|Viraliv|[20-14]Sliue-Ececs|Ora’s Eye|Tepi|Tepi-3|
11,163,955,738cy
Terraformer Station ‘Favala’, Low Tepi-3 Orbit
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#Grashkillok, 3rd sublayer of the 4th pressure valve
“Don’t worry about getting caught, there’s no point to it…” a voice near loud enough to be a shout can be heard sounding from a man sitting around a real wood table. Several people gather around the table with him, in a dingy and worn room. Only one door out and in exists, and all windows are heavily boarded up. A leaky water pipe can be heard dripping every now and then, feeding some green-colored growth in the corner.
“I’m just saying, we shouldn't be too aggressive in our moves…” One of the others sitting at the table returns a statement. Also in a state edging on yelling, the hair on their bodies standing rigid, an obvious sign of anger and exasperation in Tarmon. Most people sitting around the table are leaning back, some even yawning, this seems to be a common occurrence.
Someone else cuts in a high pitched voice, “Enough! We’ve already decided to force the council members to vote against the people's interests. Doing so will force Simiffin to take action and regardless of what he does we can use our proponents to attack him.” He glares at the two men who were earlier yelling, “While this does open us up to the possibility of getting caught, that’s only if one of us screws up. So. Don’t. Get. Caught.”
The two men calmed down the moment the man started talking, not wanting to draw his ire. Even the others who were nonchalant just moments ago started to pay attention. This man, their leader, certainly doesn’t look very impressive. However, it’s not his personal physic that instills this pacification into them, it's the raw amount of power he has due to all of his connections. The man, Malik, is an average looking Egol. He works as an overseer for construction however, the ones at the table know him by a different role. He is also the overseer of the fledgling black underbelly of the colony, who’s dipped his long blue fingers into just about every illegal industry he could.
His connections have allowed him to collect dirt on any number of inspectors, security, and even some on the colonies council. Many of those in the government work with him in a limited manner and he has significant pull amongst the population. Though they don’t know it, he is the shadow leader behind a civil rights political movement and one of Simiffins most dangerous enemies. Though Malik is being particularly proactive the other factions seem to be focusing on fighting each other to gain more supporters before having a final confrontation with Simiffin. Simiffin doesn’t know what is happening in detail though he does know that these factions are likely to exist. The lower ranked crew on the Favala are the most easily swayed and while the higher ranked ones are on Simiffin’s side they don’t have much influence on the lower ranked ones. Simply put, Simiffin is blind, just trying to react to whatever they throw at him without knowing where they are throwing it from.
#Back to Normal
Currently, Simiffin is busy reading a report written by the Head of Infrastructure, a position within the Colonies Council. It’s pertaining to Simiffin’s project of getting down to the second cave system. Work has started though it’s in its preliminary stages, collection of information is being handled by some Egols with some very heavy duty equipment. Along with them are the Thelsk who will be helping with the blueprints due to the probability of water being in the second cave. Them being the experts in that situation has already led to them making several suggestions. Not to mention that the Tarmon themselves are the large majority of the workforce.
The Thelsk especially are happy about such a project, until now they’ve been living in small ponds made out of a type of artificial water closer to a syrup in substance. A situation that they hate but have to deal with to live. Having an actual source of water, even if it has to be processed beforehand, has them all encouraged more than the wages they’ll collect for working. Such a carrot being dangled in front of them has at least secured some loyalty to Simiffin, even if it wasn’t his primary intention. Though the Thelsk are a small percentage of the population, the Tarmon view them with premeditated respect due to their calm and harmonious nature. If they show support for Simiffin then their Tarmon friends might show some restraint when it comes to critiquing the new Captain.
Speaking of the new Captain. He’s quickly adjusting to the more mundane work, filing paper, making various speeches and the likes. His experience from being a head officer definitely helped in this regard. Knowing himself, Simiffin understands that he, as is, will not be an effective leader. Only being able to focus when others give him a direction is something that he will have to learn to overturn. So far he has been relying on Idris’s book but it doesn’t encapsulate every situation or event that might occur. To rectify the issue of unforeseen situations occurring and while he is trying to get over his weakness he has decided to create an advisory council. While the Head Officers do serve a similar role, it’s not official and others would view the Captain as weak if they relied on the officers too much.
However, if an advisory council is officially made then nobody would mind. If anything they would see it as a good thing, a way for them to serve the colony better without being the Captain or a good way to influence whoever the Captain is. Furthermore this is something that Simiffin himself thought of, and represents an important decision made by the initiative of himself. The advisory council would be constituted out of a mix of civilian and military personnel. This would give Simiffin some perspective into the colony and the military that protects it, and can threaten it. Those in the advisory council would have to be people that aren’t in positions to be influenced by other groups or organizations. For example, a low ranking officer could be influenced by the higher ranked officers to give the Captain biased reports and advice. As such, only leaders or otherwise influential people would be acceptable candidates, other than that it would be people under direct control of the Captain themselves. Those would be personal attendants or similar.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
In all honesty it’s not very well thought out, but with enough time the kinks of it could be mettled out. And if the next Captain decides to keep it then it could become something more, perhaps it could serve as inspiration for the local governments development. There is a chance that it simply becomes a tool for some shadow government to control a puppet through though. Malik and the others like him are very interested in this development due to that. Other than Malik, there are several military cult of personalities built around various people, including the now dead Idris. Some politicians, including some council members, wish to increase their own power and decrease the power of the Captain’s position. There also exists some Egol scientist who would see the smartest rule, of course they believe that they are the most qualified for that responsibility. And a group of the common workers who want the government to be truly chained to their needs and wants.
