by Trevor Wyatt
The cab settled into the landing cradle, which accepted its weight without as much as a creak of protest. The Terran Nationalists were a relatively new group that had gained strength over the past three years in response to the influx of aliens in human worlds.
The group insisted that aliens were taking human jobs and that they were sucking the economy dry of valuable resources while contributing nothing in terms of taxes. According to them, the alien cultures were destroying Terran values.
Whereas, like Jeryl said, most people just wanted to live their lives and adhere to what used to be called the Golden Rule, which would translate to something like, “If you don’t stick your nose in my affairs, I will not stick my nose in your affairs.”
You’d think that would be simple enough for anyone to understand, but there were those—and Jeryl had encountered many of them in his time—who really did believe that they knew what a person “ought to do.”
And they were sincere in that belief.
The Terran Nationalists fell into that category. Their outrage over the emigration of aliens towered above New Washington’s loftiest spires. This was the first time they became so bold as to set up a protest outside Jeryl’s home (and not just his, of course, but the home of many members of his staff and others in the diplomatic corps). But he had learned how to not let his anger or irritation show in tight situations, so when he climbed out of the cab, he donned an easy smile on his face.
Mr. Friend-of-the-Media, that would be him. Because he could see the cameras pointed at him from within that crowd.
The Nationalists could be obnoxious, but they weren’t fools. If Jeryl would say anything stupid or angry, it’d flash on news screens everywhere in a dozen worlds.
This was not the homecoming he was hoping for.
Ashley
The Terran Union diplomatic headquarters and residences were a spectacular sight to behold. Designed by a consortium of artists, architects, and engineers, the artistic beauty and engineering marvel stretched exactly two hundred and seventy four floors into the air.
The first floor started at about ten yards above ground level. The building was surrounded by polished stone steps, which connected the ground level to four main entrances on all fours faces of the building. Covering a base of about two blocks, the structure was the diplomatic powerhouse of the Terran Union. It housed more than a thousand staff members and catered to tens of thousands of delegates.
There were housing quarters for special delegates and a series of massive conference rooms for the several meetings that took place within the building. There was a landing pad with cradle at the top of the building, where air cars and away vehicles from the orbiting space station or orbiting ships could land to drop delegates or senators from other worlds.
The building also had a stadium-sized general assembly area, which was located on a subterranean level. The hall was usually used for general assemblies between humans, Sonali, and all other species. Plated with a mixture of colored glass, aluminum, and stainless steel, the body of the building looked like a smooth and slick star ship. Ashley almost felt like she could pilot the thing out to space.
She had heard rumors that the building had an emergency evacuation protocol, in the event of an attack or emergency that could threaten its destruction. It could be easily turned into a space vessel with its thrusters and launched into space, where it would merge with the orbiting space station that was FTL-capable, and escape to a military zone.
“Excuse me, Captain,” said a voice behind her, interrupting her train of thoughts.
She turned to see a security personnel looking at her with a warm smile. She smiled back.
“Are you lost?”
“No,” Ashley replied. “I’m just waiting for my husband. He’s supposed to meet me right here. Thanks for asking.”
The security man nodded, turned, and walked away from her.
Returning to her fascination with the building, she craned her neck to get a good view of the top of the building. She had to squint and shade her eyes with her hand because of the high angle of the blazing twin suns and spikes of reflected light that stroked her.
Jeryl told her that, sometimes, the top of the building was hidden within the clouds, other times it wasn’t. This was one of the other times. She saw that, at the very top, the building curved inward, reducing the area to about a fourth of its base area.
Then she saw a lightning rod (or at least she thought it was) that stretched higher and higher on. Because of the thickness of the lightning rod, she couldn’t tell if it was ten yards tall or if it was just a hundred.
Ashley thought seriously about her theory that the building could be a spaceship. There was a control center at the two hundred and seventy fourth level. The control center took up the whole floor and it was where the entire building was controlled. It was where the staff of over one thousand members were coordinated and directed.
Though owned by the government, it was not a military building. Hence, the staff members were not military. The staff, however, used a military hierarchical system that ensured productivity and discipline.
Ashley even heard that the senior managers in the building were former Terran Armada officers. Some left the Armada just after the Earth-Sonali war to join the team in the headquarters.
She didn’t blame them; neither did she hate them for leaving the Armada. But if they had left during the war, she could have hated them.
The pay here was good, from what she knew. Very good.
A junior staffer could be earning more than twice what a First Officer in a Battle Cruiser may be earning. The senior staffers could earn way more than some top Admirals. Ashley knew that they earned more than her husband, Vice Admiral Jeryl Montgomery.
But then, being in the Armada was more than getting paid. It had become her life. It was her passion—to explore the vast reaches of space and defend the Terran Union with all the firepower of the Terran Armada. She would very quickly give up life than give up the opportunity to be the captain of TUS The Seeker, which she now commanded.
She would readily give up on life than give up on her dream of commanding the entire Armada fleet alongside her husband one day.
