Chapter 24: Diplomatic Overtures

The atmosphere of Umoja was clean and pleasant compared to the ashy hellscape of Char or the polluted smog of Earth, Dugalle noted as he stepped off the transport vessel and was escorted into a vehicle. From what he had learned, the Umojans sought to present themselves as enlightened idealists. Maintaining the pristine state of their planet was part of that image. It was a noble ideal, though he wondered how much of it was simply a facade.

The diplomatic conference being organized by the Umojans was a chance for him to evaluate them more closely as they had previously kept the UED at arms length. If things went well, a new ally for Earth might be acquired. Such a boon was very needed at this time, as Dugalle was under pressure from the Ruling Council of Earth to make progress in unifying the sector and eliminating the alien menace. He let out a sigh at the prospect of engaging in more politics, but as the vehicle came to a stop he quickly composed himself.

As he stepped out in front of a grand building before him, he looked around at the neatly trimmed hedges and flowers along the side of the road. The building was made of marble, with the overall shape he recognized as being reminiscent of the ancient Greek or Roman style, but with engravings being a mixture of elements from both eastern and western cultures across time. He concluded that it was probably the result of some architect examining various records of ancient Earth with no context as to where they fit in. An amusing attempt at imitation.

In front of the building, ceremonial guards greeted him and he was escorted into a lavish ballroom. Two men met him as he entered. "You must be Admiral Dugalle." The man in front shook his hand. "I am Walter Jorgensen, Prime Minister of the Umojan Protectorate. We are pleased to see that you have agreed to attend this gathering. In these turbulent times I wish to present a sincere expectation that we can build closer bonds with one another."

Dugalle nodded. "I do hope that we shall resolve any unfortunate misunderstandings that may exist between us. Humanity cannot afford to be in conflict with each other given the dangers at our doorstep. After all, a house divided cannot stand."

"Ah, Lincoln was it?" The other man looked at Dugalle with interest.

"Indeed," Dugalle replied. "Have you studied him?"

"I take a personal interest in the records that Umoja has of ancient Earth," the man replied. "Through my experience it has become apparent to me that my own private aspiration for edification can in many cases intersect with or overlap with obligations that are relevant to my work and that knowledge in these areas can prove to be an asset for understanding the complexities and struggles that we face."

"I see," Dugalle said after several seconds. "And you are?"

"Samuel Hunt, secretary to the council of ministers of Umojan. I assist the prime minister in implementing the policies he sets forth along with the administrative minutia."

Dugalle simply gave a curt nod, hiding an instinctive animus that had arisen in him before walking into the building. Inside, well dressed people walked between tables which held small platters of food which fit right in with the ostentatious surroundings.

Turning to the prime minister again, Dugalle spoke. "So, what results does Umoja seek from this conference?"

"Our greatest wish is to bring an end to the terrible conflict that hangs above us, waiting to fall at any moment. A universe where we can be free to carve our path without fearing destruction," Minister Jorgensen said with a slight smile on his face. "Truly there is no greater wish for man. Umoja has never ceased to strive for these ideals ever since we first organized ourselves to resist the Confederacy's tyranny. To that end I hope that those of us gathered here can come to an understanding and recognize that we need not be enemies."

Dugalle gave him an appraising look. "Should all mankind unite together and avoid needless conflict, this would of course be a tremendous boon. I could not wish for anything more than this. But I must say, I am puzzled by the aloofness displayed by members of your government toward our overtures. Surely you must recognize the dire threat posed by the aliens."

"Of course we recognize the nature of the threat before us. However, many are apprehensive to say the least about the presence of Earth's authority here after such a long period of neglect. The prospect of being dominated by a far away government and having to give up the autonomy that has brought us so far is distressing."

"I understand your concerns," Dugalle said. "But during such dangerous times, certain compromises must be made in order to secure the safety of the people. The zerg have already devastated so many worlds. Anyone could be next if they are not stopped."

