Chapter 127. Permit (1/2)
The Bright Republic governed a suburban planet like Cloudy Curtain with a light touch. The planet lacked any form of large-scale industry and their system had no asteroids worth mining. In such a dirtball of a planet, the Republic generally took a hands off approach. As long as nobody entertained traitors, foreigners or aliens, the government could care less what you did.
That was the theory at least. Ves stormed past the construction site and entered his workshop with stomping steps.
His visit to Freslin's city hall accomplished nothing. With a little digging, he found out the Director of Planning handled the city's permit applications. Ves wanted to meet with Director Balcai, but after an hour of fruitless arguing he couldn't even get past the secretary!
”I don't need this problem.” Ves muttered as he sank down on his couch. A sated-looking Lucky sauntered over to his lap and sank down in a cute little slump. Ves absently stroked the cat's smooth bronze-colored back. ”If you were facing a stuffy director, what would you do?”
Lucky merely continued to swish his tail in utter bliss.
”Okay, I get it. You're too lazy to address the problem.”
Sadly for Ves, he couldn't bury his head in the sand. If he let Director Barker have his way, who knew if he came the next morning with a notice that forbid commercial activity? He had to draw a line in the sand.
”I can't do anything alone, but I've got friends who can help.”
He came up with three different parties who might lend a hand.
First, he could contact Horatio for assistance. The current situation reeked of Coalition influence. If he involved Master Olson's faction early, the other party might back off.
The only problem with this option was that he might be calling in the big guns to address a trivial issue. Horatio might lend a hand anyway, but then Ves cemented his reputation as a useless designer who couldn't take care of his own messes.
”Best leave Horatio as a final option. My current situation hasn't gone so far to warrant his intervention.”
Next, he could turn to the Larkinsons. His uncle Ark commanded a lot of respect in the Mech Corps while his grandfather Benjamin worked in the Ministry of Defense. Both of them wielded a substantial amount of influence in the military affairs of the Bright Republic.
These connections also became a shackle to the family. Ves knew that his family members always tried to stay away from overt politicking. They might have strong opinions when it came to the disposition of the Mech Corps, but outside of that they kept their mouth shut.
If Ves called in his family, he might inadvertently throw them into a political minefield. ”I'm sure they can help, but I'm not sure whether my opponents already prepared a nasty surprise for us.”
That left Walter's Whalers. The local mercenary gang recently returned to Cloudy Curtain in a triumphant mood. Mr. Walter himself led the expedition himself and salvaged every nut and bolt from the abandoned base that Ves and Dietrich stumbled upon. The Whalers beat off several curious mercenary corps who wanted in on the action.
The Whalers returned home a little battered but with very few casualties. All of the scrap had already been sold to a few interested parties from Bentheim. Mr. Walter currently sat on a mountain of credits worth roughly half a billion credits.
As the person responsible for making their enormous haul possible, Ves could easily ask a favor from Dietrich and the Whalers. As the locals, the Whalers were best suited to liaise with the local government. That was if Ves ignored the contentious relationship between the two. The Whalers also had a tendency to act unbridled and without tact.
”They might even punch the living daylights out of Director Balcai!”
None of these options sounded good. Ves belatedly realized that if he wanted to grow his business, he had to secure his political flank. If he continued to ignore the bureaucrats and politicians in charge of administering the planet, his company remained vulnerable to their predations.
”I need a political advisor.”
Ves never really paid much attention to the local politics. Cloudy Curtain always seemed to be governed by the same set of parties. The coalitions that ruled the local city councils and the planetary government changed every few years.
He didn't have much more of an understanding than that, so he rather wanted to dump this mess into someone else's lap. Ves knew his limitations.
Since he had to solve this problem quickly, Ves did not bother posting his job offer on the galactic net. Instead, he first studied the affiliations of Freslin's City Council.
”Looks simple enough.” Ves remarked as he read through the brief biographies of the mayor and the directors. ”Mayor Davidovich is a member of the White Doves while Director Balcai represents the Greens.”
The White Doves advocate for keeping Cloudy Curtain as boring and static as possible. They drew most of their support from elderly migrants from Bentheim who hated the hustle and bustle of the busy port system.
The Greens on the other hand formed a core interest group of the deeply rooted locals. They wanted to preserve the unique and tranquil environment of Cloudy Curtain and detested any form of heavy development.
Of all the groups who could stand up to them, Ves favored the Pioneers. They advocated for a prosperous and well-developed Cloudy Curtain where everyone's living standards reached the level of the Republic's upper-tier planets.
The Pioneers also fought a generations-long battle against the stodgy two parties who wanted to keep Cloudy Curtain impoverished. Despite their support for growth, they primarily stood up for the poorest who still lived in crumbling apartments and second-hand shuttles converted to mobile homes.
As a backwater, Cloudy Curtain lacked the economic development to ensure everyone enjoyed the services they were entitled to. The only reason why the Pioneers hadn't taken control of the government was that the Greens and the White Doves enjoyed entrenched support from the wealthiest segment of the population.
It all sounded stupid to him. He only gathered enough information to know that he had to find someone who could help him establish a relationship with the Pioneers. Fortunately, as a local, Ves was familiar with the local hangouts. He knew just the place to go.
The Heritage Cafe pretended to bring a slice of Rittersberg to downtown Freslin. Placed conveniently next to Freslin University's campus, they drew a regular crowd of up-and-coming youths who dreamed of making it big.
When Ves opened the old-fashioned wooden door and walked inside, half of the patrons turned to look at him. Despite his common-looking face, his business suit gave off an aura of understated elegance. He specifically configured his antigrav clothes to come across as a young but successful entrepreneur.
He looked around but couldn't spot any obvious member of the Pioneers. Shrugging, Ves took a seat next to the window and ordered a cup of locally cultivated coffee.