by Aer-ki Jyr
“Then I don’t think we’re going to even get close to finishing the jumpship, let alone on time. We have three weeks to dig up additional resources or the production timeline is screwed. If we can’t make it on our own we need to consider all options.”
Several other Governors nodded, and she could sympathize. They were trying to keep their colonies independent, and didn’t truly care who they had to ally with to do it.
“Then let’s discuss all of these ‘options,’” Jessica offered. “If you have something to add, no matter how small, now is the moment, and we’ll take as much time here as needed. If we’re coming to the end of our run, let us make sure we leave no rock unturned.”
Three days later she left Luna via orbital ferry, transitioning from one Star Force starport to another as the dedicated starship carefully flew her and several hundred other people through the mass of stations that littered Earth orbit. Jessica sat in one of the plush passenger seats between two other people, neither of which she knew, sagging heavily as the weight of her responsibility seemed to be crushing her into her seat.
It was over now, and she knew it. She’d convinced the Governors to continue meeting the quotas as much as they realistically could, leaving the door open for her to find another way out of the jam they were in, but what little she and her advisors hadn’t previously considered the Governors had thrown out at her, detailing the ‘end of the road’ scenario they were now in.
Her New Zealand conglomerate was now more or less self-sufficient…but it had few resources left to do anything else other than keep itself running. Davis had said he wasn’t interesting in dealing with weak parasites, and while her nation might have gotten off the parasite rolls they were the textbook definition of weak. Forcing the remaining nations to undergo a construction project of the size and complexity of building a jumpship, even when Star Force had supplied the blueprints, was an all too true test of their industrial muscle…for it was showing they had none.
Constructing a spaceport and starport had been challenging enough, but the jumpship was much larger, and while not one of the monster varieties Star Force was producing nowadays, it contained so much mass that, without the exterior markets to buy resources from, New Zealand was coming up painfully short, and there was no magic wand around to summon up parts that didn’t currently exist.
The Governors had agreed that, unless she could figure out a way to get past this round, it would be preferable to be annexed into Star Force as they were, rather than attempt to solicit a merger with the Russians…not because they didn’t feel that was a workable option, which some people differed on, but because the Russian system of government was not to their liking. An alliance might have worked, but absorption into Star Force, who’d already let the Brazilians maintain most of their former structure, was deemed preferable to conversion into the hierarchical Russian domains.
So they’d basically finished their summit by working out the details of their demise, leaving Jessica without even the slightest flicker of hope of coming up with a solution. She’d gotten so used to ignoring the impossible and finding a way to do it anyway that she hadn’t realized how much of a hole she’d dug herself into, for with each progressive round of testing, New Zealand’s lack of preparedness was becoming more and more obvious, with her no longer able to make feasible adjustments after the fact.
She should have been proud of getting them this far and maintaining their national identity, unlike most of the other nations on Earth that were being cut up and reorganized to Star Force’s liking, but pride was not on her retinue of emotions at present, and the entire trip back to Earth was a dejected affair…which fortunately she was able to endure in private, thanks in large part to the dark wig she wore to conceal her bright blonde mass of hair.
Without the public’s attention on her for the moment, she had a long time to just sit and think, replaying every move she’d made and considering others that she’d passed up, trying to figure out where she’d gone wrong…but in the end she could find no solution, either because there wasn’t one or because she just wasn’t good enough to find it.
She got off the ferry at a Star Force starport, then secured a ride over to the nearby New Zealand version which was already showing a meager profit, despite its hasty construction. There she boarded a dropship and headed down to the planet, landing at the linked spaceport and traveling off on a dedicated rail line that would take her back to Wellington.
The wig was doing enough to camouflage her that she expected the train ride to be equally quiet, but only a few minutes into it a man walked up beside her at the window table she sat at and smiled down at her warmly.
“Rough last few days?”
“More than you know…and I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not in the mood for company just now.”
“I understand,” he said as he sat down opposite her anyway, pulling out an ID card that he slid across the two person table between her elbows and directly under her face as she held her chin in her left hand lazily. “But I’m not here to chitchat or hit on you. I’m here on business.”
Jessica sat up straighter and picked up the ID card, seeing that it tagged him not as a New Zealander, but as an Australian…and a high level member of their government at that.
“We’ve been monitoring you, which was why I was able to hop the same train back at the spaceport. Please don’t take offense, we don’t view you as competition or an opponent, but we wanted to keep tabs on all the other nations involved in the Nation Games. You’ve stood out from the others, and now that your nation is about to default, I’m here to offer you another job.”
Jessica frowned. “Who said we’re on our way out?”
“Your face, for starters. We’ve also been monitoring your economy statistics and know you’re nowhere close to finishing your jumpship…not to mention you don’t have enough corovon to create the drive cores without dipping into your stash, which would also cause you to default.”
