by Aer-ki Jyr
Just before he hit the first one it cut off, right on time, and he cut back on the throttle. If he exceeded 80% then he’d outrun the gap and hit the water jets ahead of him, which he’d learned from watching Jason on previous days. Patience and precision were the key, though a lot of riders just tried to blast their way through, with about 2/3rds of those getting knocked off in the process.
Paul came through cleanly then hit another small ramp at the exit, coming down at a bad angle and bouncing him off his seat, but he held on and quickly righted himself as he entered a stretch of flat water racing that reminded him of going through the double corners of Indy…in video games anyway. He’d never actually driven on the gigantic motor speedway.
Cutting close to the buoys, Paul ran through that section of the course as quickly as possible, enjoying the waveless water and knowing he was making excellent time as he came to a section of ‘moguls’ and hit the tiny ramps at half speed, bouncing up and down in sequence to avoid bubble-like inflatables blocking the clear water in between. This also caused him to have to weave left and right, for the ramps weren’t set in a single line, and hitting them from an angle made the jet ski wobble a bit on landing, from which he’d have to execute another quick turn in the opposite direction.
Paul lost half his speed in the process, but maintained a semblance of rhythm and got through the washboard-like moguls without tipping over…which was no small victory. He proceeded to go through three more small obstacles then another flat water section leading up to the final jump on the course, and the biggest of them all, which was the primary reason no one had been waiting in line.
Paul caught his breath on the flat water and lined up his approach, which was easy without the waves buffeting him around. He accelerated up to 75% speed and hit the 5m high ramp dead on, launching him way up into the air, giving him a clear view over the top of the cabanas and down into the lagoon just off to his left.
Paul stood up on the jet ski and braced for the impact, using his body to reposition the craft beneath him as flat as possible, but it still hit a bit nose down, cutting into the water and dragging him under. He ducked his face down into the side of his arm just before the wall of water washed over him and he disappeared beneath the ocean’s surface.
With his eyes closed and his head disoriented, he used the hand controls and accelerated forward underneath the water, pushing his legs down and with them the back of the jet ski which began to rise nose up towards the surface.
Paul popped out of the water, gaining a bit of airtime in the process, then splashed back down, banging his butt on the seat as he coughed out some water that had, as usual, gone straight up his nose. He shook more water out of his hair and eyes and spied the finish line just ahead of him, so he ramped up the engine again and jetted forward, only able to half see where he was going. When he crossed the finish line’s motion sensor a loud tone sounded, along with a triumphant musical blast that he recognized as the audible signal of a new course record.
Paul spit out the last of the salt water from his mouth and slowly moved back over to the lagoon, gently ramping back up and over the lip that separated the elevated pond from the rest of the ocean and motored back over to the clump of trainees that now included a couple of the 8s who had just arrived.
“I can’t believe you just beat the nut cracker!” Sara yelled at him as he pulled up, using the name for the course given to it by some of the male staffers who worked the control cabanas.
“That was me?” he asked, half thinking that the sound had been for one of the other courses. He hadn’t expected to be anywhere close to the leaders.
Sara pointed up at the scoreboard, listing the top 25 times for each of the courses. Paul’s name now held the top spot, a good 4 seconds better than the previous record, held by Morgan no less.
“Wow,” he said, realizing what he’d just done. “That calm water works wonders.”
“Morgan’s going to be pissed,” Rafa said, laughing slightly. “I don’t think the 6s are going to get out here today.”
“Really?” Paul said sarcastically, with a smirk forming on his face. “That’s a shame,” he said as a jet flew by overhead.
Air traffic wasn’t uncommon over Atlantis, with planes coming and going at all hours of the day now that the final construction had been finished, but this jet was lower than normal and not a transport…it was military.
“That’s an F-35,” Sara pointed out as it circled around the city. Another identical one was visible in the distance, also circling. “What’s it doing here?”
“Guarding that,” Paul said, pointing up into the sky as a large jet was making a landing approach to Atlantis…with two more of the fighters flying in escort formation around it. “I’m pretty sure that’s Air Force One.”
“Guess the big wigs are starting to arrive for the grand opening,” Rafa noted as the American President’s plane disappeared over the mountainous edge of the city. “I hear Davis is hosting one hell of a party.”
“With heads of state?” Sara asked indignantly. “Bet that’ll be loads of fun.”
“I was referring to the festival,” Rafa clarified. “It’s supposed to last more than a month and draw in over 2 million tourists.”
“As long as they stay out of our way,” Paul said, looking at the waiting lines. He wanted to get back out on the water as soon as possible.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Sara told him. “Our sectors in the city are fully secured. We’re ghosts here as far as the public is concerned.”
“Hope it stays that way,” Rafa said, wheeling his jet ski around. “I don’t want to share the water with a bunch of bratty kids on vacation.”
