Scavenged Restoration 51 (Patreon)

Commissioned by RoyalTwinFangs

Scavenged Restoration

Chapter 51

-VB-

After two days of relaxation and tours, Magistrix Emma Centrella and I found ourselves in an isolated room with our most trusted advisors for the start of negotiations. 

Unlike what many people thought about negotiation, negotiation didn’t start when two parties met at the table to discuss terms formally. Such a formal negotiation occurred once the stage was set.

And what was the stage? 

A part of it was the force of arms both sides could muster. It was not the fact that they used that power but that they showed that they had it and could use it at will. This meant that if the power in question was deemed unwieldy, then the mass of the power didn’t matter as much. 

In my case, I showed thoroughly and unequivocally that I was the one who had the tactically, strategically, and numerically upper hand in this factor. So much so that other factors had minimum impact. However, just because they had a minimum impact did not mean they had no impact. 

The Magistracy of Canopus had the officially most advanced technologies available to the entire Inner Sphere. It wasn’t about the people who they hired but rather about the lack of war and the nation’s periphery nature leading to more books and instructions surviving the Succession Wars. Yes, just like its Inner Sphere neighbors, its libraries, universities, and education system suffered sabotage. 

But less so than what the Taurians suffered.

Because even when they had the knowledge at their fingertips, Canopus didn’t care to utilize them well, partly because of how much Canopus itself took up the magistracy’s economy; most of the planets outside of Canopus mattered, not really. Its entertainment and medical industries mattered, but not its manufacturing, education, and resource industries. Because of this, even though they had one of the best collections of knowledge, their average standard of education was grade school.

This was the opposite problem of what the Taurians had. 

The Taurians were belligerent, once-powerful, and altogether eager to reclaim their own past glory. They prided themselves in their education system and equality. Consequently, I assumed that ComStar struck the “uppity periphery barbarians” far more than they struck the “catgirl barbarians.” Despite this more intense sabotage, their education system continued to operate well and properly, and the Taurian Concordat boasted the highest level of education for an interstellar nation even this far into the Succession Wars. 

I wasn’t quite sure about the number, but the Taurians produced fifty thousand or so college graduates every year, which was less than half of the Federated Suns or the Capellan Confederation, yes, but their realm was also less than a fifth of the Capellan Confederation after the losses suffered during the Fourth Succession War.

What did this mean for the upcoming negotiation? 

Human resources, or lack thereof in human resources and all other industries. 

With no human resources to utilize their knowledge, the only thing the Magistracy of Canopus could do was to offer the knowledge itself to balance against the confederation’s military might. 

It lacked extensive resource exploitation, so it had to offer more of its meager resource flow to the balance. 

It lacked a consumer industry that could be used as reparation, so more of it had to be offered. 

This deficiency played out in every field, every sector, and every tool they had. 

Had they entered this negotiation before the outbreak of war, this conversation would have gone a very different way. Now? Not so much. 

And so the stage was set even before we arrived here at this room to talk over this table. 

The Magistracy was in a dire strait and would be in a worse state if they stopped the negotiations. The Capellan Confederation was also weakened from the Fourth Succession War, but the morale boost that came from soundly defeating the Anduriens and the Canopians was doing wonders to mitigate the state-wide exhaustion. I could push to end the magistracy if I truly wanted to, but there would be a significant backlash from it, both socially and geopolitically. I did not want that, not when I was at a crucial stage in solidifying the foundation of the confederation. Of course, the magistrix didn’t know that I didn’t want Canopus itself or any of its star systems further away from the confederation. 

However, what I wanted and what I showed were two different things. 

Magistrix Emma Centrella looked down at the terms on multiple noteputers which sat on top of the holographic map of the Magistracy of Canopus. The map itself showed how the magistracy would be partitioned. 

“You want to neuter us completely,” she snapped at me. 

“How else did you think this was going to happen?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow. 