Jessica’s face soured even more, though there was also a note of inevitability in it that showed she was starting to vent a bit of her pent up anxiety. “You’re very well informed.”
“We try to be,” he said with a soft smile.
“And what is it you’d like from us? Short on corovon yourselves?”
“No, we have secured an ample supply. There is nothing we’re asking from your government, this is a personal request to you and you alone.”
“So no hope of a bailout merger, I take it?”
“I’m afraid not. While you’ve done well patching together a workable government from disparate nations, Australia prefers to retain our existing…oh, how shall I say it…standards?”
“I envy that,” she admitted. “Do you think you will be able to hold them to conclusion?”
“Whether we can or not we’re not considering any mergers. As to our chances of making it to full sovereignty, that’s what I’m here to maximize. Now that you and your governors have concluded that there is no feasible way forward…”
“You’ve been spying on us too?”
“Making some educated guesses. Stop me if I’m wrong.”
“Go on,” Jessica prompted, leaning back in her seat and removing her elbows from the table.
The Australian repocketed his ID card. “When your nation officially defaults, we’d like you to help us make it through the 5th round. Your, shall we say, scrounging skills are most impressive, and we don’t expect the Star Force Director to make completion of this test anything but near impossible. He wants capable allies, and won’t let us off easy.”
“Have you had this discussion with the Russians?”
“No, they’ve already defaulted, though that hasn’t made the news vids yet. We’ve arranged to purchase a great deal of their equipment, with the credits going to stabilize their already toxic economy and pay off existing debts before Star Force begins reworking, and reworking heavily I would imagine, their governmental structure, which is exceedingly bulbous.”
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“Bulbous?”
“Top heavy would be another term, unlike yours. You’ve managed to run your nation with what amounts to a skeleton crew.”
“A crew of skeletons maybe,” she said sarcastically, referencing the long hours they’d been working. “What is it that you’d like me to do for you?”
“Troubleshoot…as a short term hire, if you prefer, but we’re offering a full position and citizenship within Australia. We’d like you to become one of us and, if we’re able to pass this current test, help us plot Australia’s future forward.”
“A lot of ‘ifs’ there.”
“That we are aware.”
Jessica twisted her lips up in a curious expression and leaned forward, noticing a couple of eavesdroppers nearby. She lowered her voice.
“What exactly do you need me for?”
“Thinking outside the box.”
“You have a box?”
The Australian smiled. “Are you always this charming when sleep deprived?”
“I can never seem to remember. Now, what is it specifically that you need help with,” she pushed.
He lowered his voice, also noticing a few eyes turning their way.
“Using the tools we’ve got in new ways.”
“You sure you’re not hitting on me?”
“No…should I be?”
“It might help your selling point.”
“I didn’t realize I had so many assets at my disposal.”
“Just a few, but then again, remember where I’m sleep deprived?”
“Yes, but any agreement here and now has to hold up in the light of tomorrow’s clarity, so I was going with the logic angle.”
“Sensible, though not as much fun.”
“I’m here on business. Fun can wait till later.”
“How much later?”
“How soon do you default?”
Jessica sat back again, laughing once. “Well I will say, if nothing else, you’ve lightened my mood, and I thank you for that.”
“There’s no rush. Take a few days and think about it…or a few months. We’d like to have you onboard, though, when we hear the round 5 terms.”
“Assuming you make it that far.”
“We plan to.”
“Such confidence. Reminds me of me a couple years ago.”
“We’ll take that as a compliment then.”
“We?”
“It’s a team effort, thus a team compliment.”
“I also have a team…one that’s not going to be easy to walk away from.”
“Once you default, it won’t truly matter, will it?”
“That depends on the transition and how much sovereignty Davis leaves us with.”
“Do you have good people?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then leave your former nation in their hands and come join ours. It’ll be Star Force calling the shots soon enough anyway.”
Jessica looked out the window at the low level buildings carpeting the landscape, with larger clusters popping up at various points in the distance where the ‘cities’ were located, at least those she could see around the mountains.
“I just got everything working here…” she complained sarcastically.
“A good reason not to waste the experience.”
Jessica glanced back at him, then returned her eyes to the window. “You’re an awfully smooth talker for someone so young.”
“Truth works wonders,” he said, seeing a ping of respect in her eyes. “And in fact, while many within Star Force might consider me young, I’m actually your elder by a couple of decades.”
Jessica raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve read your file,” he explained.
She looked at him closely. “So that’s what self-sufficiency looks like in a male.”
“Oh, now don’t start gender bashing. I’ll be forced to reciprocate and spoil this rapport we seem to be developing.”
“Yet you’re only humoring me.”
“Like you said, you needed a morale boost.”
“For a pep squad you’re doing quite well.”
“You’ve got skills that we need, and New Zealand no longer does,” he said, letting the playfulness dissipate a bit.
