anything else, do let us know. The Awlburns are itching to get involved in a war somewhere, Madame President Olexandra has been urging me to send Awlburn Kofts into the East. I told her I would talk to you about it."
"If something crops up I will let you know, but I'd ask you to inform Madame President Olexandra her itch for war might not find an answer out east."
"Shame, I guess I will have to find my own. Things are almost too peaceful on Arach right now, I am almost hoping the AUSR will do something reckless."
"I doubt you'll need to hope for much longer the AUSR likely see Irosian integration as a threat and if they feel threatened they'll start acting out."
"Well they better feel threatened." The OMeko chuckled. "Look at me now, I don't have to feel afraid anymore, I don't have to feel like I'm balancing Chunish survival on a needle!"
"I assume then you have plans to back this bravado when a war inevitably starts with AUSR?"
"I certainly have the arsenal for it. IverIros has a little program they call Operation Plutonium Dome, nuclear powered aircraft carrying nuclear missiles, dozens of them up in the air at the same time for weeks on end. You should see those airplanes, they're absolutely massive."
"Its sounds like quite the endeavour the Cooperation has always preferred boomers they fulfill similar roles only difference one navigates the skys the other the seas."
"Next time you can make the trip to IverChekt, I will have to show you everything. Until then, I want to let you know that my strategy going forward is to double down on alliances, especially with the Cooperation, Nedea, and Manticore. The goal is to create a sort of TIDE backed world order with chunes playing an integral role."
"The AU playing some role in your plans to double down on alliances? It may be handy to have a united Arachi front as well as your allies across the maw for when the time comes."
"Yes, but the AU isn't a military alliance. Doubling down on the AU is going to mean opening up IverIros to foreign trade, something they seem to be cautiously optimistic about."
"Are they still rather cautious about human states?"
"Yes. They did chose me as their OMeko to put them in good international standing. That's my job in IverIros. This also comes with an implied job of trying to make sure to massage away fear of humans. That's going to be easier said than done. Have you ever heard the chunes talk about how much we suffered at the hands of Saronins back on our old home planet of Ciolon? Some clever scientists among the IverIrosians figured out they are genetically identical to humans. We do not know how, but the science doesn't lie."
"I have heard of the history of Saronins and Chunes ended up being a big reason behind the Order of King Theodrics adopted isolationist anti human stances was it not? at least you can show them the benefits of human allies and that we are not the Saronins."
"Yes, the long history of oppression leads to a sort of institutional distrust. Everything about our mythology tells us to trust our own clans, and never outsiders."
"Being neighbors with the AUSR doesn't help with calming such feelings."
"No, that's why they're far more skeptical of humans than us Chektians."
"I guess that leaves you to chip away at it even as the looming threat of AUSR as it stands a specter of the evils of humanity right on your doorstep."
"The myths to come from this period of our history will be particularly exciting."
"Your right it'll also be an incredibly dense chapter in the history books. Is there anything else you have on your mind?"
"No. Would you like a drink and a chance to relax for a while before I leave?"
"Well given its my office I should be the one offering the drinks but I would." Her stood up going over to cabinet which he opened to reveal a small bar. "Some Heldgast?"
"Heldgast is always a good choice. There is a drink some people in IverIros have called switchel, made from vinegar and molasses. Mixing in a couple shots of Heldgast with that stuff is so good."
He brought over a bottle and two glasses placing them down on the table beside the ship model before taking his seat. "Its one thing the Cooperation has always produced I remember it came from the first colony ship. So did the tale and its supposed use as coolant."
"You know, a lot of humans from the Cooperation visit places like OSetho, see the strange and exotic environment, and then leave with this impression that the Cooperation doesn't have culture, or the culture is all military, and I jut think they don't understand what culture is in the first place. Culture isn't found in oil paintings and grand orchestras, it's found in little things like legends around alcohol, relations to military service. I find stuff like this so fascinating."
Archgoverness visits OMeko.
The Archgoverness gets a text message.
"Hiiii :3 It's Waffles! >:3c It looks like you're in a bit of a pickle in the world forum, huh. How about you and I have a little private discussion and see if we can smooth this out over some wine."
The OMeko gets a reply.
