Dreams of a Stronger Jove (Beyond Earth Only)

[Jovian Coalition]

“Funny, that the largest planet of the Sol Star System is considered ‘weak’. I’ve seen the looks I get, I’ve heard the whispers behind my back. Jupiter is a majestic planet revered for its beauty but not for the humans that live in its shadow. Maybe one day… we can change.” ~Tye Delaughter, former Jovian Coalition Ambassador to Earth

Sol Star System
Jupiter, Carpo
Coalition Mining Expedition #12
October 4th, 2265

Carpo was a far flung moon of the Father Jove most of the time. An irregular lump of rock that was just large enough to somewhat round. Most would probably consider it a glorified asteroid. Most did consider it a glorified asteroid. Too far from the mainstay of Jupiter’s civilization to even be considered for habitation, it did not offer any upsides to anyone living there beyond the mining team that had set up to extract resources from the ball of rock. That was, perhaps, a plus side to living under the care of the red giant. There were plenty of places for resource extraction without needing to control asteroids in the belt.

The tunnels they bore were deep into the rock already, and there were promising signs of iron and more surprisingly gold down here. Both of which were mainstays of a technologically advanced civilization. But nothing out of the ordinary.

“Sir?”

Apho Keller, Expedition Supervisor, sighed as he looked up from the desk, a large map of the currently bored tunnels marked out with small notes denoting areas for further probing or testing. He had been busy trying to decide on if he wanted to risk burrowing further down, or continuing among what was essentially a fault line on Carpo. He’d had a lot of input from the safety teams and on site drill operators. Now it was mostly his call and he didn’t like to be interrupted like this. The ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign hung on his office door apparently was written in a different language or something.

“What is it?” He asked, looking up, not bothering to hide his annoyance… at least until he recognized that the person standing in his doorway was one of his site supervisors, Anna Cole. She was one of his best, so had pretty much free reign over the farthest flung of Carpo’s soon to be extraction sites as it was set up. So her being here was highly unusual.

At first, he was worried someone had gotten hurt, but if someone had gotten hurt to the level Cole was standing here and not by the person’s side, he’d already know about it. So why…

“Ann, please, if you’re gonna come visit me, you could have at least called.” Keller straightened.

“I didn’t want to leave this for a com call… too important.” Cole said as she stepped into his office and closed the door.

Now his interest was peaked. “So then what brings you?”

“You’re gonna think I’m nuts coming all this way just to say this but Sir. You need to come back to the site with me.”

“Is it bad?” He asked, looking at the calendar to make sure it wasn’t his birthday. The crews knew he hated celebrating those. It wasn’t.

“Not in the traditional sense.” Cole seemed nervous, despite the door being closed firmly behind her, she glanced over her shoulder, like looking for eavesdroppers. “Please, it's best you come with me to see for yourself.”

“Alright then, lets see what’s got your panties in a twist.”

---

Carpo Mining Tunnel #12.4
Site Supervisor Anna Cole
Expedition Leader Aphos Keller

"Here, let me do a once over on your suit."

Cole was taking no chances and Keller had to wonder what had her so uptight. Keller wasn't the time to let his suit care be lax, you didn't wanna die while walking out on bare rock after all, but this was beyond paranoid, especially for Cole.

"What's going on Cole?!" Keller asked.

"Look Sir, I had to stop drilling and clear out my people. I ain't gonna risk their lives even for this, but I need to tell someone above me before the rumor mill does its job." Cole straightened and looked up the tunnel towards the surface, the mine eerily quiet. Of course when you stop all drilling that'll happen on an airless moon, but Cole really was jumping at ghosts. She led him a little farther down the tunnel to where the borer she supervised had stopped, vast floodlights lit up the walls behind it, painted markers marking out things of potential interest.

"You know how this shit goes Sir. We drill we run into a few veins of interesting stuff, mark it out for later. Occasionally we find a cool rock or crystal. Occassionally I have to yell at my lads to make sure certain stuff isn't the dangerous crystals."

Everyone who signs up for this job gets training or safety. Quantinium-40 crystals were rare, but much like any other radioactive substance, they were trained on how to handle it, but humans loved pretty things and the warm fuzzies the crystals might give you werent worth the cancer.

Keller waited, she wasn't done yet.

"Well we saw signs of past prospecting here. No surprise given the rush we had out here back in the early days when everyone was grabbing at Jupiter's moons like candy. But they obviously didn't go for the ore deposits, or else we wouldn't be doing fresh drilling." Cole pulled herself up the ladder of the borer, into the small control box for it and began to work on the screens there.

"Yeah, there's some signs in other places but they didn’t go deep." Keller pulled himself up next to her. "Why are you..."

He froze. Staring at the readouts. No...no it can't be.

"We...we think the imperfect samples drove them off. We've been tossing small impure crystals constantly. Nothing to write home about except maybe in their frequency. I should have known, you don't find crumbs without a source." Cole's voice was soft.

Keller felt a stab of panic. He hadn’t signed up for this. He was just here to manage some regular mines! Not something like this... gods what would the Councils think? What would *Earth* think?

"I...I need to get back to base, send a report to someone far over my head and get their input. For now, this tunnel is being shut down as a safety hazard. I don't want to blow up half this moon because we kept poking the shiny crystals with a stick. You speak of this to no one Cole, Understand?"

Cole nodded, looking stressed. "Yes Sir."

Keller immediately climbed down off the borer.

It was time to kick the beehive. Preferably before the bears came for the honey.

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Europa
Europa’s Gemstone
Head Councilor Jay Lynn-Io
October 5th, 2265

The Free Coalition of Jovian Colonies was young, 43 years old.

And Jay had been around for all of it. She'd been but a tiny tot when the Treaty was first signed, but she remembered suddenly gaining a new last name. That if her home moon throwing off the shackles of their former owners and claiming the moon as theirs and theirs alone. And as she grown, so had the Coalition. More and more moons and stations folding into the collective from fractured to whole.

For being the ones who anchored themselves on the largest of Sol’s planets, sometimes it was hard to remember how tiny they were.

And yet…

“It's too important! We can't let it sit out there rotting!”

Jay sighed.

“Yeah. And you proposed moving Advent out there! You realize if that ship so much as sneezes everyone from here to the Sun is gonna be up in our business!”

“And if we move too many destroyers it's gonna leave some orbits bare of protection and you know the pirates have been getting antsy around monitoring stations!”

“They have guns! They aren't defenseless!”

Jay would have preferred to bash her head in on her desk. She turned around from gazing at the painting of Jupiter to look at the people she'd called into her office. Military Council Head Rylan McTavish-Ganymede and Resource Extraction Council Head Cio Lo Phan.

“Enough.”

The single word was filled with enough venom to poison an entire planet's worth of people, and the two immediate turned from their argument to sullen silence.

“I am not sending Advent of the Risen Moons out there, nor should you Rylan.” She sat back down. “It's bad enough that ship is practically a beacon of attention, as nice of a ship as it is. I want to keep those fuckers in system out of our hair. I don't care how much Earth ‘respects our culture’ you know they're gonna start making moves at us the second they realize we have some of their precious Q40.”

“I mean they'd probably have to try and beat Mars here.” Cio pointed out.

“That's not a good thing.” McTavish snapped. “I, and my council, don't trust those Hwaseong snobs as far as I could throw them.”

“Could always shoot them.” Cio said.

“If either of you shoot representatives without my permission, I'm stabbing one of your eyes out.” Jay threatened. “Foreign Affairs Council has it bad enough as is! What would be the easiest asset to move out there, Ryland?”

McTavish frowned. “If we can't move Advent then maybe Burrowed in Windswept Clouds will do. We can officially tell everyone they're out there to exercise, ‘shake off the dust’.” He made air quotes around his head. “We can tell the crew there's been some shady activity round there and we don't want our brave civilian miners to be hurt by low-lives!”

Cio didn't look impressed. “Yeah, and those people do deserve to be protected.”

“They aren't going to be protected if Mars decides to eat Carpo for breakfast! Listen Cio, it might look impressive to surround yourself with big beefy soldiers with shiny guns but all that's gonna do it make everyone wonder what you need to protect. What you need to do is talk to some of our Research Division Council and see if we can't try to purify and use that Q40 before everyone starts dogpiling!”

Cio glanced at Jay, who nodded.

“Alright.” Cio sounded like she'd bit into a sour candy. “I'll get in contact with Connor and their bunch, see what I can pull together. Just make sure Burrowed is a good ship.”

McTavish's right hand tightened into a fist. “Burrowed is a fine ship. They'll keep Carpo safe.”

“Then I'll take my leave.” Cio stood, gave a tiny nod to Jay before walking out.

McTavish stood to leave himself.

“One second Ryland.” Jay stood, walking around the desk so she was face to face with the Military Council Head. “If I see Advent doing anything other than it's normal patrol route, I will personally find you on Ganymede and break your arms.”

Ryland flinched back at her tone.

“Yes Head Councilor. I had no intention of trying to go behind your back.”

“Bullshit, I know that look on your face.” Jay tilted her head, her smile anything but warm. “Don't fuck this up. I don't want to add to my kill count.”

McTavish bowed his head. “Yes Ma'am.”

And with that over, he left. Jay stood there for a second, staring at nothing, the silence in her off broken only by that of the air recirculation system humming softly in the background.

She had a headache.

She needed a fucking drink.

Jay Lynn-Io walked over to the cabinet where she stashed her alcohol and pulled one out at random. She poured herself more than was probably necessary, very aware that it was an expensive Earth sourced one rather than local. The blue and green planet on the label gave that away.

She knocked it back way too fast before resealing the bottle.

There was more work to be done for the Coalition's protection.

