[Politics] Terminus Colony Disconcerted Over Alliance Presence

Terminus Colony Disconcerted Over Alliance Presence

Richard Seong, Attican Outlook

At a glance, there’s nothing remarkable about the colony of Inspiration, a quiet planet on the lip of the Traverse. Cold nights and colder winters are hallmarks of its’ long year, and the harvest seasons are just as unforgiving. But for its’ colonists, a little over one thousand miners surrounding the community of Tenacity, it’s home. And for the Alliance, it’s the site of an uncovered Prothean ruin that could span for kilometers under its surface.

“We’ve only had the opportunity for some basic survey, but if what our instruments are suggesting is true, we could be in these caves for years,” said Dr. Rainn Oliver, head of the team of Alliance scientists sent to explore the ruins. “The potential of this find is extraordinary.”

There’s only one problem: the colonists don’t want them there.

Inspiration has its’ roots in bands of wildcat miners who’d settled it in hopes of exploiting the rich, easily accessible iridium deposits. Most of them were unwilling to share with the Alliance, whom they saw as untrustworthy and disinterested in their livelihoods; this attitude would be shared by a majority of the colony as the community around the mines grew. Still, this didn’t keep them from gladly accepting Alliance aid when the Reapers arrived.

Elation quickly turned to resentment when they realized that the Alliance military presence wasn’t getting ready to pack up. The fighting would uncover subterranean Prothean ruins, left untouched since the species was wiped out by the Reapers fifty thousand years ago.

“They’re wrong to fear the Alliance,” said local garrison commander Colonel Ahmed Khan in a short interview with Outlook. “I don’t think [the colonists] understand the complexity of this situation, or how big a favour we’re doing for them. The moment we pull out, every pirate, raider, and Terminus state this side of the Traverse are going to be scrambling to get their hands on these ruins. They’ll be eviscerated.”

Despite this, it’s clear that many of the colonists see that as little more than empty words. “It’s not protection, it’s occupation,” declared a local dock worker, who asked to remain anonymous. “We built this colony because we didn’t want to live under the Alliance. And now they’re marching in here with their guns and their earthmovers and they tell us it’s for our own good. It’s degrading.”

Those closer to Inspiration’s chief livelihood expressed similar concerns and more - many are worried for their livelihoods. “They keep telling us about potential this, and potential that, but I’m not sure why they expect us to care,” complained Bryson Alvarez, one of Tenacity’s head miners. “They dress it up with big talk over our future and ‘progress’, yet they’re sitting on our mines and our iridium and they won’t let us near half of it. The fact of the matter is this: we never asked the Alliance to stay here, and we ain’t an Alliance colony. They got no right be here.”

The initial Alliance survey should finish within the next three months, where a much larger excavation mission is expected to follow.

Okay, this is shrelling stupid. Like, really stupid.

First: A colony like this probably isn't going to have access to that kind of weaponry. They are a mining colony and not a shrelling military force. That is one of the reasons the Alliance is occupying them in the first place.

Second, these ruins are everywhere and most are underground. Detonating anything of that caliber underneath the ground could trigger a faultline and cause untold destruction across the entire planet. Not to mention the fallout and radiation that is harmful to most life that isn't a stupid as shit krogan that thinks nuking their own planet (which didn't work out that well for them did it?) is a valid strategy.

Well then I give up, the colony is fucked.

From SA versus colonies to nuking your own basement. Classic.

The Alliance is not a pick 'n' mix display: you don't get to enjoy their protection while excluding their oversight. If they accepted Alliance protection - even in extreme circumstances - then they cannot protest when the Alliance expects something in return. That's akin to using a public fire service and then complaining about having to pay taxes.

Do I honestly have to address how God damn retarded it is to claim that the Systems Alliance is a foreign power?

Is Hackett secretly a turian or something?

Here's a quick question: where do humans come from?

I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "Earth, you cretins".

I cannot fathom hearing this bullshit argument one further time. New colonies are not demographically self-sufficient. New colonies, and especially those in remote reaches such as the Terminus, tend to be predominantly young and male. Ergo, population growth is either pitiful or non-existent. Without Earth churning out hundreds of thousands of babies every day, those colonies cannot prosper. They are reliant on emigration from the homeworld - the same homeworld that they pretend is unimportant to them. So unless they want to see their colonies dwindle into nothing, then yes, Earth's recovery is essential to their survival.

Not mentioning, of course, that Earth is the home of the Systems Alliance, which is the sole reason why these colonies exist in the first place to bitch about how independent they are from Earth. It was the Alliance that pioneered the space-faring technology that enabled extraterrestrial emigration. It is the Alliance that continues to safeguard those colonies. And for all its faults, QRF at least means that any roving raiders have to deal with an Alliance destroyer. You think the security of human colonies is tenuous now? Enjoy having the only thing standing between a horde of slavers and your grandmother's dignity be a militia of barely-trained inebriates armed with slingshots and self-righteousness.