"Acceptable."
The OMeko's new office is in Ironbridge, a massive city that sprawls upwards just as much as it does below, with a messy layer to roadways, freeways, and rail. It would almost be familiar to a Metropolitan if not for the bright colors, leisure, and optimism. The office is in one of the city's tallest towers, a monolith of glass and chrome. Inside the office, maroon shag carpet runs wall to wall with avocado colored accents and appliances. The OMeko sits in a conversation pit style sofa in the middle of the room with a bottle of chilled wine on the table. A nearby hi fi stereo plays an 8 track of psychedelic rock on low volume. The OMeko is sporting a bit of a new style with a long flowing skirt, tie dye T shirt, and big round sunglasses.
The style of the woman on the OMeko's immediate right could not have been standing in more immediate contrast.
Clad in her usual outing garb of suffocatingly tight military-esque official's suit and robes of Metropolitan style, her permanently grim expression seeming to have reached the above and beyond of perpetual contempt, the Archgoverness downed yet another glass of the pitch-black Metropolitan vintage she'd brought to this important meeting.
"-Complete rot within your country, and you aren't even allowed to adress it." She finished the sentence she'd started before she'd begun the drink. "The City functions as well as it does because if a cog is out of place it is my divinely ordained right—my duty—to blow the cog's head smooth off its shoulders. And mine's not even the nation with legalized dueling."
"That's just one of the drawbacks of ruling a country with such an old culture, OJanMekos have been doing that sort of thing before Gresk, before space travel. It was probably an OJanMeko who invented fire just to watch the woods burn." The OMeko pours herself a glass of Irosian Wine from the Fred Blazer Vineyards, the bottle proudly displays a map of the vineyard on the southern coast of Calibark on the Irosian frontier.
The Archgoverness scoffed at the notion, rolling her eyes as she took another wanton swig. Very few opportunities (in her eyes, at least) existed for her to cut this loose, to the point that she didn't even refer to the OMeko by her title. "Just cooperate with me on this, Tackett. Poison in her drink, bullet in her brain, bomb in her preaching robes. I cannot abide her insolence much longer." Rarer still were opportunities to express herself this... liberally, in front of someone else. It wasn't just the drink loosening her tongue, though during these meetings, that was usually what ended up happening on both sides.
"I know this probably doesn't make things any better, but the IIRN Bessemer incident was the IverIrosian Prime Minister's idea. They call Margarita Curtiss the Titanium Lady for a reason, I suppose. Curtiss Clan, they're all crazy. Did you know their last OMeko died because she decided to take a flight in an experimental hypersonic aircraft that was supposed to have exceeded mach 12? Crazy stuff, my new jet is only mach 2.5 and I was afraid of it during my visit to the Cooperation."
"Tch. Every second clan in your little retinue is 'all crazy'. That shouldn't stop you from tightening the leash when necessary."
"Speaking of, I think I can make your little problem in the World Forum go away. You won't have to worry about fuel sanctions, or admitting fault, but I may need to ask for a few things in return, this will be kept entirely under the table so nobody has to know but us."
The archgoverness raised an eyebrow as high as one could conceivably be raised, slowly turning her head towards Waffles, ready to carefully appraise her every word. "Elaborate."
"First of all..." The OMeko put her glass of wine down and took a deep breath. "The dollar amount listed in the proposition. We do need that. I have to compensate the families of every single killed sailor. These are Chunish families remember. The Commanding Officer left behind 25 kits that she had given birth too, and another 37 she legally married into. Second of all. I want Dominula. I want you to just forget about her entirely, let her live safe and worry free in IverChekt. Lastly, I've been putting together a catalog in my biolab. I want the Arbeiter genome for my records."
The Arhcgoverness sneered, taking another sip of her drink. Clearly, the talk of 'children left behind' meant nothing to her; she only had an ear for the more pragmatic aspect of the conversation. "Money is no object. I can easily-"
And the very next second, she froze, mid sip. She remained frozen for the remainder of the OMeko's demands, her eyes obscured by her bangs. Slowly, gently, she put her glass back down. The demands she'd just been presented with were laced with information she'd now need to process within mere seconds.
So, she started with the most immediately pressing concern.
