by Aer-ki Jyr
“Here you are,” he said, bringing her to one of the doors on the curved wall. “Access code 217. You can reset it internally using the same number,” he said, punching the exterior keypad and opening up her new quarters. He stepped aside and let her enter first, dragging her luggage behind her.
When she entered the lights automatically came on, revealing a very large and well-furnished quarters. Too high end, in her estimation, for it was far better than any residence she’d had in New Zealand, even when she was the defacto head of government.
“All mine?” she asked sarcastically.
“I can provide you a map if you like. The bedroom is over in that quadrant somewhere, I believe.”
Jessica smiled. “I’ll manage. When and where am I supposed to report for duty?”
“You’ll be working exclusively out of this building, but the elevators won’t allow you to use them without a special keycard,” he said, holding up his own. “I’ll make sure you get yours within the next few hours, but feel free to move anywhere around the spire by foot. There are food, shopping, and entertainment facilities inside so the denizens don’t have to travel far, though once you’re settled feel free to explore the city. The buildings all look the same, but the interiors are very different.”
“I’m not here on a vacation, I’m here to work,” she reminded him as she left her bags in the center of the entry foyer’s floor and meandered over into the main living area…which was the size of a large patio sunken down into the floor with wall-spanning vid screens displaying a fake, green exterior of an encroaching jungle landscape. Two other doors exited from it, leading to additional rooms.
“In truth you’ll not be needed until after the 1st, but it may be useful to familiarize yourself with our staff and work areas. I can give you a tour after you settle in here.”
“Including economic data?”
“That you’ll have to ask someone else for. I’m just the tour guide, ma’am.”
“Is Vincent Ray also located in this spire?”
“He is.”
“Can you tell him that I’ve arrived and would like to speak with him as soon as possible?”
“No need,” a voice from behind them said.
Jessica turned around, mildly surprised to see her recruiter there…but then again, she’d half expected him to be the one to pick her up at the airport.
“I’ll take it from here, thank you,” the man said to the attendant, who nodded and walked off.
“I was wondering when you’d show up,” Jessica said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Not needed till the 1st I hear?”
“The word ‘need’ has been misconstrued,” he said, walking over and stopping a meter in front of her. “You’re free to start work before then, but once Stosur gets back from Atlantis with the round 5 details we don’t want to waste a minute of time, meaning we want you present for all meetings thereafter.”
“That’s better,” she said, loosening her arms and turning her back on him. She walked down into her pit of a living area and looked around the huge room, hearing him follow her down.
“Sufficient?” he asked.
“You know damn well it’s more than I’m used to.”
“Actually no, I don’t. Some private quarters are far more extravagant than this, and most of the ones I’ve seen pictures of were not in Australia. Some were from New Zealand, so I assumed you’d been given the royal treatment when you’d assumed the emissary post.”
“I was working, not relaxing.”
“Well, now you can do both.”
“Unless you have some specific task for me, I’d like to start with a complete overview of your economy and infrastructure. Can I access that information from here or do I need to be on a secure level?”
“I can bring it here, along with some food if you like? I don’t believe the pantry has been stocked as of yet, and if you want some more complicated plates we’ll have to order out, though there is a standard cafeteria one level above.”
“Order in and bring the information with you,” Jessica said without hesitation. “And make sure you’re available for extended periods of time. I need someone with firsthand knowledge of your systems to guide me through the basics.”
A look of resignation crossed over his features. “If I must.”
“You must,” she said coyly.
“Shall I also move into the guest room?”
“I’m not here for sex, I’m here to work. So don’t get your hopes up.”
“Never crossed my mind…but it does seem to be on yours,” he said, flipping the onus back to her expertly.
She smiled, suddenly caught off guard. “Perhaps it is.”
“What would you like to eat,” he said, returning the conversation back towards professional.
She squinted at him. “Actually, you can probably tell me. After all, you did a thorough background check before recruiting me.”
“Background checks don’t usually involve popular foods unless you have an allergy.”
Jessica didn’t answer, merely raising her eyebrows.
Vincent rolled his eyes. “Pizza, pancakes, or lasagna?”
She nodded fervently. “You did, didn’t you?”
“We like to be thorough.”
“Including my taste in men?”
“If that was taken into consideration, I was never told.”
“Hmph…pancakes and sugar sticks, if you have them.”
“Easy enough. I’ll fetch the food and leave you to unpack.”
“Get my ID card on your way,” she added as he began to walk out.
“Of course,” he said, then disappeared out of view and earshot.
Jessica sighed and sat down on one of the petite, but very comfortable chairs, sinking down into the cushions and leaning her head back, looking up at the high ceiling. This place she could definitely get used to.
