Ratchet and Sasha sat back aboard the Phoenix, watching the news feed. Ratchet lay back with one hand behind his head, while Sasha stretched across the couch with her head on his shoulder and her arms crossed on her stomach. The news feed discussed President Phyronix's latest polls, and how public opinion of him was at an all time low. Qwark's latest news feed had attributed success against Nefarious to the combined efforts of the Q-Force...under the joint leadership of Ratchet and Captain Sasha Phyronix, downplaying his own role in the efforts, going so far as to say his own showboating during the crisis was a ploy to lull Nefarious into a false sense of security where the real heroes of the day were concerned. Since President Phyronix had appointed Qwark to lead the fight against Nefarious over his own daughter, this did not play well in the polls for him.
"I know Dad's not the best of leaders," Sasha admitted candidly as they watched, a rare moment of privacy for them given the hectic life aboard the Phoenix. It had actually taken the assertion that, as a military vehicle, the Phoenix was off limits to civilians in order to get the press to stop showing up. Thankfully, every member of the Q-Force had been awarded a military rank as part of their reward for their efforts in defeating Nefarious, so no exceptions had to be made. "But he does try his best."
"He's a rather hands off sort of leader," Ratchet replied. "He listens enough to figure out what the problem is, finds someone who's an expert in the problem, tells them to solve it, then leaves them to do it. It could be worse."
"Yeah," Sasha replied. "And his primary opponent in this next election is worse..." She gestured to the other side of the news feed, where her Father's primary political opponent was giving his speech, which mostly consisted of denouncing President Phyronix as an idiot and calling for a new leader that actually had a brain to bring a change to how the galaxy was run. None of his speech actually stated what sort of change he intended to bring. "He thinks he's smarter than he is. He's the sort to try and fix things himself."
Ratchet shuddered. "The last leader I encountered like that was Chairmen Drek of the Blargh."
"Exactly," Sasha replied. "It looks like the galaxy is going to have to pick between bad or worse..."
Ratchet was silent in thought for a time. "Unless someone ran against them from a third party," Ratchet suggested. "Someone with the charisma, confidence, and reputation to garner popular support even without major party backing."
Sasha looked up at him. "You aren't seriously suggesting Qwark run for Galactic President, are you?"
"Heck no!" Ratchet countered. "He'd be as bad as your father! He's still learning that he's not as smart as he thinks he is. We'd need someone who actually knows what they're doing in command. Someone with successful leadership experience that involved more than 'this is what you do, figure out how yourself'. Someone who covered themselves in glory in this latest conflict."
Sasha chuckled. "Well, I'd certainly vote for you," she replied, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.
Ratchet blushed, but shook his head. "I wouldn't do good at the top of the chain. I know my limits. I'm a blunt instrument. In battle or in a lab, I know what to do and how to do it...but politics? Governing? Diplomacy? I'd be lost at sea if I tried. It would have to be someone smarter than me."
"Twilight's turning ten next month," Sasha replied. "Even with a celebrity, military, and corporate career under her belt, she can't run for political office until she's at least 16."
Ratchet burst into laughter. "No way would I suggest Twilight run the galaxy. You've seen what she's like when she comes up with something new to experiment with. Do you even want to imagine what would happen if she got like that with the resources of the entire galaxy at her disposal?"
Sasha began to picture that.
Specters of long forgotten beasts out of myth and legend rampaged through the galaxy. Planets were torn apart, or tore themselves apart as they unfolded into hellish beasts. Mind flayers and other beasts far worse hunted the living, while the dead rose from their graves to sing hellish hymns of praise to the unleashed abominations.
In the midst of it all, Twilight took notes. "While the Elder Gods prove an excellent source of free energy, the side effects of tapping them are not worth the profit." She turned. "Daddy! I made a mess!"
Sasha shuddered. "Yeah, definitely don't put her in charge of anything bigger than a squad of Rangers or a labful of interns until she's grown up." She smiled as Ratchet laughed at her vehement reaction. "But who else could you mean?"
Ratchet looked down at her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
Sasha's eyes widened in shock. "Me? You can't be serious. I'm an officer, not a politician."
"A lot of military types go into politics," Ratchet countered. "You'd certainly do a better job than anyone else running, being your father's daughter will be an advantage because his political social circles will already know you, and Captain Qwark's already endorsed your leadership qualities. You'd win easily, and it would be good for the galaxy."
Sasha thought about that for a time. "...you really think I should?" she asked softly.
"Why did you join the military?" Ratchet asked, seeming to change the subject.
