//------------------------------// // 3 - Workplace Dispute // Story: EaW: A Republican Chick's War Chronicles // by CheshireTwilight //------------------------------// Political Shift in Equus – A Setback for Republican Values? Continuing from earlier headlines of the Changeling Invasion of the Equestrian capital of Canterlot and the re-discovery of populated lands in northern Equus, there is more news about that pony-dominated continent. In yet another reminder of the dangers of absolute rule, these lands – reportedly called the Crystal Empire – comprised a nation that was trapped in an ancient curse by its former despotic leadership for hundreds of years. In the month since its discovery, the lands have since been formally structured as yet another Alicorn-led nation and a puppet of Equestria. Ignoring protests from our Republic regarding the Empire’s citizens’ right to choose, the Crystal Empire now lives up to its name once more with the crowning of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza – the Alicorn of Love – as absolute monarch. With yet another new nation succumbing to monarchical rule in northern Equus, talks have once again opened regarding closer ties with Nova Griffonia. Military support for the former Imperial Colony has been tabled by Veteran and Harmonist leader Schnabel Sunglider to stem the spread of aristocratic rule to that last bastion of republican values in Equus. - See Page 2 for more - Headline article of the Griffonian Republic National Newspaper, Der Republifaner (4th Week of July 1002 Edition) July 23rd, 1002 ALB – Left-NRP Party Headquarters, Cloudbury, Griffonian Republic – Tanya POV Tanya spent the last few months diligently translating as much of the socialist propaganda as she could. She had considered making major changes or fixing glaring mistakes with the media, but determined that the unaltered, flawed, presentation was the best suited in turning away rational people from the ideology. After all, socialism and its hypocritical failings were its own worst enemy. Of course, that was not all she was doing. While she learned the strange terms and nomenclature of the “cult” known as socialism, she also went out of her way to talk with other griffons in the party about the contradictions in their philosophy in the hopes of deprogramming their fanaticism to that doomed cause. The violence against innocent people needed to take away their hard-earned private property, the lack of unity being exploited by strongmen to create a totalitarian state, the disaster of engaging in economic warfare with capitalist nations, nothing was considered off limits. At first, her actions only isolated herself within the party as a “heretic”. However after a month, some began to think critically about their ideology. Some even came back to argue with her about the many failings of their doctrine! It was a start and she hoped that some of those she talked with might one day turn away from their doomed path. She also put in effort to move on from this wretched job working for Communists. A less morally ambiguous career as a banker, shareholder or industry consultant would suit her fine. With money and free time, she set about regularly going to the local library to familiarize herself with the economic terminology of concepts and ideas she was already familiar with: stocks, bonds, market cap, margins, ROI, and more. Any other time was spent looking for jobs, but no luck yet. ‘If only they would listen to my ideas! Forecasts of guaranteed market trends, proven social policy and future trade issues; things that could be leveraged to jump-start the economy and get the Republic back on track! I just need them to give me a chance!’ It was with those thoughts in mind that she was interrupted during her routine translating duties by her boss: Rikard Astler, Secretary and leader of the Left-NRP grabbing her attention with the snapping of his claw. Tanya grimaced. ‘Ah… perhaps my disputes with the other party members were more problematic than I thought?’ Rikard frowned. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need your help.” Tanya was surprised. She looked up from her tiny desk, her translation of a pamphlet full of common workers chants long forgotten. “Is something wrong? By your tone… it doesn’t sound like more translating work.” Rikard waved a claw in a “so-so” motion. “In a way it is. Workers at the Cloudbury 14th Arms Factory complex on the East side have walked off the job this morning. The owner of the factory is calling it collective action and threatening to use the army to force them back to work. Obviously as the Workers’ Party, we are very concerned about this.” Tanya thought through the implications and frowned as she realized there was a lot confusing her about the