*knock knock knock*
"Commander?" asked Mei, from the other side of the door. I was in Lodos' commander's quarters, getting ready to depart for permanent settlement on Makemake. Since the Republic was now in control of some celestial body, the flagship of the fleet no longer had to act like a government office.
"Yes?" I replied to her.
"The shuttle is almost ready. Are you coming?"
"Just one minute..."
After getting everything I need, I just had to switch to a civilian suit instead of a navy officer uniform.
"There." I opened the door. "Let's get to the shuttle."
"Trying to look sharp, huh?"
The shuttle, with a short flight, got us down to the underground city, where people were already gathering for the important speech. Of course there was no way to get all citizens at the same place at once, but since the population wasn't so high, a good percentage of all people were there. For the rest, the speech would be broadcasted.
On the landing pad, some Republic marines were waiting for us. The shuttle's hatch opened, and the marines saluted me and the admiral as we walked out. From there, a five minute walk brought us to the backstage.
"Finally, you are here." said our Minister of Science, Technology and Development.
"Not now, prof." I said.
"Are you ready?" asked the admiral.
"I think so."
"Okay. Go now, no pressure."
I went on the stage inside the biggest open area of the city - which wasn't very large, since we were underground. Some people started clapping, some started waving Republic flags. In addition, there were some Confederation flags and The Order of Salvation insignias as well.
After the clapping ended, some booing began. Then yet again, other people started clapping again to mask those other people, entering an infinite loop. I had to fake a cough a few times until the noise stopped.
"This... is a turning point in the history of humanity." I started talking. "Every single choice, no matter how seemingly unimportant they are... will change the future at large scales."
The crowd was completely silent now.
"Let's be honest with ourselves, there are not many of us left. From being a multi-planetary species numbering tens of billions at the time, we are now at a point in which we are taking refuge on the outer edge of our Solar System, barely finding millions in population counts. We left our homeland, our birthplace; and we are running low on pretty much every resource. Our defenses are weak, our workers exhausted, our machines are broken, our technology is lost... And, as if this was not enough, we have recently been shaken by a small scale civil conflict - a political power struggle."
The booing began again, but this time, it only lasted several seconds.
"This little conflict not only cost us half a warship and half a space station, but it also halted the construction of our interstellar colony ship, which we consider to be one of our final hopes to save mankind, should we fail retaking Earth."
Some chatter started among people. They were confused, or shocked... Perhaps The Council hadn't mentioned anything about the project to their people.
"Now, as a republic, our ideology differs a lot from that of the Core Council. Up until know, a small portion of you believed them to be sacred leaders, and most of you, despite not believing in their prophecies, decided to play along. And despite being their opposites, I will admit that they did a few things right as a government; they kept the population in order and prevented chaos, and they managed to keep the production running in order to support the population and the defense forces."
That last sentence received a mixed reaction from the crowd.
"I have to urge you not to forget what we are up against; the war is still going on, furiously. Our ships are still hitting the enemy, and are being hit back. So, if we are to return to the beautiful plains, mountains, rivers and oceans of Earth... If we are to return to the wonderful canyons and dunes of Mars one day, we have to keep doing what we did for the last year - farms, factories, mines, workshops, refineries, logistics; they all have to run at their maximum."
People started looking at each other.
"We know very well that people are sick of the-"
BAM! BAM!
A small force on my right shoulder pushed me back, and I let myself drop backwards on the stage. Someone in the crowd had fired a gun. People started screaming and running around. Mei ran from the backstage and came on top of me to become a shield.
"It is okay, I'm-"
Suddenly, I heard a semi-machine gun. This was definitely from one of our marines, who were acting as guards right now.
"Mei, it is alright, get off me!" I said.
"You are bleeding! Medic!"
Mei and a marine lifted me up and started carrying me away from the scene. Just then, as the adrenaline dropped, the wound started to hurt more.
I took a glimpse towards the area. I could see a few people lying dead on the ground, where the crowd was listening to me. Marines were walking around, looking for something.
I was half conscious for the rest of the journey to the hospital.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"If he aimed just one degree more to his right, you would be a goner." a doctor told me there. This was the first thing I heard after the operation. "You have a few broken bones, so I locked your shoulder in place. I know it is a bit uncomfortable, but this is what we can do here." he said, and then whispered. "And as a Republic supporter, Mr. President, maybe consider making your speech via the broadcast service next time..."
"I guess..." I murmured.
"Now, if you excuse me, I have other patients to take care of." said the doctor and walked out of the room.
"Are you feeling well?" asked Mei.
"You are still here?" I asked her. "Get back to the ship. The fleet needs a commander."
"Actually, I was about to." she said. "I just wanted to see you after the operation."
"Well..." I said. "That was some adventure today."
"Indeed it was." Mei said.
"You have your orders, admiral."