"What do you mean... you want Dominula?"
"As I said, I want her to be able to live safe and worry free in IverChekt." The OMeko said.
"She is a Gänger." The Archgoverness snapped, suddenly rising to her feet, outwardly glaring down at the OMeko. "She is a Metropolitan, and a daughter of The City. 'Safety?' 'Worry-free?' Even beyond the fact that you seem to think you can hold my own head of research as some sort of leverage against me, her safety and her worries are none of your concern!" There was an outright sneer in her expression, a distinct but recognisable cruelty in her bright red eyes. "Don't tell me you've caught some manner of maternal feeling over her? I've half a mind to send word to have her shipped back home right now."
"I see." The OMeko picks up her glass of wine again. "Sanctions it is, then."
The Archgoverness stares incredulously as Waffles simply passes the topic by, and snatches the glass out of the OMeko's hand.
"Answer the question, Tackett."
The OMeko's eyes dilate to large round circles and her tail twitches with agitation. She keeps her voice calm as something resembling a customer service voice. "I believe you've entirely misread the situation. I believe Dominula in her current state can only ever be a liability to you, but I can fix that. You have three options. One: You can bring her back to Neo Metropol where she is going to talk with the other naturally curious Denkers about the warmth and food of the outside world. Some of them are going to wonder why they can't get that too. Two: You can execute her, and in so doing, the denkers will start to wonder what she discovered that you're so afraid of. Either of those options are going to create discontent or even an outright rebellion among your intelligentsia, something that can be lethal in a nation so reliant on science and engineering. Three: You can free her, and without any legal ties to a foreign nation, she may be eligible for peerage. A position just opened up in the coal rich mountains of Kachen's Pass near OHakni, I could make her Countess and have influence over IverChekt's coal resources."
The dark malice that'd built up within the Archgoverness' eyes, the sheer contempt with which she regarded the OMeko, that barely-contained burst of anger... Slowly began to drain away, as she continued speaking. Not into any manner of satisfaction or placidity, but rather a cold, indifferent look of pragmatism, not unlike what could be seen in the eyes of the most ruthless Cooperate businessman.
With a sigh and a soft scoff, The Archgoverness sat back down, and placed the glass she'd grabbed in the table.
"...Take her. I will need to personally meet with her one last time, but she's yours."
What was one Gänger in the face of universal sanction, anyhow?
"However, I absolutely cannot give you any amount of genome information from The City's genetic archives. It was insolent of you to ask in the first place."
Flat, blunt, matter-of-fact as could be. This was an issue she simply would not back down on.
The OMeko takes a deep breath of relief. "Honestly, the genome was the one thing I was willing to back down on. Just give me my wine glass back and we'll call it a deal."
With a smooth motion, the Archgoverness slid the glass back into Waffles' palm, her expression inscrutable.
"...You'd best come through, Tackett."
"I'll send a message to Countess Loaf Bonnaire. You can consider the sanctions threat over." The OMeko reaches for a small and simple Nedean made phone.
The Archgoverness remained dead silent, contemplatively sipping on her own glass. One solitary Gänger in exchange for a complete axing of the sanctions that threatened to cut off The City's fuel supply... it felt like a done deal, an obvious pick, the best possible outcome.
And yet...
...No. What was done was done. All she'd need to do was meet once more with Dominula... and all her worries would be put to rest.
The OMeko arrived at the airport in a new private jet. Unlike the simple and modest jet of the past, the new one has the elegant delta wings and aggressive afterburners of a supersonic jet. She steps off with her guard. She's wearing a tie dye t shirt, a bohemian knitted skirt, and a pair of big round sunglasses. Her guards dress in black suits, one carries a leather suitcase chained to her wrist.
With the jet having touched down a heavy car rolled up to the awaiting OMeko and her bodyguards. Once it had stopped a man in a simple navy suit stepped out of passenger side of the car to open its door for the OMeko. He spoke as he stood by the door waiting for the OMeko to get in. "Doctor Styne sends his regards and will greet you once we arrive at the Labunsk."
The OMeko gets in and gets comfortable. She responds to the man by making a peace sign with her fingers. "... Groovy."