situation. It was clear she needed to do more reading into local politics and law. “I didn’t know collective action was illegal. Aren’t there already plenty of unions? I even remember there being a few Workers’ Councils and Co-ops even. While there are no national elections and you Socialists are nowhere in the majority, you’re not completely out of politics, right? A strike like this feels like nothing in comparison.” Rikard nodded along with a sad expression before sighing. “Normally you’d be right, but it’s different for the military. This Armory produces artillery shells and the current Armaments Minister Erich Kreiger is a staunch anti-socialist. If he had his way, unions, Workers’ Councils and even our party would be banned. That he’s willing to ban even a simple strike…” Tanya nodded along. ‘It good that at least somegriff has common sense to see the threat of socialism… although I can’t agree with banning strikes. They are a valuable signal of a healthy capitalist society. If the work conditions are so bad that workers are risking their livelihoods to make something known, that means something’s clearly wrong. It’s one thing to ban a Union – a worker-led mafia – that will interfere with the day-to-day operation of a private enterprise, it’s another thing to take away the right to protest. What the heck is Human Resources doing… although I suppose it would be called “Griffon Resources”? ‘That’s one of the first things the company drilled into me during my introductory package for HR: oversee compliance with the law, ensure the workers have a clear understanding of corporate expectations, and handle disciplinary action against agitators and underachievers to maintain a productive work environment. Something like this shouldn’t happen with common sense business practices… then again, Rikard and the socialists are involved somehow…’ Tanya raised an eyebrow. “Have we done anything about this in the past? Established a union, interfered with their operations, something like that?” Rikard smiled sadly. “We’ve tried, but with Minister Kreiger’s interference, there isn’t much we could do. The last time the workers tried to form a union, he broke things up with the army.” Tanya nodded. ‘Well, there’s the problem. Obviously the poor business owner is just sick-and-tired of the workers routinely interfering with his critical production. With everything I’ve read in the papers, war materiel is vital to the greater Repubilc’s efforts on eradicating the bandit problem and national security.’ Not knowing what she was thinking, her boss smirked. “So have I convinced you?” Tanya raised an eyebrow. “Of what? You still haven’t told me what you want to do. If you’re expecting me to fix this mess, I’m going to have to turn you down. Based on what you said, isn’t any involvement from us a crime?” He had the gall to laugh at that. “No, no, I don’t expect you to solve anything. Your role is rather simple, actually. The workers need a translator since the owner doesn’t speak Cloudburian. Now the owner has a translator, but the workers won’t trust anygriff working for their boss. It’s already happened that the workers found themselves signing a document that was “not translated properly” which put them in a bad situation… a “clerical error” they were told. I would choose somegriff else if I could, but I’m campaigning for re-election as Councilgriff of the lower South side and my normal translation duties are keeping the other translators busy. You’re the only one doing anything non-essential.” Tanya could not think of a reason not to go. ‘I suppose this isn’t actually benefiting the socialist party. I’m just translating a workers’ dispute and it sounds like the workers have already tried forming a union, so a “win” here wouldn’t be putting the party in a better light with them then they already are…’ “I’ll do it… though to be crystal clear, I’m just going to translate. No pushing socialist policy, right?” Her boss nodded. “Exactly. I wouldn’t have you do anything actually dangerous. In fact, you will need to be accurate with your translations since the owner will have his own translator. While the workers don’t trust anygriff the owner sends, the owner certainly won’t trust your translation either since you’re working for the Party.” Tanya grimaced. ‘I don’t want people to start associating me as “that socialist chick”…’ She turned thoughtful as her boss left her to her work. ‘Then again, this does provide an excellent opportunity to “fix” that misconception. If I prove to the owner and his contacts with the Industrialists and Capitalists in this country that I’m pragmatic and can fix their problems for them without the use of socialism, it would put me on the fast-track back to an ordinary corporate life…’ Collecting her things, she