Earth United

For security purposes, the Presidential Sector had been established in the former Middle East. The location made it the easiest area of Earth to defend, from the Legion’s standpoint. For additional protection, the Presidential Mansion was constructed in the northeast part of what was formerly the country of Saudi Arabia, in the city of Buraydah, which was close to the center point of the Presidential Sector. While Buraydah was the largest city in the Sector, all cities in that Sector were smaller than most cities in other Sectors because the Legion limited the number of people that could live and work in the Presidential Sector. The president lived and worked out of the Presidential Mansion. New technology had enabled Legion contractors to discover and tap a previously inaccessible water supply deep beneath the surface of the region, creating a tropical oasis of sorts around the Presidential Mansion.

On this particular evening, the West Room of the Presidential Mansion was full. President Jack Buchanan was seated behind his desk. The others in attendance were still organizing their notes and getting situated, while Jack observed them carefully. This was easily the most important meeting in his young presidency.

Why did this have to happen so soon, he thought, in just the fourth month of a ten-year term? He’d barely had a chance to get his staff in place. At least he had a good staff, a very good staff. He looked to his left where Armin Dietrich was seated. Armin was the perfect Chief of Staff, the perfect personal advisor. Sure, the position didn’t come with any real decision-making authority, but Armin didn’t need real authority. He had a knack for convincing people that he had it anyway. Armin had been at Jack’s side since the early part of his political career, when he first ran for the Senate. Armin was an easy choice for him, but he knew the choice wasn’t without controversy. Many people viewed Armin as somebody that had latched onto his coattail early and never let go—somebody who was using Jack to promote his own interests. Part of the problem, he felt, was merely Armin’s appearance and mannerisms. People, in general, didn’t like it that a short, pudgy man, without any charisma, had made it to where Armin had. Sure, Armin’s nasally voice and arrogant attitude irritated even Jack sometimes, and he could be abrasive. But, no matter how Armin got to where he was or how annoying he could be, Jack knew nobody could dispute Armin’s intellect or that he was a brilliant strategist. That showed during Jack’s hard-fought campaign for the presidency. Those qualities, along with his obvious ambition to rise to power, made Armin an important strategic ally, and a dangerous opponent.

Jack looked to his right. Seated there, reviewing her notes, was his Chief Civilian Advisor, Clarisse Chirac. He and Clarisse had served together in the Senate for years. She wasn’t afraid to take a hard line stance on difficult issues. If not for her efforts in pulling the sectors of Earth together, Earth might have never ratified Treaty 5274. That amazing political prowess had made her an easy choice for the role of his advisor on Earth’s civil matters.

Marco Veneto, the Chief Legion Advisor, was still standing in front of his chair. Jack hadn’t known Marco personally for very long, but Marco’s staunch military background and unblemished Legion record made him the perfect choice for advisor on galactic matters. After all, who better to serve as the highest ranking Legion officer than a former Legion Commander? In fact, he was the highest ranking law enforcement officer, period, since the Legion was Earth’s sole law enforcement agency in addition to being its military. And Marco was self-made. He had worked his way up through the Legion ranks from private to guard to one of four superior guards in the sector to the commander of Sector Three, the highest rank in the sector.

Next to Marco, talking to him, stood Aretha Brown, the Senate Leader. He admired Aretha almost as much as he did Clarisse. She was tough, yet fair. With two senators, including herself, from each main sector, she had the unenviable task of keeping seven of the most influential people on Earth in line. At the same time, as the only check on the power of the president, she had to keep the president in line. Jack believed that Aretha had been instrumental in broadening the Senate’s oversight authority and expanding the well-defined list of matters that required Senate approval. Depending on the direction he would take in the current situation, he knew that his decision could end up needing Senate approval. In that event, he would need Aretha on his side.

