"The Chair notes that while he is entranced by the wisdom and sagacity of the speakers, he is reminded that these matters have been debated repeatedly, and that he has thought carefully about all the issues that have been raised thusfar. I propose in the interest of brevity that I recognize one more speaker for Teal to even the count--that would be Senator Thorne--that we ask the Grand Commodore for any further advice he might have, that anyone who has suddenly found a new issue that we have never before noticed be allowed to speak, and that as breakfast approaches we go to the vote. I realize we would all like to discuss this matter further, but remind the committee that for the first day it is not expensive to switch plans. Delay, however, costs one element we cannot replace, namely time. We shall return to this soon. Is this agreeable to the Committee?"
"Mr. Chairman, I so move." That was Fuller.
"We have a motion." Meyer hoped his colleagues did not catch his stumble. That sort of request was almost never made as a motion, unless someone really wanted to show the Committee's position sharply. Why? "On the motion, hands for ayes. Hands for nays. Ayes have it," Meyer announced. By a large margin, too. He'd lost more votes from his own party than from the opposition. However, his party had recently expanded their majority, and there were still a few new Movimiento Senators not utterly tired of the sound of their own voices. He had their names. They would each get an ample period in this afternoon's session when there would be more of an audience. "Senator Thorne?"
"Mister Chairman. I shall endeavor to confine my remarks to matters not previously considered. I refer to the novel FEU vessels, novel in class, design, engine rooms, secondary drives, radars and lidars, warp fields, and perhaps other items to be identified. Their value as warships is unclear. Had they stepped off the screen of Star Commando Jill, they could be no stranger." She continued without a pause, ignoring the gentle laughter at her holovid reference, to a heroine whose military and amatory exploits against the FEU drew an absurd fraction of the weekly viewing audience. "One may wonder whether the orthodox Engagement Mass Ratio Standing Order will prove adequate. A larger fleet is then perhaps desirable. Except in the short term where no case is adequate, Plan Teal yields a more substantial mass buildup, not to mention more thorough repair and maintenance of older vessels now in dead-dock. In addition, it is less consumptive of unrestricted reserves, reserves that might be put to use under Tab 412. I do not myself support Tab 412, but its supporters should note that Plan Teal yields substantial opportunities that Plan Sunflower does not. Alternatively, Plan Teal leaves unrestricted reserves available for contracts to alternative Intelligence Corporations, since it appears that the usual sources did not identify EU development of novel ship types. I could continue, but time is our most precious resource."
Meyer stiffened. Asking supporters of Tab 412 to support Teal had an implication for opponents of Tab 412. "The Chair invites the Grand Commodore's observations."
"Mr. Chairman, I do as best I can with the forces I am allotted. I have heard no military issues raised by this Committee on which I might shed further light. As it is not in my report, I shall stress my agreement with Senate Thorne on the peculiarities associated with some FEU ships, but it is the Committee's charge to settle which mobilization Plans and Tabs are invoked. Finally, Mr. Chairman, I allow that it is further on the agenda, but in my opinion the legal preconditions for declaring a State of Military Interest exist. As the Senior Flag Officer, I am indifferent to this Senate's decision on that question, but I am charged by law with reporting that the preconditions appear to have arrived, as detailed in my report."
Kalinin paused for questions. "As the Grand Commodore has reported that a State of Military Interest may have arisen," Meyer said, "It is this committee's task to proceed with an immediate vote on the question. The Grand Commodore's rationale for each of the requirements appears on your screens. I am under Senate Rules to allow five minutes for silent consideration of these facts."