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Jupiter
JNS Advent of the Risen Moons
Captain Taylor Kawa-Io
October 10th, 2265

There was something strange about.

To be completely fair, being deployed aboard the Advent was a prized posting, one of Jupiter's finest ships... one of the few newer and larger ships it fielded. The nature of Jupiter and how it functioned meant it was nowhere near as slick as their counterparts in service to Earth or Mars. When your government was prone to infighting and the occasional backstab, it made it hard to settle things as nicely as the other planets. So strange was technically normal.

So calling something strange meant it really was out of pocket for his normal day-to-day routine.

As much as Kawa wished Advent could go out and play, that's not what they were supposed to be for. The Treaty of Mars made sure of that.

"Why are they here again?"

Kawa leaned slightly closer to their Executive Officer as they spoke.

"Why? They bothering the crew?"

"They're civilians, of course their bothering the crew! They keep getting underfoot and pestering them with inane questions." They sounded so frustrated.

Kawa tapped his chin, considering. "Well to answer your first question, they're here to 'audit the technology.'"

'Why did that sound so sarcastic despite the level tone?" The XO asked.

"Usually I wouldn't give a damn, the Council's can send as many auditors or watchers as they want as long as they don't stop me from doing my job as captain, but surely you've noticed their interest."

The XO was silent for a second. "...The drive. Yeah I noticed. Why though? Its not like..."

Kawa looked up at his second-in-command. "Well Commander, I suspect you're just talking crazy now." He fixed them with a stern glare, warning them not to make any more insinuations with this line of thought. He had received no orders tell him he couldn't say that, no directions from the Military Council, and yet. Here he was, keeping a secret which he had never been told. To be less fair, he twigged onto the fact that Burrowed had been deployed way outside her normal patrol window for some 'simple tests and pirate deterrent.' The Council almost never touched the inner fighter core that made its rounds within the inner moon system, especially for some far flung moon like Carpo which was, at best, mining fodder, a moon destined to be eaten whole for material given enough time, but only for the basic ones it could provide. Combine that with the fact that there were people staring into the FTL drive of the one they had and these 'auditors' kept getting underfoot trying to ask questions.

Well, if other people thought Jupiter was just being its usual fractious self then he wouldn't blame them, but you didn't become the Captain of Advent by being stupid.

He was kind of hoping for a sister ship to Advent. She was gorgeous ship, it'd be a shame to let her stand against the rabble of the universe alone.

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Jupiter, Carpo
Carpo Mining Expedition #12
October 12th, 2265
Expedition Leader Aphos Keller

Aphos had known this was serious from the moment he had laid eyes on those readouts. He didn't drink but he'd been sorely tempted to try and find someone who did have some. On one hand, it was an exciting find, like how he imagined people in the old days on Earth might've reacted to pulling a diamond out of the soil. He and his people had found a deposit of *usable* Quantium-40, the likes of which only existed on Mercury under Earth's firm hand. That was to be celebrated. On the other, he was more than aware of the treasure he had found. Much like pulling that diamond out of the soil, others around him might get jealous, try to take it for themselves, perhaps kill him for being the one who was still watching over Carpo. He had a girl back on the station Spot's Rest, and he wanted to return to her in one piece.

He looked up at the sky out the viewport of his command center the looming shape of Jupiter ever present. Somewhere up there, a warship of some sort had taken up resident... what had its name been? Borrowed? Sorrow? He'd never been the type to pay attention to the grandiose names the Military Council willed to their ships, but he knew it was up there. For 'exercises.' For 'Pirate deterrent'. Well at least he knew his people were going to protected from any scum trying to hit and run against the other tunnels.

"Mr. Keller."

Keller looked back at the severe man that had been his company ever since he'd managed to make it out here with that warship. He'd taken over Tunnel #12.4 the second he'd landed and had the papers from the Head Councilor to prove it. He was glad to not have to deal with the Quantium-40 directly, but dealing with what felt like a handler from the Councils was draining. "Sorry, was just considering starting another tunnel with the borer we had to remove from Site 124. Having it sitting around isn't making me any Coin."

"That sounds like a fantastic idea, but I do need your input on something. When fabricating the supports for the machinery should we..." The man leaned forward.

Keller listened, his eyes flicking back out to stare at Jupiter. He didn't even know the man's name.

"You got a name?" Keller asked. The man paused.

"Oh, call me Greg."

Which was not the same thing as admitting to his name. Did the Coalition even have an Intelligence Agency? (Or more likely, Intelligence Council.) It felt like this dude was fulfilling a lot of spook stereotypes.

"Okay Greg, then what you need to do is..."

[United Nations of Earth-]

Captain Jessica Harrington, UNPC
UNS Omega, Jupiter Orbit, Sol
10th October 2265

---

The United Nations Destroyer Omega sat in a high orbit of Jupiter, not too far away from the Jovian Warship Advent of the Risen Moons, and cut quite a commanding presence. The largest and most advanced warship fielded by humanity, the Omega-Class Destroyer was something of a misnomer as, far from being a mere escort, the Omega had been designed from the ground up to be the new mainline warship of the United Nations of Earth. Indeed, the designation of ‘destroyer’ had been largely a political choice by both the Earth Orbital Shipyard Corporation (EOSC) who had constructed her, and the UN Office of Defence, in an effort to avoid excessive opposition in the UN General Assembly of the like that had doomed so many of the promising new warship designs of the previous few decades. In short, the Omega had been designed to replace the venerable Nova-class dreadnought which had served as the mainstay of the UN Peacekeepers and the naval force of the member-states for decades, which unlike the legendary Hyperion Cruiser that numerous studies had confirmed was far more economical to upgrade than build an adequate replacement, there was certainly room for improvement on the design.

In many respects the design elements of the effective and simple Nova architecture are obvious; the square shapes of the Omega are due to the production technologies employed that would allow an excellent production rate, whilst retaining the positive aspects of the Nova base, particularly mechanical sturdiness of the hull and the survivability of the design, whilst eliminating weak spots, as well as retaining a large hanger capable of holding up to thirty-six (36) Starfury. Designed to build upon the unparalleled if flawed short range firepower (plasma weapons being short ranged even if highly effective) of the Nova, as well as to significantly increase it's organic self-defence capacity, a known weakness of the Nova that required a significant Starfury and escort screen. In any proposed replacement for the Nova, the UNPC had asked for a generational jump; long-range anti-ship firepower based upon beam weapons, superior armour and survivability, superior interceptor capability, and an anti-fighter defence capable of saturating space with a barrage of fire, whilst retaining signifiant close-in firepower. This ‘ambitious’ requirements list was the result of several failed designs, and clearly required a number of technical developments in an era where there was little appetite for investment in Naval R&D due to the perceived lack of a credible opponent.

It was into this breach that ambitious Starburst Armaments strode in the 2250s, forming a joint project with Earth Orbital Shipyards to develop the technology required to ensure EOSC’s continued dominance of the UNDF’s naval capital ships, whilst allowing Starburst to establish itself as a viable competitor to the Earth’s principal arms mega corporation, Dynatex Solutions. Starburst’s approach was revolutionary; a single hybrid weapons system capable of operating as both a heavy particle beam cannon and a powerful plasma pulse weapon, dubbed somewhat simply as Omega. Lighter versions of plasma weapons, dubbed the Phalanx, provide the Omega-Class with significant point defence capability. The Omega was also the first Earth warship to be equipped with a rotating habitation section allowing for simulated gravity, rather than the more normal zero-G environments of older ships.

It was therefore not surprising that the UN Peacekeeping Corps had quickly moved Earth’s sole jump drive, allowed under the Treaty of Mars, to the UNS Omega as soon as the ship had successfully completed its shakedown cruise. This of course meant that the Omega, as first in her line, would be ‘condemned’ to a life of permanent readiness, as the jump-capable response ship had to be maintained to respond to any threat to jump-drive non-proliferation. Her other main role was to transport the UN Inspectors from the Office of the Exterior’s treaty enforcement unit, who conducted their treaty-permitted inspections of the other powers, and facilitated the inspection of the Omega in line with Earth’s own treaty obligations.

Of course, that was not strictly speaking true, Captain Jessica Harrington, the ship’s commanding officer, thought wryly as she looked out of her cabin window at the Jovian warships. The Omega had been illegally utilised in the Incident at Wolf 359 earlier in the year, and it was a minor miracle that all the other powers seemed to have accepted the cover story; a crash-test of the destroyer’s ability to respond to a jump-emergency. There was therefore a certain degree of hypocrisy to the manner in which the UN Inspectors were conducting their duties… but, to be fair, they had not been read into the highly classified matter that threatened to change… everything.

Jessica Harrington was a veteran of the UN Peacekeepers, and was something of a minor legend. She had grown up in the slums of the failed UN colony on Barnard’s Star before being rescued by a Peacekeeper and returned to Earth. It had surprised no one when she had enlisted in the Corps as soon as she had been old enough, and had earned a commission within six years and at that point her career had advanced by leaps and bounds, culminating in the prestigious command of Earth’s sole jump capable warship. As such, she was not fazed by much and what she had experienced in Wolf 359 had terrified her. Everything that humanity thought it knew about the universe had been thrown out, and she for one was grateful that EOSC’s gambit about naming the Omega a destroyer had paid off and a full construction run, for both the Corps and the member-state fleets, had been authorised. It was almost impossible to return to ‘business as usual’, however it had been agreed at the highest level that any change to the Omega’s normal operations would attract attention and the UN Secretariat was not yet ready to reveal wha the had learnt to many within their own government, much less to any of the other solar powers.

No, for now Omega and Jessica Harrington would continue to play their parts.

