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The dam construction efforts ran into some snags along the way, nothing truly terrible unlike as with the road construction, but there had been both expected and unexpected difficulties. For one, while the flow of the rivers slowed down, the decrease in the rapids made them shallower, but at the same time it made the rivers expand, not to mention that the lakes themselves also grew rapidly, to the point where Zack had to actually step up and do his job, ordering a series of works to reinforce the river and lake beds ensuring that they do not overflow or collapse, this had caused delays, a lot of delays, not to mention what you had previously put aside from the reclamation effort had been fully expended, so you will either have to start digging again, or to simply use the steady, if slow trickle of resources coming off-world.
On other matters, you gave the council their first challenge. One that you do not doubt they curse you over. Just a simple matter of sorting out deep ideological divides in a heavily armed populace that wouldn’t mind shooting each other over a far more minor infraction. No biggie, really, at least that’s what you said before you went out with your wife and had…some good time…for a few weeks at that.
And when you came back, having strapped enough munitions to fight the whole settlement to yourself, you were pleasantly surprised not having found blown out hab blocks. The damns were still under construction. People were going about their day.
It took you a whole day to figure out what happened, and to your surprise, the council’s report had indicated that Reinhart moved instantly to arrest the most ideological of colonist, including pro-noble side, basically, everyone who could fan the flames of potential riots. These demagogues had technically not broken any laws, as such Reinhart only held them down for a couple of days, which gave plenty of time for Neila to control the narrative. She got Hendrik to institute a one-use ramshackle PA system that was used to blast propaganda and your ideals. Added to that that the endorsements of Kealan and other medics helped to persuade people.
The pro-noble faction is satisfied for obvious reasons. The pro-democracy faction is begrudgingly fine with it due to the promises of instituting democratic institutions later on. The pro-stratocracy faction is fine with it as well due to the fact that all of the nobility that will rise will come from soldier stock, thus naturally making for a martial culture that they hope will eventually evolve into a stratocracy. Of course, the demagogues of all three sides are dissatisfied to the extreme, but they found little support amongst everyone now that they had missed the most crucial window to change everyone’s minds.
All in all, perhaps the second biggest danger to the colony had passed you smoothly just as the first. Maybe there is a goddess of fortune out there, and she sure smiles upon you.
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