held her head high as she rushed out the door and to the first of what would no doubt be several meetings with the workers. She had a week to prepare and she would make every use of it she could. July 30th, 1002 ALB – 14th Arms Factory Complex, Cloudbury, Griffonian Republic – Stonebeak POV Two griffons sat quietly in an office waiting for the other party of the negotiations to arrive. Seated at a large desk was an overweight white-feathered griffon, the owner of the 14th Arms Factory: Hans Edelweiss. To his right was the owner’s opposite: a scrawny, unassuming brown griffon by the name of Johannes Stonebeak, a translator hired by Heinrich Kingfeather – head of the Right-wing National Republican Party – to help resolve things. With his name routinely coming out wrong in the Cloudburian accent, Stonebeak went by his last name for simplicity. In the corners of the room, two soldiers of the National Republican Army stood guard in case things became heated. It would not be the first or last time a worker dispute came to blows. The owner sat back in his seat. Its oak wooden construction creaked as he waved a claw in the air dismissively. “Why put on this dog and pony show, Stonebeak? The workers are antsy because of his higher quotas, but that’s not my fault. Heinrich already knows what’s going to happen. If he wants to keep up production, he needs to force the workers back in line. No amount of these “negotiations” are going to get him his ammunition.” Stonebeak grimaced. “I cannot say for certain what Mr. Kingfeather expects, sir, but he seemed very insistent to me that this not come to violence-” Hans snorted. “Well he can insist all he likes, but that won’t change the facts. I’ve done everything above-board, I’ve kept the prices stable and I’ve doubled production in the past year to meet his ridiculous quotas. It’s the workers that have messed things up for him, they should be the one paying the price for their treason, not me.” ‘Except none of the other factories producing shells have had any issues. Could it be the Socialist Republic of Skynavia undermining the government…? Could Hans be secretly incompetent… or skimming some of the workplace expenses off the top?’ Stonebeak sighed, but said nothing. While he suspected that there must be something going on, he had no proof. It was not in his mandate from the R-NRP to investigate and he knew no one else would look. Hans – like all owner-operators of military production – was a griffon that had worked in production over 20 years earlier in the Empire before the Revolutionary War. That sort of experience was priceless and it showed. The 120mm shells produced by the factory had a low defect rate that had improved year-by-year. That also meant he was irreplaceable. Heinrich and himself might have wanted this to end without violence, but Armaments Minister Kreiger was a different story. The re-armament of the army to fight against the bandits and warlords in the north was too important to jeopardize and the minister had carte-blanche approval from President Kemerskai to get the job done. Unless Hans was collaborating with a foreign power or this was a Skynavian plot, Stonebeak’s leadership wanted nothing from him but results. It was at this moment there was a knock on the door. A second later, one of the guards outside the room opened the door and a tough-looking griffon hen walked in. With a permanent scowl etched on her face and wearing oil-stained leather overalls over a thick turtleneck, she could only be the representative of the workers. The factory worker huffed and turned her beak up. “So that’s the bastard, huh? Doesn’t seem like much.” ‘Things are not off to a good start.’ Stonebeak grimaced and so did the other translator. At least it seemed that the Socialist Party could send someone that appreciated just how bad this situation was- ‘Wait is their translator a young chick?! Why would they- ah, well I suppose an accusation that a griffon that young is a violent socialist instigator would only make the accuser look like an idiot.’ Hans sat up at his desk and pointed at the worker. “Stonebeak? What did she say?! That sounded like an insult to me!” Stonebeak sighed, but tried his best to salvage the situation. “Do you want to hear every little detail, sir?” The factory owner paused for a moment before chuckling. “No, I suppose I can imagine it well enough. It doesn’t matter; let them seethe. Well? Invite them to sit down. Might as well get this farce over with.” As they sat down, the worker introduced herself as Gisella Strongfeather: supervisor of the final assembly stage at the plant and representative of the 495 workers that walked off the job. The translator likewise introduced herself as Tanya in both Cloudburian and Herzlander. They sat across from