"To prove myself, and to serve the needs of the Solana Galaxy and its people," she replied without hesitation.
"Well, the galaxy needs a strong leader, and its people need someone who cares more about them than their own political ambitions," Ratchet replied.
Sasha was silent as she let his words sink in, mulling them over as the political news feed continued to play. "You realize if I actually did this...I wouldn't have time for the Phoenix...or you and Twilight."
"I know," Ratchet replied, his voice tinged with sadness that matched Sasha's. "But your Dad's going to lose this election. Nothing will change that. And you'd be miserable if that guy was giving you orders." Ratchet jerked his thumb at the other politico. "He strikes me as the expansionist sort, who thinks the solution to any problem is to start a war somewhere."
"True," Sasha allowed. She began running her hand over the nearby bulkhead. "I'd hate to leave the Phoenix, though. I'd want to be sure she was in good hands."
Ratchet grinned. "Well, Admiral," he joked, reminding her of the promotion she'd received as a result of her contributions to stopping Nefarious, "I do agree that the Phoenix needs a good Captain." He playfully gestured to the bars on his own uniform.
Sasha managed a smirk. "Well, you do seem to have an answer for everything...Captain."
"I try...Admiral," Ratchet teased back.
Grinning, Sasha reached up to cup his face in both hands. "So...what should I do with you now?" She lifted her face slowly towards his.
Ratchet lowered his face towards her.
"You should get a room!" Twilight called from the door. "One with a lock, maybe?"
Ratchet and Sasha both froze as the wave of giggles indicated that their moment of privacy had ended.
Heh... Ratchet, you seriously need to hold onto your girlfriends a little more...
Anyway, so we round off the 'throw away love interest' for the next game afterwards, I wonder when all the ladies will gather again to have a big harem get together, that would certainly be an interesting deal.
Heh... THIS will certainly be a funny topic in the eventual get together of all the alternative Mane 6, 'how many mommies have you got'?
lol, nice trolling from twilight and yes, I agree that one should NEVER under any circumstances give Twi the keys to the entire galaxy, regardless what age she's at. I mean her unquenchable curiosity alone has gotten her in trouble on its own, no need to give her the means to act on it.
so, we're out of the territory that I'm mostly familiar with, many things have changed due to the presence of an alicorn filly, and now we are going to enter the last game of the ps2 era R&C games, which I highly doubt will last very long, because Twilight will easily find ways to destroy Gladiator/Deadlocked
So at this point I'm wondering if you're just going to skip Deadlocked. Because if you aren't, ah, well, it was bad enough when Vox was just kidnapping Twilight and Ratchet (and Clank). With Ratchet boyfriend of the President of The Galaxy... Yeah, I'm betting a pretext to invade the Shadow Sector wouldn't take too very long to be found.
Phyronix's
false
Twilight's line at the end of this chapter ALMOST had me snarkin' 'bout age and maturity (or a lack thereof), then I remembered that my parents would say the same thing...
another change: instead of Mayor of Metropolis, it'll be President of the Solana Galaxy for Sasha. with Twilight by your side, you can do great things! Ponies make everything better!
excellent chapter can't wait to read more
..... I almost pity Vox, and i laughed at his fate in dreadlocked he dies due to his own stations self destruct system which he set off then tried to kill Ratchet instead of running like a smarter villain.
..... hmmm, as Commander-in-chief, at least i think that's the term for the president when s/he's exercising the presidents military authority. Sasha would be one of the few 'civilians; exempt from the military only ban.
Twilight, you adorable cockblock
I kind of wish more politicians were like this so problems actually got fixed instead of dragging on and on.
I'd vote for Sasha in a heart beat... especially since Twilight could say, "One of my mommies is the Galactic President!" and Sasha would probably help her with some legal stuff that's been holding back helpful R&D.
The opposition is Percival Tachyon, isn't he...
6165629 Nah, if it was him, there wouldn't be an election. Tachyon wouldn't waste time with an election with his goal of bringing back the Cragmite race and exterminating the Lombaxs completely.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
6165945
Cadence is going to be with General Iroh.
I don't know Bayonetta at all.
6166082
You mean the General Iroh of Avatar right? Not the one from Korra right?
6166110
Yes, from the original.
On one side, Twilight would solve the energy problem, on the other, well... Cthulhu wants a raise and to put Ryloteth on Aquatos. Either way, he wins. You either give him a raise, let him put his city on the local vacation planet of choice, or deal with an elder God with a temper going off and breaking physics with a poke.