My initially proposal was thus.

Everything rimward and spinward of Brixtana and Palm - for a total of eight systems - would be made into a direct Capellan territory, then everything rimward of Megarez and Borgan’s Rift and spinward of Candiear - for a total of thirteen systems -  would be made into a separate national entity called Rimward Protectorate, not to be confused with Rimworlds Republic. This protectorate would fall under Capellan protection and would cooperate with the confederation. The rest of the Canopian worlds would stay with the Magistracy of Canopus. 

However.

Capellan Confederation would have policing rights in Magistracy space. 

Intense? Yes. 

Extensive? Also yes. 

Was Emma Centrella going to accept this? No.

I knew that, but proposal adjustments were part of negotiations as were stupid and overarching demands.  It wouldn’t matter that the Magistracy would have fifteen systems that would be “free” of Capellan rule. What I had demanded with my initial proposal was nothing less than unofficial full annexation, because a nation that lost its own policing rights was no longer a nation.

“This is beyond the pale,” she objected vehemently. “Even if you have beaten the MAF to the ground, you are demanding systems far beyond what you have reached. I would rather fight to the death if this is what you want to reduce the magistracy to!” 

I stared at her coolly. “Are you sure about that?” I drawled. “I am not against doing exactly that.”

She glared at me. “And I will make sure the CCAF suffers for every system they take from here on out. Every intel on where your troops are will be shared with the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth. The entire Inner Sphere will be able to track everywhere your warship goes.”

Oh? That was a significant threat, actually. If one knew where my ship was going to be, even roughly, then they would be able to plan an ambush.

And who that “they” could be was none other than ComStar. 

Hell, maybe Wolf’s Dragoon would see my warship as a challenge and come to destroy it themselves with their own warships! 

But also not as significant as she thought the threat was.

Because I had other warships in production right now. 

At the same time, I only had one crew who knew how to run a warship. Almost decently. The loss of that crew would hurt me more than the loss of the warship would, because I had more warships in production but only one crew who knew how to operate a warship.

“Careful, magistrix,” I said to her. “The Capellan Confederation does not have to accept your surrender.”

Her glare intensified. She relented and sat back. 

“I am not willing to lose two-thirds of my nation, especially worlds that have yet to be even touched by Capellan boot.” A pause. “I am perfectly willing to cede Farandir, Borgan’s Rift, and Early Dawn because those are the systems you have occupied.”

Ah, yes. The classic minimum offer. 

Both of us knew that I wouldn’t take this offer, but this wasn’t about making offers we were going to accept but establishing boundaries on what each of us were after. Of course, I wasn’t truly going after such a severe partition of the magistracy. Aside from the fact that the already miffed Free Worlds League would object to such blatant land grabs along its borders, I didn’t care about two-thirds of the magistracy, and I suspected that Magistrix Centrella knew this as well. 

In the same vein, the magistrix also knew that she couldn’t afford to leave without giving up more than the bare minimum. The conversation before today, though, gave me the impression that ceding the minimum amount of systems wasn’t the only thing she was after. She completely acknowledged the issue of the magistracy having declared war but has so far denied that she had the same issue. 

The mood I got from her so far could be summed up to this: 

“Look, big boss. I know that my mother fucked up, but we’re not the bad guys, I swear! Here, I brought a lot of gifts for you so take them all, I’ll hand over a few systems, and we’ll call this even, yeah?”

And maybe, if I was in charge of the Free Worlds League that had cordial(ish) relationship with the magistracy, I might have accepted that and smoothed things over.

Unfortunately for her, I was the chancellor of the Capellan Confederation, whose people’s very identity was shaped by bullshit shenanigans like what the previous magistrix pulled. They wouldn’t accept anything less than neutering the magistracy nor will I accept anything less than the magistracy’s submission, direct or indirect. 

The problem there was the fact that most Capellans weren’t interested in imperialism, oddly enough. 