In fact, she would freely pay to be allowed to captain an Armada vessel as massive and extremely powerful as The Seeker. If the Armada thought it was wise to pay her in spite of her desire and proclivity, she didn’t mind.
Ashley stood at the base of the flight of steps that led up to the building. There was a moderate pedestrian traffic moving up and down the steps.
They were mostly humans. But every so often, she would see an alien face as well.
So much had changed in such little time in New Washington. Some were happy, some were not. Many were still trying to catch their breath.
Air cars whizzed by, dropping by and picking up passengers. Each air car that stopped and descended to the ground in her proximity drew her attention. When she didn’t see her husband, she went back to marveling the building.
The building security was tight all around, both inside and outside—men and women were wielding laser guns set to stun. These people went through the same training as the Armada security corps that now became a common stay on all Armada vessels.
Ashley once tried to get them off The Seeker, when her husband handed over command to her upon the approval of the Armada board. Then, she found out that it was more than a matter of policy. It was the law, and to issue such an order, which would invalidate the work of the security personnel, would be unlawful.
She began to feel a slow buildup of anger and resentment. The one arm of the Terran Armada she didn’t like so much was the Armada Intelligence.
“Those pompous overbred sons of bitches,” she muttered with acrimony before she caught herself and stopped.
She forced a smile as she exhaled. She looked around and took in a deep breath. The air was warm and filled with the wonderful smell of New Washington summer. The outer edges of the grounds wer
e surrounded with gardens that were well tended and blooming.
“Here me all!” boomed a loud voice.
Ashley turned her head, a little alarmed, to see who was speaking. She noticed an average height (the kind that would border on a tall man) and a small crowd. The man began to address the people.
They were far enough to notice Ashley in particular. She suspected, from the man’s tone and words, that his protest was against the Alien Integration Program, as well as the government and military that sponsored and supported the program. Yet, Ashley was close enough to hear him speak, and she realized that he was Lucien Parker.
Lucien Parker was a household name in almost every residence in the Terran World in 2205. His outspokenness against all aliens and their bid to integrate them and integrate with them had gone unnoticed by the government. Yet, he was so popular with the masses.
Everyone within the Armada thought he was taking advantage of the war that led to the loss of countless lives. Ashley thought so, too, and she thought it was the lowest of the low.
The worst part?
Lucien used to be part of the Armada. He joined as an enlisted soldier in 2197. He left in 2202, when peace was declared.
“For five bloody years, we fought these scumbags!” Lucien yelled, the ever growing crowd roaring in response. “And now, these blue-skinned bastards are coming to our worlds, living in our worlds, and taking our goddamn jobs and money!”
The crowd yelled its support. Some were cursing the government that facilitates the “evil”, while others were insulting the Sonali, who were the “evil”.
“They are yet to pledge allegiance to the Terran Union, yet they keep taking money out of our economy! They are waging the same war, only using peace as their mechanism!”
The crowd was starting to work into a frenzy. Ashley took several steps away as the crowd grew by the second.
She saw that a bunch of security personnel were now holding a very loose circle around the crowd. Their stance was relaxed and unaggressive. However, she knew they could go from there to full-on battle mode in the fraction of a second.
“Mothers, consider your children who have died in the war,” Lucien continued. His voice inflections conveyed the gravity of the losses. Ashley even began to feel the pain and she got slightly angry at the Alien Integration Program before she caught herself and stopped at a realization.
You are playing right into his perfectly crafted motives, she told herself.
“These same mothers now have to work alongside the same people who killed their sons,” Lucien said at the point of tears.
Lucien’s eyes glistened in the sun. Ashley marveled at his professional display of theatric skills. She knew he didn’t really care about those mothers. He was an anarchist. And Ashley was just waiting for the injunction that would declare him an enemy of the state and a terrorist to the Union.
Ashley would be the one to hunt him down and put him in a cell for desecrating the knowledge and efforts of the millions who died during the five-year-long war. However, Lucien had been incredibly smart. He was yet to break any laws, though he skirted them with the confidence of an experienced dancer.
And, the Union was supposedly dedicated to free speech. Ashley would be just as bad as him if she’d take that away.
Lucien pointed to a woman who had been standing beside him this whole time. That was also when Ashley started to actually notice her. She was a woman in her mid-fifties. She had been sobbing for a while; her face was moist with tears.
“This is Martha,” he said. “Her son was killed when the TUS Cortez engaged with the Sonali at Edoris Station and was destroyed. Now, this same woman finds herself working for a Sonali manager who was recently hired by the Pan Solaris Corporation. Is that fair?”
“No!” the crowd boomed in unison.
Ashley flinched at their unified voices. She noticed some of the guards were now getting nervous.
“Is it just?”
“No!” Another boom.
This time, Ashley took a few more steps backward. She saw that the crowd had gotten aggressive and angry. The guards now switched to full-on battle mode. She was not sure what triggered them. But she felt the tension had risen to nuclear high.