Edgardo Ramirez, the only non-governmental person to be involved in the discussions, completed the circle. Edgardo was sitting down, talking into a personal silent audio com. Jack shook his head slightly. It still amazed him that the president and CEO of EarthNX Corporation, a private company, had become so politically powerful that he was sitting in a meeting with the highest level government officials on Earth. Jack glanced up at the two ‘business advisors’ standing behind Edgardo—arms folded, eyes alert, faces stony. He knew they had been stripped of their weapons, but he still liked to glance occasionally at his own armed bodyguards standing by the door, for reassurance.

Jack quickly scrolled through a number of documents on the portable data pod on his desk until he found what he was looking for. Ready or not, he had better get things started. He needed to take control of the meeting immediately and remain in control. This was his meeting, his presidency at stake. “All right, we better get started. Thank you all for coming here on such short notice and at this hour of the night. I trust that you all have had a little time to familiarize yourselves with the report and why we’re here? I’ll skip the niceties and get right to the point.” He turned to Edgardo. “So, Mr. Ramirez, just how did your company come into possession of the hilaetite crystal?”

Jack kept his gaze fixed on Edgardo. He wanted to make clear his disdain for EarthNX Corporation, and more so, its CEO. He felt guilty for not taking a position contrary to EarthNX during his campaign, knowing about all its questionable practices. But his advisors kept telling him that to do so would be political suicide. They would tell him, ‘Just look in the other direction like all the other successful candidates before you. EarthNX brings unparalleled strength to a candidacy when it’s the candidate’s ally, and the financial backing it’ll bring you will assure your victory.’ How short-sighted he had been. Sure, EarthNX was the largest and most successful company in Earth’s history. But even as a young senator, he’d had to laugh at its official, publicly stated purpose, which was ‘the development and advancement of technology and technological products for the betterment of mankind.’ What a falsity that was. Ninety percent of the technology and products that EarthNX developed were weapons. It was, by far, the Legion’s leading contractor in the development and production of military weapons and other equipment. But he would sacrifice his morals no longer. He knew that Edgardo had the ability to take over and dominate a meeting. If that happened here, he would be finished. He had to stay in control. He smiled to himself. At least he’d already been elected, and one term was all a president got. He didn’t have to worry about support for re-election. Edgardo might be able to make things a little difficult, he thought, but he can’t get me out of office.

“Mr. President,” Edgardo replied, “you know I can’t reveal my sources. Nor can the government compel me to do so. The…” Edgardo paused thoughtfully, then grinned and continued, “let’s call it, ‘discovery,’ of the crystal is a corporate trade secret, protected by Senate Bill 55.”

Jack kept eye contact with Edgardo. Edgardo’s arrogance never ceased to amaze him. But he did have to admit, for a man in his mid-sixties, Edgardo still possessed a stern, imposing look. He never saw Edgardo dressed in anything other than a three-piece suit that always looked freshly pressed, any time of the day or night.

“So, you’re saying you bought the crystal from someone?” Jack replied.

Edgardo, sitting perfectly straight in his chair, ran a hand through his gray but still thick hair, perfectly combed. He answered, “I said nothing of the sort.”

Jack leaned forward, his arms stretched out on his desk, hands folded. “I don’t care if you found it, bought it, or stole it. Just possessing it alone is enough to be in violation of Treaty 5274.”

Edgardo smirked. “Look, Jack. I mean, Mr. President. You wouldn’t be sitting in that seat if it wasn’t for me. I’ve been sitting in meetings like this and dealing with people like you since you were just a schoolboy. If that’s a threat, I would advise against it.” Edgardo relaxed his posture and adjusted his tie. “Besides, I no longer possess the crystal.”

Jack could feel his chest tighten as Edgardo spoke. He clenched his hands together. He wanted to lash out with every documented and undocumented legal and ethical violation by EarthNX that he could think of. No, no. This was a business meeting. They were here for a purpose, and it wasn’t to fight with Edgardo. He would have to save that for another day. He took a deep breath. Relax, he told himself. “So where is the crystal now?”

Marco raised a hand slightly and caught Jack’s attention. He spoke before Edgardo could answer. “Sir, it’s at Sector Four Legion headquarters.”