The man closed the door after her and then got back into the passenger side seat. Once he had closed his own door the car set off driving across the tarmac until they reached a side entrance which brought them on to the busy streets of Deonec. It was a short enough drive through towering canyons of concrete until the height started to taper off to the old district and the Labusnk square. Entering the square they were waved through a checkpoint where a IFV was posted watch alongside armoured DPO troops. They then went through the empty square to the Labusnk and then down a ramp to its underground parking garage. Now underground they navigated the car park until they went to a door way where Doctor Styne was waiting.
The OMeko didn't wait to be let out, she climbed out of the car with her arms outstretched. "Styne! It's good to see you, and a shame I can't show you around my new office, or my new collection of IverIrosian music."
"Its good to see you as well. I wouldn't have minded a trip over to see IverIros but the current climate simply does not allow it." He then started leading them into the stair well as he continued. "We can head up to my office to chat further."
"There will be plenty of time to show you later. In the meantime, this gave me the excuse to use my new private jet, this one flies at mach 2.5, and still somehow is more reliable than my SUV."
"I think that's a good sign to upgrade the SUV." They now where in a plush corridor where they went to a large office with a heavy wooden desk a large window behind it and then to a side a few armchairs beside a fire place. "Please take a seat and tell me a bit more about why you decided to pop by I can only assume it has something to do with the Bessemer?"
A wide smile crosses the OMeko's lips and her tail swings with joy as she sits down. "You know, I've grown quite fond of your humans' style of state building. Nuclear weapons for deterrence, large armies, and now I'm going to be trying out that human technique of a show of force. Expect us chunes to be on the news for a little while." She said with a chuckle. I need to show the Archgovnerness that the chunes cannot be bullied any longer, that's the big goal for this plan Prime Minister Curtiss and I came up with."
"Levying the threat of fuel sanctions I assume to keep them in line? Do tell me was the entire incident staged to bait them into it or was it more an act exploiting the opportunity dropped on your laps?"
"It wasn't staged. I was actually hoping to make contact with the Lost Boroughs and turn them into something of a proxy. It would have been a much better long term plan. The sanctions was always plan B"
"So simply seizing the moment, what are you trying to get from the Archgoverness? As for a proxy I'd advise against meddling in the Lost Boroughs in future after all the fallout wouldn't be on your back step and while the Cooperation always stands alongside its allies bringing chaos to our lands would not be appreciated."
"The what I get is less important than the what I accomplish with the threat of sanctions. My goal is to show her that I can make her squirm. I think I've accomplished that already. Beyond that, I think I can get a better deal if I settle with her outside of the world forum. We will need the money, of course, but I'm also thinking about seeing if I can... Do you know my daughter Dominula? I may have talked about her before. I think I can finally free her from Neo Metropol's grasp."
"Its an effective use of the world forum for leverage. When do you plan to try broach the deal to them?"
"Soon, but I am going to need a little bit of help from you. The Neo Metropolitans have a massive weakness with negotiations, they're so used to blind obedience they don't know how to make a deal. First thing I need is for the Cooperation to help keep up the ruse, we want to make sure the Archgoverness still thinks sanctions are a possibility."
"I'll do what I can for the get Cooperation to help with your ruse but there certain realities make that a difficult task. We are on the march to war which makes meddling with a neighbor who has pledged support in that war and who's trade offers a certain layer of stability in the economy even after the nuclear strike a hard ask to risk."
"The second thing I need help with might help sweeten the deal a little bit. I know you're having some problems with some people out east. I need a place to do a show of force. If you support me, I will support you, and I can send in ships, bombers, whatever I need to. I just need somewhere to bomb."
"I don't think 'some problems' does justice to a nuclear bomb and two hundred and forty one dead service men and women. The Cooperation is at war but for you that has some benefits it provides you with a rather wide array of targets to pick from near enough to Metropol for your show of force."
"I want to show you something." The OMeko rummages through a leather bag she had with her and then pulls out a wooden model ship. It was hand made and carefully painted. The ship is the IIRN Kase Eagle, a massive battlecruiser with 128 VLS cells and 4 rail guns. She gives it to Doctor Styne. "Keep it, this is a gift, a little model of the pride of the IverIrosian navy. If I have something with that much firepower, I want to use them and make sure the whole world understands the power."
