295 Bellum Missarum
Total war.
The dedication of a nation's existence towards a conflict was a strange concept to her, and yet she found it oddly familiar. It might not have been a war of weapons, but the struggle to survive was a conflict that required everyone to dedicate a themselves to. Whether or not they liked it, her people seemed to have crafted themselves into the perfect tools for such a conflict. Whether or not they liked it, this 'total war' of theirs was going to continue, albeit in a different form. 'Bellum Missarum' - the term Arc coined to describe the type of 'war' they needed to wage in what Donovan referred to as the 'early stages'. It was Latin, a language she was slowly forming a love-hate relationship with, and translated to 'War of the Masses'.
The architect of this plan, Diana, described it as a complex plan built around three simple axes, 'People', 'Principles', and 'Proselytization'.
'People' revolved around population numbers - which served as the crux of everything to begin with - but held the central role in this way of warfare. They needed more people to satisfy the 'masses' this form of warfare referred to, specifically those born and raised as 'natural' members of their people. This axis would therefore be primarily influenced by women, hence the decision to use the feminine 'Missarum' over the masculine 'Massarum'.
'Principles' involved the creation and maintenance of a dominant 'overculture', preferably a blend of Terran and Nekh values, that was strict enough to diminish instances of societal unrest and disunity caused by an absence of shared values, but had enough leeway in the fringes to first integrate other cultures before gradually nudging them towards the 'center' through social, legal, and economic pressure.
'Proselytization' was perhaps the most complicated of the three, concerning itself more with the movement and indoctrination of important individuals both foreign and domestic. Domestically, it centered around encouraging the movement of conquered or annexed people between planets in limited numbers for extended periods of time such that 'foreigners' could be familiarized and integrated into 'proper society', learning some customs of the aforementioned overculture. After a sufficient education, they would then be returned to their old places of residence in positions of influence, prestige, or wealth such that they may influence their people towards the overculture. As for the foreigners, those deemed suitably influential would be similarly educated and imprinted upon with the character, wealth, and general prestige of the overculture so they may implement some elements of it upon their return home - which would make annexation and integration less of a headache when it inevitably occurred.
These three axes naturally had a great degree of interplay - an overculture which emphasized parenthood and child-rearing would see an increase in population, a greater population unified by the culture would produce greater wealth and present a cleaner image to foreigners and thus be more likely to influence them, and the integration of another culture could add new social tools for the overculture to implement on a grander scale.
Of course, all of those axes needed to be carefully monitored so as to avoid negative interplay as well - a population growing too fast might not generate wealth fast enough to meet demand and create an image of impoverishment which could itself cause a decrease in population growth and stigma against the reckless rearing of children, an overculture with hostile or snarky undertones might make foreigners indignant and less likely to cooperate, and the integration of cultures too different from the overculture could threaten societal cohesion and mutual trust.
Titanyana did not understand the vast majority of this, only remembering the axes due to alliteration, but she could piece enough of it together to know it wasn't a bad thing for her people. She might go so far as to say she wanted this for her people, but Titanyana would not say so aloud with her limited understanding.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" It was a bit embarrassing to look up at the people she supposedly ruled over, but it would be more embarrassing to let them know she found it embarrassing, so she suppressed those feelings. "Within reason, I mean. As much as I would like to conjure up whatever we need, I don't have that power."
Titanyana responded to the bows of respect and cautious rejections with a light smile, trying to signal a sense of okay-ness as much as possible. She was a Strapper, their leader and queen, so it would not do for her to be seen as nervous or tired. Diana had expounded the effect a leader's disposition would have on those under their authority during crisis situations, a smidge of uncertainty in her actions could cascade into widespread panic if left unchecked.
"Are your lodgings satisfactory? Is the workload too great?"
The distance everyone kept from her emotionally hurt a little in spite of their good intentions. Titanyana understood they did not want to burden her with mundane or silly requests, but she wanted to be of use somehow. She also wanted to engage in less serious conversation, however that sort of socialization was certainly a low priority.
"How about the food? Or maybe the latrines?"
More rejection, everyone within earshot silently insisting they were fine with hand gestures and facial expressions. Those signals hurt a bit more when they came from someone very clearly suffering in one way or another.
"I-is there anything you think we might need in the future? Are there tools we might need for a specific job? Or maybe something from Nekh?"
Suddenly the eyes of her subjects deflected downwards, the mention of home invoking a myriad of feelings in them. Most were likely experiencing a longing for what was left behind, others grief for what was and would be lost. Others still were experiencing a feeling of remorse for having taken a spot that could have belonged to someone else, perhaps someone a bit better suited to this situation. Titanyana herself felt a depression in her mood when she saw this, recognizing how much of a trauma this event was going to - no - had already inflicted upon her people.
"Um." The whisper perked up the ears that were starting to droop, fueling the waning enthusiasm in her heart.
"Yes? What can I do for you?" Titanyana tried not to approach too quickly, she didn't want to scare the woman into silence again. "Even if it isn't something I can do right now, I can put it on the list of priorities, or set things in motion, or come up with an alternative, or, or, or . . ."
She trailed off, deciding to let this woman make her request before she continued.
"It is, um, it's a little embarrassing . . ." Titanyana leaned in, ears at attention. She could whisper if she wanted to. ". . . my husband and I have, um, have been wanting to have a child, but, um, the stress of everything going on and the lack of privacy has made it, um, difficult to proceed . . ."
Titanyana's face flushed tomato red, those close enough to pick up snippets of the conversation generally turning a similar color. A few of the older women offered knowing looks, which only served to increase her embarrassment further.