Jack looked at Marco. Marco was the one person in the room who looked threatening enough to stop Edgardo from speaking. Like all chief legion advisors before him, Marco was officially a civilian, but Jack liked the fact that unlike all previous chief legion advisors, Marco never dressed in civilian clothing. He always wore a Legion uniform. It gave Marco a presence that was very useful in situations like this.

“Commander O’Reilly is in charge there, isn’t he?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” replied Marco. “He has personally assured me that the crystal is under heavy guard and is still in the anti-detection box.”

“The anti-detection box?” asked Jack.

“That’s right, sir,” said Marco. “EarthNX has developed an anti-particular coating that prohibits ninety-five percent of all hilaetite detection devices from sensing a crystal. And the five percent that can sense it, only pick up a faint signal, and only when the crystal is large enough.”

The president turned toward Edgardo. “So this is how you managed to keep the crystal hidden from our detection system. And I suppose the only reason that it’s at a Legion headquarters now is because Vernius was able to detect it. When you found out we were looking for it, you got worried. Am I right?”

Jack half expected Edgardo to come out of his chair at him. To the contrary, Edgardo sat up, straightened his suit, and replied softly, “Mr. President, you are correct. That’s how we kept it hidden, but it’s only in your military’s possession now because of my goodwill.”

Jack didn’t buy the goodwill part for a minute. He’d read the briefing report. The detection hadn’t come from Earth sensors. Vernius had detected the crystal. Since Vernius had no combat units, the Imperial Majesty of Vernius had notified the Legion, asking if they would investigate. The report indicated that the Imperial Majesty said that the signal was faint, and originated from a region on the other side of the galaxy, where there hadn’t been any reports of hilaetite crystals for decades.

“Are there any other crystals where this came from?” asked Jack.

Edgardo replied, “My sources tell me no. This is it.”

Jack almost asked Edgardo about his sources, but then thought better of it. It would be a waste of everyone’s time to go down that path again. Instead, he turned toward Armin. “Mr. Dietrich, does Vernius know that we have the crystal?”

“No, sir,” Armin replied. “That’s why we still have it in the anti-detection box. But that was against my advice. I wanted to inform the Imperial Majesty immediately. But the majority of the others now present thought that you might want to act differently. I informed them that you wouldn’t.”

Marco added, “And we have kept our patrols out, supposedly looking for it, so that Vernius wouldn’t get suspicious.”

“Four patrols, right?” asked the president.

“Yes,” answered Marco. “One from each sector headquarters.”

Jack sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He was in a bind now. He could see where this was heading, right into Edgardo’s hands. The last thing he wanted was to give Edgardo what Edgardo wanted. But that might be the best solution for the planet. It always seemed that Edgardo set things up perfectly so that what seemed best for the planet was also best for Edgardo. There had to be another way. But before he could figure that out, he would have to see the rest of Edgardo’s cards.

Jack straightened himself up and looked at Edgardo. “Edgardo, Mr. Dietrich tells me that you, or your company that is, want to sell the crystal to the Legion. Armin didn’t give me a price, but I assume that it would be substantially more than the Council pays. Is that correct?”

“Maybe,” answered Edgardo. “But I want what’s best for everyone on Earth. We can work out the financial terms later, once you give this your okay.”

Clarisse Chirac slammed her hand on her leg. “I can’t believe that we are even sitting here having this conversation. Treaty 5274 is very clear that every hilaetite crystal discovered must be immediately delivered to the Council in exchange for the standard compensation. Period. If this crystal is as large as I’ve heard, it could save millions of lives. And Vernius is our closest ally. They stuck by our side throughout the galactic war and we couldn’t ask for a better friend today. Are we going to deceive them? Mr. President, pardon me for being so blunt, but you know what kind of man Mr. Ramirez is. Why are you even discussing this with him? Earth has agreed to the terms of the Treaty. That should be the end of the discussion.”

Armin jumped in. “That was my position as well, sir.”

Jack noticed the puzzled look Armin shot at Edgardo. Jack looked at Aretha Brown. “You’ve been quiet so far, Aretha. What’s the Senate’s position on this?”