one another at a small conference table in the middle of the office. The two guards in the room took positions at the ends of the table but made no threatening moves. Tanya seemed eager to get started and brought out a piece of paper. “So I’ve spoken with the workers and they are willing to come back to work if-” Before she could finish, Hans held up a claw. “I’m going to stop you right there. There won’t be any compromise. The workers come back to work, or I have it on good authority the army will force them back.” Stonebeak sat up. “Sir that’s not-” Hans silenced him with a firm grip on his withers. “Will Minister Kreiger send in the army to resume production or not?” Stonebeak could only stay in silence. “That’s what I thought.” Glenda – having not understood a word of the Herzlander conversation – spoke to Tanya. “What did he say?” Tanya turned to the worker, said “Hold on.” and turned back to the rest of the group. “Hans-” The owner shut the chick down once again with a word. “Mr. Edelweiss. I expect to be treated with some respect.” Tanya took the interruption in stride. “Mr. Edelweiss, then. I’ve been told by the workers that it’s a crime if they quit their jobs or else most would have quit already. If the military forces them back on the job, you’ll be making the government look bad.” Hans snorted. “I’m not sure if you’ve looked outside lately, but the nation is in crisis, chick. Republicanism itself is at stake. Every one of these shells I make could mean one less casualty on the front lines against bandits up north or the border in times of war. If that means a few workers living safe, comfortable lives have to tighten the belt a little and work a little longer, that’s a small price to pay for the preservation of liberty.” Glenda looked visibly upset. “Damn it Tanya, tell us what’s going on! We didn’t hire you to have a nice chit-chat with the boss.” Tanya gave her a summary, but could hardly finish before the worker began shouting. “What do you mean there will be no compromise! That we’re traitors! I’m a damn patriot for this Republic! I’ve slaved away for 15 years with long hours and no breaks and a wage that can barely feed my family yet alone keep a roof over our heads. I did all that because the times were tough, but I believed in the Revolution. Now that bastard wants us working 14 hour days and this is the response?!” Glenda jumped up and made an effort to grab Hans by the neck. She did not make it half way before the two soldiers grabbed her and shouted in Herzlander. “Sit back down, Cloudy!” “Don’t do something you’re gonna regret!” Glenda scowled and struggled in the soldiers’ grip. “I see how it is. I’m just another slave.” She turned to Stonebeak. “Is this what the Republic’s been reduced to? I’m just supposed to slave away for you until I’m thrown away like trash?” He grimaced. “That’s not…” Hans gestured to the scene before him. “Stonebeak, can’t you see what’s going on? She tried to attack me. Can we just end this farce and be done with it before somegriff gets hurt?” Stonebeak sighed, wallowing in his helplessness. ‘This isn’t anything like I expected. If this is a Synavian plot, well… it’s certainly working on me. If word of this gets out, I’m not sure who would be lynched first, Hans or the workers. No matter what, the government’s going to look bad and times will get worse for everygriff. Isn’t there some way to-’ “Mr. Edelweiss, sir, I think the situations gone a little out of claw.” Stonebeak opened his eyes at the sound of Tanya’s voice. Hans chuckled, sitting back in his seat as he gestured for the soldiers to hold Glenda further away from the table. “Understatement of the year, I think. Well, are we done here? Did you get what you people wanted from this nonsense?” Tanya shook her head. “Sir, I still believe there’s a chance to reach a compromise.” Hans rolled his eyes. “And I think there’s a chance that I could become President. I’m. Not. Budging.” Tanya leaned forwards, gesturing to Glenda. “I can see that, sir. Honestly, I also felt that the demands the workers are making are unreasonable.” Stonebeak was flabbergasted and could not help but voice his surprise. “You do?” Hans smiled. “Well I’m glad somegriff around here is finally making sense. Wouldn’t have thought it would come from a damn socialist, but alright then. If their demands are so unreasonable, what compromise am I expected to make.” Tanya smiled sadly. “I expect that your goals are going to be completely inflexible. The price and material per shell is fixed, so wages and production is capped by supply and demand, right?” “Of course. That’s exactly why I need these workers on shift as long as possible on fixed pay. I start raising wages and I need to get rid of workers. I lower production targets and the military