"I-I know it might be too much to ask, but could we be granted the privilege of a Littervine stalk?" The woman's face progressed from red to crimson. "A-and maybe the chance to use a private room for a night?"
The request embarrassed Titanyana immensely, however it also made her realize something she and Petunia had missed.
"I will see what I can do!" She fumbled around with her satchel, pulling out piece of bark with a crude number one carved into it. "Um, here! This token will be proof of identity for when I send out a summons!"
The woman accepted it with a bow before retreating back to her spot in line, some of the women beside her closing in to engage in meal line gossip. Titanyana disengaged from the line, believing there was a much more important matter to attend to. Of course there was also the matter of her own lunch, but she had put off eating for as long as possible as a show of solidarity and commitment to the people. Now that the women's line was coming to an end, the men should start coming in for a meal. She would need to be present for them as well.
"Here is your lunch, Titanyana." Leno handed a bowl of porridge-esque stew to her. "I made sure to scoop a bit more meat into yours."
She looked at the orange-brown mush with trepidation, equal parts disappointment and shame flooding her mind as she did. It had been described to her as a nutrient dense meal that could be transported and prepared in bulk as demonstrated by the array of cauldrons bubbling in the background. In truth, it was a box of some conglomeration of starchy grains mixed with various dehydrated vegetables and preserved meats. Apparently the mix of vegetables and added spices would be changed so as to keep the food from becoming 'bland' over time, but there was little disguising the sandy texture and sub-par quality.
"I don't need the meat, Leno." While it was true she wanted to give it away out of charity, there was an element of her psyche that wished to rid herself of the tough and unappetizing jerky. It didn't taste good to begin with, and it taste worse when saturated with curry-porridge. "I would prefer my portion be given to the children."
". . . this was the wish of the people." Leno pursed his lips after saying this, understanding that her desires would take precedence over the people's regardless of the protests against such.
"I get good meals at the compound to begin with. I can handle one of abysmal quality without raising a fuss." Titanyana smiled at him, inviting him to take a seat across from her. The bowl in his other hand evidently belonged to him, though the surface looked a little smoother than her own. "I . . . could I get your opinion on something?"
"Of course. It would be my honor to be of service."
"Thank you." Titanyana mustered a smile, recognizing from the lack of lumps in his concoction and a couple drops of such on the side of his bowl that the excess meat in her bowl was not a sacrifice on the side of general public. "Are you familiar with how Littervine is grown?"
"Only the basics."
"More than I know of it." Titanyana swallowed another spoonful of the stuff. "Do you think it will grow here?"
Leno put the spoon in his mouth and turned to look around with a mask of incredulity. "N-no?"
"Why not?"
"The vines can't survive cold temperatures, and this place has harsh winters." He put the spoon back down, ears flattening a little upon noticing his lack of manners. "I don't think this place gets enough sunlight either, but I wouldn't know."
"Hmmm . . ." Titanyana prodded one of the indistinct lumps while lost in thought. "Do you know of any way they could be made to grow here? Can we protect the vines somehow?"
"I suppose this star itself might be able to offset the lack of sunlight somewhat being a Verdant Globe and all, but we can't move them once they've entangled themselves on the fences."
"Hmmm." So her own people lacked a solution to the problem at hand. That much wasn't surprising if she considered how difficult it was to grow the damn things in the first place, but it didn't affect her priorities. If she couldn't figure something out, then there was a pretty good chance the Terrans already had a solution. Titanyana's job would be to convince them of the necessity of this problem. "We need Littervine as soon as possible."
"I'm sure we could bring some stalks and Litterwine with us on the boats. The manpower costs of growing the vines won't justify itself for at least a generation, not that we have a proper environment for them in the first place."
"That's only a stopgap measure." Titanyana shook her head. They would probably be starving for manpower in a few month's time, desperately grasping at the smallest increases in their precious workforce in order to satisfy the need for infrastructure, housing, and resource acquisition, but Littervine needed to be prioritized. "If it's true that our ability to conceive has returned to a normal level after leaving Nekh, then we need to make steps towards making the most of that fertility to replace what we've lost."
Titanyana paused for a moment and thought about what she just said upon seeing Leno's reaction of discomfort. The phrasing wasn't quite on the level of Donovan, but it certainly possessed a degree of callousness atypical of her personality and usual thought process. The words 'Bellum Missarum' flashed in her mind, finding herself more impacted by the doctrine than she initially expected, though the desperation inherent in their current position had most likely influenced her as well.
"I'm . . . that came out wrong." Her ears drooped. "I meant to say that we should be focusing on the long term payoffs just as much as the short ones. I think it would be foolish of us to satisfy our short term manpower demands to the detriment of our future requirements. The sooner we can get a patch of Littervine established and productive, the more babies should be born. If we can maximize those births in the present, we can satisfy those manpower demands in the future."
Leno nodded a little bit, biting his lip as he processed the logic in her words. "As enticing as that may be, I don't think we have the leeway. Tending to Littervine is difficult and requires many hands. Unless you expect to show a preference for the Shovel-Claws, we won't have enough laborers to handle the building, ferrying, and farming."
"I think we will." Titanyana brought the spoon to her mouth, smiling towards some of the menfolk arriving for their meal. "You've seen what the Terrans can do with metal, and I can assure you their expertise is not limited to spacecraft. They'll have something to make excavation and material transport less labor intensive. We can spare the men."
". . . if you say so, my Queen." Leno clearly wasn't convinced, but that wasn't Titanyana's problem anymore. If he couldn't gather as much from the cars the Holifanians brought with them, then the only thing left to do was provide a more solid proof.