Meaghar, Meagharian Insterstellar Stratocracy
2199
Grand Marshal Molly McKinley stared down at the cheering crowd from the perch of the Unity Party Rally Hall. Nearly a million Meagharians stood before her all in identical Meagharian military uniforms, a majority were the Human population that had founded the Secular Republic 189 years ago, counting from when Sherman was retaken from the Milofite Theist hordes, but a large segment were dwarves who descended from those liberated by Meagharian guns after the once close and loyal ally Durakia was taken over by the Theist Cult of Martov. Another segment were Vulpines who had fled lunaeria long ago to join a true secular nation away from their theist homeland, though most of that subgroup voted for the Radical Party and their Coalition of Opposition Parties who of course had opposed the unimpeachably popular McKinley and the Unity Party in every single one of the elections in the 15 years that she had held power. She was almost 50 but that was just under a third of life left to live and those of that age didnt look nearly as decrepit as they did in her great grandmother Mary’s time, besidesMcKinley didnt want to give up on power yet, not when meagharia had not yet acheived its full Exceptional Potential. Raising her hands the entire stadium, which was so large it had its own weather patterns, went silent all at once as the Grand Marshal spoke.
“My Fellow Comrade-Soldiers, I thank you all for joining me as I take the reigns of this country fully in mind again after a year of campaigning. It is my fourth term as your Superior Officer and as your Commander I would like to commend every one of this nations soldiers regardless of if they thought that the incredible work that we have done over the course of my three terms should continue. For regardless of politics this nation is in one way superior to all of the other Nations that now scatter the stars, we are truly exceptional. We are Exceptional Because we do not let any man or woman vote, regardless of their life experience, for this nation recognizes that the decisions of government cannot be entrusted to any but those who have defended it, so our nation has ensured that only those with the discipline to choose will have a say in who shall lead them. We are exceptional because unlike the other nations of the cosmos we do not merely consider secularism to be the lack of an official religion, for the Stratocracy recognizes that theism is an enemy that must be wholly destroyed, lest grow back through the cracks of our so called “Tolerance”. And We Are Exceptional because despite the cries of our enemies internally and abroad we continue to make strides in the sciences long before the other nations of this universe, as our rational soldiers minds know the disciplines and rigors of the scientific process and how to use them to advance us further and further, and faster, and faster. My Fellow Comrade-Soldiers The Stratocracy is the most exceptional nation in the Galaxy! And by being immersed in that nation you are the most Exceptional Citizens! Meagharia will move forward and through exception we will take our place in the sun!”
Only the loudspeakers had stopped the speech from being drowned out by the immense density of the cheers of support that poured out of the crowd. Shouts of “All Hail McKinley!” and “Hail Unity!” could be heard as the Citizens cheered on their Superior Officer. With that Grand Marshal McKinley turned back into the Unity Party HQ where the Grand Admiral of the Stratocracy Cara McKinley, Molly’s wife, was waiting. They had a quick embrace before continuing, Molly could smell a little bit of wine on Cara’s breath, she would have to order some underling to hide the wine better, Cara claimed the alchohol sharpened her ability to do her job but all it ever seemed to sharpen was the potential harm a scandal related to it could cause, but as well as being the love of Molly’s life Cara was a brilliant officer so she stayed in her position.
“You were…heh…exceptional out there!” Cara said sweetly if slightly slurred.
“I feel like I repeat the same thing every 5 years but if my Fellow Comrade-Soldiers enjoy that speech so much who am I to deprive them of it?”
The two made their way back to the actual government Building, where the Grand Marshal and the General Staff’s many departments and Sub Departments were headquartered. Today though the Grand Marshal and the Grand Admiral made their way to the department of Naval Research where the latest model of the cloaked Starfighters had just been completed. The starfighters were the pride of the Stratocracy, even if their cloaking capabilities were kept classified from the general public and the preying eyes of other star nations. More than one spy had been privately executed or placed on a plantation on Gardinar over the years but they had managed to keep the secret safe. The cheif scientist behind the project began their demonstration.
“As you know the previous generation of Cloaked Fighters, or as we have started calling them Moonfighters, was able to deflect most detection devices, but we only had a limited success in actually making it fully untrackable to the human eye but we’ve managed to crack the code very recentley.” With that the Scientist pressed a button on their paper thin tablet and the Starfighter vanished. “If you look a bit closer you can see the distortions it makes in the air, but from a human eye vantage point on a Starship that distortion is impossible to see, and its even harder for sensors to detect as it able to bend light and other electromagnetic pulses in a way that will likely be lost in the natural background radiation of space, at least if the enemy ship isnt specifically looking for us.”
With this Grand Marshal McKinley smiled the way a Cathleasar Captain does when they see how to wipe out the opposing team in a single attack.
“That is absolutely EXCEPTIONAL!”