That being said, her attention was being piqued by an unusual deviation of another Jovian warship from its normal patrol routes and taking station of the minor, outer moon of Carpo. There was not a great deal of value to that particular moon, having been examined and deemed worthless by prospectors from the Pathfinder Extraction Corporation decades ago, certainly not enough to warrant the stationing of a warship. When the deployment had been gently, and informally queried though the normal channels, they had been informed it was for a combination of being for exercises and a show of force against pirates. Now there were not a great deal of pirates in the Sol system, due to the ceaseless efforts of the UN Peacekeepers to keep criminal activity in the system to a minimum, but they did exist; hiding in plain sight and outside the law. However, the fact remained that it was not all adding up and Captain Harrington’s instincts were telling her that something was afoot. Yet, as it stood there was precious little she could do about it, as whilst ferrying UN Inspectors her duty was very clear.

She would have liked to send a flight of Starfury to conduct a close fly-by, but that would be provocative to say the least. That being said, they were due to enjoy a few days of shore-leave on on the Jovian Colonies before returning to their normal monotony, but when they left there was nothing to stop her from charting her course out to take them past Carpo and see what the destroyer’s array of sensors could detect…

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Jupiter
JNS Advent of the Risen Moons
Captain Taylor Kawa-Io
October 12th, 2265

Captain Kawa-Io stared somewhat moodily out at the Omega as it rested nearby.

Advent was a creature of habit. It had a patrol it almost never deviated from, apart from the occasional docking to restock and switch out crews, swanning around Jovian space just waiting to be used.

And when it did deviate, it raised questions. So it didn't normally do that.

So the fact it was out here, away from its patrol area (not by much mind you, but still), usually meant something was up.

The fact the Advent was having a little 'staring contest' with the newer UNS Omega was certainly qualifying as 'something is up.' Kawa was not usually an envious man, he was proud of Jupiter’s strong will and drive, but this ship here? This misnamed destroyer that definitely outgunned his cruiser? If there was a ship to want, it was this one. Jupiter had nothing of this scale though not for lack of trying. The tiny nation just preferred smaller ships, as they were much easier to approve through the Council meetings than the sheer investment a dreadnought might take.

If he could reach out and snap the UNS ship in half he would. He was aware the thought was not unlike those of his tiny cousins, breaking a toy out of envy. Childish. Something he had to surpress when he'd given the Captain, Jessica Harrington, a polite courtesy call, as the Treaty of Mars made them co-workers of sorts.

Kawa was aware, once again, of the power differential here. Which was why he was moody. Once again Jupiter would need to kowtow to outsiders, as if the two of them were called to action, Omega was the obvious one to lead.

He pushed himself away from the viewport and back to his desk with annoyance, wishing, praying someone would read him into whatever little secret had the Council in a twist. But his ignorance, aside from rumors, was probably deliberate. Even discussions with Burrowed captain had been fruitless. They knew nothing except that one of the more isolated mining sites seemed pretty busy. And ever since the UN Ship had showed up they'd been terrified to breathe in case that ship thought the carrier was a threat.

They were due to resume their standard patrol pattern here shortly. Kawa couldn't wait til he didn’t have Omega in his view anymore. It was doing his blood pressure no good.

---

Other than the courtesy greeting Captain Kawa-Io had given to Harrington, The Free Coalition of Jovian Colonies seemed more than willing to let Omega rest where she was, keeping clear of her space in a much more respectful manner than the ruffians of Jove usually showed.

The carrier hanging over Carpo seemed wholely unwilling to move or interact with the UNS ship, its fighters making occasional showings but other than that the ship was acting like a frozen rabbit in front of a hungry wolf.

If and when Omega finally did plot that course, they'd get sight of Carpo, the airless lumpy almost sphere of a moon with several mining sites and the beginning of the infrastructure to extract what was needed... and one of them, almost set away from the others, with a lot more infrastructure around the opening than was usual for this stage in most mining expeditions. It should be like the others, just starting out, not almost done setting up.

And finally, despite the airless status of Carpo, there was the presence of deridium on the scanners. Not necessarily a smoking gun... it could be a fluke, this moon had demonstrated in then past that there were impure deposits of Q40 here after all.

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Jupiter, Carpo
Carpo Mining Expedition #12, Site 124
Expedition Leader Aphos Keller
October 14th, 2265

Keller was honestly considering retiring. This shit was stressing him out. He didn’t want to be the one over watching people handling the dangerous FTL crystals. He especially didn’t want to be here while Greg and his people did their best to figure out how best to harvest the stuff and get it refined. They were smart people, he’d seen them in action and he was pretty sure at least a couple of them were the kind of scientists that would prompt award winning papers on Earth or Mars. No doubt they would figure it out.

“Still think it’s dumb.” He said.

“Your complaint is noted Mr.Keller.” Greg said, watching from the command center they both stood in as a ‘small’ sample of the Quantium-40 was loaded onto a shuttle so it could be transported back to a scientific laboratory closer into Jupiter. “It’s been overruled.”

“Gonna be that station’s, or planetary lab’s, funeral.” Keller warned. “We don’t know jack about refining the stuff properly and even a small amount is enough to effectively turn a chunk of most of our moons to a radioactive wasteland. A station lab? Good chance it won’t exist anymore.”

Greg rolled his eyes. “So dour. Sacrifices must be made in the name of progress and with that UNS ship gone…”

“THERE WAS A UNS SHIP HERE?” Keller almost screamed. Greg was unfazed.

“Yes, don’t worry, it was just here to be nosy, but the various Councils want to start seeing progress and us sitting round here staring at the Q40 isn’t going to get us any. Now that they are headed home, we can work in peace.”

“By Father Jupiter that’s it.” Keller threw up his hands. “I didn’t sign up for this, when I get back to my office, I’m putting in for retirement.”

“Good luck on your next stage of life Mr. Keller.”

---

Sol Star System
Jupiter
Transportation Shuttle Beta 3, “Foxy”

“Jesus if that thing is any heavier, this boat won’t fly.” The pilot grumbled as the cargo crew did an admirable job of checking that it was properly secure.

“I am sorry for any inconvenience.” One of the scientists said as she looked round the cockpit with interest. “The radiation shielding even the unrefined stuff needs is pretty intense, and we wanted to bring back enough to properly work with.”

“Ah yeah, you said that earlier. Strap in sweet cheeks, take off should be pretty smooth, but I don’t wanna clear your blood off the deck.” The pilot began the checklist for take off as the scientist walked back and strapped herself in next to the heavy box, monitoring the crude readouts keeping an eye on what’s inside.

It did not take long for the flight to get boring, once they cleared the rock and Foxy had announced they were under gentle enough thrust for passengers to move, one of the crew came up to the box to lean on it. “So, you like working with strange rocks?”

The scientist smiled, turning her attention from the Q40. “Oh yes, I was hoping to become the Coalition’s expert on this stuff! There’s so much we could do! And if we can advance our technological understanding, we might truly be on the same…”

Beep.

She paused, checking the readout on the box.

“What’s up?”

She frowned. “Radiation levels are peaking. It shouldn’t be doing that.”

The crewman seemed unperturbed. “Ah this box has enough lead and rad shielding to last us a lifetime. Don’t you worry lass.” He gave the box a solid thump.

Beeeep.

The scientist paled. “Oh.”

---

Thankfully, the shuttle was well clear of other traffic, there wasn’t much out here to begin with, it had cleared Carpo like 20 minutes ago, the fighters keeping watch over them on on a circuit that gave them more distance and Burrowed’s orbit was well clear.

It meant the giant flash as the shuttle went up in an explosion of energy far beyond what it should of made if it was carrying normal cargo was extremely noticeable.

Almost instantly the carrier was calling in its fighters and going over to investigate the area but there wasn’t exactly much left of the shuttle after that.

[Marimaia]

October 15th, 2265
MID Headquarters
Marinopolis
Mars, Martian Confederacy

One of the major organs of the central government of the Martian Confederacy, the Martian Intelligence Directorate (MID) was a prime example of a security and intelligence agency that had no problem with everyone knowing about them. The subject of several movie franchises and other forms of entertainment media, the MID was regarded as a major line of defense and a 'shield against the encroachment of foreign powers', which in practise basically meant the UNE. MID personnel, known as 'MIDs' by the general populace, were usually recognisable by their black and grey uniforms, which were an affectation that the organisation had appropriated from the movies. Of course, field operatives and covert agents did not wear such an obvious identifying outfit. The uniform was more for public consumption, as the Martian population tended to feel safer when seeing MIDs out and about. MID Headquarters was a secure complex located in the Martian capital of Marinopolis, a bustling city which was primarily built into the sides of the Eos Chasma of the Valles Marineris, with underground levels and transportation links connecting the various districts. An entirely underground complex, the headquarters coordinated the operations of personnel not just spread across the Confederacy, but across the Solar System as well. On this particular morning, the Director-General of the MID was meeting with a representative of an organisation that was even more ubiquitous within the Confederacy than the MID.

Director-General James Beaumont was fifty-nine-years old and possessed a very aloof, cynical and sarcastic personality. His five-foot-eleven medium build frame was always clad in the black-and-grey uniform of his position, while his receding dark blonde hair was worn in a swept back style. Born in the Martian city of Cambridge Nova, Beaumont spoke with a calm and authoritarian upper-class English tone that completed his image as a taskmaster that nobody ever wanted to disappoint. Beaumont was in his exceptionally well-equipped office, standing before a floor-to-ceiling display screen as he briefed his visitor on the latest intelligence from the Jovian Coalition. The sixty-one-year-old Milo Woodward was the Confederacy's Minister for Commerce and Finance, but he also represented the interests of the omnipresent Hwaseong Industries on the Confederate Council. The Confederacy's single megacorporation, Hwaseong Industries dominated every sector of the Martian economy and received the same level of political representation as the fifteen territories that comprised the Confederacy. With short grey hair and a friendly smile, Woodward could easily pass as somebody's kindly uncle, although the tailoring on his navy blue suit would see him pass as somebody's immensely wealthy and kindly uncle. A native of Nova Yorkopolis, Woodward always spoke with the friendliest tone possible.