Meyer spent the time making his own checks. He had always had doubts about how those Senate rules would work if the case for Military Interest was ambiguous. Fortunately, the case was overwhelming, and notes from the minority leaders agreed. "As time is elapsed we proceed to a recorded vote. Vote. That is over the two-thirds majority." In fact, though he would not say so, it was close to unanimous. He wondered whether it would have been nearly so close if someone else were Committee Chair. "I shall close the meeting with my official duty. First, no one has indicated to me that they wish to raise other novel issues. I ask for a committee vote on going to a vote on the Plans. Procedural vote carries." He knew what was about to happen, didn't like it, but really couldn't do anything about it. Kalinin could have put in a word for Teal, and had not. The vote would have been very close, until Thorne had through her clear honesty mobilized Tab 412 opponents. "Vote on plans. Choices are Teal and Sunflower. Votes for Teal. Votes for Sunflower. Indicate desire to change. Change. True vote is recorded. Sunflower still carries. We are almost adjourned for breakfast, barring objection. I allow that the objecting sounds are our stomachs." The committee, which had not objected, smiled.
"But first I have my own specific duty to perform." He handed his hammer to Braithewaite-Duclos. "In the name of the people and the Joint Senates," he stood, his seal of office firmly grasped between his hands, "It is the finding of the Joint Senates that a State of Military Interest exists, and therefore that it is my duty as Chair of this Committee to assume actively my post as Commander in Chief of the Planetary Self Defense Forces of the States of Lincoln, exercising tactical control of those forces under the strategic and logistical command of these Senates. This shall be done." Grand Commodore Kalinin and his two staffers had snapped to attention and were saluting. Meyer touched his hand to his chest. The three military men sat. "I will confer with my officers over breakfast, at which members of this Committee are welcome to listen. My intent--given that until we are mobilized we cannot engage with hope of success a major FEU force--is to deploy forces adequate to stop commerce raiders at the warp points, and retain the remaining forces behind the planetary ether screens."
Meyer realized that almost no one in the chamber other than a few Senators was old enough to remember when separation of powers referred to a balancing arrangement between branches of government, not to something Congress did to the Administrative Support Branch on a regular and rigorous basis. Separation was good for tomcats, and it worked on the Support Branch, too. Behind Meyer there was a muffled click. His senior MinuteGirl guard had taken the safety off her weapon, exactly as custom dictated for the weapons assigned to stopping him once he actively assumed the Commander in Chief role. It was not that there was any danger. She was there to remind him that he, too was human, that she and her sisters were The Glorious Shields of the Republic, and that they remembered history.
Chapter 4
"...Texas stipulates that this Court has indeed ruled in Cincinnati vs. Braddock that representations of the sexual act involving people cannot be obscene, and therefore Constitutionally cannot be banned. It is our position that Cincinnati did not eliminate the legal concept of obscenity, but merely removed portrayals of the sexual act from the list of potentially obscene topics. Mindful of the classic observation that one knows obscenity when one sees it, we contend only that the topics listed in the Defense of Texas Act of 2053 and under challenge here, viz.,
1) statements advocating the creation of a standing army, and
2) hoplophobic propaganda
are indeed properly identified as obscene. Defense agrees to specify, as is in fact our practice already, that statements advocating amendment or repeal of the Defense of Texas Act of 2053, that argue that one should be permitted to advocate for the issues under question here, but that do not directly advocate creating a standing army and do not transmit hoplophobic propaganda, are Constitutionally protected political speech..."
...Wilbur Nguyen Nogales, Attorney General of Texas, successfully defending the Defense of Texas Act of 205
3 before the United States Supreme Court, September 30, 2057.
AZORES CONVENTION NEGOTIATION FACILITY
Terceira, Azores Neutral Zone
April 27, 2174, 2:45 PM
A Boeing 747, "The United States of America" lovingly hand-stencilled on her antique fuselage, taxied to a halt at runway's end. Ambassador Rafael Keithley nodded to his two fellow delegates. For someone accustomed to instantaneous interstellar travel, it had been a painfully slow flight. However, Article 202 of the Azores Convention prescribed every detail of a negotiating session, down to the model of aircraft and flight path each delegation would use to reach Terceira. Renegotiating that Article of the Convention might take several years, assuming the Article could be renegotiated at all. The safety modification allowing ambassadorial aircraft to be fitted with an emergency contragrav unit, active only if all four engines failed, had needed two decades to reach agreement. A proposal for renegotiation might lead to all sorts of other difficulties.