Doctor Styne took the model inspecting it before he set it down on a table. He seemed to mull his words over before he continued. "The advice may be unneeded but all I can say is do not allow this to be an excuse to fall into the trap of hubris."
"I know what I'm doing." The OMeko tries to keep a neutral expression, but her tail flicks with annoyance. "I just need a target. Between the Kase Eagle class cruisers and Awlburn's Pyotr class battleships, we can turn some unwanted coastline into a new harbor."
"While I have every belief in you and that you know what you are doing you should know as well as anyone I hedge my bets. The CID has intelligence on a key smuggling port Atlansk has been using to bring in weapons that should be suitable for your purposes. I'll have someone drop it off to your embassy."
"Perfect. We will wipe it off the map. If you need anything else, do let us know. The Awlburns are itching to get involved in a war somewhere, Madame President Olexandra has been urging me to send Awlburn Kofts into the East. I told her I would talk to you about it."
"If something crops up I will let you know, but I'd ask you to inform Madame President Olexandra her itch for war might not find an answer out east."
"Shame, I guess I will have to find my own. Things are almost too peaceful on Arach right now, I am almost hoping the AUSR will do something reckless."
"I doubt you'll need to hope for much longer the AUSR likely see Irosian integration as a threat and if they feel threatened they'll start acting out."
"Well they better feel threatened." The OMeko chuckled. "Look at me now, I don't have to feel afraid anymore, I don't have to feel like I'm balancing Chunish survival on a needle!"
"I assume then you have plans to back this bravado when a war inevitably starts with AUSR?"
"I certainly have the arsenal for it. IverIros has a little program they call Operation Plutonium Dome, nuclear powered aircraft carrying nuclear missiles, dozens of them up in the air at the same time for weeks on end. You should see those airplanes, they're absolutely massive."
"Its sounds like quite the endeavour the Cooperation has always preferred boomers they fulfill similar roles only difference one navigates the skys the other the seas."
"Next time you can make the trip to IverChekt, I will have to show you everything. Until then, I want to let you know that my strategy going forward is to double down on alliances, especially with the Cooperation, Nedea, and Manticore. The goal is to create a sort of TIDE backed world order with chunes playing an integral role."
"The AU playing some role in your plans to double down on alliances? It may be handy to have a united Arachi front as well as your allies across the maw for when the time comes."
"Yes, but the AU isn't a military alliance. Doubling down on the AU is going to mean opening up IverIros to foreign trade, something they seem to be cautiously optimistic about."
"Are they still rather cautious about human states?"
"Yes. They did chose me as their OMeko to put them in good international standing. That's my job in IverIros. This also comes with an implied job of trying to make sure to massage away fear of humans. That's going to be easier said than done. Have you ever heard the chunes talk about how much we suffered at the hands of Saronins back on our old home planet of Ciolon? Some clever scientists among the IverIrosians figured out they are genetically identical to humans. We do not know how, but the science doesn't lie."
"I have heard of the history of Saronins and Chunes ended up being a big reason behind the Order of King Theodrics adopted isolationist anti human stances was it not? at least you can show them the benefits of human allies and that we are not the Saronins."
"Yes, the long history of oppression leads to a sort of institutional distrust. Everything about our mythology tells us to trust our own clans, and never outsiders."
"Being neighbors with the AUSR doesn't help with calming such feelings."
"No, that's why they're far more skeptical of humans than us Chektians."
"I guess that leaves you to chip away at it even as the looming threat of AUSR as it stands a specter of the evils of humanity right on your doorstep."
"The myths to come from this period of our history will be particularly exciting."
"Your right it'll also be an incredibly dense chapter in the history books. Is there anything else you have on your mind?"
"No. Would you like a drink and a chance to relax for a while before I leave?"
"Well given its my office I should be the one offering the drinks but I would." Her stood up going over to cabinet which he opened to reveal a small bar. "Some Heldgast?"
"Heldgast is always a good choice. There is a drink some people in IverIros have called switchel, made from vinegar and molasses. Mixing in a couple shots of Heldgast with that stuff is so good."