"So the Jovians sent a carrier out to Carpo, which is odd in of itself because nobody would ever send anything that substantial to Carpo. It's just a hunk of rock and ore that the Coalition uses to pad out their territorial reach and look bigger."

Beaumont loudly tutted. "The Jovians weren't the only ones. The United Nations sent the Omega out there too."

Woodward's eyes widened. "The Omega? Hmm. She's nothing compared to Martis Hasta, but still a decent ship." Martis Hasta, or 'Spear of Mars', was the Confederacy's jump-capable military vessel and had been constructed according to Hwaseong's 'gun in space' military vessel aesthetic. Beaumont cocked an eyebrow at Woodward's statement, then continued.

"As I was saying...Carpo shouldn't draw the attention of two such formidable vessels. There has been considerable activity in the moon's vicinity, and then there was the shuttle explosion yesterday. Our analysts doubt that there is anything found on Carpo that would cause such an impressive explosive effect, so that now raises some questions."

"Are the Jovians developing something on that moon, or have they found something on that moon?"

"That, Minister, is the million dollar question. At this time, I would suggest continued observation. If we show too much interest then the Jovians will likely resent it, well, more than they usually resent our interest anyway. I suspect that Defense Minister Dvornikov will likely want to send in Martis Hasta simply because the UN sent the Omega, I trust that I can rely on your support to prevent sending a sledgehammer into what really should be an intelligence matter?"

"You can indeed, Director-General." Woodward smiled and gestured towards the display screen. "Don't get me wrong, I like Dvornikov. He's a true Martian patriot. This situation calls for the sort of finesse seen in movies like 'Betrayal Protocol' and 'Operation Ghostrunner'."

"Yes. Quite."

[United Nations of Earth-]

Captain Jessica Harrington, UNPC
UNS Omega, Jupiter Outer Perimeter, Sol
14th October 2265

---

The crew of the Omega had enjoyed several days of shore leave in the clubs, bars, restaurants, and everyone else on the Jovian Moon of Europa, whilst her officers had taken full advantage of being in orbit alongside the capital world of the Jovian Coalition to fly the flag and do various ‘defence engagement’ activities as it was not all that common that an Earth warship visited Jupiter and certainly not one as new or advanced as the Omega; it was a subtle reminder that for all the United Nation’s naval policy had been mired in the General Assembly, it was still capable of designing and constructing the most advanced warships in human space. Although many within the UN Government saw the role of Earth to act as a parent, albeit a somewhat overbearing one in some cases, to her daughter colonies, the fact remained that there were occasions on which a parent had to discipline their child. Whilst the Geneva Declaration, and the very ideals of the United Nations, precluded undue meddling in the internal affairs of a now-independent daughter world, there was nothing to say that they could not use diplomatic, or indeed any other methods of, persuasion so long as this was done from the standpoint of equals.

Nevertheless, after a few days Captain Harrington had come to the decision that Omega was on the verge of overstaying her welcome and doing more harm than good with her presence, and that it was time for them to get on their way. The Jovians were renowned for their independent spirit and too heavy a hand with them was likely to backfire. As such, after the last shuttles were back aboard the misnamed destroyer had heaved itself out of orbit and began to make its way towards the edge of the Coalition’s territorial claim. As she had mused a few days previously, Harrington had ordered that the ship take a course that would coincidentally take it within detailed scanning range of the moon of Carpo; both to see if anything was going on and as a last subtle reminder that if they were up to something that Earth as always watching. As such, as the destroyer approached all scanning teams and tactical analysis personnel were on standby to collect and start to analyse the data they received as they completed their relatively close pass to the moon and the Jovian carrier that was conspicuously hovering.

Initially Carpo looked as they would expect; a small somewhat spherical moon with several mining sites and the beginning of infrastructure… with one in particular boating more infrastructure, albeit a bit more developed that what might be expected. This could perhaps be explained away by the head start that Pathfinder Extraction Corporation had provided on the moon, but then PEC’s initial survey had concluded there was nothing of particular interest, despite the initially promising discovery quantium-40 that turned out to be impure and not economically refined. Then there was the flurry of activity around the moon, not to mention the presence of a Jovian carrier. It was all a little… unusual, as suspicious was perhaps too unfair a word as it could entirely be that the explanation of naval exercises was in fact true. It would be something that would need to be reported to the UNPC Intelligence Directorate, if not the wider UN Intelligence Community, as even if the explanation was true on its face then the question that immediately followed was why they were conducting such exercises and flag-flying in such a far-flung part of their holdings. Indeed, had it not been for the coincidental presence of the Omega it was unlikely it would have come to light so quickly.

As she watched the moon on the viewscreen with a detached interest, Harrington simply shrugged. If there was something going on then the intelligence boys would get to the bottom of it; beyond that her duty now called upon her to return to Earth and unload the Inspectors as there was not another FTL inspection scheduled for several weeks and as such Omega was compelled to return to her perpetual state of heightened readiness.

These musings were brought to an abrupt stop when the shuttle, under a loose fighter escort (doubtless due to the close presence of the Omega), suddenly disappeared in a monumental explosion… far larger and more explosive than would be expected for almost any cargo that s shuttle of that side ought to be carrying. For a few moments every officer and crew member on the bridge of the Omega watched in horrified, frozen amazement before their training kicked in.

“Helm, bring us about,” Harrington ordered crisply. “Make a signal to the Jovian Carrier, inform them we are closing to render assistance if required.”

In truth, although partially wanting to meet her obligations under the unspoken ‘brotherhood of the stars’ that compelled her to come to the aid of other starfarers, she also wanted to get closer and try and work out what had happened. As the ship’s sensors began to detect massive amounts of radiation, even across the vacuum, she began to put together a theory that whilst unproven, would seem to explain everything… and was disconcerting in its meaning at the very least.

“Make a signal to the Lighthouse,” Harrington said quietly, referring to the United Nations Peacekeeper Corps operational headquarters on Luna. “They’re going to want to hear about this.”

His Excellency Xiong Qiqiang, Secretary-General of the United Nations
UN Headquarters, Geneva, Earth
15th October 2265

---

The mood in the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Xiong Qiqiang a native of the People’s Federation of Asia, was somewhat subdued as the small group of officials entered the room, the two most prominent of which were the heads of the UN Office for Defence and the UN Office for the Exterior, as well as the Chief of Peacekeeper Operations, and a handful of other staffers and officials. Most of the people on the room had been aware of the developing situations out at Jupiter since the previous day, but this was the first time they were all getting together to discuss how to proceed. This had partially been to enable Peacekeepers Intelligence at least a few hours to try and get their head around what had happened; the Captain of the UNS Omega had given her theory but it had been important to give the analysts a bite at the apple in order to see whether they could come up with some other explanation… particularly as if Captain Harrington’s theory was correct it was going to make the situation really rather complicated.

“Unfortunately, it seems that Captain Harrington’s theory is correct,” Fleet Admiral Richard Woodward said grimly once they were all settled. “Our analysts are pretty consistent in saying that the only thing that could cause such an explosion, and with that radiation spike, would be an uncontrolled Q-40 reaction… likely due to improper handling..

Anaya Crisostomo, Head of the Office of the Exterior, frowned.

“I thought impure Q-40 wouldn’t have that kind of reaction,” She commented. “An explosion and radiation sure, but nothing like that.”

“Exactly,” Rahair Makho, Head of the Office for Defence, replied gruffly. “Which suggests that the Jovians have uncovered pure Q-40 on Carpo.”

The room was silent for a few minutes as those that had not made the connection absorbed the information. The United Nations had long carefully controlled all known supplies of Q-40, largely the sizeable deposits on Mercury. Officially this was to meet its obligations under the Treaty of Mars, in preventing the proliferation of unauthorised jump drives (meaning that all civilian and certainly military requests would have to come through with Earth’s approval). Unofficially, it was still to enforce the Treaty but by preventing anyone from having any real choice about complying as Q-40 was essential to the entire process.

“That leaves us in an awkward situation,” Crisostomo sighed. “I know it’s in our geopolitical interest to control Q-40, but our hands may well be tied.”

“Then we need to move quickly to try and make the most out of a bad situation; as tragic as this shuttle accident was it may well be that it has actually been the best possible thing that could happen from our perspective, as we can get our foot in the Jovian door,” Secretary-General Qiqiang commented. “Anaya, instruct our Ambassador to the Jovian Coalition to request a meeting with their leadership… we should also probably tell the Martians about this… but let's frame it in such a way as we’re concerned about the implications for the enforcement of the Treaty… let’s try not to give them any room to cause trouble.”

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Europa
Europa’s Gemstone
Head Councilor Jay Lynn-Io
October 16th, 2265

The station that served as the capital of the The Free Coalition of Jovian Colonies was always busy. It was a massive, aged structure that had been ship of theseused multiple times throughout its life time from even way before the Coalition's founding. The last time it had a make over was right after the Treaty of the First Jove, the papers that spit in the face of former owners of these various moons and declared themselves free of their influence after a now defunct company tried to consign the massive station to a slow, rotting death without helping its people. Europa's Gemstone its name, a gem, polished and worn through the years yet still vibrant with life.

And yet.

Jay Lynn-Io had her head in her hands. She knew the secret had to get out eventually, but she hadn't expected it to be such an incredible fumble of a reveal. It should have been later, when Earth realized they were launching ships without begging for their help and approval, without the need to kneel down at the feet of their blasted megacorps which always circled at the feet of their providers like hungry hounds, waiting for their corpulent owner to throw them some scraps. Despite the nerves of the discovery, it had been wonderful news. Something that could catapult Jupiter out of the shadows of its cradle and into the light where they belonged.