There was about to be a showdown. Any misstep, any misfire, anything—and this whole protest would end in a disaster. Ashley almost compelled herself to radio her ship, which was currently orbiting the planet, and send her security detail, which had been expanded to ten, thanks to her crazy paranoid husband.
Not so crazy paranoid now, I guess.
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The Pax Aeterna Universe
Pax Aeterna is the name of the science fiction universe created by Trevor Wyatt. It explores humanity as it explores and grows in its journey into the stars, taking its place amongst other species in the universe. The series features around human conflicts, internal as well as those external.
Included you will find an excerpt from the Encyclopedia Aeterna.
Encyclopedia Aeterna Volume 1
Timeline of the Terran Union
2024: Formal treaty to set a 25 year term towards political integration between the United States, Canada, and Mexico in an extension of NAFTA. This was agreed to in the backdrop of The Accords of Expedition amongst member nation states of the European Union for greater political integration by 2040.
The first private spacecraft to carry passengers into space, and allow them to spend one week aboard a private space station operated and owned by the Taylor Corporation was launched. The passengers paid $3.5 million and there were 15. They were returned successfully to earth after a period of one week in space.
2025: Realizing that the integration between the United States, Canada, and Mexico would lead to a large superpower and with the addition of a greater political union between the member nations of the European Union the countries of Asia decided that only one course of action existed for them; a political union. The countries of China, India, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia decided to form a political union with the goal of full integration by the year 2054. The seat of power for the Asian Bloc sat in the city state of Hong Kong.
2026: The Asian Bloc began to exert its influence through a series of trade deals with nations on its periphery. The actions from the Asian block were opposed by the North American Confederation. Tensions rose over determining territorial waters as well as shipping routes. Trade embargoes were placed upon a series of Asian Bloc nations by the North American Confederation. Violence continued to escalate in the Middle East as the countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia sought to increase their spheres of influence within the region. These moves were opposed by both the European Union as well as the North American Confederation but were supported by the Asian Bloc.
An economic contagion spurred by cheap money caused by low interest rates and sustained by a high rate of inflation began to ravage the American industrial and lower skilled service industries. The United States government, in an effort to prevent widespread economic damage began to severely limit the ability of corporations to bring in foreign workers.
Economic hardship persisted in the European Union which saw unemployment rates at historically high rates of 15-20%.
2027: The United Nations sought to lower the level of discourse between the North American Confederation and the Asian Bloc. Negotiations and summits were set to discuss the issues that had caused one third of the world to be embargoed by the other two thirds. The negotiations failed to achieve any substantive results. The leaders of the Asian Bloc began to impose sanctions upon nations within the Asian continent and surrounding areas who were nonmember states in a bid to bring them into the collective sphere of influence. The countries of New Zealand and Australia were supported by the North American Confederation. Australia and New Zealand became a battleground for an economic proxy war between the Asian Bloc and North American Confederation. Foreign direct investment began
to be tied to political cooperation by the Asian Bloc. The North American Confederation reacted in similar fashion. By the end of 2027, the economy of Australia had contracted 5% due to a severe financial crisis caused by tensions in the region.
The Russian Federation announced that by 2030 they would have a scientific and exploratory base on the moon.
2028: The advent of large-scale solar energy collection wreaked havoc on the oil-based economies of the Middle East. Two countries were poised to pivot. Saudi Arabia and Iran. From 2017 to 2024 these two countries had built an infrastructure designed to capture and harness the power of the sun. Their neighbors were not so fortunate and the Middle East long accustomed to funding and placating extremist groups through massive social programs and welfare spending now found itself cash-strapped and debt ridden. Unemployment and structural imbalances in the economy caused mass unrest. From 2025 to 2027 the region had been subjected to many droughts and extreme weather. Entire villages were abandoned as environmental refugees moved to the cities.
Severe environmental events including hurricanes and flooding led to the creation of millions of environmental refugees from Bangladesh and the western portion of the Indian subcontinent. Environmental refugees found very little welcome within the Asian Bloc considering that Bangladesh was not a member state. Massive storms, droughts, cyclones, and flooding in the Southwest regions of China led to a destabilizing influence that resulted in the Xin Pi rebellion. The brutal manner in which the rebellion was dealt with by the Asian Bloc received global condemnation and criticism. Warnings were sent by the North American Confederation and the European Union that the brutal manner of the suppression would not be tolerated. The two rival powers saw this as a means to delegitimize the Asian Bloc.
2029: One of the aims of the hardline nationalists in Hong Kong began to be realized in 2029 as American bases in Japan and Singapore began to close under pressure from local governments. However, the American presence in South Korea was nonnegotiable by the North American Confederation. The North Korean portion of the peninsula had been absorbed into the greater Asian Bloc in mid-2028. Now the leaders of Asia demanded the complete removal of American troops from South Korea stating that their presence at the doorstep of Asia was seen as an unnecessary provocation. The elections of 2029 brought to power a nationalist South Korean government that favored entry into the Asian Bloc. Within months entry was granted to South Korea into the member nations. On December 31, 2029, the South Korean government formally requested the removal of US forces from the Korean Peninsula.