"Some have said that the zerg attacks are not so arbitrary after all." The minister held a calculating look in his eyes.

"I am unsure of what you are referring to," Dugalle replied.

Minister Jorgenson gave a small chuckle. "We are not blind, you know."

"If you can indeed see the situation Umoja is faced with, you would know that to remain aloof from others would only leave you to be destroyed in the end," Dugalle said. "You should try not to end up on the wrong side of history, minister. We will remember those who proved themselves to be unwise in finding where to stand."

"I understand, Admiral," Jorgensen said tersely. "Umoja will give our support to you. But the prospect of heavy handed micromanagement from faraway officials still worries us."

"You need not be concerned about this," Dugalle said. "Earth is not so idle as to direct you so closely. Even our nearby colonies have some degree of autonomy."

"So you can be sure that we won't receive excessively specific orders that don't account for local context then?"

"That seems like an… unlikely scenario," Dugalle said, somewhat puzzled. "I for one would not compel those under my command to do something they are not capable of."

"So, what do you require from us?" Jorgensen asked. "To come such a long way here, you must have some agenda."

"It is simple," Dugalle said. "We will need you to mobilize your military and provide us with support in upcoming battles. You should do so with all appropriate haste."

"Of course, we will do our best to be ready," the minister replied.

"When will your forces be ready?" Dugalle asked.

"Ah, I think these specific technical questions can be handled by Mr. Hunt." Jorgensen gestured toward the other man.

He cleared his throat. "Mobilization is a complex and delicate process, one that must be taken with appropriate and deliberate care as to not give rise to any disturbances that may clog the wheels that drive the machine, leading to greater delays. In order to ensure such a process occurs without incident, thorough investigation and planning must take place and all factors must be determined and taken into consideration. We do of course plan to take the utmost care and diligence in performing our assigned tasks, as should be expected of us."

"Errors during the evaluative process could prove devastating downstream in dependent processes, so we cannot afford to act with any less than complete fastidiousness lest our inattention lead to dire consequences. We will move with all appropriate alacrity in setting up an interdepartmental committee to properly assess and evaluate the task at hand and to make sure that all relevant factors have been taken into consideration. Rest assured we will put our full effort toward this endeavor."

"And when will you finish?" Dugalle asked.

"We should have a timeline for the mobilization process ready within a month."

"Not that, when will your forces be ready?" Dugalle asked again.

"It would be unconscionable for me to report anything but the proper truth in a situation where the stakes are as high as this," Hunt replied. "Making a hasty judgment leads to overgeneralizations which can create a misleading impression that would be used as an input into critical decision making processes. No reasonable determination of the timeline can be made until a thorough examination of the facts at hand. Such a thing cannot be done haphazardly. Rome wasn't built in a day after all."

"Is all this truly necessary?" Dugalle's voice was beginning to show a hint of exasperation.

"Most certainly. I can describe the intricacies of our investigative framework and governmental processes in order to better clarify the situation at hand so that you can understand the necessity of such steps."

Dugalle let out a sigh. "There is no need. I still wish to speak with the various others here. Perhaps some of them would find more urgency in this situation."

"It would delight us if you did," Jorgensen said. "We have put much work into organizing this conference. Gathered here you can see many important figures mingling with prominent members of Umojan society." The minister gestured toward several people. "There we see several surviving members of the Confederacy's Old Families, which I believe were taken under your wing. They seem to be looking for ways to contribute in the current situation. We also have Kel-Morian representatives as well as ambassadors from the Dominion."

Dugalle nodded and began to walk around, mingling with the various politicians and businessmen gathered in the room, taking close note of the important ones as they exchanged pleasantries and carefully curated statements. Then, he came upon an individual who stood out from the crowd, engaged in a heated conversation that ended when he walked away. Unlike those around him, he was dressed rather plainly and seemed uncomfortable being in such an atmosphere.

Dugalle approached the man for a small chat. "You seem like you'd rather be anywhere but here. I know the feeling, this formal suit is not to my liking."