A week later she and Vincent met up with the Australian leadership in a planning area of the governmental spire as Stosur was returning from Atlantis. They had 5 Regents, all of whom were elected from a pool of high ranking personnel in the 5 divisions of their government…Bioharvest, Mining, Industry, Security, and Research. Like a few other republics that had been established by Star Force, the people didn’t vote on a popularity contest, allowing unskilled individuals into positions of power. All ‘candidates’ had to have a level 12 rating, the highest possible within their respective divisions, to qualify for the elections that were held every 10 years, with each division staggered into two year intervals.
Stosur had only been a level 11 bioharvest administrator, and he’d confided in her in several long talks they’d had leading up to the new year that he had no idea why Davis had put him on the list. Vincent had told her that Stosur had been picked off the list by the Regents because he had a solid grasp of logistics and a knack for creating efficiency in places thought already to have been maxed out in that department.
Stosur had been more than welcoming of Jessica, whom he regarded as a peer in this whole endeavor, essentially giving her an equal spot to his at their small leadership table, and the Regents hadn’t disagreed. The seven of them, plus a few extras like Vincent, who were level 12 officials, were waiting for Stosur in a large, communal workstation that had several platform tables with touchscreen interface and individual holoprojectors…while there were two large scale units on either end of the elliptical chamber. One showed a diagram of the Solar System with all of the Australian colonies highlighted, while the other showed a schematic breakdown of their economy, with a swarm of numbers and graphs eating up the airspace.
Eventually Stosur walked in, with the door sliding shut behind him, and Jessica could immediately tell he wasn’t in a good mood.
“I know that look,” she said as the others remained silent.
Stosur walked up to the table most of them were standing around and leaned his elbows on it, lowering his head slightly as he shook it.
“We’re in trouble.”
“Do tell,” the Bioharvest Regent said.
“For the final test Davis is citing our need to be able to deal with unforeseen cataclysm, and to do so he is providing that cataclysm. Beginning on the 5th, he is levying a tax on all our possessions within the Solar System.”
Jessica’s face scrunched up. “A tax? Star Force doesn’t use taxes.”
“It’s for the purpose of simulation,” Stosur explained, running his fingers through his short, loose hair. “Should we lose a part of our infrastructure, we have to be able to maintain vital services without it. Redundancy is the lesson here, though he didn’t say it outright.”
“We’re already fairly redundant,” the Mining Regent noted.
Stosur shook his head. “He’s hitting us hard, judged by a set of economic variables.”
The emissary pulled out a datachip and stuck in into the table’s appropriately sized slot, bringing up a slew of graphs on the tabletop.
“If any of these indicators drop below the red marks, even for a single hour, we lose,” Stosur said, visibly vexed.
“What’s the tax?” Jessica asked, knowing that it had to be something fierce.
“Half of all our bioharvest produce, industrial produce, and natural resources will be given over to Star Force…though our stockpiles are immune. It only effects the active production. Also, there is a 50% tax on all revenue, not profits, but sheer revenue that our government functions on.”
“With our reserves having dwindled due to the jumpship project,” the Industry Regent remarked angrily.
“I don’t see how we can manage on half resources,” the Bioharvest Regent warned, with the others nodding their agreement.
“Not just manage,” Stosur corrected, “but keep our economy afloat in all categories,” he said, looking at Jessica. “This is his last hurdle to cross, and he’s sticking it to us hard. Any ideas?”
All eyes turned to her, and she was very thankful for those long flirtatious, but ultimately nonsexual study sessions with Vincent.
“A few, if you’re willing to get creative.”
“Define creative,” the Security Regent asked.
Jessica glanced at Stosur, referencing a conversation they’d had about her experience with New Zealand’s unsuccessful bid.
“Painfully scrappy.”
The emissary nodded once. “Let’s get to it then. We’ve got two days before the tax is implemented.”
Jessica suppressed a smirk and turned to Vincent. “Food, boy, we’re going to be pulling an all-nighter.”
He laughed once, then glanced at Stosur and reluctantly headed for the door. “I’ll see what I can manage.”
10
January 1, 2458
Solar System
Earth
Jessica followed Stosur up the circular staircase that led into Davis’s almost mythical office atop Atlantis, immediately seeing the iconic 360 degree wraparound window that showed the setting sun just nipping at the ocean off to the west. At the top step she paused slightly, spinning around for the full view and seeing nothing but open floor space save for the single desk on the north end where the Star Force Director currently sat.
She followed Stosur over to him, where he motioned for them to sit down in two of the small chairs opposite him.
“I must say, I am pleasantly surprised,” Davis began, looking out at the pair over his crisscrossed fingers as he set his elbows on his desktop, forming a rough triangle. “At the outset I didn’t think any nation would be able to complete all 5 five rounds.”
“Is that confirmation?” Stosur asked. “You had mentioned other factors being in play earlier.”
“So I did, and yes it is.”
The Australian emissary smiled, glancing over his shoulder at Jessica who returned the smirk.
“Where do we go from here?”