"God damn it!" She yelled, to no one in particular, glaring at the first version of the flag that hung in a frame in her office. She was a politician, she knew why her forefathers had signed the Treaty of Mars. It was so the tiny nation, made of only the four largest moons of Jupiter and the stations that served them, would be recognized. Acknowledged as more than just some upstarts that were 'stealing' property. As free people that deserved to govern themselves.

These days that Treaty felt more like a noose. A weight dragging them down so the United Nations could keep them on a level they could easily discipline. Limiters to what could be. She'd been Jovian all her life, her nation was small, often fragmented, and occasionally violent among itself with small spats. They would probably never equal Earth or Mars in terms of size or power.

Maybe they could have in prowess though. Maybe Jupiter could be something more. Maybe Omega had truly done a crash test of their drives. Maybe Earth really did respect them.

She was spiraling and she knew it.

Jay just wanted so many things for her nation, as hard as it was to wrangle the Councils into acting, there was something there she knew it, her people had the drive, there was talent.

Her gaze dropped down to the simple request from the UN Ambassador for a meeting.

If she didn't end up dead after this, she was going to be surprised.

---

It was unusual for the Head Councilor to meet with any outsider alone. Usually she had at least one Foreign Affairs Councilor by her side, if not occasional others that fell into her orbit or favor, there to represent the many different voices of her people when speaking to outsiders in an official context.

So the fact that the request was granted for a one-on-one meeting was vastly out of character for the usual Jovian political scene. But perhaps a sign that even the Jovians realized (or at least Head Councilor Lynn-Io realized) that any others in this discussion was going to make it unbearable, and leaving it to their elected leader to deal with the talking.

[United Nations of Earth-]

Captain Jessica Harrington, UNPC
UNS Omega, Orbit of the Jovian Moon of Cargo, Sol
16th October 2265

---

The Omega had remained at Carpo since the shuttle incident, supposedly to provide any further support or data on the disaster for the Jovian investigators. The real reason, of course, was an unspoken desire to keep an Earth warship within fairly close proximity to the new deposit of Quantium-40, to protect it from other interested parties as much as from the Jovians themselves; the only thing worse than the Coalition getting there hands on it was some criminal band or other, as its use as an explosive element alone would fetch a fortune on the black market. It was a delicate situation of course, technically the Omega had no right to be in Jovian space as the jurisdiction of the United Nations Peacekeepers Corps in Sol ran out at the borders of a sovereign state. However, equally no one had yet asked her to leave and Captain Harrington was more than happy to play on that technicality for as long as possible in order to execute the orders she had been sent from Earth; besides it was not like it would be all that far away that they would need to travel in order to be in ‘international’ space.

However, since the excitement of the shuttle accident there had been preciously little for the Omega to actually do; it was not her place to sift through the wreckage or try and peace together what went wrong, nor was it her place to try and prevent something similar happening on the surface. All of that was the responsibility of the Jovians, and Harrington simply hoped that they were up for the task of doing just that. The Jovians had a reputation across Sol for being stubborn, argumentative, and fractured; their state was the youngest of Earth’s daughter colonies and they were certainly the most troublesome; which when Mars was in the picture that was something to be said, but at least with Mars they were far more predictable when it came to their politics and their own corporate entanglement. So the UN destroyer had simply contented itself to loiter and keep an eye on the situation for the time being, and as such the ship’s crew had taken advantage of the extra couple of days down-time before they returned to Earth where the normal routine of training and high-readiness stints would continue in earnest.

“Captain… that corporate convoy we were tracking on a course for Europa’s Gemstone has just changed course,” Lieutenant Commander Yang, the ship’s tactical officer reported with a frown. “They’ve just turned straight for us and kicked in the speed.”

Harrington frowned and quickly made her way over to the tactical station to review the readings for herself directly and from the raw data as opposed to the data which would appear on the situation display, but had already been through the ship’s tactical computer; it was rarely wrong but a good Captain liked to see the readings for herself. Sure enough there were now six ships approaching Carpo and doing so at a fair clip to say the least.

“Likes like four transports,” Lt. Commander Yang commented. “And two ‘security vessels’.”

Harrington grimaced; Corporate Security Vessels were armed ships operated by corporate interests for the ‘sole’ purpose of protecting their unarmed ships against pirates and other criminal elements when operating in the outer system or beyond Sol, and were supposed to be heavily regulated, but the fact that a pirate threat did exist beyond Sol meant that every attempt by the UN General Assembly to increase the enforcement powers around that regulation had been met with the simple truth that they were needed and that the Peacekeepers could not be everywhere. They were not quite warships, as they lacked the heavy armour plating found aboard a true warship, but they were well armed.

“Which corporate tag are they running?”

“Pathfinder Extraction Corporation,” Lt. Commander Yang replied.

Harrington narrowed her eyes; she did not like where this was going. She knew that it had been the PEC that had surveyed Carpo approximately sixty years ago, so before the founding of the Jovian Coalition, and it had been a PEC corporate officer that had declared the moon to be not economically viable as a site for mineral extraction and that the Quantium-40 on the moon was impure in its entirety (as was often the case). Indeed, if the Pathfinder Corps intelligence directorate was correct that corporate officer was now a senior executive at the PEC. She felt the bottom of her stomach drop out as her mind made a leap of logic. The PEC had theoretically been granted mining rights ‘in perpetuity’, however there had not yet been a situation in which these rights had not been brought up during the independence discussions and the matter resolved at this point (because PEC had believed that the rights were effectively worthless). Was it possible that the executive who had made the mistake in the first place was now rolling the dice in an effort to salvage his reputation and his position within the PEC. It would not be the first time a corporate power had taken drastic action, but the era of corporate overreach of the early rush into space was supposed to be over.

It was only a few minutes that her theory was realised as the lead PEC ship transmitted in the clear.

“Attention all vessels in the vicinity of Carpo; you are trespassing on private property granted to the Pathfinder Extraction Corporation in perpetuity in 2205. You have two hours to clear the area otherwise you will be detained and removed by our corporate security personnel.”

Harrington sighed as she slumped back into her chair.

“Fuck.”

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Jupiter, Carpo
Site #124
Jovian Representative 'Greg'

The man which had named himself Greg was a busy man. After the shuttle that was supposed to bring that sample of Q40 back to home base exploded in a brilliant warning sign that Jove now had their own pure deposit of the FTL element. he'd been on top of Site #124's staff and workers to be much, much more careful and cautious as they felt out the proper way to work with this dangerous stuff. The warnings and handling procedures of the impure samples was a start but it did nothing towards the refinement process, only the disposal.

The Omega still hanging in orbit was a bit of party dampener for sure as well. Greg had considered a few times asking the UN ship to leave, as they were very much overstaying their welcome by his standards and his superiors unwillingness to step to the bat and shove when the bully tried to stand over them was frustrating him. He did not have the clearance to ask that of the UN ship though, only politely ask for the data they collected about the shuttle explosion to compare and contrast it with that of Burrowed.

Given the amount that had gone up in that explosion, there was little left other than irradiated dust, so right now Burrowed sat silently above Carpo, no longer even trying to pretend it wasn't here to protect the Q-40, Its captain only affording Harrington the barest of formalities and thanks for the help with the shuttle. The combination of resentment and fear that colored the captain's talks with Harrington was plain and probably expected. They knew Omega had the edge here, and if Harrington said she wanted Burrowed gone, then Burrowed would be gone.

Greg's musing on the political and military mess going on here was disturbed when that message came through. He stared at it, trying to decide if this was some sort of sick joke or prank. There is no way anyone would be bold enough to try this... right.

"...and what the fuck are they on about?!" Burrowed captain's voice suddenly spoke into the silence, Greg realized his finger was resting on the button to call the ship and he let out a breath.

"Sorry Captain Lithe, I didn't mean to call you, but the protection of Site #124 is under your command. I have some security personnel down here but not an army." Greg sat back, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Don't worry, I won't let them touch down." Lithe sounded like a dog that was straining at the end of a leash.

"Don't do anything stupid." He warned, not wanting to get the man killed.

"Trust me. If Military Council wants me gone, you'll see my obituary on the news. We're Jovians Greg. You know there's only one way to respond to this."

Greg stood, walking over to the weapons locker. "Yeah. We let them eat cake." He said as he pulled out the pistol, checking it over.

"We let them eat cake."

---

The immediate response to the message came from Burrowed, the carrier which had been careful and respectful of Omega for all this time, immediately shifted to cover the planet from a better position despite the fact that as a carrier, it was better suited for running away while its wing worked its magic... which it was beginning to drop into space to defend its moon.

"Pathfinder Extraction Corporation vessels, Carpo has been Jovian territory since push last of your vile kind off our moons and stations." Lithe's voice was full of venom, and transmitted in the clear just like theirs had been. "You come any closer to this moon, you try and land anyone on it, and you all will die. Fuck around and find out Corporate Bastards."

It was crude and the probably least diplomatic response anyone could have given to such a demand, but in Jovian space that kind of intrusion by a mega corporation was going to taken even less well than the United Nations softer handling of the situation. Jupiter was made of the remnants of corporations that had needed to be pushed out of Jupiter or overthrown, of people who had been mistreated and ignored by overlords light years away. You did not try to make a grab at Jovian soil like how people did in the lawless days.

The message from Burrowed was obviously intended to stir the pot. It didn't matter if they had orders from the Military Council or not, the wasp's nest had been thoroughly kicked, and what Jovian warships that could respond were starting to pull out of their orbits and patrols to back up their friend who had issued the challenge. Including Advent. If PEC pushed it, the Jovians would slaughter them, probably to the last man and feel no remorse over it.