The man let out a chuckle. "Then you should have just worn whatever you wanted and tell anyone who doesn't like it to piss off."

Dugalle gave a slight smile. "I'm afraid I do not have the luxury of such actions. Too much is at stake in these dark times for me to disregard these parasites."

The other man nodded. "Well yeah, things are a real mess now. All thanks to that bastard Arcturus Mengsk. Pitched himself as the savior of humanity and then turns around and feeds a whole planet to the zerg. It's basically all his fault the sector is the way it is."

"Truly? I had heard rumors about it, but to think that he would undermine the common defense in such a manner is truly abhorrent," Dugalle said. "Though perhaps it isn't so surprising. That man always did seem to hold himself in excessively high regard."

"Well yeah, ol' Arcturus sure was a scumbag. And to top it all off he abandoned those who were loyal to him to be eaten by the zerg on Tarsonis, all for some petty grudge."

"Abandoning his men? That is beyond the pale for any leader," Dugalle said. "But are you sure he wasn't simply unable to save them?"

"I was there for it man," he said. "And the only reason they were down there in the first place was because Mengsk had the stupid idea to protect the zerg so they can kill more Confederates. After this happened I packed up and left, gave him the middle finger. Me and my boys went through a lot of adventures after that."

Suddenly, something in Dugalle's mind clicked. "You are Jim Raynor, aren't you?"

"Wow, am I famous now?" Raynor looked more closely at his conversation partner. "Who are you?"

"I am Gerard Dugalle, Admiral of the UED Expeditionary Force. I have heard of you, Mr. Raynor."

"And I know you." Raynor looked toward Dugalle with narrowed eyes. "So, wanna tell me what planet you'll send your zerg to hit next to save me the trouble of finding out?"

"We do no such thing," Dugalle said.

"Right." Raynor chuckled. "And I suppose all those zerg living next to your base on Char just happen to not see you guys?"

"The UED has no interest in peaceful coexistence with aliens of any kind," Dugalle said. "Any use of their technology or weapons systems is purely scientific and practical."

"And now you're sounding like a politician," Raynor said. "Let me give you a friendly word of advice. This isn't a war you can win. You should cut your losses and stop trying to rule the sector."

"What a curious belief," Dugalle said. "Given that we have done more than anyone else at ending the zerg threat. We have dealt the zerg many defeats. The renegades you harbor are the only ones left. And in time, we will deal with the protoss and it will be clear to all terrans that Earth shall protect them."

"Funny, claiming to protect us when everyone here wants you gone. If Arcturus is actually loyal to you I'd believe pigs can fly. The planets you conquered can't wait to get out. In time, you'll be thrown out. Even if you win, you'll have a hell of a time keeping your iron grip. The folks here aren't easily controlled."

Dugalle looked on with some contemplation. "It would seem that every government in this sector would struggle to maintain order."

"Well, the Confederacy was evil and incompetent," Raynor said. "Even without Mengsk that rotten house would have fallen over on its own. Mengsk took out some of the stupid but kept the evil. It's been a parade of men too full of themselves to care about the common people."

"And what is your vision of how the sector should be governed then, Mr. Raynor?" Dugalle asked.

"Let everyone manage themselves," Raynor said. "We'd have a loose alliance network to protect ourselves and deal with pirates, and everyone will be free to not take orders from some tinpot dictator."

"And what if different planets have disagreements? Who would be the judge?" Dugalle said. "Such an alliance would need a fleet. And a fleet would need a leader. You would elevate yourself to such a role. Your backing comes from your alien allies. Once they install your new regime, you will have come to power no different than Mengsk had, but now even more beholden to them. You would be the puppet of aliens which incinerated many terran worlds."

Raynor was taken aback for a few moments. "The protoss are good folks, I know they are," he said. "They purified those worlds to stop the zerg. If they didn't the planets would have been overrun anyways and the zerg would be stronger. We're all on the same side. We worked together to kill the Overmind."