Davis tapped one of his fingers against the others. “Your work isn’t over just yet. In fact, it’s just beginning…assuming you’re willing to stay on.”
Stosur frowned. “For what, exactly?”
“As Australia’s leader.”
“The Regents are the ones in control. I was just a stand in.”
Davis shook his head. “No. Australia may still hold to a measure of democracy, but there must be a single individual through which I will work.”
“I thought they were sovereign now,” Jessica pointed out.
“They are,” Davis confirmed, “but that doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want. It means they’re a part of the team who can add their own flair to the mix, for better or worse. While I’ll be keeping tabs on Australia, and step in if things start to get out of control, your nation will police and manage itself with your interactions with me occurring through one and only one individual, and that person can’t be a messenger. It has to be the leader.”
“And if they don’t want a single leader?” Jessica asked.
“Then they don’t get their sovereignty,” Davis said flatly.
“It’s not sovereignty if there are restrictions,” Jessica argued while Stosur simply looked on.
“You don’t have the freedom to screw up or be stupid. Sovereignty isn’t about privilege, it’s about responsibility…and I have neither the time nor the inclination to babysit incompetent nations any further. Australia has earned a measure of peerdom along with Canderous, the Clans, the Kiritas, and the Calavari, but in truth you don’t belong in that group. You are a child that has a lot of growing up to do, which is why I need a single leader to deal with as you make strides to close the gap.”
“I’m willing,” Stosur offered.
“It’s done then. You now command Australia, and how you deal with the Regents is your own concern. Keep them, replace them…I will not interfere. That’s an internal Australia matter to deal with, so long as you don’t start taking the nation backwards.”
“As for you,” Davis said, looking at Jessica. “Why are you here?”
“She’s as much responsible for our success as I am,” Stosur said defensively. “I asked her to come along.”
“And is she staying with you?” Davis asked, though still staring at Jessica, which made her feel very uncomfortable. Attractive as he was, there was a look of raw power behind his eyes that made her feel very unsettled, especially with the cold tone in his voice.
“We’d be honored to keep her with us, but her contract expired this morning,” Stosur said, looking over at her.
“I haven’t made any plans.”
“So you’re here as a spectator?” Davis asked.
“I suppose you could call me that.”
“Should I not have brought her?” Stosur asked, steering the conversation back to himself.
“I’m curious as to why you did. The invitation was just for you.”
“We’ve been working so closely together that it just seemed natural…and given that she was already an emissary I didn’t think it would be an issue.”
“It’s not,” Davis said, dismissing any sense of misgivings. “I’m merely curious as to how you plan to move forward…and yet she doesn’t seem to have decided.”
“A day ago the round was still live,” she reminded him.
“A lot can happen in a day,” he said, turning his attention back to Stosur. “You’ve succeeded in earning your place at the big table, but you’re going to have to keep improving and upgrading your nation in order to stay there. To facilitate that purpose I’m reopening full access to the Star Force markets and returning the resources and credits we syphoned off from you over the past year. It is your responsibility to see to it that Australia doesn’t become dependent on the markets.”
“Furthermore, as now a full part of Star Force our weapons tech will become available to you, but it is only for the purpose of your security forces. You will not share it with others, and you will not permit it to be leaked or stolen as you build a properly equipped military to supplement Star Force’s fleet in the defense of your territories here and elsewhere. A police force
is not sufficient. You must become a war-capable nation like the others.”
“Understood,” Stosur said, matching the steel in Davis’ voice as he sensed the importance of what the man was saying.
“Your economy is still weak, as is your industrial and shipbuilding base. You must strengthen them and all other aspects of Australia. Do not depend upon private industry for anything. Allow it to exist and use it in the interim, but you have to transition all necessities over to government production, leaving only luxuries for the private markets, along with redundant production if they wish. Your economy will stay linked and open with the rest of Star Force, which is different from the others. Use this to your advantage, but waste the opportunity for growth that I’m giving you and I’ll rescind your sovereignty.”
“You are far behind where you need to be,” Davis said bluntly. “Maintaining the status quo isn’t enough. You have to grow and grow fast, which is why I’m letting you keep permanent access to the markets and private industry, both in your nation and throughout Star Force’s colonies. The Clans and Canderous will still keep their economies private, but under certain necessary or emergency conditions trading with them is permitted. You won’t have contact with the Kiritas or Calavari in the foreseeable future.”
“What exactly do you envision us becoming?”
“Someone I don’t have to keep looking over their shoulder to stay on task.”
“What can we do to help the war effort?” Stosur asked more directly.
“Keep yourself from becoming a liability,” Davis said, ticking that item off on his thumb. “Protect your own territories so we won’t have to devote ships to them, become an exporter of resources and tech that can feed the line troops, Canderous, or the Clans on the frontier while being safely within our protected zones, increase your population as much as you can support, and begin colonizing new territories as I make them available to you,” he finished on his pinky finger.