The(questionable) burdens of leadership of a troll Emperor by Noodlehammer

Chapter 28

"Can you believe it?" Elizabeth Weir asked rhetorically, her tone full of wonder. "The Lost City of Atlantis, found in another galaxy and an expedition being prepared to reclaim it."

"I never would have expected Atlantis to be in another galaxy of all places." Simom Wallace, her fiancé, agreed.

They had just finished watching a press conference hosted by Naruto in which he had announced the discovery of Atlantis and the Empire's plans to go there. The most surprising part was not even the open invitation for Earth's governments to participate, but the fact that a considerable civilian contingent would be going as well. Even reporters were being invited, which was something that the military usually only allowed with the most grudging resignation possible rather than any kind of eagerness.

"I would love to see it." Elizabeth said wistfully.

"Ask and ye shall receive!" A bombastic voice announced from behind them.

Physician and diplomat both jumped off their couch in fright at the intruder, sending a bowl of snacks flying to the floor.

"Hi Lizzie!" Naruto chirped, ignoring her glare and the uncomprehending stare of her boytoy.

"Naruto." She ground out, holding a hand to her chest in an effort to calm down her furiosly beating heart. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, you want a story." He nodded as if this made perfect sense. "Alright then."

"There I was, drilling a hole into Antarctica and stripping the Alteran outpost under it bare-"

"There was an alien outpost under Antarctica and you claimed it all for yourself?" Weir interrupted.

"I certainly wasn't going to let any of Earth's governments have it." Naruto shrugged.

"The UN won't like it." She warned.

"Oh please, the UN still hasn't stopped arguing over the fact that we're mining the rest of the Solar System. I'll die of old age before they agree on anything and I'm fucking immortal." He scoffed.

With the piecemeal way that Earth was being absorbed into the Empire, Elizabeth had to concede that he might well be right.

"I know that you work for the UN, and I don't hold that against you, but you have to admit that it's pretty useless." Naruto went on.

"Your point?" She prodded wearily, not attempting to defend the United Nations even though she disagreed. The UN most certainly was not useless, but she knew her interlocutor well enough to know that he would relish getting into a tangential argument with her and in the process completely derailing the conversation.

"Right. So, there I was stealing a cache of highly advanced gizmos that technically belong to the people of Earth by dint of being on their planet when my people come across references to Atlantis. Apparently that outpost was the spot at which it launched from when it traveled to Pegasus. Having been enough of a bastard already, I figured that I could throw Earth a bone and invite them along on this expedition. That brought up the problem of having so many different groups in one place, some of whom didn't exactly get along. Then I thought of my good friend Lizzie and her expertise in getting people to compromise without resorting to violence and here I am, inviting you to come along."

Having finished with his sales pitch, he stared at her expectantly and Elizabeth took the opportunity to consider what he said and what he hadn't said.

The line about him being enough of a bastard and throwing Earth a bone was almost definitely a lie. She might not know him well, but their brief acquaintance was enough to tell her that he was not troubled by a guilty conscience over what he was doing.