He brought over a bottle and two glasses placing them down on the table beside the ship model before taking his seat. "Its one thing the Cooperation has always produced I remember it came from the first colony ship. So did the tale and its supposed use as coolant."
"You know, a lot of humans from the Cooperation visit places like OSetho, see the strange and exotic environment, and then leave with this impression that the Cooperation doesn't have culture, or the culture is all military, and I jut think they don't understand what culture is in the first place. Culture isn't found in oil paintings and grand orchestras, it's found in little things like legends around alcohol, relations to military service. I find stuff like this so fascinating."
Archgoverness visits OMeko.
The Archgoverness gets a text message.
"Hiiii :3 It's Waffles! >:3c It looks like you're in a bit of a pickle in the world forum, huh. How about you and I have a little private discussion and see if we can smooth this out over some wine."
The OMeko gets a reply.
"Acceptable."
The OMeko's new office is in Ironbridge, a massive city that sprawls upwards just as much as it does below, with a messy layer to roadways, freeways, and rail. It would almost be familiar to a Metropolitan if not for the bright colors, leisure, and optimism. The office is in one of the city's tallest towers, a monolith of glass and chrome. Inside the office, maroon shag carpet runs wall to wall with avocado colored accents and appliances. The OMeko sits in a conversation pit style sofa in the middle of the room with a bottle of chilled wine on the table. A nearby hi fi stereo plays an 8 track of psychedelic rock on low volume. The OMeko is sporting a bit of a new style with a long flowing skirt, tie dye T shirt, and big round sunglasses.
The style of the woman on the OMeko's immediate right could not have been standing in more immediate contrast.
Clad in her usual outing garb of suffocatingly tight military-esque official's suit and robes of Metropolitan style, her permanently grim expression seeming to have reached the above and beyond of perpetual contempt, the Archgoverness downed yet another glass of the pitch-black Metropolitan vintage she'd brought to this important meeting.
"-Complete rot within your country, and you aren't even allowed to adress it." She finished the sentence she'd started before she'd begun the drink. "The City functions as well as it does because if a cog is out of place it is my divinely ordained right—my duty—to blow the cog's head smooth off its shoulders. And mine's not even the nation with legalized dueling."
"That's just one of the drawbacks of ruling a country with such an old culture, OJanMekos have been doing that sort of thing before Gresk, before space travel. It was probably an OJanMeko who invented fire just to watch the woods burn." The OMeko pours herself a glass of Irosian Wine from the Fred Blazer Vineyards, the bottle proudly displays a map of the vineyard on the southern coast of Calibark on the Irosian frontier.
The Archgoverness scoffed at the notion, rolling her eyes as she took another wanton swig. Very few opportunities (in her eyes, at least) existed for her to cut this loose, to the point that she didn't even refer to the OMeko by her title. "Just cooperate with me on this, Tackett. Poison in her drink, bullet in her brain, bomb in her preaching robes. I cannot abide her insolence much longer." Rarer still were opportunities to express herself this... liberally, in front of someone else. It wasn't just the drink loosening her tongue, though during these meetings, that was usually what ended up happening on both sides.
"I know this probably doesn't make things any better, but the IIRN Bessemer incident was the IverIrosian Prime Minister's idea. They call Margarita Curtiss the Titanium Lady for a reason, I suppose. Curtiss Clan, they're all crazy. Did you know their last OMeko died because she decided to take a flight in an experimental hypersonic aircraft that was supposed to have exceeded mach 12? Crazy stuff, my new jet is only mach 2.5 and I was afraid of it during my visit to the Cooperation."
"Tch. Every second clan in your little retinue is 'all crazy'. That shouldn't stop you from tightening the leash when necessary."
"Speaking of, I think I can make your little problem in the World Forum go away. You won't have to worry about fuel sanctions, or admitting fault, but I may need to ask for a few things in return, this will be kept entirely under the table so nobody has to know but us."
The archgoverness raised an eyebrow as high as one could conceivably be raised, slowly turning her head towards Waffles, ready to carefully appraise her every word. "Elaborate."