gets less shells. I would lower wages if I could, but the stupid Harmonists instituted a minimum wage for technical work and my workers qualify.” Tanya nodded. “Just like I thought. Then I think we can work something out. If those are the only issues, why not hire unskilled, non-technical labor?” Hans frowned. “I’m not sure I follow.” Tanya gave him a placating smile. “While these workers cannot quit, you could still lay off a few of them right? I’m sure there is still competition in the manufacturing sector that would take them on. At the same time, I can personally attest that there are hundreds of unemployed people just in Cloudbury alone that would gladly take a pay-cut for a stable income. Use the wages saved from laying off workers to hire more with less pay to reduce hours and everygriff wins.” Hans scowled. “That’s the type of tripe I should expect from a chick. That wouldn’t work at all. This isn’t some plot of farmland worked by peasants. This is a factory. I can’t just hire anygriff off the streets.” Tanya nods. “Maybe not for some of the work, but there are plenty of non-technical tasks. I spoke with the workers all this past week. Moving crates and assembly could be done without any technical expertise except a few days of initial oversight for training. Likewise, routine documentation and cleanup procedures could be done with less urgency with more griffons on the floor, that would allow for combining repeat tasks to streamline workflow. Even with 25% of the workforce replaced by 2 non-technical workers at half-pay, that would still mean 2 less hours of work for everygriff else. With two 12 hour shifts instead of one 14, you might even be able to get the factory running at maximum 24-hour capacity rather than leaving the machines idle, with only a marginal increase in pay for the extra workers.” Stonebeak was shocked that such pragmatic terms were coming out of the chick’s mouth, but what had him more stunned was Hans. While they had not worked with each other much, Stonebeak could see that the factory owner was already counting the profit. “Maybe… no. There would still be the quality issue. I can’t allow the production quality to dip.” Tanya seemed confused. “I was told that quality was falling regardless. Even if you had the workers back on the job, 14 hours of non-stop technical work is sure to cause mistakes. I was told many were forced to sleep on the factory floor to get a full 8 hours of sleep and that others weren’t so lucky. What were you planning to do about the dip in quality caused by tired workers?” Stonebeak turned to Hans with a scowl. He had not been told that. “Is this true?” For the first time in the meeting, Hans looked a little nervous. “There may have been some issues recently that…” He shook his head and glared at Tanya like this was all her fault. “Alright, fine. You have a deal- a tentative deal, you understand? You’ve until my next delivery in a month to figure this out and I’ll expect there to be no backlog by then. I will be overseeing this every step of the way. I expect quality work.” He turned to Stonebeak with a scowl. “And you? You tell Heinrich I was the best damn negotiator you’ve ever heard. I want his personal approval of this plan and freedom from any consequences if they mess it up. He owes me big time for this. Now get these damn traitors out of my sight.” The soldiers released Glenda and they all began to leave the room. When Tanya began to explain what happened, it looked like Glenda was going to lash out again, but by the time the translator had finished her retelling, the worker just looked relieved it was all over. Then that worker – that tough-looking griffon – started crying. “Thank you! Oh merciful Boreas it’s finally over. Thank you, thank you so much. I can finally see my chicks again! I haven’t seen them at all this month!” Stonebeak found himself tearing up as well and left the room. He could not handle the shame any longer. ‘Damn it! Is this what the Republic is coming to?! When will all this awfulness end… its been 15 years already.’ However, there was one final thing he had to do. Just before Tanya left the building, Stonebeak cornered her in the hallway. “I don’t know how you did it. I was there and I don’t believe it. I just need to know. This isn’t some socialist scheme, is it? Are you sure this plan of yours will really work?” Tanya looked insulted. “Of course! Hiring and on-boarding are something of a specialty of mine. The people in the southern slums don’t exactly have resumes, but I’ve already thought up a few strategies to weed out most of them. I’m confident I can have everything needed to get started by the end of the day. Honestly, with how bad the job market is, even half-pay will seem like middle-class for most of them… I might