“Well, Mr. President,” Aretha paused for a moment, “I believe the Senate will follow your lead on this, since this is your first big decision. But be careful, sir. As you know, any action taken by you that contradicts an intergalactic treaty must be approved by the Senate. If you make a mistake, it’ll be a big one, and you’ll likely lose the Senate’s support from here on. That’ll make for a long nine-plus years.”

That’s what made Aretha so great at leading the Senate, Jack thought. What a perfect position. She was fair, by giving him a long rope. But she was also tough. He had the ability to cut the rope by making a mistake, and then he would be on his own.

Clarisse turned toward Aretha. “You can’t be serious, Aretha. You mean that you would support breaking the Treaty?”

“I didn’t say that, Clarisse,” Aretha replied. “What I am saying is that I believe the Senate will give the president the benefit of the doubt.”

Armin pointed a finger toward Aretha. “You mean that YOU will give the president the benefit of the doubt. You’re pushing the president unto dangerous political waters.”

Edgardo held up his hand toward those arguing, palm down, and then spoke in a soft tone. “First, just hear me out. As you all know, two or more hilaetite crystals cannot be used together in a weapon. They are too volatile. Therefore, the only way to increase power is to find a larger crystal. There’s no way to enhance or diminish a crystal’s power. Except, of course, when it is ground to powder for medicine. That destroys its internal chemistry, making it useless in weapons. A crystal the size that we are talking about can power a weapon the likes of which has never been seen or thought of. That is, until now. EarthNX is in the initial design phase of a weapon that, if powered by a crystal of this magnitude, could destroy entire planets. Now, don’t get me wrong, the weapon is still years from development, but we have never discovered a crystal of this size before, and probably won’t ever again, if we even find any more crystals at all. So we should hang onto this one. Everyone in this room knows, as well as I do, that galactic peace isn’t going to last forever, especially once the current stores of processed crystals are depleted. Planets will start warring again, in search of new ways to better their lives, as disease starts to spread once more. Even now, you can’t possibly be so naive as to believe that other planets aren’t hiding crystals for when that time comes. And I am sure they are working on weapons that will penetrate Earth’s defense shield. I mean, look, I was able to hide the largest crystal that has ever been seen from every planet but one. You can’t think that Romalor on Craton and a half a dozen other rulers like him aren’t hiding crystals as we speak, can you? So why not do what they are doing? Ignore the Treaty this once, buy the crystal, and let EarthNX develop the weapon.”

Jack sat there, absorbing what he had just heard. He had no doubt that Edgardo was telling the truth about developing such a weapon. After all, the largest success of EarthNX was the development of the impulse shield technology and the production of Earth’s defense shield. That discovery by Edgardo’s father had made his father, and now Edgardo, one of the top five wealthiest people in the galaxy. He also had no doubt that Edgardo’s sole motive here was to increase his wealth, not to protect Earth. After all, that’s all Edgardo really cared about, money. Jack could not dispute the need for the defense shield, or the fact that without it, there likely would be no President of Earth United, or even an Earth United at all. But he disagreed greatly with the means by which EarthNX developed technologies and otherwise did business.

Clarisse turned toward Jack. “Jack, you can’t possibly be buying this story. Think about what Earth stands for. The platform on which you campaigned. Turning the crystal over to the Council is not only the right thing to do. For you personally, it’s the smartest thing, politically, to do. You have to do it.”

Armin looked at Jack. “Sir, I’m still not saying you should break the treaty, but Mr. Ramirez may have a point. I think maybe we should consider it.”

Clarisse stood up and walked behind her chair. Her hands resting on the back of it, she leaned toward Armin. “Armin, that’s just like you. As soon as you see something positive in it for you, you switch sides.”

“Now Clarisse,” Armin said, tilting his head to one side, “I’m not switching sides. I’m always on the president’s side. I just want what’s best for him. This may be just the opportunity to put Earth in front of every planet in the galaxy. And that would be an excellent political move, in my opinion.”

