Sol Star System
Jupiter, Europa's Gemstone
Head Councilor Aspen Vogel
December 12th, 2265
It had been a little over a month since Jupiter 'lost' Carpo to the hands of the United Nations and Serendipity Mining Incorporated.
A lot of that blow had been softened by a combination of the last Head Councilor's disappearance, the election of Vogel, and the sheer amount of locals Serendipity had taken under their wings for the task of extracting the Quantium-40 and prospecting more of the moon to see if there were any other deposits hidden underneath the crust of the Carpo. The law wasn't yet settled, but by all reports Vogel was getting, that executive that tried to land grab at Jovian territory was getting put through the wringer.
It was all going well.
Yet they were still unhappy. And by most of the reports they were getting, so was the Coalition. It was the small things, the ways the news reported things, the way the people reacted when polled, the whispers and rumors of representatives speaking in hushed tones in the passages of the capital. They didn't want to brag, but they'd always had a closer ear for the populations they served, knowing the lingo, hearing the news, understanding the frustrations. And even the generally happy people of Spot's Rest were unusually frustrated over a moon most settlements couldn't even see in the night sky.
The blow was softened, yet there was still a bruise. A cut to the ego that needed some tending before it became worse, infected with the frustration and resentment that had birthed their fine nation.
Which was why they were here in this conference room, a new Council to watch over a project that should restore the happiness of Jupiter while expanding its influence. A distraction for sure, but something that should only benefit them.
They look up at the people gathered for this project.
"Alright, I've given you all enough time to read the proposal. Thoughts?" They asked as they leaned forward.
The various representatives looked around at each other, a bit nervous. This was the first time their new Head Councilor had called on any of them, and they feared a possibly bad reaction.
"Come on, I didn't invite you all to be space fillers. Please, speak your mind." Vogel further prompted.
Military Council Head Rylan McTavish-Ganymede spoke up first. "Its might be asking a bit much from our fleet to protect such an outpost. Right now, Ceres is in a good spot as Jupiter and Ceres should be at their closest approach in like... what, a few months?" He glanced down at the notes before him. "So that means we'll be in prime position for a little while to exploit it, but Ceres has an orbital period of like 4.5 Earth years, while ours is around 11. We will probably fall out of sync with it fast."
"What do we even plan on doing with it?" Council member Marie Donovan spoke up. "I mean I was on the Voting Council for Jove's sake, I don't usually deal with stuff like this. Are we trying to find more ores or something? Don't we still have like 40 minor moons we could exploit for that?"
"This is a new Council." Vogel pointed out. "And representatives can be on multiple councils at once. You're a smart gal, why are these people here?" They motion around the table.
Donovan looked around at the people present, puzzled but obviously engaged. "We have the Military head, a former Resource Extraction..." She paused as she looked at the man sitting across from her. "Where are you from? I don't remember your election."
The severe-looking man grinned. "One of the only positions that isn't up for vote Ma'am. Intelligence. Call me Greg by the way."
The woman sat back, shocked. "Why I..."
Greg's smile fell off his face. "There are some things that work smoother if you pick people carefully. Intelligence is one of those sectors that can't risk the infighting inherent to our system. Trust me, I wouldn't be here in Mx. Vogel didn't think I was needed."
Donovan squinted at him before looking back at the Head Councilor. "Its a watch post?"
Rylan nodded. "Correct. We can always use more information on the inner system and while our sensors are quite well tuned... we are an outer system power. Spies and news collection can only do so much, having a posting roaming the border between inner and outer system can be useful."
"Not to mention it'll be far closer to the inner planets than we'll be when Jupiter reaches aphelion." One of the others down table spoke.
Vogel straightened. "And frankly, Jupiter needs a win of some sort. Carpo is effectively Earth's until we can get around to wrestling it from their control without starting a war. If we start making 'moves' in system, then this will appear to be Jupiter’s way of showing we are not allowing the UN to smother us."
The various council members looked at Vogel, a combination of hope and stress on their faces. They almost had them.
"That is why I am calling this Council the Jovian Harvest Council." They said, noticing the grin return to Greg's face.
"Harvest? We aren't doing crops!" Donovan objected.
"No, its a reference to Ceres, the goddess of the harvest, the place we are taking under our wing." Vogel replied. "Might as well bring the family back together, don't you think?"
Donovan looked a little confused for a second before the realization hit her. "Oh! Yes!"
Got them.