NationStates Jolt Archive

Five Years Ago
"DARPA's got something new for the space superiority bid." General Forrester placed the PDA on General Cross's desk. "They're calling it "Thor's Hammer" for a code name, but it's listed as the Advanced Space Borne Tungsten Bombardment Platform, or ASBTBP."

Cross took a drag on his cigar. "I think I prefer Thor's Hammer to that POS name." He offered another cigar to Forrester. "So, what's the rundown?"

Forrester politely refused the cigar. "Well, sir, the premise is pretty simple. A satellite in orbit carries a sensor package to identify targets we feed it from the ground, calculates how to strike it, and a sister satellite releases a heavy tungsten rod into the correct trajectory. Upon impact, the kinetic energy gives the kill in a blast of heat and pressure. No explosives needed."

"And the resulting blast?"

"Calculated to be equal to about a twenty-five thousand pound bomb. But sir, this is the mother of all bunker busters, and is unstoppable once launched." Forrester smiled smugly.

"And what of the Ion Tether? That works well enough, and it's ended more than a few conflicts."

"Well, some nations consider that piece of hardware a WMD, and with some merit. This is completely inside the realm of conventional war, even if unsual in its delivery method."

"Targetting? Guidance?" Cross puffed his cigar.

"DARPA has some laser ideas that they want to test out. Using a high energy electrical laser-"

Cross was already moving on. "When can they demonstrate if this works or not?"

"Five years, sir."

"Tell them to proceed. Once we've seen it in action, we'll decide wether it's worth the money."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed."

Present
General Forrester paced the knee high grasses of the Valen plane. The razor grasses were cleared from this area, but the normal still remained in it's brown-yellow glory. On the horizon, a small structure could be seen with field glasses. That small structure was a full scale military garrison, contructed to exact specifications... but empty.

Forrester tipped his hawk-billed cap a little, raising his binoculars again, watching the sun glint from the lenses. He watched the empty base with a grim smile. This was his baby, and it was coming into the world with a bang. He had succeeded the late General Cross as CinC, CentCom three years ago, and those years had aged him tremendously.

Gray hair was pressed beneath his cap, though his body was as strong as ever beneath his black dress uniform. His cold eyes glinted from between weathered skin. Imperial was the word that would have described him best. His voice bespoke his confidence. "Major, what is the status?"

Behind him, a Major glanced up from a laptop display, linked to the situation bunker. "Sir, we have satellite in position. We should get back inside-"

Forrester cut him off with a laugh. "Hardly! I want to feel this weapon, Major. You can't understand without being there."

"Sir-"

"Go on, and take the rest with you. I want to see this with my own eyes." He waved dismissively.

"Aye, sir." The Major began to issue orders, and the plain emptied as the observers entered the bunkers. But the Major stayed with his commander. "They're inside, sir." The bunker door slammed shut, and the Major glanced back at his laptop. Waiting for your signal, sir."

Forrester touched his CB radio. "Proceed."

The radio crackled. "Aye, sir! Firing sequence initiatlized!"

In orbit over the plain, Satellite 1138 broke from it's normal pattern. Two side panels swung away, and two sub-satellites emerged on ion thrusters, scooting from the main body, tethered by thick conductive cable. As the subsatellites reached their extension, energy began to crackle up the cables.

Any cable moving through a magnetic field will generate electricity, and these long cables were swinging through the Earth's own magnetic field. This technique had been built for the Ion Tether, but it had another weapon to power with this test. The energy was collected inside of superconductive coils, cooled by the vacuum of space.

The main body aligned on the target given, using it's ion thrusters, and the electrical laser fired. The powerful laser was created by the space-cooled superconducting coils, which were drawing on the Earth for their own power. The laser was shaped like a donut, with a hollow space in the center, but it was still a laser, and it pierced to the surface, albeit highly distorted.

The satellite's sensors picked up the laser's reflection and adjusted the mirrors by applying new pressure and moving the sequence of projection. The beam began to regulate, forming a coherent donut-path all the way to the surface. As it held this precision, constantly adjusting, it began to have an odd effect on the air mass. The donut column became hot, while the center mass was cool. With this came a cycling pattern, with the the center falling to the bottom to be heated and drawn up the dount.

On the surface, this pattern began to cause obvious atmospheric phenomena, as the clouds began to spiral in a funnel, a tornado forming in the sunny day. The roatation began to build as the reaction continued.

In the main satellite, conditions were right, and a communications burst was sent to another nearby satellite. This was a much simpler space vehicle, with few of the emitters or sensors, but fifty Tungsten rods were docked about the exterior. The weapons satellite aligned on the laser reaction and released on of the rods. The rod drifted down, into the down blast, and began to accelerate.

Pulled by vacuum and gravity, the Tungsten rod flashed through the atmosphere. It heated, accelerated, and never left its target path.

Below, Forrester watched the swirling clouds, his eyes narrowing. With a sudden, blinding streak, a bolt pierced the center of the spiral, seeming to touch the heavens and the earth. This was followed by a tremenoud flash in the distance. A sonic boom shattered the still, and then the impact explosion was heard, a detonation that deafened Forrester and shook the ground. The grass blew down in an expanding ring, and a wall of heat struck the observers, and the air beame hazy with ozone. A ball of fire and dirt roiled from the site of the flash.

Forrester, his ears ringing, and his skin sunburned from the heatwave, raised his field glasses. Where the base had stood, there was only fire and smoke. In space, the tethers were reeled in, the panels closed, and Satellite 1138 continued in orbit.

I want more of these.

OOC: What happened is a secret. That something happened is not.