“Speaking of which,” Paul said, seeing course 4’s line drop down to 1 person. “Let’s make sure we get our records back from the civies before the day’s over. We might not get this good of weather again for months.”
“I already got one back,” Sara boasted, moving off towards the lines with Paul. “Looks like they’ve still got four others.”
Paul looked up at the score board and frowned. Sara now had the record on his best course.
“You know, I am going to have to take that one back from you…”
“Feel free to try,” she challenged with a smile, darting ahead of him towards the waiting lines.
10
Four days later…
“I’d like to welcome all of you to this pre-festivities summit,” Davis said congenially as he looked out at the national leaders and representatives filling the medium-sized amphitheater set beneath a dome of semi-transparent glass in one of Atlantis’s many towers, “and I apologize for the lack of media access, but given the matters I will be disclosing, I felt it best that we keep things behind closed doors until you have a chance to consider all of your options.”
A subtle murmur swept through the crowd. Davis had extended invites to thousands of celebrities, making the next day’s opening ceremonies the social hot spot for the planet, with many more unsolicited requests for VIP status flowing in over the past 12 months in addition to the hundreds of thousands of tourists already present in the city, with many times that scheduled to fly in over the next week.
A second, more subtle invite had been extended to each nation on the planet, along with a summons to the heads of the prominent corporate entities that typically did business with Star Force, stating that he would be making an announcement concerning matters of national security and the future colonization of space. Follow up requests for more detail had been denied, reemphasizing the need for each invitee to be represented in person. Given that level of secrecy, and the profitability that Star Force afforded the planet, none of the invitations had been declined and many heads of state who were here for the opening ceremonies were also in attendance.
“It has always been Star Force’s mission to facilitate the colonization of space. To make it affordable, productive, efficient, reliable, and above all else…viable. A few decades ago, many peopl
e considered space exploration to be a waste of time and a capital black hole. I believe we’ve allayed those fears by now, but in truth we’ve barely scratched the surface of potential colonization. Today, with the opening of Atlantis to the public, I’m proud to announce that Star Force is taking the next step forward.”
Using a number of large, wall-mounted viewscreens placed above and behind him, Davis brought up a series of schematics and images of spacecraft and space stations.
“To date, Star Force has allowed your countries and corporations access to leases of portions or entire space stations, as well as transit contracts for both personnel and cargo using our fleet of dropships and starships. I believe most of you have found the arrangement to be mutually profitable, especially the smaller nations and companies who could otherwise not have fielded any space infrastructure on their own. I don’t believe it is an exaggeration on my part to say that Star Force has succeeded in granting virtually everyone access to the orbital economy.”
A soft, but widespread round of applause followed his statement, and he paused a moment to let it die out.
“Many of you, however, have requested more autonomy for your space programs, wishing to purchase craft and stations for your exclusive use. We have, categorically, denied such requests, insisting that if you wished to pursue that endeavor you would have to build such infrastructure and transportation yourselves. A few other startup space enterprises have offered you limited services in that department, but the truth is they are not sufficient to the task, nor are any of you capable of producing both the numbers and quality of equipment that Star Force currently fields.”
“There are two announcements that I have to make today. The first of which is the privilege of informing you that Star Force has grown to sufficient size that we now have adequate orbital construction capability to build our own equipment along with servicing external orders.”
Davis pointed up at the images behind him.
“These models we are now making available for purchase. They will be built on demand and delivered to a location of your choosing for your exclusive use. Star Force will not require any oversight or control of said ships and stations. They will be yours upon purchase, to use as you see fit.”
A much louder round of applause broke out, following by a standing cheer from all those assembled. This move by Star Force had been long overdue, so they attested, and had been lobbied for heavily. That lobbying had met a solid wall, angering many who resented Star Force’s resistance to corruption and the usual back door deals/arm twisting that planetary politics was plagued with.
Davis waved off the applause so he could continue. “Orders will be met as resources are available, and I imagine a backlog will develop quickly. I’ve designated one of our primary shipyards to handle your orders, so I promise you won’t have to wait an inordinate amount of time. Also, as we continue to expand our orbital infrastructure more shipyards will be coming online to handle the increased demand. We project our construction capabilities to triple over the next five years, which is why we’re now opening up our manufacturing division to outside orders. Until now, there was simply no way we could have kept up with the demand.”
“Now, as to who’s orders get filled first…that’s up to the construction schedule, though we will give some level of priority to first time orders so that you can establish an orbital foothold as soon as possible. Meanwhile, our leasing program will continue as it has been. If you wish to continue with that route of colonization, the choice is yours. Star Force maintains that we will provide you with options…the path you choose is your own to decide.”
