A dying deregger oligarch, wanting better for his people, doesn't bequeath his fortunes and worlds to his descendants. He uses his will to give them to the only man who has never lied to him. An Alliance member who made their living astroid mining. -- BKF
Pax Humanis isn't the only reason why Deregger Oligarch's compounds are heavily fortified. There's also the descendants and seconds-in-command who are on the impatient side. Sharpening knives or preparing undetectable poisons when they weren't pricing assassins or attempting to lure Pax Humanis over to do their dirty work for them.
The Alliance are no fools. They investigate every appeal with covert agents.
What they found in this particular Deregger polity was an Oligarch doing whatever ze could against hefty pushback from other powerful oligarchs in the system.
It was so bad that ze retreated to an asteroid mining station. The hazards of space were far safer than the hazards of being on the central planet. For a start, ze could disappear out there.
Out on Mining Station Fifty-Seven, ze was not CEO Mason Lambourghini Ennefti Smithson. Out on Mining Station Fifty-Seven, ze was simply Mace, the guy who got things done. Nobody knew that Mace was the person who had all the power. Mace was simply who you talked to when things were so wrong that they needed fixing.
Mace's most frequent customer was Miner Dan. A pilot in charge of a corporate mining vessel that was three good sneezes from falling apart completely. It was more patches than original hull. Half of the wiring was insulated with ductape, and the other half was coated with paint because Dan had run out of tape.
It was cheaper than new wire.
Dan could only ever afford second-hand parts, because the cost of her continued life left only enough for second-hand parts. Third-hand if it was a very bad week.
"I know you're the guy to swing some miracles, but... I don't need miracles. I like this old heap. It's home. Actually getting it fully fixed or a whole new one? It's-- it doesn't fit me. My crate's a broken old thing and so am I. It's a perfect match."
"What would you do," asked Mace, "if you had all the money and power to do anything?"
"I'd do what you do, reckon," said Dan. "I'd fix things for others."
Mace tested it with an unrefundable windfall into Dan's account. Ze kept away on other tasks, and only kept watch from the perspective of the files.
Dan paid for almost new second-hand parts, true, but also chipped in to some of her friends' little emergencies. Some medicine here, a part there. A better patch job than normal for a stranger who hit hard times. A set of food supplies for the local widow who took in repairs. Bulk things that could last her little family a year if necessary. Enough to give her less of a struggle than previously. Until all that was left was enough to stand her friends a round at the bar.
Then she carried on as if she never expected such a windfall to happen again.
Mace wrote her into hir will, and made certain that all the others vying for hir position and power would never have any part of it. Ironclad. No loopholes.
Then ze went back planetside and let nature take its course.
Hir only regret was not being able to see the looks on their faces when they realised what ze'd done.
[Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash]
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