Emerald Repatriation Society: Black and White (Pt15)
13 Dec 2023Vasil Vasilescu
(<--Part 14)
“Why do you even bother,” asked Katarzyna. “Imperial Port Services do pre-flight inspections for the ERS.” She looked back along the Onoarea's flat belly, 6 meters overhead, and toward the nose of the clipper. “It is so big you can’t really check the whole thing by yourself, anyway.”
I paused, looked toward the bow of the craft. The ship's Imperial Pearl color scheme gleamed in the hangar’s intense flood lights, making the hangar brighter and more antiseptic-looking than usual. Even the ship’s black accents and the inlaid blue lighting on the hull somehow stood out just as vibrant and pristine as the white. I continued walking to the aft while visually inspecting the keel. “I’ve been doing preflight walk-arounds longer than you have been alive,” I told her. “It is an old habit, I suppose.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Mom used to always do them, too. But not on anything bigger than an eagle.”
Though it had been a year since Kat’s mother was killed in action against the Thargoids, I heard a slight hitch in her voice and a long, steadying breath meant to maintain composure. I thought it best to steer the conversation back to the reason we were meeting on Mackenzie Relay. “Did you talk to Ioana and Andrei?”
“Oh, yes. Thanks for suggesting that. Andrei gave me the information for the slave broker that sold his contract to Aunt Octavia. They deal only with professional slaves. No labor or trade skills. I’ve already taken on two slaves, a personal assistant and an accountant. They are working out well, so I think the broker will be able to fill out the rest of the staff for me.”
“Good. What about this problem you say we have with housing?”
“Well, the settlements are at about 80% capacity. If we continue bringing people to Emerald at our current rate, we have maybe six months before the settlements are filled. We can’t just stop helping people, and we can’t overcrowd the settlements, so we need to start dealing with this now before it becomes a problem later.”
Stopping at one of the rear landing claws, I shined a light up into the bay, looking for obvious leaks or unusual wear. “Judging by the tone in your voice, you are unsure about the solution."
“I found some of Aunt Elena’s draft project plans for more settlements. She also had plans to start the process of incorporating the settlements so that they will be officially recognized as cities and become part of the civil infrastructure.”
“Mmm. I remember Elena mentioning that at one of the board meetings.” I increased the macro view on my pad to get a closer view of the claw’s machinery. The secondary hydraulic booster looked like it had more of an oil sheen than normal, but nothing too alarming. "I don’t remember Octavia having a problem with either idea. Is there something wrong with following Elena’s plans?”
“They address the numbers of people we are helping but do not address the long-term problem we’ll have. Even though these people are Imperial citizens, they are still seen as refugees. No matter how modern and clean a settlement is, no one wants a permanent city of refugees next door.”
I turned off the light and stowed the pad. “All of the settlements are in the Alpenzeusjes Valley, which is Vasilescu family land. I doubt Octavia will complain about the settlements since she is the one that approved them all to begin with.”
“There are other towns and cities in the Valley. Even if a settlement is officially recognized as a city, it still has the stigma of being a refugee city. If enough established towns start complaining, Emerald’s Imperial Bureau of Urban Development will get involved. Let me be clear, Uncle Vasil, the IBUD will want to preserve the image of Emerald as a pristine, Imperial paradise full of art, culture, and massive pastoral estates, not a place full of refugee camps."
“So, what is your plan?”
“We need work with other charities to help relocate people to places other than Emerald. It is also not enough to provide housing for a year. Many of the people in the settlements have lost almost everything. ERS cannot just say we are giving these people a chance at a new start; we have to help them start over. If we don't, they risk becoming insolvent and may have to sign a slave contract in order to maintain respect. I have a few ideas how to fix all of this, but it requires a budget increase, and I am not sure how Aunt Octavia will react.”
“I see. When talking to Octavia, she can sometimes be... difficult.”