Who could the other candidate be?!
Oh.
Oh god.
OH GOD, NO!!!
Skrunch is running for president?!?!?!
given the hectic life aboard the Pheonix
1. Phoenix.
6166117 This has been a fantastic way to start the day. First a hilarious chapter from one of my favourite authors. And then you tell me that the you are going to make a crossover with using one of the greatest teachers in the history of fiction. You really don't hoed beck in making sure I'm a happy man.
6165583 I doubt it was just towards Obama. Seriously. He's far from being the worst case scenario. A lot of the shit he has been blamed about, especially in budget and debt side, has been actually carryover from Bush administration screw ups, that Obama been blamed for. Then again, as I'm not American and don't really follow their politics 24/7, I can't really say I know the whole field.
6166253 not so much Obama getting blamed for Bush's screwups as Obama getting blamed for Congress's screwups. Both men are given a lot more credit and blame than either deserve.
The whole "let's blame our predecessors for everything" scheme is really tiresome, but unfortunately many politicians get away with using it.
6166306 You are correct, I'll admit that much. Though I also didn't blame Bush alone but actually his whole administration crew. Personally I was originally hopeful for Obama but in the end he didn't take anywhere as large steps as I had hoped.
6166082
Similar to Devil May Cry. Uses a similar battle mechanic and secret mission mechanic, but a little harder. All well, it was worth a try.
WERE GETTING CLOSE TO DEADLOCK! (i wonder if she is not alowed to meddle whit their items there)
6166117 umm are these stories all connected cause i've just read this one do i need to read all of them
So out of all the stories Tatsurou, who do you all think is the strongest pony? Me, it is Twilight
6166994
You don't need to to enjoy any one story in the sequence.
But there will be an eventual crossover story between many of those stories.
6167201
I choose not to speculate on that yet.
AH YEAH! Awesome chapter!
6132821
If you can afford to put two rounds into it, why wouldn't you?
6165583 Wow, impressive that such a simple comment could start one such comment chain.
6167604
1) I never claimed it was all Bushes fault or even implied it. I said a lot is the fault of him and his administration.
2) I'm not claiming Obama was perfect or even close to good enough but he still got blamed for shit he couldn't have done anything about. During the early portions of his presidency he was criticized among other things for the dept coming from paying military purchases made by Bush administration. That is just one example. Though I also ask you to admit that some of his inefficiency came from the other party opposing him in everything he tried to do on principal alone.
Make no mistake, I have no love for Obama either as he was nowhere near as good as what he should have been but I still don't appriciate the opposition slandering him either. I have heard too many speaches from both parties representatives, filled with so much bullshit and outright stupidity, that I'm more worried about what the people there must be like to actually believe their politicians. Though considering what little I have followed of the USA politics, competency seems to be a vanishing resource and choosing the lesser of 2 evils is a nasty situation to be in for anyone. Then again it's hard to get a clear picture of what goes on in there while I'm living in pretty much the other side of the planet. Can't exactly trust most of the news coming from there even among the channels running there, let alone what our own press gives us after filtering through them with their own agenda in mind.
Please, let's stop here before we go any further. There is no need for us to start any serious arguments, especially about politics. That would just ruin someones enjoyment of the great story Tatsurou has been providing us with. I'm sorry to have allowed myself to get this riled up about this.
6165583 That's having a go at pretty much every politician ever, and even if they do say what they're going to change (especially in Britain), they will scrap what they said and do the exact opposite. We can't win
Looks kike Rachet will stay single.
I see ratchet having a harem at the end of this story I just don't know why?
6168531 Guantamano Bay = open
And Twilight became the heroes most fearsome foe.
Seriously, the story so far has two Sunset Shimmer-like connections from Qwark to the Phoenix!
Sadly I could see that happening.
6167604
And unfortunately, America is now stuck with someone FAR WORSE than either of the two previous presidents. our electoral system seems to have screwed up big time with 2 deeply unpopular candidates in the actual election. to this day I am still convinced that if either political party had kicked their top candidate off the ballot and replaced them with their running mate, they would have won by a landslide.
8879167
Try one who cheated her way to the finals, and one who was far more popular than you gave him credit for... and who has increased said popularity to record heights. Those who hate him REALLY hate him, but the common voter? Last I heard, 51% approve of what he's doing, a greater number than anyone who's held the office prior.
8879167
Well look at it now. The guy's proven himself much more competent, while his enemies are shooting themselves in the foot with their willingness to censor and undermine other people to get what they want.