"You worked together when you had a common enemy and they were on the brink of extinction," Dugalle said. "When the protoss were in a position of power, they displayed reckless disregard for human life and made no effort to communicate with the terran governments about the threat of the zerg. Even now, they have shown during their attack on Braxis that they care not for terran sovereignty."

"That's a bit rich, considering they attacked Braxis when you were invading it yourself," Raynor said. "Besides, they were just retrieving something that belonged to them in order to use against the zerg attacking their home."

Raynor paused, realizing he may have said too much and Dugalle made a mental note of this mention of a protoss weapon against the zerg.

"So, how can you guarantee that the protoss will not return to their old ways once they have recovered?" Dugalle asked.

"I fought alongside them," Raynor said. "I know what kind of folks they are. They won't do something like that. I trust them."

"Just as you trusted Arcturus Mengsk?" Dugalle had a slight smirk on his face. "It would seem that your ability to judge character may be compromised."

"I wouldn't be throwing stones if I were you," Raynor said. "You've been talking to the Umojans. You should know that when they say they'll support you, what they mean is that they'll pick the winning side once the battle is already won and then demand a really big piece of the pie. Then they'll sell out the winner and start funding a revolution against them. It happened with the Confederacy and it happened with Mengsk. Might want to look beyond your time table Admiral. You're on their schedule."

Now it was Dugalle's turn to pause for a few seconds as he thought it. "Be that as it may, at least the Umojans are terrans. Your recklessness in placing humanity's fate in the hands of the aliens is most irresponsible," Dugalle said. "Will you not consider turning from this path and returning to serve humanity?"

"That's not going to happen Admiral, unless you can say that you will stop trying to subjugate this sector, and go home instead."

"Then it would seem that we have nothing more to talk about," Dugalle said.

After Raynor walked off, Dugalle stood impassively as he thought through what was just said, Raynor's words weighing on him. Then, another man approached.

"Ah, Admiral Dugalle, it is good to meet with you at last. It seems that your little conversation with Raynor didn't go so well."

"And you are?" A bit of exasperation leaked into Dugalle's voice.

"Abraham Kachinsky, one of the guildmasters of the Kel-Morian Combine," he said. "And I have a little business proposition for you that I think you'll be interested in."

"Oh? What might that be?" Dugalle replied.

"Raynor rejected my most generous offer to cooperate to mine some rare crystals from Aiur. Apparently he doesn't even have enough influence with his protoss friends to let them bend the rules a bit for us to do a bit of mining. But perhaps you would be amenable to a mutually profitable relationship."

"What did you have in mind?" Dugalle asked.

"We can provide some military support to fight your enemies and in exchange you let us have exclusive mining rights to those special crystals," Kachinsky said.

"The UED is interested in those crystals too for research purposes," Dugalle said.

"I'm sure we'll be able to share the cut," Kachinsky said.

Dugalle nodded. "I shall have my analysts work out a suitable arrangement. I trust that you will operate in good faith."

Kachinsky held out his hand for a shake. "I am pleased to hear that."

Dugalle was relieved to finally return to the Aleksander after the conclusion of the conference.

"Rough time, Admiral?"

"I wish to never deal with this again, Mr. Malmsteen," Dugalle replied. "A most disgusting nest of parasites is rivaled only by Earth's ruling council. Politics will be the death of me some day."

"Were you able to get anything out of it at least?"

"The Kel-Morians are simple creatures, motivated by profit. They are willing to provide support, though their reliability is suspect. Though compared to the Umojans they might as well be paragons of fidelity. The Umojans offer nothing but words and promises, making every excuse to delay. Humanity is not unfamiliar with people like these. La perfide Albion, will we never be rid of this?"

Dugalle sighed. "Anyways, take us back to Char. I must speak with Alexei regarding our next moves. I see now that we must move swiftly lest the enemies arrayed against us grow any stronger."