Clarisse sat back down, drew in a deep breath, and spoke slowly. “Armin, you couldn’t care less about the president’s political career. All you care about is how far you can ride that career with him. All this talk is nonsense.”

Before Armin could respond, Jack stood up. “Okay, enough.” He paused, then continued, “Marco, what do you think?”

“Well, sir,” Marco said, “I think that both sides of the argument are well founded and have much merit. Being a military man, I myself prefer making our Legion the strongest fighting force in the galaxy. On the other hand, we do have the treaty to consider.”

Clarisse spoke up again. “To consider? There is nothing to consider! Following the treaty is a requirement!”

Jack sat back down. “All right, I’ve heard enough. I know where each of you stands on this. I will consider everyone’s points very carefully. We will meet back here in two days. I will inform you all of my decision then, and we can proceed accordingly from there. Thank you all for your time and input. And people, it goes without saying, not a word of these discussions leaves this room.”

Armin stood up and walked to Marco. “Mr. Veneto.”

Marco stood up to meet him. Jack noticed the height difference in the two men, and the overall build of each man. One, a towering military figure; the other, well, someone the bullies would like to pick on.

Marco answered, “Yes?”

Armin said, “Please keep the patrols out pending the president’s decision. We still don’t want Vernius to grow suspicious and wonder why we stopped searching for a crystal.”

Marco looked disgusted. Jack knew very well that of all the people who disliked Armin Dietrich, nobody had as much disdain for him as Marco Veneto. It was impossible not to notice how they competed for his approval. Armin, why do you do that? Jack thought. The chief of staff had no authority to give an order of his own, especially to the chief legion advisor. But Armin liked to give orders that he knew Jack would agree with, or that Jack was about to give himself. Jack assumed Armin liked the feeling of power it gave him. But he didn’t have time to referee a fight between two of his top advisors. He would let it play out. Hopefully, Marco would remain under control, and not shoot Armin on the spot.

Marco replied, “Understood.”

This meeting had gone just as Jack had thought. A divided room. No clear answer. No easy decision. He really didn’t know what he would do. Clarisse was right. By law, they had to turn over the crystal to the Council. And he hated to think of doing what Edgardo wanted. But was turning over the crystal to the Council in the best interest of Earth? After all, he’d taken an oath of office to protect Earth and its citizens first and foremost.

As everyone was exiting the room, Jack caught up to Clarisse. “Sorry about Armin’s comments and behavior. He means well. He’s just looking out for me.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” Clarisse replied. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Jack smiled. “I’m sure you can. That’s why I picked you for this job.”

* * * *

Edgardo and his two bodyguards were the last to leave the room. As they exited, Edgardo turned left down the hall. All of the others had turned right. Right led to the south entrance and the hover car parking lot.

One of the bodyguards spoke up. “Mr. Ramirez, the car is that way.” He pointed toward the south entrance.

“We aren’t going to the car,” Edgardo replied. “I have to meet someone.” He continued down the hall toward the north entrance with one bodyguard on each side of him.

One guard opened the door and Edgardo stepped out. The night air felt cool and refreshing. He loosened his collar slightly, then straightened his tie. He started down the short sidewalk leading to the visitors’ aircraft landing pad, which was surrounded by trees. As he walked toward it, the landing pad lights blinded him, causing him to fix his gaze lower toward the ground. The pad was large enough to hold three or four aircraft, but tonight there was only one lone, small transport parked on the back edge of the pad near the trees. He could make out a pilot in the front and one passenger in the back. That must be him, Edgardo thought.

Edgardo said to his bodyguards, “You two wait here.” He knew the reputation of the man he was about to see, and he wouldn’t appreciate bodyguards hanging around. They wouldn’t necessarily be a threat, given that reputation, but they would be considered a nuisance. In any event, he needn’t fear for his personal safety with this man, at least not yet.

Edgardo approached the transport and the door opened. He stepped inside and sat down facing the passenger. “Edgardo,” the man said. “How did it go?”

Edgardo shook his head and replied, “As you suspected, Mr. Sloan.”

