Star Force: Origin Series Box Set (37-40) Page 23

  “What’s a bike?”

  Davis rolled his eyes and cradled the bridge of his nose between his fingertips as he sighed, realizing that these people had probably never seen a bike in their short lives, let alone rode one.

  “Younglings,” he muttered, searching his mind for another metaphor to use.

  4

  January 3, 2454

  Solar System

  Earth

  Jessica sat on a park bench, looking out at the Wellington Harbor through teary eyes as the heat of the day puckered her bare shoulders with sweat, but she didn’t notice nor care about the weather, nor the crowds walking past her. She was a roiling mess of emotion after coming out of an emergency session of parliament in which they ‘discussed’ the report she’d filed yesterday upon coming back from Atlantis.

  Everything was a mess. Star Force had only communicated with the New Zealand government to confirm to them that they weren’t communicating with them any longer aside from going through Avril. She was the emissary, with direct access to Davis, and in charge of the country according to Star Force…something the parliament had been unwilling to accept. Though they had no military to fight with, the government was adamant about opposing the takeover, for what little good it would do for them.

  The Americans and Chinese had fought…and subsequently been overrun. Star Force had even managed the takeovers without killing any of their opposition, which just showed how hopeless resistance was even for those nations with a military. Worst of it all was the fact that parliament, who’d chosen her for this assignment, had turned against her. They’d even gone so far as to ban her from all government facilities, labeling her as one of Star Force’s agents.

  That hurt, but the worst of it was knowing that New Zealand was wasting its one and only chance to remain sovereign, despite the Star Force security division already present within the country, as well as other small Star Force agencies taking away specific duties and handling them in their own way. And Davis had said it was up to her to find a solution…now that wasn’t possible, given that she’d been banned, meaning New Zealand would be swept up with the other failed nations and cease to exist.

  But maybe that was for the best. Jessica hated even thinking that, but looking out over the water through the gaps in the pedestrian traffic ahead of her she began to visualize the changes that were now inevitable, and she had to admit that for the common citizen they’d at least be as well off under Star Force rule as they were now…if not slightly better.

  Damn Davis…he was right. If New Zealand couldn’t hold its own then it didn’t deserve sovereignty, especially when Star Force was shielding them from alien threats too large for her to fully comprehend. Parliament had been less than receptive to that as well, not willing to believe what she’d told them. Well, a few did, but the mass of the Representatives denied her claims as a Star Force lie meant to intimate and bully her into compliance.

  She’d had nothing to show them, for Davis had given her no information other than what he had shown them in the meeting. Now she thought he had done that on purpose as a test, one that New Zealand was failing. He’d told them what was going on, entrusting them with information that no one else had been given, and instead of using that information the Parliament sought further proof, not because they feared it might be a lie, but because the truth wasn’t convenient to their agenda.

  Jessica had been a member of Parliament for more than a decade, but had since moved on to other endeavors both inside and outside of the government, so she knew well how the inner wheels of politics turned and how the verbal lashing she’d just received hadn’t just been for show. They were adamant in their refusal, and there was not going to be any dissuading them, for Davis had said they would be judged on what they did rather than being told what to do, and given no pattern to mimic to maintain their independence, there was no fallback position for them to eventually come around to.

  And the clock was ticking. Davis hadn’t set a firm deadline, and that too, she figured, was part of the test. New Zealand had to fend for itself, so Davis was taking the proverbial leash off to see how they ran free, and the stupid Parliament was like a dog chasing its own tail with excessive effort, yet going nowhere.

  “Excuse me,” a voice said from beside her, but Jessica barely moved to acknowledge the man who’d stepped up behind her park bench. “Rough day, I hear.”

  Jessica sighed, wiping away her more recent tears before sitting up straight and twisting her neck to the side to see the person talking at her. “Very.”

  “Do you mind?” the elderly man asked, pointing at the empty portion of her bench.

  “Help yourself,” she offered, taking a second look at the man as he sat down. “Have we met before?”

  “Many years ago, before I looked like this,” he said with a laugh. “I was one of seven students picked as your escorts during your campus visit to Auckland. I dare say you look even more attractive now.”

  “Thank you,” she said to the silver haired ‘grandfather’ figure, who accordingly had a very soothing demeanor. “Your name?”

  “Nevil Broncholl.”

  The name clicked. “As in Governor Broncholl?”

  “Yes, I’m still Governor of our Lunar colony, though I hear for not much longer?”

  “You were observing the session?”

  Broncholl nodded. “I’m here on business, actually. I had business with Parliament, but it seems that they’re no longer the one I need to talk to. You are.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Right now there is only one man’s opinion that matters, and he isn’t sitting in Parliament. Director Davis recognized you as the leader of New Zealand, and on behalf of Illumia, so do we.”