“You may be right, but like you said I’m sleep deprived. No answer I give now will hold up.”
“Which is why I’m not asking for one, just laying out the offer.”
“Laying out…” she said, considering his word choice with a smirk.
“Were the situation different, I might have had a second meaning there, but given your status and importance to Australia, I’m sad to say my intent is entirely professional.”
Jessica fake sighed. “Not exactly what an overworked, sex-deprived girl wants to hear.”
“Sometimes the truth hurts.”
“But we need it none the less. Any more innuendo-laced compliments burning on your brain, or is that the end of your pitch?”
“I think I’ve made my point.”
“Not nearly far enough.”
The Australian smiled again. “If and when you come to a decision,” he said, pulling out a datachip and placing it on the table in front of her. “Now, before my professionality flags any further, I’ll leave you to think…or nap,” he amended as he stood up and saw her very lovely face from another angle.
“Would a forehead red mark be unprofessional?” she asked candidly.
“It won’t diminish our interest in you by the slightest.”
“Good,” she said, offering him a faint smile as he walked off and into the next car. Once he was out of view she glanced around, taking stock of those near her and deciding they were unimportant enough. She crossed her arms in front of her on the table and lowered her head on top of her wrists, realizing just how tired she was as she phased out into the bliss of the crash nap within a matter of seconds.
9
December 26, 2456
Solar System
Earth
Jessica arrived at the primary airport in Wellington with three large bags of belongings and boarded a flight for Canberra early in the morning. With Christmas festivities over, she’d wanted to get a fresh start on her new job, in which she’d agreed to come on as a temporary advisor to the Australian government. She left with no fanfare, for she hadn’t told anyone the date or time of her departure, but she had gracefully stepped aside from the transition effort as the New Zealand government she’d put together began to be cut up and reorganized by Star Force administrators.
She could have helped with that, but no one begrudged her leaving it to others. She’d done everything she could to keep New Zealand independent, and no one of merit blamed her for the failure. In fact most people gave her credit for keeping them alive through to the fourth round, which would afford them additional privileges after the transfer, though what exactly they were Star Force had never spelled out. If it was anything like what the Brazilians had got, then her country would remain more or less intact, though with the adhoc conglomerate she’d hastily formed, there was no way to be sure how much of it Star Force would keep together.
But that was behind her now, professionally and privately. She had no regrets, ultimately deciding that New Zealand just hadn’t been strong enough entering the verification testing to make it through. Had it been a challenge where everyone started off on an equal footing then it would have been a different story, because there would have been a way to win and it would have been her fault for not finding it, but in this game that wasn’t the case, as Davis had made clear the various nations had to think and act for themselves, and not just be led around by Star Force’s edicts.
As the large Australian mantis took off, she and some 243 other passengers watched the urban landscape beneath them eventually drop off into ocean, then enjoyed a calm, almost unchanging view for an hour or so until the Australian coast came into view well below them. Jessica watched it on the viewscreens, having only visited twice in her life. While New Zealand was he
avily urbanized, Australia was not…at least not in the conventional sense.
Even from the extreme height the mantis was flying she could see the tiny shapes of the spires that dotted the coast, each of which was a large building constructed by the Australian government. Taking a cue from Star Force, they’d abandoned all private property rights and systematically rebuilt their cities with a forward thinking design.
Each spire was 1800m high, and identical to all the others, inside of which there were multiple levels of ‘private’ property. While technically the government owned the building and maintained it, they allowed the individuals they’d previously dispossessed to buy permanent leases inside for a very high cost, or pay a regular, cyclical lease as most people did…but not for living quarters. Those were free to everyone, with other pursuits, business or personal, requiring currency to attain.
The spire design was unique to Australia, with a very thin tip that only widened considerably when it got close to the base, which splayed out like a suction cup against the surface. This allowed considerable airspace between the spires, taking away from the claustrophobic feel of most cities on Earth. Each building flowed into those beside it, allowing for no land space or external streets. Everyone was housed inside, with some surface-top recreational facilities giving people access to the sun and air in the wide valleys between spires.
Though she couldn’t see it from here, for the coasts were covered with what looked like metallic hairs, the interior of the continent had been left to the wild country it had always been. As they needed, Australia was adding more spires and nipping into the raw landscapes a little more with each decade that passed, but they had not allowed any other building in the ‘natural’ regions, preserving both the land space for future building and what had become a rarity on the overcrowded planet...wide open spaces.
Australia was the one country that still had them, which garnered a huge tourist market which they restricted to manageable levels. With such high population on Earth, the Aussies had become more and more clandestine, keeping to themselves and holding others out, not for the purposes of being rude or selfish, but in order to keep their country in proper order, whereas other nations had let the crushing mass of Humanity turn it into a chaotic and often deadly circus.