Edgardo knew his own power, politically with his connections, personally with his wealth, and militarily with his control over EarthNX’s private security force, which he often thought resembled a Legion division more than a group of security officers and bodyguards. He was afraid of nobody, not even the president. But this man, Sloan—he was different. With all his connections, Edgardo still couldn’t learn where Sloan came from, where he lived, or who he really was. He seemed to come and go as he pleased, with access even to the landing pad at the Presidential Mansion. Nobody contacted Sloan. He contacted you. And as for Sloan’s enemies, they just seemed to disappear. Edgardo always followed a policy that he worked with nobody that he couldn’t control, either with money or fear. That is, he’d always followed that policy until now. But he couldn’t resist. Sloan had proven to be a very valuable ally. They both had profited well from their relationship.

“So he isn’t going to buy the crystal?” Sloan said. “Just as I thought.”

“He said he would consider it,” Edgardo replied, “and that he would let us know his decision in two days. But his answer will be no. Too much pressure from Chirac to do the ‘right’ thing. And you know Buchanan, he’ll end up doing the ‘right’ thing.”

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Sloan said, “if only for what we learned about Buchanan. The alternative will be more complicated and risky, but we must hope the rewards will be satisfactory.”

“You’re not seriously still thinking about selling the crystal to Romalor,” Edgardo said. He wasn’t sure why he’d asked that question. Of course Sloan was serious. He never joked. And now he’d showed Sloan some of his doubts, even though he didn’t yet know Sloan’s entire plan.

“Yes,” answered Sloan.

“But how will you convince him to buy it without a weapon in which to use it?” Edgardo asked. “And assuming you do that, how will we ever deliver it to him? The Legion has the crystal now. It’s under guard at Sector Four headquarters. I say we just take the standard fee from the Council and be done with it. I didn’t get to where I’m at by taking foolish risks.”

Sloan leaned forward. The cold stare Edgardo saw in Sloan’s eyes sent chills up his spine.

“Locating this crystal was the opportunity of a lifetime,” Sloan said. “I don’t intend to give it away. We’re going to make a killing on this. Do you think I haven’t thought this through? I had a backup plan before we turned over the crystal. As for your first question, Romalor will buy the crystal because you will also promise to design and build him a super weapon, powered by the crystal. And when the weapon is complete, you will sell that to him as well, at a premium, of course. In the meantime, we have nothing to fear. Craton is far from having the technology to develop a super weapon on its own. Their most advanced weapons are extras that you sold them. And might I remind you that those weapons sales violated at least six Senate and presidential bills, and those are just the bills that I can think of off the top of my head. So this isn’t any road that EarthNX hasn’t traveled down before.”

“All right,” said Edgardo, “but when Romalor is in possession of the super weapon, what’s to keep him from using it to destroy Earth, or holding us hostage?”

Sloan sat back and smiled. To Edgardo, the smile seemed even colder than the stare.

“Edgardo, my friend,” Sloan said, “here’s the real beauty in all of this. At the same time EarthNX is developing the super weapon, it also will be developing a defense against the weapon. An upgrade to the current defense shield, or something brand new. I don’t know what, but you’ll come up with it. Then we leak the fact that Romalor is about to complete a super weapon. When the Legion hears of this, it comes to you know who to come up with a defense. And bingo, you sell the Legion the defense. You see, Edgardo, this crystal is the best investment ever. It just keeps paying one huge dividend after another.” The smile left Sloan’s face, replaced by the cold stare again. “Now, Edgardo, are you with me or not?”

Edgardo wasn’t sure if he really was on board, but he knew what Sloan’s question really meant. He didn’t have a choice. With everything that Sloan had just revealed to him, the question Sloan was really asking was whether he wanted to partner with Sloan to complete the plan or disappear like so many enemies before him.

“When you put it that way, Mr. Sloan,” Edgardo said, “how can I refuse? But what about my second question? How do you plan on getting the crystal out of Sector Four headquarters and into Romalor’s hands?”

“We won’t,” answered Sloan with a grin. “Romalor will come and get it.”