Planning for the future, Part 4
Marcus considered his options. He’d already decided that he was staying in New Carthage. Unfortunately, that raised a very pertinent question: what would Marcus - and, for that matter, everybody else who decided to stay on this planet - do? Nova Romans weren’t a submissive people, by any means.
Marcus sighed. Even if he was fine with living under the rule of a people that wasn’t Nova Roman - and he wasn’t - the vast majority of the Nova Roman refugees would want independence at the least. Far more likely, they’d want a place from which to rebuild the Empire - preferably without as much decadence.
Marcus had only one question about that - how? How would the Nova Roman refugees be able to escape from the control - indirect control, of course, but still control - of the New Carthaginian government. They’d basically already agreed that they would recognize New Carthaginian authority during the meeting with the New Carthaginian diplomats. Wait. Hmm, that could work. He’d want a second opinion on it, of course, as he didn’t fully trust his own judgement - it hadn’t failed him yet, but sound judgement abandoned all men eventually.
Marcus was unhappy with the situation that fate had put on him. Fate was fickle - everything she gave, she took away eventually. Marcus knew that Jack had accepted his fate, but Marcus didn’t particularly want to follow his own fate. Marcus didn’t wish to lead at all - he was only Jack’s second-in-command because he had seen the truth of what Jack had said - and Jack had spoken the truth.
Unfortunately, the fact that Jack wasn’t staying on New Carthage meant that the Nova Roman refugees that did stay here would likely look to Marcus to lead them. Marcus sighed. What fate - what the Ancients - had decided was final. He couldn’t fight fate - he shouldn’t even try. And yet, as Marcus thought about the responsibility that he would soon have, he shuddered. He didn’t like his fate, although he had an idea as to what it was.
Many men would have been happy at knowing what their fate might be. Marcus wasn’t, by any means. Knowing his fate did not mean that he could change it, after all. Marcus knew that better than most beings did- Jack wasn’t able to prevent the fall of the Nova Roman Empire despite knowing that it would happen.
Marcus was going to gain control of the Nova Roman refugees on New Carthage no matter what happened. Well, it looked like he was going to need to find out what New Carthaginian politics were like. The problem with that was that Marcus had absolutely no relevant prior knowledge of New Carthage. He had been there before, of course. That had been a casual vacation, though, so he still knew next to nothing about the actual ways of New Carthage. The question was” how was he going to learn about the New Carthaginians? Yes, he was on their planet, but the area wasn’t even really under New Carthaginian rule.
Marcus sighed. He still didn’t get why the New Carthaginians had given up so much land so easily, but he wasn’t going to complain. Still, he knew that Jack was suspicious of their kindness. Truth be told, so was he, but he wasn’t about to make that fact known. He would need to get involved in New Carthaginian politics soon, as many of his fellow refugees that had decided to stay would. Nova Romans were a proud people, although they were far from vain.
Of course, if the New Carthaginians disliked how they were going about things, then that would become very problematic. He knew that the Nova Romans would fight if they had to, but they much preferred intrigue. Perhaps that was part of the reason that the once mighty Nova Roman Empire had fallen - it had already begun in decline before the Great Nova Roman War, and Marcus knew that - and he knew that Jack knew it, as well.
Marcus sighed. He might as well get figure out where he was living, since he was staying. Where could he find information about the New Carthaginian government?
First, though, he needed to talk to Jack. Hopefully, Jack had some advice for him.
Jack frowned. His scouting plane hadn’t finished its mission yet, but he couldn’t afford to wait until it did. He needed to ensure that New Sidon was a safe place to settle in, but, once that was done - and once he had refueled the fleet, of course - he would leave. New Carthage already had a relatively stable government. It wouldn’t be a suitable place to settle for most of the Nova Roman fleet.
Jack was brought out of his thoughts when Marcus entered the room. He was staying at a relatively large villa. This villa wasn’t overly ostentatious, but it was clearly larger than the other small villas that were popping up around town. That marked Jack’s status as the leader of the refugee fleet. Obviously, Jack wasn’t going to be staying on New Carthage, but he figured having a visible symbol of his leadership wasn’t that bad. Truth be told, the actual refugees had pretty much insisted that it exist, despite his protests. He figured that whoever took over the Nova Roman area of New Carthage - probably Marcus - would inherit the villa. Speaking of which…
“What do we do now?” Marcus asked. “I mean the fleet will have to eventually leave this planet, and then the settlers here will be left on their own, but what do we do before that moment?”
Jack blinked. That was… actually a good question. What was their next step?
He had to think that for a few minutes, but he did come up with a plan. The small fort would continue to be built into a great city, but its sole purpose would no longer just be refueling the fleet’s ships. Building a city as a refueling center would be extremely wasteful.
No, the people who wanted to stay in New Sidon would build the refueling center. Once it was built, it would be used to refuel, and then those who wanted to stay would live there. It would become the capital of the Nova Roman refugees in New Carthage. He quickly told Jack all of this.