That is the most retarded argument I ever heard. To use your example. No it is not akin to using public fire service and complaining about paying taxes. This is akin to another city's fire service running over and putting out a fire in your city without being asked, and then the city which owns the fire service expecting you to pay for the not only the fire service but literally everything else to do with their city as well. Oh and also the city which owns the fire service? They're also going to sit people where you work so that you can't work and expect you to contribute everything you produce to rebuilding their houses. Without pay.

So yeah, your argument is both simplistic and utterly wrong.

Big fucking deal. I was born on Ur. I have literally never seen Earth in my life. Guess how many fucks I give about a place I have never seen, never will see, and have no connection to beyond the fact that my grandparents happened to be born there?

Wait. New colonies are predominantly young and male? Where in the everloving fuck did you get this bullshit? I'm going to guess you pulled it straight from your ass. Colonies do not grow rapidly without immigrants. But that's mainly because you know... humans don't tend to reproduce until they're at least eighteen bloody years old. Your argument is again simplistic and wrong.

This Terminus colony was founded to get away from the Alliance. So I suppose you could say the Alliance is the reason it exists, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement. Further the Alliance rarely safeguards its own colonies let alone wildcat Terminus colonies. You seem to be forgetting that Alliance military policy is; get there ASAP we'll probably miss the raiders but hey we can get revenge later.

Except this is a terminus colony, so...not really. An alliance QRF force is going to have to either slowboat in from their territory (Not a great proposition) or go through various Terminus Powers' space to get there, either way is either a diplomatic clusterfuck, an enormous delay or, most likely, both.

Except this is space, not the ground. Space that is dictated by Relays. Borders don't work that way.

The Alliance could probably be there in less than a day. Maybe a little longer if the fleet needs to make more than one relay jump.

It needs to make a relay jump into the terminus then FTL through the terminus, since its only other option is to FTL from its territory (The closest system of which is fucking Exodus) which could take weeks. The article itself notes that the colony is in the Terminus, which means it's behind a Terminus Relay.

And, well, 'a day' is too late to save anyone at the colony.

Now, I'm not gonna jump in about the Terminus colony, because I'm not sure what to think. Though out of all the options, the SA is definitely the best choice-least the Alliance tends to follow its own laws.

But I'm gonna say something here.

I'm kind of sick of the colonists going 'SA=Earth' and both going 'SA=FOREIGN GOVERNMENT!1!' because both are bloody wrong. I might be a Terran, but I am an individual within a really big fucking organisation. As a whole, the Alliance is not Earth. There are colonists and Earthers in the SAMC and SAN. Before Arcturus got blown to hell, the colonies has disporportionate representation in the parliament and the majority of Alliance funds went into the colonies. Historically the colonies have benefited most from the Systems Alliance.

As for the foreign government thing that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard and that is saying something. If you (Saoirse) cannot see that, I have severe concerns for your mental health.

Now as for your little 'fuck Earth' spiel, you should care. Not because it's the 'cradle of humanity' or whatever, but because ninety-five percent of the human species lives on that planet. They are your people and you should care about them because the galaxy will be a emptier place without them. Right now, more people are dying on Earth every day than live on your planet.

And you can blame us for leaving (and trust me, you wouldn't have stood a chance if the Reapers had really wanted you all dead), you can blame us for taking your resources, you can blame us for not caring as much about you as the billions on Earth and for working with pirates. I can point out that it was an extinction event all I like and I doubt it'll make a difference to you.

But for fuck's sake people, stop making this about 'Earth versus the colonies'. Earth is wrecked and it has the majority of the human population, so guess what, we're fixing it first. The Alliance does give a fuck about it's colonies but there's the small problem of a hundred ruined planets and no fucking money

Your resources are saving lives. They're rebuilding shelters and infrastructure and hospitals, helping turn the lights back on so the gangs don't have control when night falls. They're making Earth a safer, gentler place. And it might not be your world, but it's helping as many people as possible, and that should be worth something.

Spirits, if there's one thing Alliance and separatist furheads have in common, you both love to indulge in your own self-righteousness. Seriously, there's seppers on Gothis I know that don't have near the pole stuck up their asses as you lot.

Right now to us? SA does equal Earth. Because Earth is all the SA cares about. Hundreds of thousands of people die on Earth every day. And? Hundreds of thousands of people have been dying on Earth daily for the past two hundred years.

Great. Wonderful. Our resources are saving lives. That's nice and noble. Nobility isn't keeping us warm or rebuilding our destroyed houses though. It's worth something. Just something a good deal less than having a decent heater and a roof over our heads. It's a hell of a lot harder to care about people I've never seen and probably never will when people I've grown up with for years die every day of exposure. Say I'm a bitch all you like, it's the truth, and most people who say they'd be different under the same circumstances are either clueless or lying through their teeth.

Also I would invite you to go read just about any argument about turian separatism on the old forums. I've bothered to go back and listen to some of the logs. Neither side of the argument came out looking any prettier than we are right now.