even be able to eek out a worker or two once I go over the finer details. The workers only had half the information I needed going into the meeting, so I had to wing-it for the most part.” Stonebeak’s brow furrowed. Something was not adding up. “I’m surprised the Socialists endorsed this sort of plan. This sort of compromise doesn’t seem their way of doing things.” Tanya froze and he knew he was right. “I’m sure… I can explain things to them. Everygriff won in the end, right?” ‘Who is this child? She planned all this without help from her party? She has to be lying… but the results will speak for themselves… Not to mention a Socialist willing to negotiate with somegriff like Hans in such a ruthlessly pragmatic way? I don’t think I could view my fellow citizens like resources in an economics problem like that, even if I knew it was for the greater good. Hans may have demanded that I make his “contributions” in this negotiation front-and-center, but I’m certainly going to make sure they know about her.’ Tanya gave him a pleading look, the chick’s wide eyes looking adorable. “On that note, you saw the good work I did back there. I don’t suppose you’d hire me?” The conversation had taken such a wild turn that Stonebeak almost reflexively said “yes”. Then he realized what she was really asking for and almost broke into laughter. ‘A socialist asking to join the Right-Wing National Republican Party?’ He mimed “thinking about it” for a moment and looked her up and down. “Hmm… I don’t think it would be quite a good fit.” Tanya frowned in a convincing way despite but he clearly knew it was an act. “Is it because I’m working for the Socialists? I can quit. Honestly, after what I pulled today I’m not sure they’ll want me around.” Now he knew she was messing with him. While the Left did not get a huge win here, Stonebeak seriously doubted they were hoping for violence. That negotiation was one step away from coming to blows inside the office yet alone what would have happened with an army on the streets. Regardless, Stonebeak appreciated the joke after such a tense meeting so he played along with the chick’s antics. “Well alright, assuming you found yourself in real hot water because of your success here today, I’ll see what I can do.” With nothing much left to say, they parted ways. ‘Well, I certainly have quite the story to tell. While there’s obviously no way we would take on such a firebrand, Heinrich will want to hear about her, that’s for sure.’ July 30th, 1002 ALB – Left-NRP Party Headquarters, Cloudbury, Griffonian Republic – Rikard POV Rikard waited patiently at the front door of the headquarters. While the other party members commented on him acting like a “mother hen” and doting on Tanya, he did not see it that way at all. Tanya was not just an orphan translator to him, she was a new vision of the future of the party. Tanya was clearly very smart, but he was worried she would struggle to find a place. He had hired her for selfish reasons and not out of any loyalty to the cause. It could have ended poorly for everygriff, but it was heartening that even someone with no experience with socialism could pick up the works of authors such as Caramel Marks and find them immediately engaging. ‘It’s not just her understanding of both of the Republic’s languages now, she’s blossomed over the past few months as a harsh critic. She’s not afraid to argue against what she feels are political overreach and radically unproven actions. While many of her points come across as missing context or the bigger picture, they are all well-reasoned. She’s the perfect type of socialist: someone not afraid to change the status quo and push for other socialists to do better.’ It was during these thoughts that Tanya arrived back, much to his relief. He was quick to demand what happened and she delivered. “-and that’s was the end of the negotiations.” Rikard paused in a moment of stunned silence before looking down on the chick with new eyes. “You do remember the conversation we had, right? I said you only needed to translate. That certainly didn’t mean you needed to try and solve the problem yourself, right?” Tanya looked concerned, but straightened up. “Of course, and I’m ready to take any punishment you see fit.” ‘Punishment? But why would she-’ His eyes widened and he thought back to their first conversation. ‘Of course. Tanya’s always had an obsession with promotion and responsibility, didn’t she? I gave her a task and she went above and beyond. In her mind, that was outside her responsibility so she should be punished.’ It was a common problem with a certain type of socialist: someone with a strong opinion of right and wrong. They were drawn to the labor theory of value to make the world a fairer place. The issue was that the perception people had of the world was usually wrong. Things like fairness and labor value could not be calculated by anecdotal inference, it needed statistics and the big picture. Two workers on different plantations could harvest an apple with different value for a vast array of reasons, but most people resorted to convenient answers like “laziness” or “inefficient work practices” for why one was more expensive than the other. That type of thinking resulted in a business staying open long past their usefulness. Sometimes it was more fair to close down a factory or remove someone from their position, even if they were providing tremendous value. Sometimes the facts were clear: that factory or that person will provide more value doing something else. He smiled and knelt down to meet Tanya at eye level. “I’m glad you feel that way. If you had told me what you were going to do, I would have kept you from going.” She nodded, but he shook his head. “I would be wrong.” She was shocked, but he pressed forwards. “That meeting? I had written it off. I had assumed it was a forgone conclusion what would happen and yet you surprised me. It’s clear to me you are wasted just doing translation work. Therefore, as Secretary of the Democratic Socialist Branch of the National Republican Party, I promote you to a brand new position: Internal Party Ambassador. Whenever there is a dispute between the branches of the National Republican Party – where the workers have called us to action to defend them or champion their cause – I want you there. Whatever brilliance you displayed today, I want you to keep using it.” Tanya’s shock appeared to morph into anger, but he had been around her long enough to know what she was truly feeling. It was the same emotion she showed when criticizing socialism, she was playing the devil’s advocate. “No, I can’t accept that. I made a setback to the socialist cause today. Had I done nothing at all, the government would have stepped in and forcibly put everygriff back to work. You could have used that to showcase their failings. Now, they will get all the profits they wanted while feeling none of the repercussions.” Rikard frowned. “I might have been able to twist such a tragedy to my benefit, but that isn’t the point. That would only be making the best of a bad situation. What you showed today went beyond pragmatism and to the founding principles of Republicanism: that we are stronger together, united against hardship and tyranny. If everygriff was even half as understanding as you were in that meeting, in making necessary compromises, the problems in this nation would be resolved by now. That’s why I need you as my ambassador. I need you to remind the rest of the parties – and maybe even our own – that we’re still in this together. Maybe you will disappoint me, but I feel you still have plenty of surprises left.” Tanya froze for a moment. July 30th, 1002 ALB – Left-NRP Party Headquarters, Cloudbury, Griffonian Republic – Tanya POV ‘This isn’t supposed to be how this goes! The plan was simple: meet with the factory owner, put forth an obviously anti-socialist solution, and use that goodwill to leverage a contact in the industry. When I came back to the party, it would be clear that I used my party affiliation for personal gain and I would be kicked out. Then I just had to wait for Stonebeak or his benefactors to get in touch with me and I would be back on track! Simple!’ But now that she was faced with promotion, the situation had completely changed for the worse. ‘It would have been different if I was kicked from the party with Rikard angrily ranting about me being a traitor, but if I decline the promotion and leave the party now, I would look like a socialist spy! If someone even bothered to dig any deeper, it would look worse! They would find I had even been offered a promotion right before I quit! This is the end of my career-’ She paused… and realized that perhaps all was not so lost yet. “To be clear, if I become your ambassador, I would be expected to talk and get to know the important griffons from the other parties, right?” Rikard grimaced. “Yes, I can imagine that’s not pleasant to think about. You will need to interact and be friendly with the industrialists and power-brokers of the capital class. The very people undermining the cause of workers’ revolution and its ownership of the means of production. You can say no. Taking such a pragmatic approach for the good of Republicanism is a good thing, but I’m sure it has left you with mixed feelings.” She smiled. ‘Say no more!’ “I look forward to the challenge! Your faith in my… dedication to the socialist cause won't go unrewarded. I promise that I will create a path towards a better future for all citizens.” Rikard nodded his head. “Of that I have no doubt.”