"If no one has any objections, then the impeachment proceedings against Myers can begin…"
"Wait, I object."
Just as a senior official aligned with Rocco was about to initiate the impeachment process, a dissenting voice suddenly echoed through the conference room.
The reaction was immediate. Those supporting Rocco frowned and turned toward the speaker.
"And what is Mr. Grove's opinion?"
Grove simply smiled at the displeased tone. With a wave of his hand, he sent a document to everyone present.
Faced with their puzzled looks, he offered no explanation, only gesturing for them to read it first.
Rocco narrowed his eyes. For some reason, he had a bad feeling. Whenever that feeling appeared, his plans usually fell apart.
This time, he really hoped he was wrong.
"I assume everyone has finished reading? President Myers has secured a cooperation opportunity with the European Space Agency. And as clearly stated, the European Space Agency recognizes only President Myers, so…"
The room fell into quiet exchanges as everyone began weighing their options.
Keeping Myers in office meant gaining the European Space Agency's support. Their stance was obvious. They were backing Myers.
Naturally, most of the benefits from this cooperation would go to Myers's faction. Still, the others would also gain a considerable share. And under Myers's leadership, the New United States had indeed been developing well. The real issue was the excessive concentration of power in her hands.
Now that they had already stripped away a portion of her authority, letting her remain president was acceptable. After all, taking more from her later would not be easy.
Rocco observed the shifting expressions around him and let out a quiet sigh.
The decision had already been made.
In truth, holding the presidency now only meant gaining a limited share of already-determined benefits from newly acquired territories. Compared to that, securing cooperation with the European Space Agency was far more valuable.
With that in mind, Rocco gave his people a subtle signal to stand down and wait for a better opportunity.
Seeing this, his subordinates quietly put away the impeachment proposal and looked toward Grove as if nothing had happened.
If not for the fact that they had just proposed impeachment, one might have thought they had nothing to do with it at all.
Grove immediately understood their silence.
It meant consent.
Myers would remain President of the New United States.
Even so, Grove couldn't help but sigh inwardly. No matter what, Myers's authority and prestige had taken a serious hit. Many of her future policies would likely be met with passive resistance.
But keeping her in office was already a hard-won result. From here on, they would have to take things step by step.
Grove stepped aside.
Myers walked out from behind him and took her seat at the head of the table. After scanning the room, she slowly sat down.
"Everyone, I acknowledge my responsibility for this campaign. But I still believe launching this war was not a mistake. You've all seen the threat posed by PROJECT. They have already taken part of our northwest territory, and they are still growing stronger. We must contain them."
The reactions in the room varied.
Some agreed, some scoffed, some remained indifferent, while others quietly exchanged messages.
Myers noticed all of it, but paid little attention.
She wasn't placing all her hopes on these people anyway.
Her real confidence came from the European Space Agency's support and those who still stood firmly behind her.
Just as she was about to continue, Rocco suddenly spoke.
"I agree with Myers. This campaign was indeed her mistake, but her overall judgment was correct. We must contain PROJECT. They are already becoming too powerful. We cannot allow them to continue expanding."
Myers froze for a moment, clearly surprised.
She had expected opposition, not support.
...
"Didn't expect that… The New United States reached a consensus so quickly… No, just on the surface. The cracks are still there… I'll just need to pay closer attention…"
Roland narrowed his eyes as he watched the meeting through Lissandra's feed.
Since completing her upgrade, Lissandra had already infiltrated the upper levels of multiple nations, gathering intelligence.
Only the European Space Agency and the Highriders remained not fully penetrated, but it likely wouldn't take long.
"Which faction controls the states closest to us?"
"Mostly the neutral faction, with a small presence of both anti-war and pro-war factions."
"I see… Have Zed and Heavenly Eye talk to the pro-war faction. After all, I'm a peace-loving person. I have zero tolerance for warmongers."
Roland said it with a completely straight face.
"Understood."
"Then send Kelly to approach the neutral and anti-war factions. Show them some of our products, test their bottom line, and then decide how much profit we're willing to give those greedy bastards."
"Yes."
If Source Code was going to expand, then the New United States market was essential.