The trip did waste half a day, but, as Keithley reminded himself, it was a fine excuse for the delegation to compare notes and share photographs of great-great-grandchildren. 130 years ago, an exactitude in specifying how one reached Terceira appeared mandatory. Now the Convention gave employment to the small group of professional hobbyists who kept alive the ancient art of jet aircraft manufacture.
Keithley launched into his formal remarks to his party, either of whom could have recited the boilerplate without an instant's hesitation. Pocket recorders preserved voice and image for the diplomatic archives. They had long since agreed that adherence to an exact routine gave them the tranquility of mind and fixedness of purpose they needed to complete their duties. "Notwithstanding that we have been doing this, the three of us, for the past century, I note for the record the circumstances of this session:
"Yesterday the European barbarians called for a Special Meeting, as specified under Article 100 of the Azores Convention, of the Azores Negotiations Commission. This is to be a two-party session, ourselves and the FEU. The neutral observers as chosen by lot in the current cycle are from the Schechuan Scientific Kingdom, Successor State to the Szechuan People’s Democratic Empire, and the Central Javanese Imperium. The Europeans deviated from their usual practice by correctly reminding us that Article 37 provides that the choice of delegates is solely made by delegation's own nation, no matter the political history of the delegate in question, and that ambassadors of other powers could be included in a delegation.
"If they want to send the Butcher of Lowell--allowing she's not dead of old age -- they are entitled to do so, and we shall receive her with the respect given to any other Delegate.
"The stated topics of the special meeting, as provided by the European Union in advance of the session, are alleged American violations of Article 357 of the Treaty, alleged American violations of Article 5 of the Treaty, and, under Article 599, a desire to consult on issues of mutual security. As you will recall, under Article 357 we allowed the Europeans to have exclusive use of the Moon, Mars, most of the asteroid belt, and the Sol hyperspace net, while we were granted control of Mercury, Venus, the Kuiper belt, and the four gas giants and their moons. We do not, of course, emphasize that at the end of the Incursion neither party had significant forces in any of these places. Article 5 is the actual cease-fire statement. One might guess that Alpha Centauri is the Article 5 question, which they of course think we do not know about. Article 599 permits negotiations on common defense and other matters of mutual interest.
"The Europeans called the meeting, so we will be the first to announce ourselves. The neutral delegates will maintain session tapes and transfer exhibits. Final check, gentlemen?"
The three delegates stood and. Each walked slowly around the other two, making a final search for fragments of lint and other deviations from sartorial perfection. They nodded approval to each other.
Keithley wondered what was going on. It was conventional for the side calling a session to specify the topic, but the European list of Articles was a dog’s breakfast. There had never been any question that each side could constitute its own delegation. In fact, Article 37 had been inserted at American insistence, facing pointed European objections until the siege of Albany ended victoriously, to guarantee that American Delegates would not be arrested or kidnapped by Europeans. Article 5 was only invoked when there had been a cease-fire violation, but the Solar System had been quiet for the past several years. Article 357 was occasionally invoked to resolve ownership of asteroids in especially eccentric orbits, but those disputes had petered out some time ago. Keithley was fairly certain that if another strayed rock had been found the Solar Navy would have advised him. And Article 599? Most Americans viewed it as a private joke on the part of the original negotiators, whose meaning would eventually be explained by its authors. The recent events at Alpha Centauri might explain things, but the list of articles seemed odd.
Keithley gestured. The door to the main cabin opened.
The technical support staff was far smaller than might have been needed a century and a quarter ago. Two stewards were available in the unlikely event that the servots were inadequate. A single technician handled realtime communications to the United States, a hull mounted communications laser transmitting up to a vessel of the American Solar Navy, then across and down to New Washington. If the Delegation needed information during a session, the State Department would do its best to supply it. Keithley had always found the communications console warning panels flashing ‘AutoDestruct Armed’ to be overly melodramatic, though they did serve their purpose.
