Aurora Execution

Part 6

''Damn it! Why do these people still push us around all the time even we have cultivated such abilities since we were young? It's so unfair. If we don't obey, do they dare to go to the army to deal with us? Go ahead if they have the guts since it can't scare us! Did they forget we are the ones that could be capable of destroying the planet? And this older man, who looks kind-hearted but unexpectedly, is also cunning. I can't believe he drew up this treaty to trap us. Why can't we just kidnap him and let his family pay ransom in exchange for hostages or something!" 

 ''You could just lash out for a bit,that's totally fine. But keep in mind that even while we might destroy the Earth, they also understand that if we do so, we will also ruin ourselves. The sanctuary cannot live apart from the outside world, no matter how powerful it is. and there wouldn't be great empires overthrown by tiny nations if everything could be controlled just by force since every breakdown begins on the inside. However, we can utilize the points you raised previously as negotiating chips in our deals with them."  

"Well, I'm just a rough guy and don't know much as you do. So what do we do next to deal with this guy anyway?" 

"I'll say that I'd turn him down first. We should remain strong, even arrogant, without compromise as long as our bargaining chip is more potent than the other party's, even if the price and reward we pay are equal. The negotiating table is like another battlefield where you must stop the other party from providing vague concepts on core issues because giving the ones who puts pressure on us a friendly, polite rejection could send them a wrong signal that leaves them something to the imagination. Moreover, giving them more will encourage them to push their luck and keep adding chips, leading to more extraneous issues and later consumption. But I always trust the grand master on this point; he has always been the one who is least afraid of playing the heavy when facing these gentlemen smiling at us while hiding daggers. "

"So, what if we no longer rely on the United Nations or taxes from whatever organizations? Does it mean we have fewer responsibilities to protect humankind?"

''Theoretically speaking, you're correct, but practically, it won't be fewer because we still have to do the same amount of duties; why would Athena keep us knights around if humanity is extinct anyway? Although we are powerless to change the global course of events."  

"What about the Soviet Union? You've been there long, so you must be familiar with it, aren't you? Can't they at least cut these group of people down to size at some point?"

"No, they cannot because the Soviet Communist Party's top leaders betrayed their workers and peasants long ago; those are just nouveau riches who crawled out of the mud and thought they could become privileged classes after a few decades of life without hunger have long forgotten the pioneers who sacrificed for the lives they live today, we shouldn't have any expectations for them. "

Camus thought of his close friend and respected elder, Alexander Nikolayevich Shelepin, and can't help but feel overwhelmed with grief. "Today's human beings do not deserve communism." 

"Then...what should we do next?"

"As I said earlier, using our lethality as a negotiating chip is the way to deal with them. We may not blow up the earth, but we could endanger the energy transportation networks of any sovereign country. As for our money issues, no matter how bad the financial situation is, I can still barely sustain it in the long run as long as I'm in charge of the investment strategy since there will be nothing new or unique about modern economic laws. But our biggest challenge right now is subsiding the public outrages of some locals and their families working for the Sanctuary generations. I heard that women and children started joining the crowd to protest the cutbacks in funding and jobs. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is. "Shura answered with a sad brow: "And some of them have begun to stand at the forefront of the demonstrations; regardless of who might start bloody conflicts initially sooner or later, we will always be the ones who are acting unrighteous, even if they have been promised their future source of income and the comfort money has been distributed, but it never seems to satisfy everyone. I suspect some of these may be initiated by an outside party..."

"Without a doubt, this will happen. maybe I should do my best to clarify and persuade them. After all, I was the one who drafted the policies and made these decisions. They should only be angry with me."  

"Looks like it's not needed anymore. I haven't had a chance to update you on something yet."

"What's that?" 

"The... Knights of Cancer have just implemented the grand master's order to suppress rebellions around Sanctuary and have already wiped out the most tenacious protesters..."

"What? You mean that including the women and children who took the lead?"

"... Yes. He sent them away quietly without a trace of bloodshed by using the Cancer Knight's attack."

Camus fell into a prolonged silence before slowly responding: "

"Okay, I understand. Thanks for telling me that..." 

Camus knew there would be no going back on this long road.