  Jessica frowned slightly, sizing up the man who, despite his physical appearance, was younger than her by at least a handful of years.

  “What was your business with Parliament?”

  “The independent colonies are facing a similar situation to what you described. Their sovereignty is being revoked, though not in full. They’re being annexed into Star Force but allowed to retain some semblance of identity. The Director’s reasoning was that they aren’t large enough to become self-sufficient, and so long as they’re dependent on Star Force supply lines then they’re going to become part of Star Force. They can’t argue the logic, though our Parliament seems to have overcome that hurdle otherwise known as ‘reason,’ but the colonies still wish to retain the independence they gained centuries ago. It’s very important to them, though they admit not vital. They’re willing to accept annexation, but are seeking another option.”

  “What option have I missed?”

  “The Director told them they weren’t large enough, so various Governors have been floating around the idea of a merger…with us.”

  “And you’ve come to Parliament with their request?”

  “With their request and counsel, though given recent revelations I now come to you. You are our only hope to remain independent. Parliament has otherwise sealed our fate, and I regretfully admit that Star Force would be in the right to remove them from leadership…which in a way, Davis already has by appointing you. He’s giving us a chance to measure up, and those of us on Luna are willing to embrace that challenge…if you’re willing to lead us, which I hope you are. New Zealand needs to make this transition, and you’re the only one in a position to make it happen.”

  “Circumvent Parliament?”

  “As I said, only Davis’s opinion matters. If we do nothing he’s going to be in charge anyway and Parliament will no longer exist. That body is merely a walking corpse. You said Davis told you that you could work with them if you wished, but it was up to you?”

  “Yes, he did. So you’re asking me to choose another path?”

  “Indeed.”

  “By chance have you spoken with our other colonial Governors?”

  “About the merger, yes, but I haven’t had time to inform them of Parliament’s recent actions
.”

  “Of course not,” Jessica said, mentally kicking herself. It’d only been a couple of hours, though to her it felt like days. “Do you think there are enough resources off Earth to accommodate a successful merger?”

  “I haven’t given up on the homeland just yet, but if you’re forced down that road I believe it is logistically possible, with a lot of leg work.”

  “What’s their pitch?”

  “A conglomerate with linked economies, transit, and a military option. They add their specialties to the pool rather than trying to produce everything that they need themselves, which is nearly impossible, unless you were very, very meticulous in planning out your infrastructure. They don’t have the time or resources available to do that in the time allotted, so a merger appears their only option…with each of them working towards individual self-sufficiency down the road.”

  “For eventual secession?”

  “No. So long as they retain their own identities within the conglomerate they are content. They don’t mind playing for a team so long as they’re not forced into becoming a team player.”

  “I fail to see the difference.”

  “Forgive me, its athletic terminology. A team player is someone who has no identity, they serve the team and do whatever it requires without autonomy. It’s long been held that a team is a group of individuals working together for mutual advantage, with the ‘team player’ concept having existed previously in a type of communistic philosophy.”

  “A band of equals then?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Davis said we’d have to exist using Star Force’s legal code.”

  “Most of the colonies already do. In order to attract colonists and keep those born to them they’ve had to heavily pattern themselves off Star Force, otherwise they’d lose population and self-destruct as many others have.”

  “Would they accept me as a communal leader, for that’s the only way I could see this happening under Davis’s terms. They would have to join New Zealand, not just ally with it.”

  “But you can remake New Zealand into whatever you wish, if I understood your powers correctly.”

  “He said I was in charge and could do what I want.”

  “Well then, formulate a new government and I’ll run it by the other colonies.”

  “That’s far more complicated than you make it sound.”

  “Not when you can make it whatever you want. There’s no need to form a new Parliament unless you deem a good reason for it. We can be an empire, in the traditional format, for a short period of time if necessary to preserve our independence.”

  “You mean a single, all-powerful leader?”

  “Isn’t that what Davis already made you?”

  “He didn’t make me anything, he just mentioned it in a conversation.”

  “Power isn’t something that can be given,” Broncholl reminded her.

  “It’s something that is created through skill and influence,” Jessica finished.

  “I highly doubt the Director of Star Force chose you randomly. He must think you have the skills necessary to lead.”

  “He didn’t choose me specifically. I was on a list he gave the government, and they selected me.”

  “But to make his list means he decided you were worthy.”

  “All I have is a title...or, actually, I don’t even have that. I’m just the ‘one in charge’ without any means to do anything.”

  “Our country is coming to an end unless you do. A leader doesn’t do the heavy lifting, she just points out the direction to go. Point, and you’ll find volunteers coming forth with the resources you need. As I said, Illumia will back you, and while we’re not the largest Lunar colony, we’re not exactly small. Population wise we’re a quarter the size of the homeland, and all New Zealand colonies put together amass more than we have here.”