“As you can see, there are several models of dropships, starships, and stations available. These have all been field tested to the extreme, with the new models of Star Force equipment not on the list as we work out the kinks on our own time. From now and into the indefinite future, all equipment offered up for sale will be established designs. Experimentals we will keep to ourselves, along with the risk inherent in them. All production models will have operational history and safety assessments attached to the brochure for you to review.”
“We urge you to take your time in choosing the proper craft for your needs, for while the costs are reasonable, they are definitely not cheap, and you will undoubtedly want to maximize your expenditures. We will assist you with planning if you inquire. We are, after all, investing in the successful colonization of space, and helping you helps us accomplish our mandate.”
Davis paused as he let all that sink in…then he blanked the viewscreens.
“The second announcement I have to make is the more important. Many of you may not like what I am about to say, and if that is the case I apologize, but it is not up for discussion. It is often said that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it, and in studying the history of colonization on our planet it is evident that your countries cannot be trusted.”
He let that hang in the air for a moment, then continued.
“Back when Columbus first discovered the Americas there was an extraordinary amount of potential in exploring and colonizing the new lands. In fact, many of the nations present here today are a result of that discovery…but the way in which events took place in the following centuries was abhorrent. The possibilities afforded to your nations were squandered through petty bickering, a lack of cooperation, and numerous misdeeds.”
“Wars were fought out of greed and the ambitions of evil men. This history is not one that we can allow to repeat itself. One would like to think that Humanity has progressed since that era…but present day events seem to suggest otherwise. You look now at the condition of certain regions of this planet and you will see how unenlightened that you are. Many of you cannot be trusted…others simply do not know what to do, and out of ignorance make many mistakes, some of which turn out to be fatal.”
“Then again, some of you offer a glimmer of hope. With our assistance you have accomplished significant feats, and we intend to further those relationships. To the rest, I have a warning to give you. Star Force will not tolerate your misdeeds transitioning into space. We do not, in any way, condone what is happening and has happened on the surface of Earth, but we will be judging you by your actions above it.”
“Any nation, corporation, or individual violating Star Force’s standard code of conduct…which we are now expanding well beyond the document that currently outlines your expected behavior onboard our installations…will be hence forth barred from any form of commerce with Star Force for a duration of our choosing, but two primary points I will tell you now. If any of you instigate warfare in space, you will be banned from Star Force services for a minimum of 10 years. If any of you should attack Star Force property or personnel, you will suffer a PERMANENT ban…and no governmental restructuring will circumvent it.”
“Let me make this crystal clear,” Davis said in a growl, almost berating the assembled representatives. “We will not tolerate bad behavior of any kind, and we will hold you accountable for it. Some of you may not take me at my word and be forced to learn through example…so be it. I am serious about this, as is the rest of Star Force. If we allow even a sliver of the problems on the surface of Earth to rise above the atmosphere, we will be killing our future.”
“It is your responsibility,” he said, pointing out at the leaders, “to solve the problems on our planet…Star Force will take care of space. And no, we do not need a UN resolution to sanction that position. We are the dominant force in the orbital economy. You all know it…you may not like it, but you recognize that fact, and today Star Force is asserting its latent authority to circumvent a potential powder keg on the horizon.”
“Before I get to that, let me reemphasize a point. Star Force unequivocally stands by the premise that all nations should have access to space travel. We will never use our influence to suppress one of you, regardless of whether you choose to do business with us or not. If you wish to go it alone and develop all your own craft, we welcome the company so
long as you behave yourselves. What I am about to do is not an ego move by Star Force…it is a move designed to ensure global access to space colonization for all concerned. We are the arbiters…not the rulers.”
Davis hit a button on his podium and a large picture of Luna appeared behind him.
“To date, three nations have outposts on the Moon. The United States, China, and Russia. Star Force hereby recognizes the prior claims to these locations,” he said, highlighting the three spots on the rotating picture, “while we hereby lay claim to these territories.”
The three tiny red hexagons on top of the outposts were suddenly engulfed in a mass of green covering 2/3rds of the planetoid.
An uproar from the representatives followed…as expected…and Davis waited it out, staring down at the politicians and corporate execs but saying nothing. A few minutes later their protests died out and returned to their seats as Davis continued to stare them down, but they were still on the brink of another outburst.
“That’s better,” he continued calmly. “You will note the remaining third of the planet we are not laying claim to. As I’ve said, Star Force has no intention to rule space, merely to lead the way and arbitrate between the rest of you. These regions,” he said, highlighting them blue, “will be divvied up between the nations of this planet over the next thirty years…but you will have to prove yourselves worthy. You get nothing simply for existing, as many of you will probably argue later. Our decision is final, and this is how things are going to play out.”
“If you wish to establish and operate a colony on the Moon independent of Star Force, so be it, but in order to lay claim to territory there, you must get there on your own. We will provide you with a specialized beacon, approximately the size of a car, that you will be required to transport from the Earth’s surface to the surface of the Moon intact…using no Star Force technology.”