Capítulo 52: I Am The Senate (or)
POV Rio
I was at the White House with Lex as we were told to come meet the President so he could personally thank us. We walked into the Oval Office and the President rose and asked us to take a seat.
President: "Thank you two for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet me."
Lex: "No problem Mr. President I am more than honored you chose to invite me."
Rio: "I am the same."
President: "I invited both of you here to express my gratitude for your services to the American public. The two of you and your companies have saved the lives of millions through your inventions and charitable actions. I also wanted to tell you in person that I intend to give both of you the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The ceremony will be held in November but I wanted to tell both of you in person."
Rio: "I would be honored to accept it."
Lex: "As would I."
President: "Good beyond that I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your actions. Mr. Luthor your company was almost single-handedly responsible for preventing the Cancer rates from skyrocketing thanks to your Anti-Radiation products. Mr. Magus your Sentinels were crucial in saving the lives of countless people by being able to go into areas that no human could safely enter. Both of you on behalf of the United States Of America, thank you."
After that, we talked a bit more and had a photo shoot to show to the public. Lex and I knew that this was mostly a publicity stunt as the current President is looked quite unfavorably currently, due to his failure to stop the monster.
POV Armstrong
I was sitting in my new office. I had just been confirmed to replace the Senator who passed tragically away during Godzilla's rampage. It took a few strings to be selected as the replacement but we managed. I was fortunate that the Senator who died wasn't the one I was an aide to as it left fewer people suspicious. Mind you there were still some questions since I seemingly came out of nowhere and got the position. I am also one of the youngest senators ever. Only Amidala holds the record of being just shy of 21 years old. I look at the most recent report of my approval rating and see it is quite high.
'87% not bad. Most of the approval rating is from me going into radioactive areas to save people. Nobody knew how I managed to do so without dying but I know it was just Nanomachines, a Shield, Rad-X, and Radaway. I will need to keep the current momentum if I want to win the eventual election. I have around 2 and a half years before my term is up. I have an event for the 4th Of July in a few days. Hmm, now what to do with my position? I know the most recent bill on the floor is about reducing the funds given to the military and moving to civilian relief projects as well as reducing the amount of troops the US has overseas. I know that Amidala will support the bill as the military is not very helpful as it is and the government is paying massive amounts of payouts to the grieving families of soldiers. I think most would support me if I voted for the bill as both me and Amidala are easily the most popular Senators at this time.'
I hear a knock and tell the visitor to come in.
Aide: "Sorry to disturb you sir but you have a visitor. They go by the name of General Ross."
I tell them to let them in. Meanwhile, I try to think what Ross could possibly want with me.
'Surely he isn't here to tell me not to vote for the defunding of the military.'
Ross: "Thank you for seeing me without an appointment Senator."
Armstrong: "Please I am ex-Navy, I will always try to find time to meet with the military. Now what can I do for you?"
Ross: "I would like to request you don't vote for the bill currently on the floor."
Armstrong: "Straight to the point, eh? I like it. Now before we go further I must ask why you have gone to me. I may be popular but I am still only one Senator."
Ross: "I came to you because of your military history and because you are very popular with the public and even with other senators not in your party. Moreover, your vote could heavily influence the vote either way."
Armstrong: "I am sure you know that I am a representative of the people so I cannot make a decision that the public won't agree with. I will need something to convince the people that the bill is not good for them."
Ross looks to be thinking and has a slight frown on his face.
Ross: "I am here as a representative of a coalition of high-ranking members of the armed forces. If you help us out we can help you and your future campaigns as well as opening a new base in Colorado. Doing so can help the economy of any area it is located near."
Armstrong: "I know you know that the US is not in a financial position to build new bases when we lost a few hundred bases both on and off record. Moreover, the public opinion of the armed forces currently is as low as it has ever been. Even the war overseas is no longer an interest to the public. Both the Senate and House are questioning the need to continue the war overseas when the US is in such a deplorable state. So far you haven't said anything to convince me to vote in one way or the other."
