Interlude

New Washington, North American Union, Earth

Politics. There is nothing that I hate more than politics. But in order to remain in the game, one must remember the ultimate triumph. Power. Power is a stone building that last for centuries. A testimony to Buckingham and Stonehenge. Politics is nothing but a means to the end. And the end...well that end is the Presidential office. And that is where the triumph shall conclude.

Members of the Senate were ambitious. If they weren't then they wouldn't be there today. But there are different kinds of ambition. There is the petty ambition, for the money, for the satisfaction of being a powerful man. There was then regular ambition, the drive to do what was necessary to achieve their goals. Then there was Vladimir Porchencko. A Member of the Senate who had climbed from nothing.

"Thomas, I grew up in the slums of New Lowell. There was nothing there. I had nothing. My father was dead because of a deal gone bad. My mother spent hours working three jobs to support four children. I promised myself that I wouldn't allow this to happen to us any longer. So when I was sixteen, I got my mother to allow me to become part of the United Nations of Earth's Army. When I was eighteen, I went to the University of New Lowell. When I was twenty-three, I became an officer. When I was twenty-six, I became a colonel. When I was thirty-two, I became a brigadier general. In less than sixteen years, I had gone from a lowly private with nothing in the world besides a pair of pants and twenty dollars, to a brigadier general in charge of an armored division. There was the Third War of Aggression. I was on New Lowell for three months, defending it with nothing but a pair of tanks and five thousand hungry men. I was promoted to major general, attacked and sacked Ascension for the Separatists when they lost it. They call me the Butcher of the Hegemony."

Vladimir's compatriot, Thomas Irons, laughed quietly as he heard his mentor's words. The former marine continued to listen.

"After the war, I ran for governor of New Lowell. Sacrificed six thousand men to protect it, the least they could do was elect me. After two years, I ran to represent it in the senate. And for the last twelve years I have represented New Lowell alongside another. And for the last four, you. Thomas...I'm not your average man. I have nurtured you into becoming something bigger than ourselves. Power. I am sixty-two years old. I have at least twenty more years. You are forty-eight. You have a good forty. Are we going to be become something bigger than Senate? Or are we going to allow ourselves to stagnate?"

"The public wants war. And not the limited wars we have been fighting for the last hundred years. A real war. One where we are not on the defensive. They want the Hegemony gone. They want our people back. So how do we fight another limited war?" Thomas asked, pouring some whiskey into a glass. Vladimir scoffed at the whiskey and he poured himself a glass full of classic Russian vodka. It is funny. He's not even Russian. He's Ukrainian.

"We don't."

Thomas froze. The British man had ran on a platform of isolationism with Vladimir, more to placate their constituents back on New Lowell than to actually employ. But it was a useful platform, one which they could easily fall on in case of something stupid or unexpected happened. What is his ploy now?

"Why not? We can't become these so called non-interventionists and we can't join the war hawks. The doves are also out of the question. Being isolationist has always worked out for us. So why now?" Thomas asked, ignoring the whiskey in his glass. Vladimir flashed his winning smile, one that had gotten him his wife of forty-five years and his seat in the Senate for the last twelve.

"Because this will seal it. President Plath is in poor health. And when she dies, who do we back? Her Vice President, someone she ran with to win the Outer Systems and who has no experience besides sucking politicians tits and balls for favors? Her Secretary of State, a vain pacifists who does nothing but call for peace everywhere but does nothing to achieve it? Or do we back him?" Vladimir asked, leaning back with his glass of vodka in hone hand.

"Ah. But why? He hates us. He hates you especially. What do we benefit from alienating our own party and backing one of our enemies?" Thomas inquired, slipping a hand into his pocket. Out came classic Cuban cigars, something that had been illegal in the United States until the invasion of Earth. Vladimir grinned once more.

"How is your son?" Vladimir switched gears. Thomas knew where this was going. But how is he going to connect this to the situation at hand?

"My son is well. Last I heard he was deployed as part of the security detail in Ascension," Thomas answered coolly. His hand flickered a lighter, lighting the cigar and allowing the sweet poison into his body. It provided a calming presence in time of great pressure.

"And how did he take it when he learned that it was you that caused him to be pulled out of Blackhaven and be placed there?" the ashes fell from the cigar onto the ash plate. Thomas narrowed his eyes at his mentor and who he supposed he should call friend.

"He didn't take it well. But with his wife expecting and the fighting heating up, I wanted him safe. So I pulled a few strings and got him put on embassy duty until his child was born. It was what my father did for me when I was his age. I was fighting during the war as well and he pulled me back. I didn't realize that until I saw my son for the first time. I realized why he did it," Thomas answered honestly. If there was something that he had learned, it was the value of knowing what you were fighting for. Even if you worked with a manipulative bastard like Vladimir.

Ah so that is his angle. Or shall I wait for him to explain?

"Just like you are not taking it well right now. Backing him will result in unpleasantness at first, just like you revelation to your son. But that unpleasantness will evolve into understanding, then into admiration, just as you learned with your father. You have to know what you are fighting for. And we are fighting for something much bigger than ourselves. Backing him will allow us the maneuvering space we need to build up our base in the Senate and reach out to the House of Representatives. War is a last resort. But with the rebellion on Torfan and the Council refusing to allow us to deal with the krogan threat, we need to back him in the next election. It is just a few months away until the President dies and the Vice President takes over until the elections are called. And who do we back?"

"We back him."

Unpleasant to work with, but has never stopped me from achieving the greater good for the human race. The krogan must be crushed, the Hegemony silenced. And we do not have the strength to do both. Limited war had its uses in the past. But now...full-scale war will be needed. To show humanity that we will not be defined by other's actions but by our own.

"Of course we will not publicly back him. He only has his own party's support, which is not the majority of the Senate, and a few diehard war hawks from the Federalists. But we will behind the scenes to get him the support he needs to become President. With the special elections, he will need a clear majority; something that we can deliver. And what will he do for our support? What will be our prize for backing the winner?" Vladimir pressed. Thomas allowed himself to grin. Vice Presidency...Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense. The prizes are endless. And our true agenda will be allowed to unfold. One where humanity's power increases...and one where our reputation is sealed for the rest of eternity.

"The possibilities are endless my friend."

The two chinked glasses and they sipped their alcohol. Thomas slipped back into his thoughts.

And where do we begin? Ah. Her.

"Vladimir, I think I know where to start. A person whose expertise and experience will work dividends. Best part, is that she is on our side. She just doesn't know it yet."

"And who is that, I may ask?"

"Ambassador to the Separatists, Anita Goyle."

CODEX

UNE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: The UNE is under a constitutional republic with three branches of government; executive, legislative, and judicial. The current President is Olivia Plath. It is modeled after the old United States of America.

Hello! I have been gone for a while, but I just wanted to spend as much time as I wanted on the third chapter. This is just an interlude while I write the third one. IT introduces one of the characters that will have a big impact behind the scenes.