CYTM103

=Chapter 103=
==Can you tell me where can we start over?==
Royal Palace
Tharkad System
Lyran Commonwealth
3077
----
[...Tharkad Conference 1900 hours]
David Lear made a very sharp presentation, but this was a presentation meant for someone who owed Devlin Stone some gratitude.  Elizabeth wasn't having it.
"I don't see the advantage here." she said, disrupting the mutual congratulations going around the room.
"Excuse me?" Dr. Lear asked, "Archon, who is this?"
"My financial advisor." Peter said, "Among other jobs, Liz here is the reason our fleets are tying up the Word of Blake's fleets, shipping, and internal trade.  She's also the brains behind our ability to field Divisional and Corps level assets to the front."
"I make the supply trains go." Liz told them, "I don't see the value in this proposal for anyone but, your pardon, Devlin Stone."
She stood up and walked over to the holo display.  "Here's the thing...yes, Skye has been a problem for a long time, but this isn't keeping them in the Commonwealth. It's not independence nor even autonomy. It's territorial transfer without compensation, and worse it's trading people as if they were commodities."
She poured a cup from the carafe, "Essentially, slavery." she added.  "The Commonwealth are not slavers. Second, it's turning over worlds liberated by Commonwealth soldiers to a third party for a 'buffer state'.  I recall there used to be a buffer state in that zone." she sipped her water, "Does anyone here remember what happened to that state? Let me give you the short form: Ut was destabilized by a coup and torn apart by a Civil War before anyone moved in. The majority of the military of that state abandoned it and that's why nobody carries Terran Hegemony identicards anymore."
Setting her cup on the table, "THIRDLY-this establishes your buffer state as first among equals on a basis that isn't supported by logic or reason.  Before you bring up the HPG net again, I'll remind Doctor Lear and his leader, we switched phone companies and ours work. So why should we go about re-establishing the same arrangement that crippled six nations. Which allowed a foreign non-governmental entity to read our mail, edit our mail, or target intellectuals, engineers, and scientists in an operation called 'Holy Shroud'?"
"That's only a rumor!" replied Lear
"A rumor confirmed by Anastasius Focht, and I trust him far further than I do a charismatic foreigner." Elizabeth stated.  "Even one that is very good friends with my former Liege Lord. Who is one who abandoned us, then regretted it and started a Civil War.  Doctor Lear, your idealistic ideas fail the reality check.  No war in history has ever been prevented by a disarmament treaty...and finally, it fails one more step."
"Which is?" asked Lear
"The Clans want Terra." she said.  "Are you strong enough to stop them? I think not.  The Kowloon Protocol is one of the main reasons we've been able to successfully prosecute the counterattacks in this war, and they're allies now...and they want Old Terra for your plan to work, we would have to stab our Jade Falcon Allies in the back. Repudiate a piece of diplomacy that is working and flush the national honor. Our Nation's Word out the waste vents, because your proposed state can't fend them off and we'd end up being the highway for any counterattack as well as the first line of defense in preventing it." she looked to Marthe, "IF Clan Jade Falcon decided to abrogate that treaty, it would be because we betrayed them first-and we can't afford it.  We can't afford to lose an established trade partner on the promise of another one, we can't afford to lose a valued strategic ally in the hopes of cultivating one out of the debris and leftovers of five others, and we can't afford  the civil war that would result."
She regarded the men from Stone's Coalition.  "You can't seriously ask the Lyran People to negate their own interests in hopes of your ideological dream being brought to fruition?  It doesn't work that way-WE liberated our own worlds, WE pushed the Blakists back, WE secured our own borders, made our own treaty, upheld the Star League.  We did this, the Lyran Commonwealth did this. WE are not the ones petitioning for aid. You haven't presented a solid credit or case for why we should extend you that credit. Not if we weren't already engaged in diplomacy and trade with the Falcon Khanate, but especially because your proposal, as offered, harms the national interest of the Lyran Commonwealth and its people."
"My god, she sounds like Liao." one of Devlin's people said.
"Difference is he's speaking as an absolute ruler." Liz clearly heard the comment, "I'm speaking as the advisor to the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth. My advice is to very politely suggest you adjust your proposal to something that can be fulfilled and adjust your expectations for what you can reasonably demand, because on the logistical, strategic, and tactical level, you have no cards to offer except as a distraction of a mutual enemy."
"I thought the enemy of my enemy was my friend?" Lear offered.
''
"No, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. Nothing More, nothing Less. Unless or until he or she offers me a reasonable proof of being a friend." Elizabeth stated.  "You're not offering proof, Doctor Lear. You're offering promises based on projections you can't possibly fill."
"You don't know that!" heatively replies Lear
"I know how many factories you own." She stated, "..AND how many you've run.  I know how many shipping lines work for you, how many citizens you have, and how well you can supply yourself on your own resources.  The numbers don't work, because those are all zeroes without external, active, cooperation giving you those things.  You have less to offer than Clan Ice Hellion-all you have, is an army you can't feed or supply without external aid, which is why you're here making promises instead of driving the Word of Blake out of the Terran corridor."
She picked up her glass, "It just so happens, we're doing that for you as well. So where's the percentage? Credibility? Comstar was the second group to walk out when Peter made good on his promises at the last Whitting Conference. Right behind the Capellans, Word of Blake was third.  We Lyrans upheld our bargain, that is why the Jade Falcons are allies and trading partners. Our collective word is good, but that didn't matter to the Allied Mercenary Commands, MRBC, Wolf's Dragoons, Comstar or the Word of Blake. It hardly mattered that he was keeping his word when it came to the Federated Suns either, and the Combine?" she snorted, "We're already alone, isolated diplomatically, betraying our remaining ally won't fix that. Only honoring our present obligations can possibly lead to a healing of that."
"...and the Free Worlds League?" Devlin interrupted.
"Which one?" Liz countered.  "Three claims on the Captain-Generalcy, if we come out in open support of any of them. It unites the other two, but we've got halfway decent relations with Kristen Marik's faction, and she's winning already." she sighed, "EVERY angle I see this from, the Commonwealth loses.  Show me how your proposals result in a win, Peter brought me here to do this job-your initial proposal is unacceptable, offer me something I can endorse."
-----
Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
Category:Can you tell me where can we start over? Chapters
Category:Works by CannonShop