"First of all..." The OMeko put her glass of wine down and took a deep breath. "The dollar amount listed in the proposition. We do need that. I have to compensate the families of every single killed sailor. These are Chunish families remember. The Commanding Officer left behind 25 kits that she had given birth too, and another 37 she legally married into. Second of all. I want Dominula. I want you to just forget about her entirely, let her live safe and worry free in IverChekt. Lastly, I've been putting together a catalog in my biolab. I want the Arbeiter genome for my records."
The Arhcgoverness sneered, taking another sip of her drink. Clearly, the talk of 'children left behind' meant nothing to her; she only had an ear for the more pragmatic aspect of the conversation. "Money is no object. I can easily-"
And the very next second, she froze, mid sip. She remained frozen for the remainder of the OMeko's demands, her eyes obscured by her bangs. Slowly, gently, she put her glass back down. The demands she'd just been presented with were laced with information she'd now need to process within mere seconds.
So, she started with the most immediately pressing concern.
"What do you mean... you want Dominula?"
"As I said, I want her to be able to live safe and worry free in IverChekt." The OMeko said.
"She is a Gänger." The Archgoverness snapped, suddenly rising to her feet, outwardly glaring down at the OMeko. "She is a Metropolitan, and a daughter of The City. 'Safety?' 'Worry-free?' Even beyond the fact that you seem to think you can hold my own head of research as some sort of leverage against me, her safety and her worries are none of your concern!" There was an outright sneer in her expression, a distinct but recognisable cruelty in her bright red eyes. "Don't tell me you've caught some manner of maternal feeling over her? I've half a mind to send word to have her shipped back home right now."
"I see." The OMeko picks up her glass of wine again. "Sanctions it is, then."
The Archgoverness stares incredulously as Waffles simply passes the topic by, and snatches the glass out of the OMeko's hand.
"Answer the question, Tackett."
The OMeko's eyes dilate to large round circles and her tail twitches with agitation. She keeps her voice calm as something resembling a customer service voice. "I believe you've entirely misread the situation. I believe Dominula in her current state can only ever be a liability to you, but I can fix that. You have three options. One: You can bring her back to Neo Metropol where she is going to talk with the other naturally curious Denkers about the warmth and food of the outside world. Some of them are going to wonder why they can't get that too. Two: You can execute her, and in so doing, the denkers will start to wonder what she discovered that you're so afraid of. Either of those options are going to create discontent or even an outright rebellion among your intelligentsia, something that can be lethal in a nation so reliant on science and engineering. Three: You can free her, and without any legal ties to a foreign nation, she may be eligible for peerage. A position just opened up in the coal rich mountains of Kachen's Pass near OHakni, I could make her Countess and have influence over IverChekt's coal resources."
The dark malice that'd built up within the Archgoverness' eyes, the sheer contempt with which she regarded the OMeko, that barely-contained burst of anger... Slowly began to drain away, as she continued speaking. Not into any manner of satisfaction or placidity, but rather a cold, indifferent look of pragmatism, not unlike what could be seen in the eyes of the most ruthless Cooperate businessman.
With a sigh and a soft scoff, The Archgoverness sat back down, and placed the glass she'd grabbed in the table.
"...Take her. I will need to personally meet with her one last time, but she's yours."
What was one Gänger in the face of universal sanction, anyhow?
"However, I absolutely cannot give you any amount of genome information from The City's genetic archives. It was insolent of you to ask in the first place."
Flat, blunt, matter-of-fact as could be. This was an issue she simply would not back down on.
The OMeko takes a deep breath of relief. "Honestly, the genome was the one thing I was willing to back down on. Just give me my wine glass back and we'll call it a deal."
With a smooth motion, the Archgoverness slid the glass back into Waffles' palm, her expression inscrutable.
"...You'd best come through, Tackett."
"I'll send a message to Countess Loaf Bonnaire. You can consider the sanctions threat over." The OMeko reaches for a small and simple Nedean made phone.
The Archgoverness remained dead silent, contemplatively sipping on her own glass. One solitary Gänger in exchange for a complete axing of the sanctions that threatened to cut off The City's fuel supply... it felt like a done deal, an obvious pick, the best possible outcome.
And yet...
...No. What was done was done. All she'd need to do was meet once more with Dominula... and all her worries would be put to rest.