Sure, they struck out at the League and the Federated Suns but that was mostly to regain what was lost, not to take something that was never theirs to begin with. Perhaps it might have been different during the Star League era, but even back then, there was a profound sense of paranoia and hostility aimed at all other states that the confederation bordered. 

Of course, most people outside of the confederation thought otherwise, including the magistrix sitting across from me. 

All they saw was another Successor State. Another Free Worlds League. Another Draconis Combine. Another Federated Suns. 

“Remember that the confederation is raring to continue the war,” I replied to her meager offer. “A lot of my officers and common soldiers are eager for a chance at glory. And citizenship. And it was you who called for truce to negotiate for peace.”

Both of our advisors remained mute as they should. They were to speak only when we called upon them.

She let out an explosive sigh. “Then what do you suggest? Because, obviously, you know that your first offer will never be accepted.”

“Personally, I find the New Abilene Province to be the bare minimum I will accept.” 

Then Director Chandra Ling walked up behind me and leaned down. I saw her reflection  and leaned back.

“Hostages and technologies, chancellor.”

With her two bit said, she bowed and retreated. 

Right. Hostages. 

While the magistracy’s human resources were minimal, they still had important individuals who could be used as bargaining chips. That and technologies. 

“How about this? All systems between and including Fanardir and Addasar as well as copies of every technology, including medical technology, present on Canopus. You will also provide me with hostages from all important houses of the magistracy.”

“You are asking for too much. I will cede New Abilene Province, copies of all medical technology, their manuals, and related textbooks, and two dozen hostages.”

“There are way too many important houses within the magistracy for two dozen to suffice. Everything you just stated plus another two dozen hostages, including members of your house.”

“House Centrella’s members are worth far more than any other house. The New Abilene Province, medical technology, two dozen hostages, and two additional hostages from my house.”

I clicked my tongue as I mulled over the offer. “Add in a trade treaty where you cannot set any tariff on Capellan goods while the confederation can set a maximum of 50% tariff on Canopian goods. Capellans will also be able to operate businesses within Canopus as long as they follow the usual business laws.”

She frowned. 

There was a period of silence as she obviously weighed her options. 

“... Then what about security?”

“What about it?”

“The CCAF ground half of MAF mech regiments to nothing. We are currently weak enough that the Marian Hegemony can invade us from the antispinward border and we would be at their mercy, never mind what the League’s border provinces might try.”

“And?”

“I will accept the unequal trade treaty if you are willing to take a Canopian descent or Canopian noble as a concubine and guarantee Magistracy of Canopus’s security for the next two decades.”

I could almost imag-. No, I was imagining my godmother behind me thinking furiously. 

‘A foreign agent at the heart of Capellan court. On the other hand, a future heir. On the other hand, a foreign agent. On the other hand, a future heir.’

I didn’t even need to see to feel my godmother standing behind me to the side. 

“Milord…”

“ I know,” I whispered. “But I thought you might have wanted a Capellan noble.”

“I have come to the conclusion that a Capellan might resemble your former lover too much. A foreigner, while unacceptable in my eyes, is better than nothing in my eyes. And if she does give you an heir but becomes a problem, then the Maskirovka will be able to handle it without … much internal issue.”

Cold, calculating, and callous. 

As a Maskirovka Director should be. 

I gestured for her to leave, and she did, going back to her position further away behind me. 

“At that point,” I spoke up. “You may as well submit the magistracy to a vassalage under the confederation.”

“That is too far,” she objected. “My people will not accept such a deal.”

I thought long and hard about it. 

I really did. 

“On the condition that Capellan businesses and merchants will face no trade barriers that a Canopian business wouldn’t face, I accept.”

A loveless marriage for the sake of the confederation? 

Just another goddamn sacrifice I made for my people. 

-VB-

A/N: of course, a loveless political marriage is Will’s assumption of what is going to happen. After all, he hasn’t even met his bride to be.