  “We…I have to rework an entire country into a self-sufficient nation that will meet up with criteria that Davis won’t share with me. How am I supposed to do that without the homeland?”

  “Be creative and get the ball rolling. The homeland will probably come around when it sees that Parliament had no answers, but even if it doesn’t you have a responsibility to the responsible New Zealand citizens who are willing to work the problem.”

  “Even if doing so starts a civil war?”

  “The country dies regardless if you fail.”

  Jessica put her head in her hands, making a sound of frustration.

  “You’re also respected by the people because you’ve attained self-sufficiency…and without being athletic.”

  “I assume there’s a measure of insult there somewhere?” she said through her fingers as she faced the ground.

  “Not from an old man like me,” Broncholl said diplomatically.

  “I actually do a lot of running, if you must know.”

  “Running’s not a sport, it’s a workout.”

  Jessica sat up and looked around, seeing people moving about oblivious to their conversation and how it was going to affect their lives.

  “Where do you suggest we start?”

  Broncholl smiled broadly. “Let’s begin by taking this indoors, shall we?”

  Three hours later Jessica and the Governor were sitting in an office complex with half a dozen corporate CEOs working through multiple ideas of how to restructure New Zealand in a fashion that would suit Star Force’s demands for self-sufficiency along with modifying the economic foundation of the country to operate without taxes…something that every Star Force colony impossibly accomplished on a regular basis.

  New Zealand had abolished their income tax a while back, but still maintained sales and property taxes to fund the government, as did local municipalities. The situation in the offworld colonies was a bit different, since their populations lived in habitats where there was no private property, only leases for businesses and personal quarters. That meant the homeland was going to be a larger problem to convert than the colonies were, something that almost tempted Jessica to just forgo the homeland and let it revert to Star Force control while the ‘nation’ of New Zealand continued on elsewhere in the Solar System.

  But no, that would be giving up a lot of valuable resources and people. If she was going to help New Zealand save itself then she was going to see that all of it got saved. That meant finding a revenue source other than taxes and a supply chain other than the Star Force markets.

  Those two things seemed impossible, but little by little over the following hours and the subsequent 5 days she and others put together a basic plan that leaned heavily on the voluntary participation of native businesses and corporations to come together and spawn a new business that would fund the government the way Star Force’s corporation had in its outset. That new business was an exchange, handling everything from stocks to natural resources, and one that only operated within New Zealand boundaries.

  Loyal New Zealand corporations would start to funnel as much of their business as economically viable through the exchange, giving Jessica some quick revenue to begin working with, estimated at 3-5 weeks past inception, which was happening impromptu over her first few days as ‘Empress,’ with more ideas and support pouring in as word got around that she was forgoing the Parliament and seeking to secure New Zealand’s independence according to Star Force terms.

  On day 7 of her quest the Parliament sent their police force after her with orders to arrest and detain, but by that time she’d already picked up a Star Force security escort, which made quick work of the police unit sent to retrieve her. Then, unexpectedly, Star Force backtracked the arrest order to the Parliament and arrested them, meaning suddenly her opposition was out of the picture and she was left with sole command of the country.

  After that happened everyone flocked to her side, seeing her as their only hope of averting a Star Force takeover, which became ever more real when they saw the members of Parliament being taken out of the capitol in restraints. The news vids quickly caught on to the sentence they
were receiving, which was confinement until the fate of New Zealand was decided, after which they’d be released.

  That meant no imprisonment for the Representatives, just house arrest that Star Force security and the local New Zealand police worked out the specifics of quickly, getting the troublesome politicians out of the way of the sweeping changes that Jessica Avril, Emissary of New Zealand, as they’d eventually come to call her, was making to upgrade their country enough to keep them alive in a world where almost every other nation was being wiped off the map.

  Jessica also told the public why, and how she didn’t disagree with Star Force’s actions. Humanity was at risk, and if New Zealand wanted to continue to exist they had to measure up and offer something of value, no matter how small, to help Star Force rather than be a parasitic drain on the organization that was actively protecting them from alien annihilation.

  With that message firmly established, New Zealand’s population became united in a way they’d never seen before, with virtually everyone working to find ways to make their nation more powerful and less reliant on outside resources, tech, and personnel. It was grow up or go home, and the nation as a whole was now game to meet that challenge.

  5

  January 1, 2455

  Solar System

  Earth

  With the turning of the New Year Jessica was summoned back to Atlantis, ostensibly to receive New Zealand’s report card on their actions over the previous year, but like before the Director hadn’t specified. Though she had direct communication access to him, they’d only spoken once, that being when she’d run the merger concept by him. There hadn’t been much discussion, but he had okayed the concept, and Jessica hadn’t pushed for more after that. They were, after all, supposed to learn to do for themselves and she felt that asking Davis for things would undermine that purpose, so her line to the ‘Emperor’ had gone virtually unused.