There are many more however they are too small in size to really be a threat and will likely be consumed by some other faction. Of course, there is Simiffin’s faction which is also the government’s faction. Made up of the head officers, various lower ranking officers, some of the crew, citizens, and most Thelsk. It’s a very mixed faction granting it a lot of opportunities and connections. However, due to that it’s also very hard to keep unified and make everyone in it happy. Making more generalized projects is a great way to make everyone a little happy but it’s often quickly reversed by a more specific one done by an enemy faction. And making a specific one has a good chance to cause a negative reaction in another group. This is something that the less diverse factions don’t have to deal with. All of this, including the normal duties of a Captain, is stressing Simiffin.
He can feel his mind and body weakening and getting progressively unfit. Understanding the danger of this, especially in his precarious situation, he places his trust in a therapist, Shanak’Ti. Another Tarmon, though with a citizen’s background. She’s serene in nature and always calm, though some would say that she gives off the feeling that she thinks she’s smarter than everybody else. If she does then she is extremely good at hiding it. Regardless of her personality she does her job extremely well and is one of the best therapists in the colony, befitting for her new position as personal aide to Simiffin. He also hopes that this will help him learn to direct himself as well as dealing with the overwhelming stress.
On a personal note, Simiffin finds himself to be rather attracted to her. Her bioluminescence is quite the unique coloration and strobe pattern, not to mention the thick and luxurious hair that sits upon her nicely angler face. That along with her somewhat mesmerizing eyes and well proportioned body; by Tarmon standards she’s strongly on the attractive side of the bell curve. Though this attraction is physical in nature, he is interested in getting to know her personally and maybe, if he finds her personality attractive, pursuing a relationship with her.
It gets him giddy, he’s a rather young Tarmon himself regardless of his position now, or previous one as a head officer. Rather than holding value in himself he believes it to be luck, which some of it is. He was lucky to have good superiors that understood his value, even if he doesn't see that same value in himself. Perhaps Shanak’Ti can also help him with that?
Most of the citizens view this as a good thing, something that they can relate to. Some believe that Simiffin is weak for relying on someone else for mental troubles. And others believe that Shanak’Ti is the secret lover of Simiffin and was given her position for them to spend more time together. Regardless, not many people care much about it. Though the other factions see it as a chance, as with any personal aide, and will no doubt seek to get in contact with Shanak’Ti. Especially due to the information about Simiffin and the ability to influence him through her.
On another note, enough time has passed for another transport to come. This one was different from the regular one, apparently due to the value and how quickly Tepi-3 can be terraformed, High Command has decided to allocate more resources to the project. This almost never happens, but the colony sees it as a sign of good luck. Along with this High Command has given the acting Captain an almost blank check that can be used to acquire almost anything from the government one time. In return Simiffin has reported on the death of Idris and a lengthy update on the current state of the colony.
The blank check, however, allows for an opportunity to help the colony, incite the people to his side, or both. There are lots of reasonable options including more colonists, some special industry like a robotics assembly, or some military vessels. Seeing this as a good chance to use the Advisory Council, Simiffin quickly filled it with various staff for the next few days. Those honored with such a position include major industry leaders, various highly skilled military officers, some government officials, and a few that were popularly elected by the general populace. They quickly came together, ecstatic at the idea of being on such an important council and, of course, being aboard the Favala. While they were on board before, it was during a rush to get them planet-side and they never really got to enjoy the station’s luxuries.
They quickly got to work after some socializing. Some tension was sparked at the beginning due to the differences in class and various other demographics. That situation was quickly shot down by the entrance of Simiffin into the Council’s board room. It was the first time that those from the colony had met the Captain in person, their first thoughts were ‘average’. Simiffin was rather average looking, always being overshadowed by those around him. While some even confused him as the aide or spokesman to the Captain in the news tablets, that changes upon meeting him in person. Whether it’s the seemingly unbearable weight resting on him or the very sharp and focused gaze, one wouldn't confuse him with some low ranking individual such as a spokesman.
They all shuffled around for a second, readjusting their dress and attitude while Simiffin was moving to take his stand. Explaining what High Command had given to him and his goals with it, they quickly got to work. Over the next week many ideas were discussed, and perhaps due to this being the first meeting of the council, it held an extremely excited mood. More like a group of friends shouting ideas together on how the next great hangout will be planned than a structured and dull official thinktank.
Eventually however, they decided on getting a radial radiation shield after arguing back and forth for that entire week. The shieldings are mainly used for exploration ships that specialize in exploring high radiation systems, though larger for planetary use. These are relatively experimental so some skilled scientist would likely be sent with it, a great asset for the colony. This will allow the citizens to live on the surface in a small area granted that it’s fed power by a custom-made reactor. Though this will likely be saved for the future once the colony can supplement its construction, not the construction of the shield nor the reactor, but just the construction of its housing would be tall order for the current colony.
However, its usage is limited until it has a dome to house the colonists in to provide them air and heat control. In the short-term its use would likely be to house a green-zone specialized in various fauna and flora that require natural sunlight. Sun lamps that can be built underground have limited reach and consume a lot of power. Long-term it becomes less useful, once a thick atmosphere is created it will lose all of its usefulness. However, the shielding might be able to be converted to a shielding against laser weaponry, though makeshift as it is, or the reactor could be used to feed the colony and the shielding parts could be broken down and used for something else. Regardless it brings many benefits and while the colony currently won’t be able to use it, the fact that Simmifin brought this potential to the colony and its people will be remembered.