The Revolutionary Mandate
One Month Before the Celos Declaration
President Oyana was standing on the balcony atop the Presidential staircase, staring down at the landing below, when Vice-President Byis found her. She was standing with her arms behind her back, an odd expression on her face as she watched Executive Officer Garita chat casually with Executive Officer Jeen below.
"Madam President," Byis murmured as he took position beside her. He stood for a moment, watching, before turning to look at her, "I assume you messaged me to meet you here for more than just surreptitiously watching our colleagues."
Oyana gave him a sidelong glance, her mouth curved with amusement, "Please, Byis. The only person here who doesn't serve at my pleasure is you. They're more like…
employees, really." Her tone turned darker, "Or they
should be."
She was silent again, staring now as the two women below shared a laugh. Byis broke the silence, "Something on your mind, Ventil?"
"I've been thinking a lot about the Imperial Mandate, ever since the attack on Lirohn."
"That's… quite the era to be looking for guidance from."
Oyana nodded, "Perhaps Imperial politics are not the best match for our current situation. But there are some universal lessons we can lift from them." She brought a hand forward, open palmed. Byis noticed she had a white noise generator clutched in the other hand, kept behind her, and felt his stomach knot with apprehension. "For example, the reign of Empress Ghadoso. She was a ruler who spend her time dealing with foreign affairs and making appeals directly to the people, trusting management of the government to her advisors. Slowly but surely they replaced every member of her staff, mismanaged their portfolios in a way that embarassed her, and turned the goodwill of the people against her. Then, one day she was dead, child-Empress Rousin put in her place, while the Advisors ruled with impunity."
"Is this supposed to be a parallel to the Revolution?" Byis said.
Oyana shook her head no, "It would be easy to think that. But the Advisors ruled in tyranny, impressed millions into the Star Navy, and started a war with the Tholians and Gorn. It's because none of them really cared for the people - all they represented was their own vested interests. And once they killed an Empress, they thought they were invincible."
Dawind remained silent. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.
"Byis," Oyana said, turning away from the two women below, "How many people can I trust in my cabinet?" She held up a hand before he could respond, "Sorkan is dead, Shar is gone too. Horasa, Halluk, Magar, resigned." She waited a moment, "All of them after emotional outbursts. All of them
male."
"Are you implying--"
"Where's Magar right now, Dawind? Do you know?" Byis shook his head, no. Oyana continued, "After his outburst he was given an all-expenses paid vacation to 'recuperate' on Risa."
"Yes… and we got Quen Torshard in his place, highly recommended by Jeen and Garita. You
like him."
"He is easy to like. He has everything I want in a Chief of Staff -- strong opinions, the guts to back them up, impeccable attention to detail. Like he was built in a lab specifically to appeal to me." Oyana's jaw worked, "And very punctual in telling me about Magar's reports in while on vacation. The problem is no one has seen Magar on Risa for a year."
Byis leaned heavily on the balcony edge.
"I've discreetly sent some investigators. Top women. They don't have much hope."
"How?" Byis whispered, "If you're suggesting pheromones… all of us get shots, I don't see…"
"
You get shots from my private doctor. But Jeen has been the one overseeing the administration of pheromone blockers to the rest of Cabinet. Jeen is the one who's been struggling to ensure full access to healthcare while appearing at various industry dinner parties. Jeen's the one who is currently having a pleasant chat with the person she should be most ideologically opposed to.
Jeen's the one who told us Shar would be fine."
Byis turned now, staring at the women. Garita turned slightly and gazed up at him. Long-honed instincts kicked in and he gave her a winning a smile and a small wave that said nothing more than 'howdy ladies'. Out of the corner of his mouth he spoke as Oyana also waved, "She's a revolutionary. She refused the Syndicate more than once. She's supposed to be
clean, damn it."
"It is not the Syndicate we have to worry about." Oyana said, finally turning her back on the women below, "It's an ambition that is willing to eat itself and the Union."
"
Fuck."
"I missed it too. We both did, running after Starfleet, trying to do damage control whenever Sierre opened up with her firehose of controversy. I became lost in a fog. But I can see clearly now: all along Garita and her corporatist allies were playing us. All three of us, Sierre included. She's using the disruption of the Syndicate to exploit the fractures in the system. She's been sabotaging us."
Byis breathed out unsteadily, "Alright. So, what, we remove Sierre? Get Congress in line?"