Unless I'm mistaken, Inspiration is found within the Pangaea Expanse; to get there, the Alliance would need to go Exodus -> Horsehead -> Ninmah -> Pangaea, which would involve negotiating access rights with both the NDC and the Rachni. Neither group is particularly thrilled when Council members send warships through their territory. I suppose the C-Space task force at Ilos could be called on for aide, but I somehow doubt it.

...Oh, my, the poor bastards on Insp are fucked.

Yeah, j_proctor, you do need to break it down, considering you are absolutely and completely wrong about this.

Let me break it down for you:

Foreign:

1. Located away from one's native country: on business in a foreign city.
2. Of, characteristic of, or from a place or country other than the one being considered: a foreign custom.
3. Conducted or involved with other nations or governments; not domestic: foreign trade.

The Systems Alliance has never been in charge of Earth or her constitue countries. And, while I understand the necessity of the current Alliance government that controls Earth and the colonies, it is not suddenly the government of Earth forever and ever more, amen. Perhaps foreign is a strong word for its relationship to the Earth nations, but I hold on to the idea of the Alliance being seperate from the nations as I one day hope for a return to that system. But please, continue to attack me for a quick statement on an extrant news article, it makes you look so morally and intellectually superior.

That being said, to this colony, the Alliance is a foreign power. Despite your rather stupid thoughts on how intergalactic relations work, aiding a colony or ally in the midst of a war does not give you soveigrn control over said colony. Otherwise, the Krogan need to have words with the turians for their help on Palaven.

And Nat, way to go attacking someone, going as far as to call me mental ill, without even bothering to ask why I hold these opinions. I watched too many men and women die on my operating table on the field during this last war to stand the fact that insufferable, know-it-all, ignorant, flag-waving marines seem to be the only ones who survived.

that like saving someone's life and then saying they have to give you almost all money they make until you say otherwise.

that basically extortion.

It's pretty simple. Eleven...ten billion people or however the fuck many are left, are going to be a priority. If that sounds harsh...well it is. It's pragmatism.

More people are dying on Earth than before the war. Localised wars and other factors are nothing when compared to atmospheric contamination, lack of medical attention, exposure, lack of uncontaminated water and food. Not to mention violence. So what? We spend our money on paying for resources (money we simply don't have) and leave those people to die?

It's all well and good to admit they don't mean as much as your colonists do, but these are the SA's reasons. It's not fair, but it's what we have to do.

And if things are really that bad, there are channels to get around whatever abuse of the chain of command is stopping you from recieving aid. Talk to your administrator's superior. If you're getting blocked, there are ways to get around it. It is true that the chain of command may make it difficult to get help if someone above you is fucking around, but this is why there are ways to report such things.


Aww, did I hurt your feelings? All I said was that I have cause for concern.

Which I still do.

Whatever, continue being a jerk instead of being willing to open actually dialouge.

For the record, no you didn't hurt my feelings. I don't really care what some random person over the extranet thinks about me. Am I irritated? Annoyed? Sure, but mostly because I'm tired of being called a traitor to the Allaince simply because I disagree with its current choices. I've bled and fought as much as any other Alliance soldier, but that doesn't matter because I dare question the Alliance. It gets old.

In regards to your assement of my mental health, the System Alliance is a foreign government, especially so in this article.

Argue it all you want, but this is a terminus wild-cat mining colony, not an Alliance colony. Should the Alliance get involved? Probably, but that doesn't automatically make that colony the property of the System Allaince.

In regards to Earth... As i said to proctor up therel, its arguable and foreign is to strong of a word. Right now, there are no terran governments, and I get that. We need the Allaince.

Regardless, you ask the majority of Earthers their nationality and they won't answer the SA. The SA aren't the 'evil occupiers' that some make them out to be, but that doesn't somehow make them the soverign ruler of Earth. Hence forth, foreign. I'm interested to hear what you think I said in there that is such a large cause for concern. Is it that I hope to one day have individual nations again? That I don't think the SA should be the permanent government of Earth? Because, frankly, I'm not seeing what's so shocking.
.

Well considering your little rant about how I was some overly patriotic, ignorant Marine, while painting the rest of the Corps as the same, it was a fair assumption.

Fair enough nations should have their own governments again. I consider myself Australian and Alliance. But to say that they're some kind of foreign occupation is ridiculous. Yes, it's too strong to say it's 'foreign'.

The SA was created by Earth nations, most of its personnel are Terran and some of its laws applied to Earth, like the statute on genetic modification. It's not foreign. It's merely an over-arching body.

What is 'sovereign' exactly? No one has a right to govern (not rule, what is this medieval Europe?). SA's mandate comes from the necessity of its governance and the fact that the majority of the population understand that is necessary. So no it isn't the rightful sovereign. But it's there because it needs to be.

And no fucking way in hell should SATAE last longer than the Five Year Plan. And it won't.

I never said anything on the matter of the Terminus colony. To be absolutely honest it doesn't sit quite right with me.

In Batarian culture comparing saving thousands of your people and your heating favorably to said heating would instantly make you a social outcast... Cultural differences I guess.