“She can be outright scary,” admitted Kat. “I don’t want to upset her. That’s why I am not sure I should even propose my ideas. I’ve only been in this position for a month, so do I really need to be pushing for major changes? Maybe I should go along with whatever she wants to do.”
“No!” I said so emphatically that it startled Kat. “Don’t think that way or Octavia will dictate how you run Housing and Relocation rather than you actually running it. If you believe your plan will help, you have to be prepared to defend it and you absolutely must have a counter argument to any objection Octavia has. Above all, if you are not confident and you allow her to overwhelm you, she’ll be like a shark to blood and will rip you apart.”
“What if she rejects my plan?”
“That's always possible, but remember, people tend to agree with you more readily if you tailor your arguments to meet their goals.”
“You mean manipulate them.”
“Katarzyna, 70% of business and politics is manipulation.”
“And the other 30%?”
“Personality and dedication, which you have in abundance. However, no amount of either will ever offset that first 70%. Both personality and dedication, though, can be easily replaced by an equal amount of manipulation.”
Like her mother, Kat had a habit of biting her lower lip when she was uncertain about something. At that moment, with her dark hair, Kat looked just like I remembered her mother at that age. I knew Kat did not relish the idea of trying to manipulate Octavia. Very few people could manipulate Octavia due to the force of her personality and the ease with which she dominated those with weaker wills.
“Kat, here’s what I think might help you sell your plan. Expanding settlements to other locations expands the influence of ERS beyond the Cemiess system, right? That could—no, will—lead to more donations and to ERS helping more people. Helping refugees avoid debt slavery is a positive for ERS public relations as are any feel-good success stories that come out of it. It all reflects very well on the charity’s director.”
“Displaced citizens, not refugees,” corrected Kat with a little smirk. “We want to avoid any negative connotations.”
“Exactly. I knew you’d understand. Look, even if Octavia rejects your ideas, she will respect and trust you more if you defend them and do not back down. However, once her decision is made, you must implement it even if you disagree. Octavia does not react well to what she perceives as disloyalty.”
“True. I don’t want to be the next target of an abdicare.”
“No one does. It is unfortunate it came to that.” Doubly so since I felt that my delay dealing with the Hixkaramu fallout caused Octavia to invoke the abdicare on Elena. I gave the Onoarea a last, quick glance. “Anyway, things look good here and I still have a few hours before I'm scheduled to take the Onoarea for a VIP pickup. How about we go to Adevăr for lunch, my treat. I am sure Ioana and Andrei can make room for us.”
Kat’s face brightened. “Yes! I'd love some of Ioana’s roast duck. Oh, and a slice of Andrei’s maraschino liqueur cheesecake.”
"Then let's go." As we left the hangar, I tapped the gold ship link on the collar of my ERS flight suit and told the Onoarea's COVAS to report any landing gear hydraulic pressures outside of the expected range.
Maybe one day I’ll tell Kat that Octavia’s goals for ERS are more than just humanitarian. Kat is smart, though. She’ll eventually understand that ERS is a tool for Octavia’s political ladder-climbing. Once Kat understands, if she is as smart as I think she is, she can use that to her advantage when dealing with Octavia.
Kat truly believes in the ERS mission to help citizens. She is like Elena in that respect, but Kat is young and naive to the machinations of others; even I have manipulated her for my own purposes. Mostly, it is to assuage my guilt over failing to protect Elena. By telling Kat how to get what she wants from Octavia, Kat can help more people. That means more potential supporters for Octavia's political aspirations. That, in turn, might reduce Octavia’s displeasure over future failures and perhaps save one or more family members from another abdicare.
Kat, with her enthusiasm and dedication, can make a real difference in the ERS as long as she does not become disillusioned with reality. The world is not as black or white as she believes. Neither is it grey. It constantly shifts between the colors, requiring a person to shift as well, and to either suspend their belief in what is right and wrong, or face the consequences for not doing so.
(Part 16-->)