Ross: "We can do a lot of things for you. All we are asking is for you to abstain from the vote. The base will happen we guarantee it. Beyond that, we can offer some of our best men to help protect you. We will support your election campaign. We can also reduce the number of people we recruit from your state. Moreover, we can support LexCorp more as we know he is a supporter of yours and we heard you have become friends with their CEO."
Armstrong: "I can agree to those terms. But I want you to end all contracts and future sales with Hammer Industries. Further, I want you to reduce future purchases from Stark Industries. Lastly, I want you to send the Army to help rebuild Colorado. Do all that and I will abstain from voting."
Ross: "Let me make a quick call to make sure I can give you all I ask for."
I wave him away.
'He must be really desperate if he is willing to accept that deal. I am not so sure I actually want to agree to this but if they are willing to agree then I will accept as it will benefit Colorado greatly and I don't actually have to do anything.'
Ross: "We can accept most of those terms but we have to decline the termination of all the contracts unless you vote against the bill."
Armstrong: "Counter offer, you end all contracts that you can without suffering backlash. If any contracts can't be canceled legally or without costing you money then I accept that."
Ross thinks for a few minutes before accepting.
Armstrong: "Pleasure doing business with you General."
Ross: "You as well Senator."
Once he leaves I make sure to let Monika know what just happened by activating her videogame on my phone.
POV Padme
I was in the Senate building listening to the arguments for and against the current bill. I was part of the group that is for the bill. Currently, our group has 47 members and the next biggest group is undecided or neutral at 38 members. Both major parties were torn on what to support. The current opponent group consisted of only Hydra members. I was next to talk about the bill and I had made a speech based on one I gave a long time ago.
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Authors Note:
The next section is a nearly word-for-word copy of Padme Amidalas's famous speech. If you want to watch the speech for yourself watch 'Star Wars Clone Wars best speach ever' on Youtube. It is only 3 and a half minutes. Watch to the end to also see a version of what Hydra says. (Also it is not a typo on my end that is just the title of the video.)
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Senate President: "The Senate recognizes Senator Amidala of California."
Padme: "Grace Cooper. Grace is one of my aides, like so many of the people we tell ourselves that we are here to serve. Grace lives in a city that rarely has electricity and clean water as a result of Godzilla's rampages. Her children can now only bathe every 2 weeks, and they have no light to read or study at night. The Government has always funded these basic services, but now there are those who would divert the money to the war with no thought of what the people need to survive. If not for people like Grace and her children, who are we fighting for? My people, your people, all of our people. This war is meant to save them from suffering not increase it. I support our brave soldiers whether they come from abroad or from any of the states loyal to the Republic. But if we continue to impoverish our people, it is not on the battlefield where Bin Laden will defeat us but in our own homes. Therefore it is our duty and our responsibility to preserve the lives around us by supporting this bill!"
Once I finished my speech the Senate clapped and I saw many smiles and I felt I had done something right. I looked and saw the Hydra-aligned senators were not happy. Once everyone calmed down the votes were gathered and the bill passed 84 for, 15 against, and 1 abstaining. With that, the bill was signed by the president and we would begin diverting large portions of money away from the military and into helping the people. Once we had finished for the day I hurried home as the Psychic Ring I had might not be able to save me from everything Hydra might use to eliminate me.
POV Alexander Pierce
I was sitting in my office talking with Sitwell.
Pierce: "Isn't it remarkable that with all our resources and sway. The words of a single Senator can sway the thought of millions."
Sitwell: "What are you going to do about her?"
Pierce: "For now nothing, she just won that vote and now she is too popular to do anything against her. We will make a plan to deal with her if she continues to be a problem. We will be patient but for now, we must adhere to the principles of this Democracy. We must let the Wheels of Democracy turn."
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Authors Note:
I wanted to do a chapter showing that Rio and Lex are getting recognized for their achievements and actions. I was also recommended to do a Senator-based chapter by Money_Miwny. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and until next time Ciao.
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