The Delegation’s bodyguard detachment was specified in the Convention. Four people, not biologically augmented or wearing body armor, each armed with a pistol of specified design, each carrying no more than a specified number of rounds of ammunition, were to escort a Delegation to and from the Negotiation Hall. FEU delegates were always escorted by a quartet of StarFleet Europa Marines in FEU black and silver. Keithley’s escorts, four young women in royal blue pantsuits sewn with gold, were supplied by the Popular Army.
Negotiations are largely ceremony, Keithley thought. We could perfectly well stay in Brussels and New Washington, communicating by videowall. Admittedly the Pontefract screen would be a challenge. But ceremony matters, and now it begins.
Keithley’s escorts stood at parade rest awaiting his appearance. When the door opened, the four women pivoted to face each other. Each wore across her back a shawl, gold and scarlet, a golden eagle rising renewed from golden flames. Phoenix Guards, noted Keithley, the MinuteGirls’ elite volunteer corps. "Our lives are the Republic’s," the seniormost intoned. Hands slapped in unison against collars. Still in perfect unison, hands returned to waists. Each left collar now bore a flat tab, a small, matte-black sword. "Front!" The women pivoted to face Keithley.
"Sir! Your bodyguard detachment stands prepared to die in your defense!"
"Very good," Keithley said. "Let’s be on with it. The Europeans seemed singularly in a hurry to talk with us." MinuteGirls, he thought. The Shields of the Republic. And I rate not just Phoenix Guards, but four Mistresses of the Sword. He considered repeating to their superiors the suggestion he made every decade: His bodyguard represented a potential waste of extremely skilled people. Either they would have nothing to do, in which case someone less capable could perform the task, or the FEU would break the truce, in which case they would fight to their own deaths against totally overwhelming force. Surely in that case there was something more useful they could be doing? His answer from the Dark Lady was always that his escort was there for the honor of the Republic, not for his safety, and that in any event the Europeans were highly annoyed by the existence of the MinuteGirls.
Sixty years ago, he had cynically observed that if the Dark Lady wanted to annoy the Europeans even more she could send four Junior Girl Guides. His remark had been received as a highly positive suggestion lacking the slightest trace of sarcasm. Ever since, twice a year, the Junior Girl Guides provided h
is escort. The Europeans had been apoplectic. He had been unbending. The Convention specified that the choice of escort was made solely by each delegation’s own nation. The Republic had chosen four Middle Schoolers, any two of whom were unlikely to outweigh a single StarFleet Europa marine. However, they were unaugmented, wore no body armor, and were demonstrably armed with the weapon specified by the Convention, so the FEU had no legitimate issue. Then the Europeans protested that the escorts were obliged to be able to protect the American Delegation, and clearly four little girls could not do that. Did they even know how to shoot their weapons? At his insistence, the Delegations and escorts had marched to the test-firing range, his escorts demonstration-fired their weapons, and the StarFleet Europa Marines confirmed that the expected weapons had been fired and had hit the expected targets. The Marines did not emphasize to their Delegation they were escorting that the weapons had also hit the highly challenging targets, every time, while snap-shooting. You would think, Keithley considered, that the Europeans would have been happy to see that despite their ages his escorts had exceeded customary American standards of marksmanship, but during that session absolutely nothing pleased the Europeans except its ending.
The Europeans then complained that the Americans were recruiting children as soldiers, in violation of European law. Keithley had reminded them that on one hand they were not in Europe, and that Americans categorically rejected the validity of European laws, especially those inconsistent with the American Constitution, and on the other hand the Junior Girl Guides were private citizens, not members of the American military, so their claim was factually in error. In response to further complaints that Americans had changed the nature of their delegation, by eliminating its military component, Keithley reminded the Europeans that the delegation had never had a Federal military component. After all, since its ratification preceded the Non-Intercourse Act, the Europeans were undoubtedly aware that the 39th Amendment to the American Constitution categorically forbade Congress to raise or fund a standing army, however named. As the Europeans were therefore undoubtedly aware, the American Delegation’s armed escort had always been composed of private citizens.
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