[United Nations of Earth-]

The Honourable William Kincaid, United Nations Ambassador to the Jovian Coalition
Europa’s Gemstone, Jupiter, Sol
16th October 2265

---

The Head Councilor’s office was always a cozy one in the protected depths of Europa’s Gemstone, its fittings changed with each leader, but it somehow never lost its charm. A desk, made of a mix of real burl woods from Earth that mimicked the gas giant Europa orbited was the center of the room, the chairs around it comfortable and just as well made. A few artifacts of Jovian history decorated the walls, some of them clearer than others, while a bookcase and a liquor cabinet lay inset into one of the walls, and most prominently, a black wall that usually displayed live views of Jupiter’s atmosphere lay silent and still. The floor was lush and soft carpet, swirls of reds and gentle oranges branching out from the door to frame itself around the desk like a beginner artist who couldn’t quite get subtly when drawing the eye.

The Head Councilor herself sat behind the desk, scribbling in a notebook as the ambassador was let in. The 47 year old woman looked tired, a few new stress lines had been added to her face and there was just a lack of energy that seemed to infect the air around her as Jay Lynn-Io finally looked up. The second she made eye contact she smiled warmly and stood, circling around the desk to offer her hand to shake. The transformation was dramatic, like she hadn’t just been sitting there behind the desk brooding on her little doodle notebook. But that’s the way Jovian politicos were, chameleoning their emotions and actions to the people they spoke to for the best result. It was a survival tactic.

“Ambassador! It's good to talk with you again.”

Her voice was exactly the same as her looks, warm, friendly and an obvious mask to the lack of energy beneath it.

The Honourable William Kincaid, Ambassador from the United Nations to the Jovian Coalition, smiled warmly in greeting as he entered the room. As it currently stood, there were only a handful of Ambassador-level diplomats in the UN Office of the Exterior; the majority of diplomats were envoys from the UN Secretariat to the various colonial administrations that had not yet gained their independence. As such, they were amongst the most prestigious and sought after appointments within the entire Secretariat. 

“Head Counsellor, a pleasure as always,” The Ambassador smiled, letting his host take the lead, interested to see if she would bring up the Carpo situation first. "How is the family?”

Jay motioned the man into a seat as she resumed her own behind the desk, a subtle reminder of her power. “Oh, good as always, my daughter just graduated with honors from Europa’s University a week ago.” She closed the notebook she’d been doodling in. “It’s not often I get the pleasure of talking to you alone, did you request a meeting to talk about that shuttle explosion Omega helped Burrowed with the other day?” She wasn’t going straight at it. Skirting the issue to see if he would push or if she needed to.

Kincaid smiled wryly, appreciating her getting the point.

“I did, firstly please accept the condolences of the United Nations for the loss of the shuttle crew and passengers, it only highlights the dangers of space flight,” The Ambassador said simply. “The Omega reported the situation to the Lighthouse, as I’m sure you’ll understand, but the analysts at the Peacekeepers are a little surprised of the sheer size of the explosion, given the size of the shuttle and its presumed cargo capacity.”

“Thank you for your sympathy Ambassador. I’ll be sure to pass them on to the families who lost their loved ones.” Jay paused for a second. It was almost not noticeable, yet she was obviously considering how she best wanted to play this game. Finally….

“Oh don’t be coy Ambassador, Earth is smarter than that. Surely you know, or have been informed, there’s only one substance that can make an explosion of that size.” The tiredness seemed to return, this time in tone with an edge of hostility. There it was, the traditional Jovian coin flip personality. Though honestly this time the anger didn’t seem directed at Kincaid.

“Indeed, Quantium-40 is notoriously explosive in the best of cases, but particularly when it is mishandled as it would seem to be the case,” Kincaid commented dryly. “I presume then that your people found pure Q-40 on Carpo, and were trying to extract or study it?”

“We have.” Jay admitted simply, the hostility seemingly switched off now that it was out in the open. “We do believe it was an error on part of the miners who packed it, but given the outcome it’s hard to tell where we went wrong.” That felt oddly frank of a Jovian to just… admit. Especially since they went to all the trouble of hiding it until their hand was forced. “Nothing we can’t work around.”

“True, but something that is potentially going to be costly to you, both financially and in terms of lives lost if there are future accidents… and there is the Treaty of Mars to consider, Article II calls for very strict regulations around which civilian entities are permitted to be involved in the extraction, refinement, and construction process,” Kincaid replied promptly. “As such, the United Nations has a suggestion to make; as the hereforeto previously only state to control a Q-40 deposit, we and our carefully vetted corporate partners have a great deal of experience in this area… if the Coalition were to be willing to grant permits and mining rights in this matter to an Earth corporation as chosen by the UN Office for Resource Management, we will ensure that a considerable portion of the profit is paid out to the Coalition… whilst the corporate or the UN Secretariet will cover any set up costs involved .”

Jay snorted in amusement. “I’m sure you’d all love to continue to be the sole controller of Q-40, but while I appreciate the amount of headaches this simple solution might cure on your side, you have to realize that the Coalition is not going to be happy with Earth and one of it's megacorps being handed such a prize.”

She sat back, any of that amusement on her face or in her tone gone. “Jupiter is more than capable of handling the deposit with care, we are signatories of the Treaty of Mars after all. We understand the limitations it imposes on us or else my predecessors would not have signed it. The only thing we lack is knowledge on how to properly handle and refine Q-40.”

“Let me be equally blunt, High Councillor; the expertise required to handle and refine Q-40 is not easily imparted and certainly not within any short timescale, and from a purely practical perspective it would require you to engage with either Pathfinder Extraction or Serendipity Mining, who will charge a pretty penny for that knowledge… to them at that point it’s just good business,” Kincaid replied, his voice sharp. “Moreover, were you to operate the mining efforts yourselve, once you were able to learn the necessary expertise, who precisely would you sell the Q-40 to? The other powers don’t exactly need the Q-40 as their civilian jump drive needs are already provided by Earth, or indeed their jump drives are directly provided by Stardust Technologies… the only body making use of large quantities of Q-40 is Earth with its jump gate construction commitments… and let me be clear, we would not but from you either.”

“Who said anything about selling it to outsiders?” Jay’s reply was simple, her eyes intent on the Ambassador. “Jupiter might be a relatively small nation, but we have our scouts and civilians we would like to tend to. Sure, we would not need to harvest our deposit as fast as the UN might since they need to provide for all of us here in Sol, but that could only benefit Earth, no longer having to stress over providing for us.” 

“The cost of doing so, compared to the deal we’re proposing, or indeed simply buying from Earth directly, would be astronomically higher,” Kincaid commented. “I implore you, High Coucillor, do not allow your stubbornness and pride to write cheques that the Jovian economy will have to pay for.”

Jay opened her doodle notebook, wrote something down on a page filled with a variety of little time waster doodles, then closed it. “You cannot put a price on freedom, Ambassador. If Earth or its megacorps are unable to teach us, then we will learn the same way the people who first discovered Q-40. By trial and error. It’s not like we are expanding our civilian fleets at any great rate. We have time and we have drive.”

Kincaid sighed; despite the commitments of the Geneva Declaration and the fact that Earth was the first ‘empire’ in history to freely let its colonial holdings go without a fight, almost all of earths independent daughters still seemed to foster a certain resentment to their parent world… much as some children might resent their parents for the challenges they subsequently faced forging their own way in the universe.

“High Councillor.. the cost in lives would be…”

The doors to the Head Councilor’s office burst open, Jay herself was already standing, her hand reaching down towards her waist as though she was going to pull out a gun. Knowing the usual state of Jovian politics this was probably one of the least surprising things Jay could be doing. 

The person that had burst in was an aide, frozen in the doorway, hands raised to keep their leader from shooting them, one of them holding a tablet emblazoned with the seal of the Coalition. “I’m sorry Ma’am, but it's urgent.”

“It can’t be so urgent to disturb my meeting with the United Nations’ Ambassador!” She snapped.

The aide stepped forward to hand the table to her. Even as she switched it on to read it the aide explained. 

“Some ships from the PEC have claimed perpetuity mining rights on Carpo, and gave us 2 hours to clear our people out.” 

Jay scowled at the message she was reading. “Alright then I’ll respond… why are you giving me that look.” She said as she saw the aide shaking their head.

“Burrowed already responded.” They made a scrolling motion. “Just uh… scroll down a bit.”

Jay did that, read the message then simply handed it over Kincaid, obviously feeling no need to keep it secret… Neither side of this little tift was trying to after all.

Kincaid had remained seated whilst the interruption had played out, apparently nonplussed but his eyes had widened in shock and surprise at the explanation. He took the tablet and read the information quickly, his mind moving quickly to think how to respond even as he spoke,

“Oh for Christ’s sake,” Kincaid scowled, “High Councillor… could I trouble you for a comm link to the Omega.”

Jay sat back down at her desk, pushing back the cover on the terminal built into the desk, scattering the doodle notebook and pens she’d been using. It took but only a few seconds before Jay motioned the Ambassador around to her side of the desk, standing off to the side so she wasn’t in his way. “Here you go, Ambassador.”

Captain Jessica Harrington, UNPC
UNS Omega, Orbit of the Jovian Moon of Cargo, Sol
16th October 2265

---

“Understood, Mister Ambassador, Harrington clear,” Captain Harrington said simply, before turning to her crew. “General quarters.”