“Good point,” Marcus replied. “But what do we do before then?”
Marcus sighed. Even if he was fine with living under the rule of a people that wasn’t Nova Roman - and he wasn’t - the vast majority of the Nova Roman refugees would want independence at the least. Far more likely, they’d want a place from which to rebuild the Empire - preferably without as much decadence.
Marcus had only one question about that - how? How would the Nova Roman refugees be able to escape from the control - indirect control, of course, but still control - of the New Carthaginian government. They’d basically already agreed that they would recognize New Carthaginian authority during the meeting with the New Carthaginian diplomats. Wait. Hmm, that could work. He’d want a second opinion on it, of course, as he didn’t fully trust his own judgement - it hadn’t failed him yet, but sound judgement abandoned all men eventually.
Marcus was unhappy with the situation that fate had put on him. Fate was fickle - everything she gave, she took away eventually. Marcus knew that Jack had accepted his fate, but Marcus didn’t particularly want to follow his own fate. Marcus didn’t wish to lead at all - he was only Jack’s second-in-command because he had seen the truth of what Jack had said - and Jack had spoken the truth.
Unfortunately, the fact that Jack wasn’t staying on New Carthage meant that the Nova Roman refugees that did stay here would likely look to Marcus to lead them. Marcus sighed. What fate - what the Ancients - had decided was final. He couldn’t fight fate - he shouldn’t even try. And yet, as Marcus thought about the responsibility that he would soon have, he shuddered. He didn’t like his fate, although he had an idea as to what it was.
Many men would have been happy at knowing what their fate might be. Marcus wasn’t, by any means. Knowing his fate did not mean that he could change it, after all. Marcus knew that better than most beings did- Jack wasn’t able to prevent the fall of the Nova Roman Empire despite knowing that it would happen.
Marcus was going to gain control of the Nova Roman refugees on New Carthage no matter what happened. Well, it looked like he was going to need to find out what New Carthaginian politics were like. The problem with that was that Marcus had absolutely no relevant prior knowledge of New Carthage. He had been there before, of course. That had been a casual vacation, though, so he still knew next to nothing about the actual ways of New Carthage. The question was” how was he going to learn about the New Carthaginians? Yes, he was on their planet, but the area wasn’t even really under New Carthaginian rule.
Marcus sighed. He still didn’t get why the New Carthaginians had given up so much land so easily, but he wasn’t going to complain. Still, he knew that Jack was suspicious of their kindness. Truth be told, so was he, but he wasn’t about to make that fact known. He would need to get involved in New Carthaginian politics soon, as many of his fellow refugees that had decided to stay would. Nova Romans were a proud people, although they were far from vain.
Of course, if the New Carthaginians disliked how they were going about things, then that would become very problematic. He knew that the Nova Romans would fight if they had to, but they much preferred intrigue. Perhaps that was part of the reason that the once mighty Nova Roman Empire had fallen - it had already begun in decline before the Great Nova Roman War, and Marcus knew that - and he knew that Jack knew it, as well.
Marcus sighed. He might as well get figure out where he was living, since he was staying. Where could he find information about the New Carthaginian government?
First, though, he needed to talk to Jack. Hopefully, Jack had some advice for him.
Jack frowned. His scouting plane hadn’t finished its mission yet, but he couldn’t afford to wait until it did. He needed to ensure that New Sidon was a safe place to settle in, but, once that was done - and once he had refueled the fleet, of course - he would leave. New Carthage already had a relatively stable government. It wouldn’t be a suitable place to settle for most of the Nova Roman fleet.
Jack was brought out of his thoughts when Marcus entered the room. He was staying at a relatively large villa. This villa wasn’t overly ostentatious, but it was clearly larger than the other small villas that were popping up around town. That marked Jack’s status as the leader of the refugee fleet. Obviously, Jack wasn’t going to be staying on New Carthage, but he figured having a visible symbol of his leadership wasn’t that bad. Truth be told, the actual refugees had pretty much insisted that it exist, despite his protests. He figured that whoever took over the Nova Roman area of New Carthage - probably Marcus - would inherit the villa. Speaking of which…
“What do we do now?” Marcus asked. “I mean the fleet will have to eventually leave this planet, and then the settlers here will be left on their own, but what do we do before that moment?”
Jack blinked. That was… actually a good question. What was their next step?
He had to think that for a few minutes, but he did come up with a plan. The small fort would continue to be built into a great city, but its sole purpose would no longer just be refueling the fleet’s ships. Building a city as a refueling center would be extremely wasteful.
No, the people who wanted to stay in New Sidon would build the refueling center. Once it was built, it would be used to refuel, and then those who wanted to stay would live there. It would become the capital of the Nova Roman refugees in New Carthage. He quickly told Jack all of this.
“Good point,” Marcus replied. “But what do we do before then?”
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