"No, we let her keep going, don't let them know we're onto them." Oyana started walking back to her office, white noise generator in hand, and Byis followed, "Congress will matter little; things are moving too fast for them and Sierre helps us by keeping them distracted as we clean up the cabinet. Her motion for an Ethics committee is something we can easily veto if we need a bargaining chip with TuP on confirmations."
"One only for use in emergencies."
"Yes," Oyana said, stepping into her office. Byis closed the door behind them, set the security mode to maximum. She settled into her chair, looking out at the city behind her. "Things on Duaba are in motion already," she said, "There's no reason more to worry about them. Our priority now is to clean house."
Byis smiled, all teeth, "Madam President, I couldn't agree more."
"I want you to set up a meeting with the National Intelligence Director, tonight. And Starfleet Intelligence, if you can. They need to know, and we'll need their help."
Byis nodded.
"Tell them we have a mandate, Dawind. And not an Imperial one. Ours is the Revolutionary mandate. And we are going to fulfill it, no matter the cost."
***
Alukk, Government Tower
Two Weeks Before Celos Declaration
Bright morning light, dampened slightly by polarization, shone into the Presidential office as Valerita Garita was escorted inside, door sliding softly shut behind her. Oyana was in her usual position behind the Presidential desk, Byis on the other side, his chair turned half-way towards the door. As Garita walked in, he motioned towards the empty chair opposite him.
Garita's eyes scanned the room as she walked, as if she were looking for something.
"Torshard won't be joining us today, I'm afraid." Oyana said, "This is a high-level meeting."
"Very secret," said Byis with a wink.
"How fun!" Garita said, gracefully sliding into the offered seat, smoothing her blue skirt as she sank into the cushions. "Is it about my Birthday? No -- Sarulaa's, isn't it? Going to be hard to keep something like that from the justice minister, but I think I can manage. I've kept bigger things secret."
Oyana and Byis looked at each other. Oyana said, "Actually, we're here to talk about something else -- but you're right, it does involve Sarulaa. And yourself."
"Your immediate resignation." Byis said, with a tone of relish.
Garita looked between the two, then knocked a fist against the presidential desk, "Ha!" she barked, "You had me going!" Her face fell, all serious, "But Madam, Mister, I have important matters to attend to. Is this about the hiring of corporate mercenaries to help with the Duaba camp--"
"It's about this." Byis said. He tapped a tablet to the president's desk. Immediately the surface lit up as images and documents flooded out of the tablet and onto the smart surface. Medical reports about elevated pheromone levels. Bodies, male bodies, covered in purplish bruises. Byis looked up at her, face stone, "You're fucking disgusting, Garita."
Garita tilted her head down, her jaw working, teeth grinding as she shifted it left, then right. "Did a little birdie named Wolfe happen to send you these?"
"Wolfe? Oh no." Byis gave her an entirely unconvincing grin, "No, you fucking dumpster of an Orion. Prime Directive says he - or any Starfleet officer - can't interfere with non-Syndicate government business. And while you're a moral black hole, you're not
really aligned with the Syndicate."
Oyana chimed in, "We received these images from Sierre-"
Garita snapped her jaw together, "
Of course."
"-and what sources she received them from she chose to keep anonymous, probably to avoid the sort of reprisals you've apparently been carrying out on
my staff!"
The whole table shook as Oyana brought down a fist, part of the smart surface cracking under the impact, Byis jumping slightly in surprise. "The men who worked here trusted me to make this a safe space for them. And now I have to live with the fact that I brought you into this place and broke that trust."
Garita stood up, "You have nothing solid. Nothing you can truly pin me with yet."
"We're looking for Magar," Byis said, his face tight with rage, "We're going to find him and then we're going to throw you to the courts once we dispose of your school-buddy Justice Officer. Until then..."
Oyana took a deep breath out and pressed a button on an intact part of the desk. The door to the Presidential Office slid open, revealing two hulking Aerocommandos. "Colonel Deva, please remove Executive Officer Garita."
"With pleasure, Madam President."
Garita didn't move as the two Aerocommandos took up positions behind her, "I'll make bail."
Oyana turned away from her and looked out the window as Byis shook his head, "Your money to waste. You try and run, we will blow your vessel out of the
fucking sky."
Garita gave him a sarcastic smile, her upper lip curled with contempt, "Have fun without me." She turned, haughtily flicked her hair in Deva's face, and walked out, the Aerocommandos close behind. The door slid shut behind them.
Oyana turned back around, "I don't think she knows we're onto Jeen."
"I hope not, for our friend's sake."
***
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's my honor to now introduce your new President, Valerita Garita!"