Harrington sank back into her command chair as her bridge team bustled around her to being the destroyer to battle stations for the first time ‘in anger’, that is outside of an exercise. Strictly speaking an Ambassador could not give a direct order to a military officer, however they were the duly appointed and confirmed representatives of the UN Secretary-General and in her judgement Harrington had no reason to suspect that the SecGen would take any other course of action than she had been ordered to do. Within a matter of moments the destroyer was cleared for action and her weapons were powering up.

In the meantime, the PEC squadron had adjusted its formation in response to the refusal from the Jovians; the transporters were falling back and the two security vessels were moving up to take a spearhead position at the head of the convoy. It seemed entirely likely that they were intending to take on the Jovian carrier. As civilian vessels their offensive armament was nothing to write home about; blunt and simple spinal mass drivers that tended to side-step the heavy regulations of more ‘advanced’ weapons systems, but could still provide a considerable punch, whilst their defensive armament was significant, and included the same Dynatex WRK-1005 Phalanx Light Plasma Pulse Turrets carried by all Earth warships as its primary close-in weapons systems, the Omega included. As it currently stood, it looked entirely likely the PEC and the Jovian’s were going to come to blows and soon.

“Launch starfury squadron,” Harrington ordered crisply. “Bring us about and move is to a position for an attack run using the forward battery.”

Without warning, the Omega heaved herself around until she was pointed directly at the PEC convoy; the four Starburst Armaments OMEGA Heavy Particle Beam/Heavy Pulse Cannon Turrets that made up the forward part of her main armament, targeted directly for the lead PEC security vessel, even as a number of her Starfury fighters began to launch from the main hanger. It would be the first time anyone in Sol would get to see an Omega destroyer prepare for battle, and doubtless the readings form her main weapons would prove to be interesting reading for naval analysts of the other powers.

“General broadcast,” Harrington ordered crisply. “PEC Convoy, this Captain Jessica Harrington of the United Nations Destroyer Omega, you are violating Jovian sovereignty in direct contravention of the Geneva Declaration and the Ballantyne Act, stand down immediately or we will be forced to fire upon your ships to enforce UN law and protect Jovian sovereignty.”

There was a few moments of tense silence as the message was transmitted and received. The Ballantyne Act, the unofficial name for the Corporate Responsibility Act of 2189, had been passed by the UN General Assembly in order to prepare the corporate sphere for the impending independence of various colonies in which they might already be doing business, and underlined their responsibility to raise the matter of any pre-existing contracts, agreements, grants, or other arrangements, with the colonial government as part of the independence process, and that after a grace period of five year from independence they would have no support from the UN Government when it came to enforcing their contractual rights. In short it was meant to protect their interests to some degree, whilst also respecting the due national sovereignty of the soon-to-be independent colonies. As part of the independence process, the departing colonies agreed to the terms of the Ballantyne Act for the ‘grace period’ but thereafter they were allowed to proceed as they pleased, whether they choose to continue to engage with the corporations or not was up to them, and Earth had committed to protecting their sovereignty in such instances. Such as, for example, this one.

“They’re turning away!” Lt. Commander Yang reported excitedly. “The security vessels are still shielding, but they’re turning away from Carpo.”

“Stay after them, Helm, run them off…” Harrington ordered. “We’re going to be the lead story on every newscast from here to Earth… let’s at least look good doing it.”

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Jupiter, Carpo
October 16th, 2265

Burrowed seemed almost surprised as Omega began to deploy to support their side. The fighters from the Jovian carrier lagged back towards their home as the United Nations ship took over, not wanting to try and mix with the UN fighters on the fly, especially without orders from their carrier.

The rest of the wasps nest that Burrowed had stirred up with their very inflammatory response seemed mollified as well. The various Jovian warships that had been starting to make their way out here turned back towards their posts, the only one continuing its journey out to join Burrowed over Carpo was Advent, the cruiser once again deviating from its normal patrol route to come check out the action.

Captain Kawa even sent a quick offer to Omega, if they wanted some help, Kawa and Advent would be happy to assist their fellow jump-capable ship.

---

Sol Star System
Europa
Europa’s Gemstone
Head Councilor Jay Lynn-Io

Jay watched the whole interaction over her sensors trying to keep the nervous tension off her face. Trying to remain calm while watching her fleets practically revolt was hard and knowing trying to call them back to post would be political suicide. She’d thrown the ‘show’ up on the giant screen so her and Kincaid could both keep an eye on the situation as it continued.

But if the PEC ships were going to try something, Omega could call on the help of Burrowed and Advent, though she doubted the ‘destroyer’ would need it.

“Thank you for the assistance Ambassador.” She said as she looked over at Kincaid. “Watching the Omega in action is quite the treat, though I do wish it hadn’t been necessary.” She sounded a little sour on that last compliment but of course no nation leader was going to be particularly happy to have other another nation’s ships enforcing their boundaries within their own territory.

[Jovian Coalition]

Head Councilor Jay Lynn-Io, Jovian Coalition
The Honourable William Kincaid, United Nations
Europa’s Gemstone, Jupiter, Sol
16th October 2265

---

“You are welcome, High Councillor, but you really don’t need to thank us… as we’ve always maintained, the United Nations are committed to respecting and protecting the sovereignty of her daughter worlds against all comers,” Kincaid replied honestly, yet with a sigh. “The UN Secretariat takes a very dim view on violations of the Ballantyne Act very seriously, so I assure you that the corporation will be heavily fined and if we are able to identify the executive responsible he may face prison time.”

Kincaid paused thoughtfully.

“If I may, however, it does underline to me the continued entanglements you are likely to face if you were to continue extraction operations on Carpo… if they are willing to accept the punishments there isn’t anything to stop the PEC from trying again, and it’ll be far harder for you to bring them to answer in a Jovian Court and your standing in the ICJ isn’t guaranteed,” Kincaid continued. “Let me be blunt… do you really want to keep dealing with this bullshit as it’s fought out in the courts over the next few years without standing, when you can just allow our Corpos to sort it out minter themselves while you reap all the profits… as I hope this little incident just demonstrated… we’re not here to rob you, High Councillor… we’re here to help you.”

Jay looked back at the screen still displaying the sensor information showing Omega chasing off the convoy, pondering the possibilities. The trouble, the idea of needing to chase off the PEC again and possibly having yet another situation where the Jovian fleet decides to shirk orders to make an example out of a ballsy corporate intruder. The time and effort they were going to have to put into figuring Quantium-40 out on their own. The learning curve was a price Jay was willing to pay, even though she knew it would cost lives.

She wasn’t sure if it was as worth it with the threat of PEC trying to get involved and how badly the fleet reacted to the intrusion. “If I’m to hand over protection of the Q-40 deposit to Earth,” Jay sounded like she’d bit into a lemon, “then I need some assurances that whoever comes out here is going to employ actual locals or it’s just gonna be a repeat of this situation again. You have to realize how touchy Jupiter is about megacorps, we only just pushed the last holdout off Jovian space like 5 years before I got elected. It’s why my fleet almost dogpiled the PEC convoy.”

“I understand, and I assure you that we’ll be able to make Serendipity Mining, the PECs rivals, comply with any of those sorts of requirements… they are by far the more responsible and forward thinking of the two mining megacorps, the PEC is far more of a blunt instrument,” Kincaid replied with a nod. “They’ll want their own corporate officers and foremen most likely, but we can certainly require the majority of employees and some of the foremen be locals, the UN Office of Resource Management could even sooner some apprenticeships…”

“Long as they can do that and deal with the unions, then they’ll probably be just fine.” Jay didn’t sound terribly happy, something to be expected. “Will we have to give the rest of the mining sites up too? Not that we are truly hurting for the basic resources but the resource teams know how to play nice with neighbors.”

“I’m confident the Secretariet will impress on Serendipity the need for positive industrial relations,” Kincaid nodded. “I would need to check the ‘grant’ that PEC is basing their claim off, but geologically speaking it’ll probably be worth expanding Q-40 prospecting at all of the sites.”

“Then that sounds like something Serendipity should talk and negotiate with the local teams about.” Jay pulled the doodle notebook back over to her, flipping through the pages idly. She seemed distracted. “Which I am sure they'll be willing to do. The supervisor out there right now is apparently a fair person. Some Anna Cole.” She looked up at the Ambassador. “Anything else we need to discuss about Carpo before I hand the deposit over?”

“Agreed, I am confident that the Secretary-General would rather that the majority of the details are managed as a business deal rather than as diplomacy,” Kincaid replied with a nod. “We’ll make sure they Serendipity are on the same page, and they want to keep getting government contracts so they will be, and then you both can negotiate from there.”

“Then I suppose that's all I can do as Head Councilor.” She stood and offered a hand to Kincaid. Once they shook Jay said. “The Q-40 deposit is yours… well the United Nations and Serendipity's.”

She then walked around the desk to go to the liquor cabinet and after looking over the bottles for a second she pulled out a bottle of what appeared to be whiskey, the label having a beautiful blue and green planet on the label, meaning it came all the way from Earth.

“Can I interest you in a drink Ambassador?” Jay asked, her voice suddenly sounding so tired.

“No, High Councillor… the deposit is yours… we’re merely accepting stewardship of it,” Kincaid replied firmly. “I won’t say no, and it would be ever so undiplomatic.”

Jay got out two glasses, put some ice in the glass and poured an appropriate amount for Kincaid while very much overfilling her own. She came back to sit at her desk, handing over the drink. “I believe this stuff is from… oh what that’s North American country that’s above the United States? Canada?” She looked at the bottle she’d brought over. “Yeah, Canada.” Jay took a long drink. It really wasn’t the type of drink you should be doing that with but since the offer of a drink Jay wasn’t even trying to keep up appearances. She just looked tired and distracted.

“Yes, Canada, although it is part of the United Americas Comonwealth now of course, alongside the former United States and Mexico,” Kincaid replied with a nod, as he took a sip and leant back in his chair with a frown. “Are you okay, High Councillor?”

