Shady Practices Pt.1
06 Jun 2020Fatcat__25
It had been another normal day of work. Running cargo around the area, and advertising the local democracy with the profits is fairly bland, but makes for a steady job. I and the members of my squadron took the job with the intent of breaking up a large power block for one of the superpowers controlled by a monarch from a nearby system. Although we’ve worked for several months, we have only gained two unimportant stations, while the main station with it’s massive industrial output remained staunchly in support of the monarchy.I was just sitting down to supper in my apartment in a quieter part of the station when someone knocked on my door. A check of the ID scanner showed it was a friend, so I called for him to come in. One of the most active members of the squadron stepped in, and I motioned him to a seat. Nodding toward my meal, he commented,
“It looks like I picked a bad time to come. I can come back later if you like.”
“Now is fine! I don’t have any deadlines to meet right now, so I can talk. How have the latest political surveys been looking?”
“Better, but not great. After all of our work recently, the numbers show only about a single percent increase of supporters of the democracy. The lack of appreciation for our work is maddening.”
I nodded in agreement. “I guess people here just care about their livelihoods being stable, and to them a king produces that. I wish that there was a way to change that opinion. A well run democracy can do just as well for them as any despot."
My friend appeared excited. "Actually, that's what I came over to discuss. I knew you were nearly as disgusted by our results as I am, and you just pointed out what I have seen as the root of our troubles for a long time. I wanted to propose a way to break the illusion that the king is the way to stability."
"Like what? Support the local criminal organizations?"
"No. Of course not. That might gain us our goal, but the damage it cause would last long after. Think of the spike in drug usage that it would cause."
"I know, but what are you thinking, if not that?"
"I think that, if we became pirates ourselves, preying on the monarchy's trade, and destroying goods and ships, people here would soon start to doubt that the feudal economy is as safe as they thought. We would be just as hard on the pirates as ever, so outside of our work, their wouldn't be any rise in crime to suppress later. It seems like the perfect solution!"
I sat and thought for a minute. This idea didn't feel right: We would be little better than terrorists who destroyed other's livelihoods simply because they thought differently from us. I told my companion these concerns, and he had a ready reply.
"We aren't telling our victims who they should count on for safety, we will simply be demonstrating, forcibly, that the government that they trust to protect them can't actually do that. We can easily warn them to eject, and be careful not to intentionally kill innocent pilots, if murder weighs on your conscience. Lost money, not killing is what we want to convince the locals to change their minds."
"That is enough. I can see what you mean. Just let me think about it for a while. A decision like this is too weighty to make in a single evening. Is there anything else you wanted?"
He shook his head. "No, that is all. I'll let you return to your meal, if this hasn't spoiled it for you."
He stepped out of my apartment, and I sat down to eat, deep in thought.