The crowd in the square roared, kept under the watchful eye of armed guards from the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. At the other end of the square, Garita stood on a hastily assembled stage, erected on the steps of the sleek, rounded structure that was Celos' planetary legislature. She made her way to a podium, projected as a huge hologram to every corner of the square and into every home on Celos. Behind her, new Vice President Minik Polde clapped enthusiastically.
"People of Celos!" She roared into the audio pickup. The crowd roared right back, and she smiled, "It is my honor to be the first President of the Celosian Corporate Republican Government. To be the first one chosen to guide us through these difficult times, to throw off the shackles of illiberalism and ideology and channel your rage, your discontent -- but also your hope. Your hope for a better future, one of prosperity, one of
ownership, one free of government meddling in your lives or telling you to be ashamed of the fact you are Orion. Because the government, and the politicians and the professional protesters are afraid of anything genuine, of the people's discontent. They're so afraid they are already telling lies, about me, and about you. Even about the Syndicate! They claim they are butchers, when the reality is -- for every Syndicate agent confirmed killed,
two dozen civilians lost their lives, and millions of your hard-earned credits were flushed away. For what?"
"We're going to spend wisely -- both our efforts and our money. We're going to rebuild our greatness, and we're going to pick better allies then the Federation. The Federation! The Federation is a power filled with mealy-mouthed words of independence. They will tell you that the Cardassians seek to dominate, that they quash freedom. But look around, look at the Sydraxians and the Dawiar, the Bajorans. Have they been asked to change? No. All the Cardassians ask in exchange for protection is a small sum, resources to keep their Union strong. The Federation demands change, it demands we fit ourselves into a crevice of its design, a sweet embrace that nevertheless slowly warps our flesh and bone until we become some formless monster, unrecognizable. And for this, it says it is saving us from the Syndicate? No. I love money, capital, wealth, but-" Gartia pulled out a fistfull of smart credits and held them in the air. With another hand, she opened a plasma lighter and lit them aflame, throwing the burning chunks into the crowd, "-I will sacrifice a paltry amount to keep the freedoms we want. The freedom to own property, the freedom to open a business and innovate! The right to send your children to the right schools - for those among the best and brightest, to the best schools and those who need a little extra help, to more specialized ones fitting their vocation. We don't need a one-size-fits-all solution by a technocratic state intent on forcing equality and lacking the moral courage to tackle augmentation to ensure it. We want aspirations, they only want a mediocre baseline.
They say the Cardassians are Tyrannical? Look at the crimson demons of the Federation, the five women who hold your lives in their hands. They preach equality, but all they have instead appointed a military gynocracy to rule you. Look at our own government, imposing a tyranny of outrage, demagogues like Sierre spitting vile rhetoric and tarnishing the memory of our revolution. She defies government and slanders her political opponents, and has turned Congress from a place of reasoned debate and disagreement to a circus of accusation and insinuation. She has adopted the worst kind of tyranny, a one that cloaks itself in virtue intentions while simultaneously calling for blood in the streets. And this is a woman thought of as being a serious contender for President! I cannot in my soul stand the thought of that. The people gathered here have seen the bloodiness of Oyana. It will only be worse under Sierre and her ilk. We must keep the true spirit of the Revolution - of individuality, of freedom - alive here. And as long as I can, I will help you do it. I will embark on the greatest of projects: delivering freedom and safety to my stakeholders. And all of you became stakeholders the instant I took that oath. You, the people, own me. I signed the contract when I said 'I accept.' It is my job to serve you and your interests.
They will say nasty things about all of us. That we're traitors, or that we've given up on the spirit of the Revolution. But they are the ones who have given up control to a bioregressive regime, and who have allowed their military to be suborned to the whims of a club of Human admirals in a distant office. We're going to bring pride back to our military, and we're going to bring discipline to our police, so they stop unleashing carnage on our streets every time we ask them do to the opposite -- to bring peace and order. We will partner with the deradicalized elements of the Syndicate who have joined us in freedom and banish the rest, instead of the bloody and heavy-handed policies of the Oyana government. We will cut the Federation-mandated red tape and their undermining aid and allow the market to do what it does best -- deliver more goods, cheaper, through competition, by breaking up hypercorps deemed to have a dangerous monopoly. This will mean more food on your plate, more clothes for your children, and better jobs for you.
I intend to do a better job for you than any Union president or legislature ever has. I've assembled a fantastic, an amazing team here. We're going to do incredible things together. All we need is your unity of purpose and we will respect your individualism while we lead Celos to a bright, golden dawn.
Thank you! All hail the Celosian Corporate Republic! And all hail the People!"