“No.” Jay admitted frankly. “I appreciate that what we’ve agreed to is probably the best case scenario for both of our nations, but the Free Coalition isn’t gonna see it that way.” She topped off her glass, there was a good chance she might finish the bottle right here.

“There’s a great chance I’m taking a long vacation after this decision.”

Jovians had their quirks, their political structure even more so. You didn’t get elected without a firm grasp of the infighting and injuries that often occurred over decisions. For the most part, the worst that happened is a representative was hospitalized and possibly voted out. The more unusual option was the, usually joking, ‘taking a long vacation.’ Code for ‘this rep needs to die while they're off the clock.’ Most of the time it was just a joke, a little funny quirk of taking the violence of the Councils to the extreme.

However it was a distinct possibility, it has happened before and usually only when a representative made a choice that was wildly unpopular… such as allowing megacorps to continue to hold Jovian territory.

“Sometimes leaders have to take decisions that are unpopular… and the enduring colonial mindset that Earth it out here to dominate won’t help with that…” Kincaid frowned. “That being said, High Councillor… if you feel the need to take me up on the offer, Earth is prepared shelter you, should the need arise… we can’t allow someone to pay even the Jovian price for making the right decision even if it is unpopular.”

Jay laughed, somewhat bitterly, taking another drink. “I know you and Earth would shelter me but it would only make relations between our nations worse. They’d see it as a grab Earth and its corps are trying to retake our moons. And that I’m the coward that signed off on it.” She paused, looking over the bottle of whiskey like it might hold an answer it didn’t have.

“No, I didn’t grow up watching the Coalition grow to where it is to not understand how its gears turn. I’m willing to eat a bullet if it means Jupiter doesn’t attempt to get violent towards whoever gets stationed out here to protect and mine the Q-40.” She sighed. “Last thing I want is to start a war with Earth, so I’ll play the game my nation demands of me. If I take ‘all’ the blame for the decision, then when I go, Jovians will think they’ve solved most of the problem and only have to start the process of reclaiming Carpo peacefully when a new Head Councilor is elected.”

Jay stared down at the ice and drink in her glass, then refilled it. Again. “I don’t want to put you or your family at risk William, so when,” not if, he would notice, “I’m gone, no condolences from the Embassy or Earth, I deserve it after all. That’ll keep everything intact on your end.”

Kincaid frowned again and looked most perturbed. It was obvious that he did not approve and did not really want to be part of any of this.

“This kind of political violence reflects poorly on Jupiter, Jay, and I fear what it may mean for the Coalition’s long term prospects,” Kincaid replied truthfully, indeed he rather suspected it meant they Earth would never truly be able to take his attention off Jupiter. “I do wish you would allow us to work something out, even if it had to be covert… but if something happens I’ll respect that decision.”

“I know it’s a poor look over all for us and trust me I, and others like me, are attempting that change to be less violent, but we are too young, there are too many people still alive who remember the way our former masters treated us. There’s too many notes of the culture that formed under those same masters , that of underhanded action and violence which did solve problems when words did not.” Jay tapped on her glass. Thinking it over

“If Earth wants to try and make the effort to get me out, I’ll work with them, but you’ll have to work fast. This is not going to be a popular decision and I would at least like to go see my daughter before…" She made a neck cutting motion.

“Truthfully, I’d rather try and keep you in position as I have no doubt that you’re the best person to lead Jupiter into a better political environment, but Earth trying to prop up your leadership simply isn’t going to fly,” Kincaid replied with a heavy sigh then leant forward. “As you’d expect, we’ve got a UNIS station as part of the embassy, the Service normally envisions extracting assets rather than soon-to-be disgraced leaders… but we may be able to get something in place.”

“Believe it or not, despite the saying, I did have an actual vacation back to Io on the books from the 20th to November 5th so I could celebrate the graduation of my kid and enjoy time away from the desk.” She still took another long drink, the amount of the bottle she had drunk was actually a bit concerning even though it didn’t seem to be hitting her yet. “That way I’ll be off this accursed station where it’s much easier to slip out from under the eyes of all the Councils.” She opened the notebook, tore out a page covered in her doodles, scribbled a code on it and handed it to the Ambassador. “Here, this code is more secure than the official channels. You need me, this code is an instant answer no matter where I am.” The code was surrounded by little hearts, stars, flowers, and smiley faces that had long been taking up the page space before its current use. Doodles that had a sort of amateur artist charm to them.

“Other than that, I do not believe there’s much else than letting you go so you can tell your nation what you’ve accomplished out here.” Jay said as she stood, still not looking terribly well, the threat of death hanging over a person would do that to them, but she managed, somehow, to plaster the warm smile back onto her face. “Thank you for coming to talk with me Ambassador.”

“I’ll get UNIS on it the moment I get back to embassy,” Kincaid nodded. “Thank you for seeing me, High Councillor.”

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Io, Jupiter
Satoro's Crossing
October 25th, 2265



The large habitation dome which had sprung up around the former mining site on Io was the one the current Head Councilor had called home. Satoro's crossing was pretty large and well terraformed, the city was dense and the flora that grew here well tended, making for a beautiful paradise among the volcanically active peaks of Io.

And the news among the moons of Jove was going wild. Not only has Jay Lynn-Io announced the transfer of the the Q-40 deposit to a majority Earth (and one of their damned megacorps) custody, but she'd then gone on vacation and straight up vanished.

Her family had no clue what had happened, but signs pointed to a struggle, given the amount of blood that had been spilled and fruniture destroyed in Lynn-Io's home. Rumors were circulating that she'd been offed by a rival or a Council unhappy with the news of how she handled the Quantium-40 deposit and so far, without a body, that looked to be the case. Given the nature of the Io, finding a body in the wilds of the moon would be damn near impossible and unless she re-emerged in the next day or so, the Coalition was activating emergency procedures to elect a new Head Councilor.

[Jovian Coalition]

Sol Star System
Europa’s Gemstone, Jupiter
November 5th, 2265

The conference room was quiet, the reporters that had been invited to broadcast and record this speech talking in quiet whispers as they adjusted their equipment and readied their note pads.

With no sign of the former Head Councilor to be found, the Coalition officially put the position up to vote. The population turned out as they always did, casting their votes among a choice few Representatives that had stepped up to the plate to serve their nation. And without the usual amount of time to try and campaign, the few that had volunteered for the spot were among the showy-er of the Jovians. They gave a few speeches, made promises, all the while votes flowed into the capital for counting.

In the end, it was of little contest, as one had risen above the rest.

They were tall and a bit lanky, the stature of a person who grew up under lower gravity, no surprise given they had represented Spot's Rest, a former resort station that had grown over the years much like the capital station. Unlike their predecessor, they were young, around 30 at best, not exactly unheard of in representatives but definitely unheard of in the Head Councilor position. Usually, the position was left to older hands, people who had proven they could survive the dangers of their job while still representing their people.

As they walked onto the stage and behind the lectern, in a sharp suit and tie that was a somber black and deep red respectively. They cleared their throat, adjusted the microphone a bit and instantly the room got quiet.

"My fellow Jovians, this is not how I desired to gain this seat." They said, their voice soft. "But with the confirmation that Jay Lynn-Io is dead, I will not put off taking the duties put upon me any longer."

They straighten a little took out over the crowd, their expression morphing from sadness to determination. "I, Aspen Vogel, do take this burden of state upon my shoulders. The children of Jove may look to me for leadership, while I will look to them for guidance. We will forge a stronger Jupiter together, our voices combined to shout to the stars, Pacta sunt servanda!"

Some of the reporters clapped, the enthusiasm of even this official crowd was almost infectious.

---

Head Councilor's Office
November 5th, 2265

Aspen Vogel opened the door to the office, glad to see the changes they'd requested had been done and the room cleaned top to bottom.

They entered, taking in the room with a reverence. The highest Council slot you could earn, the most power any representative could have, was theirs. Only theirs now.

As they sat down in the chair, pushing it back slightly so they could kick their feet up on the desk, lounging back in a display of cocky comfort they were glad no one was around to see.

Their eyes fell on a notebook on the desk and they opened it, snorting in derision at the doodles from Lynn-Io.

"Oh I really wish we'd found the killer! Would of pardoned him or her myself, poor bastard probably thinks he's in trouble." Vogel mused to themself, closing the notebook and tossing it across the room into a trashcan.

After all, their own team had been the one to discover the crime and report it. Fucker really made a lot of enemies trying to kiss the feet of the United Nations. Thankfully, she was dead, body dumped in a volcano most likely.

Which meant Vogel was free to work on Jupiter’s future.

---

Sol Star System
???, Earth
Jay Lynn-Io

Even now, the injuries still hurt. They'd been quite kind but if the Coalition was to buy her disappearance for her 'crime' then there had to evidence and there had to be actual blood.

The fight had pretty much been staged but losing enough blood to make it look like she actually fought hard was not a painless process. The cuts would heal, they'd been tended to quickly and the bruises would fade.

But she was still here, separated from her beloved nation and family. It was depressing and occasionally as she watched the progress on voting she'd somewhat desperately wished she had been taken out. Being a third-party observer to this election was painful.

Aspen Vogel, one of the hot-heads from Spot's Rest. Smart, but young, good at talking and especially talented at wrangling Councils they'd been a part of. No doubt that, if they'd been given some years to mellow out, they'd be a fine Head Councilor.

At their current age though?

Jay was no stick-in-the-mud, she was always happy to see younger representatives keeping their elders in touch with the youth.

But she wasn't sure Vogel was a great pick as they were. Too much energy, too little care to the delicate webs they wished to respin in their own image.

She prayed to Father Jove that they would do right by the Coalition, and not spiral it into hell.