by Aer-ki Jyr
The crowd couldn’t contain its fury anymore and another outburst followed, but it was quickly stifled by the Russian delegation, who vocally berated the others demanding silence…with about half of them submitting. The rest remained vocal for a few moments longer, then eventually settled down after Davis hit a noise pulse button on his dais. The resulting screech/siren blanked out all conversation for a couple of seconds.
“Please proceed,” one of the Russian representatives said as he glared at the other delegates.
Davis nodded his thanks. “You will have exactly 10 years from today to successfully deliver and activate the beacon on the surface of the Moon, which must be accomplished by hand, meaning you have to send a manned mission and not just a delivery probe. All those nations, or conglomerates, accomplishing this task prior to the deadline will be included in the division of one third of the available territories, after which a second 10 year period will begin. Any nations added into the mix during this period will take part in the second allotment, followed by a third and final opportunity, at the conclusion of which the last remaining Lunar territories will be assigned.”
“Now, those of you who do not wish to attempt an independent Lunar landing but still wish to establish a foothold on the Moon will be able to do so within Star Force’s territory…under lease, similar to the system we are currently using for our space stations. Furthermore, any nation attaining possession of their own Lunar territory can supplement that with leases as well. This is not an either/or proposition. You can proceed as you choose…we are merely affording you options.”
The US President stood up while casually waving a hand to get Davis’s attention, then yelled loud enough to be heard from his position near the back row of seats. “Am I correct in assuming that our Lunar base already qualifies us for this first draw, along with Russia and China?”
“You are correct,” Davis confirmed. “You have already sent a man to the moon, and because you have done so prior to Star Force’s arrival, the territory you already have inhabited will be recognized as yours in addition to the first allotment.”
“What about our Martian colony? I’m assuming that at some point you’ll be wanting to divide that planet up as well.”
“You currently do not have a colony on Mars,” Davis reminded him, “but your landing there will most likely be accredited when we get to that point. Currently, Star Force has no interest or intention of traveling to Mars until we get our infrastructure in the immediate area of space established, though you can expect a similar allotment procedure to be employed down the road.”
“How dare you!” one of the execs bellowed from the front row, seated just below where Davis was standing. “Star Force hasn’t landed on Mars or the Moon! Yet you want to dictate to us what we can and can’t do there. You have no rights whatsoever to order us around!”
“But we can choose who to do business with, Mr. Arcardo,” Davis said, looking down at the head of one of Star Force’s ‘major’ competitors in the field of space tech. “And anyone who wants to fight us on this will no longer have access to our services.”
“That’s blackmail!”
“Sit down!” the American Secretary of Defense said from behind. Arcardo turned around indignant, then reluctantly bowed to the wishes of his number one customer. “I see now why you didn’t want the media present,” he added to soften the now tense tone of the summit.
“I don’t expect all of you to like this arrangement,” Davis acknowledged, “but after you leave this room and think the logistics through, you will find that it is a mutually beneficial arrangement…unless you prefer starting World War III to decide who has claim and who doesn’t.”
“That should be up to the UN!” someone else shouted.
Davis fervently shook his head. “You are the UN, and you could never come to an agreement…and even if you did, it would not be a fair one. Star Force holds all nations as equals, with equal access to our technology and an equal chance to gain Lunar territory. You won’t find a better deal…nor are we giving you a choice.”
“As for Mr. Arcardo’s claims that Star Force has never been to the Moon or Mars, I would like to point out that we are currently constructing a starport in orbit around the Moon to facilitate the transfer of cargo and personnel to the surface. Once completed, it will link to our Earth orbiting starports via a number of dedicated starship ferries, expanding the conduit to space into a larger transportation network.”
“Once constructed, the Lunar starport will connect to the surface via specially designed dropships, due to the planetoid’s reduced gravity and lack of atmosphere. They will shuttle down the supplies and crews necessary to establish a proper spaceport, from which we will begin spreading out across our territories, prepping them for lease.”
“As for Mars…a number of our starships are capable of traveling there and back if we so wished, but at this point we see no value in it. We will go when we are ready to extend our transit network there, not before. But make no mistake, we can plant a flag there easier than any of you can.”
Davis turned his attention back to the group as a whole. “Over the coming weeks, you will see this city swell with a population ready and eager to reach out towards the stars. Consider wisely how best to proceed, both for yourselves, your nations, and for the collective good of this planet...and in the end, I believe you will come to realize that this is the only realistic way we can move forward.”
“Take your time, consider your options, enjoy the festivities…you have ten years before the first allotment, so there’s no rush.”
He deactivated the territorial map behind him, with several realtime images of the sunlit city coming up as screensavers as he brought the briefing to a close.
“And of course,” Davis added a bit tongue in cheek, “welcome to Atlantis.”
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