"Sir, we are getting a strange reading on 1-43"
Watch Commander Higgins approached the observation core of Satelite Co-Ordination 2 and looked expectantly at his Leuitenant. Satelite Co-Ordination 2 was one of 4 sites located in Pablicosta, each observing and recording results from the mass of satelites controlled by Pablicosta. Everything from weather equipment to the Class B Tarantula orbital bombardment platform was controlled from these facilities and today, Site 2 had big news.
"Well?" said Commander Higgins impatiently. He stroked his thinning hair back under his blue berrét, and looked at the screen infront of him. It didn't mean anythign to him, well not much anyway, his job was to co-ordinate the personell and report any anomolies to General Jenkins. Even so, Higgins still had to deal with a lot more than his superiors, they usualy just told him to get on with it. Often Higgins found himself correcting the flight path of a satelite on a collision course, but his contribution went un-noticed outside this site. He was famous within his little secure compound, and he enjoyed that feeling.
"Well?" he repeated to the unresponsive Leuitenant.
"I was observing an unidentified satelite over Kaukolastan, and it began making unknown manouvers. It spread out, and became three smaller satelites. So I ran a profile search on all the Kaukolastan satelites and it came up with a new unit, coated in metal. I think it was either Steel or Tungsten, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that there were no explosives on board the whole thing, and it fired."
Higgins looked a little shocked and wiped his brow slowly before he spoke,
"So, a new weapons system?"
"Aparently so Sir, and it works if it is. The lab rats did a few scans and time checks and worked out that the launch fo whatever it was recorded abbout 12 seconds before their global sensors picked up a sizeable increase in heat arround the Kaukolastan area."
"I thought you said it had no explosives?"
"Thats the thing, it didn't. If I am right, we, sorry the Kaukolastan military has a pure velocity bomb."
"Good work, I'm going to call General Jenkins, he might get out of bed for this!"

*will post something here after work*

OOC: What happened is a secret. That something happened is not.

<OOC>
That would be true only if no one else had the same weapons already in place and were not also monitoring Earth orbit with several hundred dedicated satellite sensor platforms.
</OOC>

After confirming the data from the TWHE and EITS satellites and re-examining the radar imagery from the new Molnya satellites, the Commander of Mikalgard Kosmodrome gave several orders. Within hours, several regularly scheduled launches to the Mikoyan Orbital Manufacturing Facility and Heinlein Science Station were re-scheduled for later in the month. The cargo containers for those orbital outposts were replaced by a new series of satellites whose deployment had been long-planned but held in abeyance until another nation developed the weapons platform the Dominion called Javelin.

Within weeks, the new Proton 4 satellites would be moving into their eccentric orbits- the programming of which had taken hundreds of thousands of man and computer hours.

In the meantime, a coded message was hand-carried by executive courier to the Government of Kaukolastan.


His Omniferocity sends his compliments to the Government of Kaukolastan on their recent achievement.

In light of the changed politico/military situation, the Ministry for Pre-Subjugation External Affairs will dispatch a representative with diplomatic credentials to discuss the matter at your Government's convenience.

Eternal Arch-Villain Psychopompos
Minister for Pre-Subjugation External Affairs

OOC: What happened is a secret. That something happened is not.

<OOC>
That would be true only if no one else had the same weapons already in place and were not also monitoring Earth orbit with several hundred dedicated satellite sensor platforms.
</OOC>

OOC: Sorry about the confusion. What I was trying to state was that the research and exact technical details would be unknown. The weapon's idea and application are indeed obvious to another nation with a similar project, but the execution thereof (ie: the laser-guidance) would vary.

OOC2: Could you link me to data on your nation, so I could respond appropriately to your query?

IC:

Kerrik opened the letter, skimming the text. The ISA Director's eyes narrowed. "So, they see and understand the weapon's capabilities. This will be interesting." He raised his voice, turning to Sub-Director Allens. "I want you to personally deliver the response. Tell them that I will speak to the Representative myself, and that he should report to Agency HQ at o-eight hundred hours, on Tuesday." Kerrik flashed his perfect grin. "But phrase it nicer than I did."

Allens saluted and nodded. "I assume the meeting will be secure?"

"Of course. But courteously. We must be nice to our guest. This will be important."

"Aye, sir. I'll send our response."

"I'm looking forward to this." Kerrik turned and headed back towards his office. Allens threw another salute and clicked his heels, then set about to replying.

OOC3: The Chancellor of my nation is recently deceased. He was killed by terrorists (Super-Secret: HA! IT WAS THE ISA!) Director Kerrik is acting leader until he gets around to holding elections.

OOC: Sorry about the confusion. What I was trying to state was that the research and exact technical details would be unknown. The weapon's idea and application are indeed obvious to another nation with a similar project, but the execution thereof (i.e.: the laser-guidance) would vary.

<OOC>
I was less than clear as well. The original post I wrote was much longer and clearly spelled out that EOE personnel knew exactly what was happening and how it happened, but not the details of the R&D or the leadership process involved.

Sadly, I'd been on the computer for several hours by that time, and was a little punchy from staring at the screen for so long. I neglected to save that longer, better post before I previewed it, and it got devoured by the hideous forum server.

For the record, the Dominion has never admitted to having an orbital weapons array, but EOE scientists seem to be strangely knowledgeable on the subject. Evil Overlord Enterprises also spends a significant fraction of its budget on space research and space operations- more than the official military budget.

OOC2: Could you link me to data on your nation, so I could respond appropriately to your query?

Here are some links to help you figure me out:

Dominion Police Forces
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2894726&highlight=#2894726


Dominion Security precautions
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2824400&highlight=#2824400


EOE Diplomatic Restrictions
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2800792&highlight=#2800792


EOE Elite
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2800548&highlight=#2800548


Description of the Dominion
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2656713&highlight=#2656713


Dominion cities and geography
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2607699&highlight=#2607699


Description of EOE legislative process
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2571990&highlight=#2571990


List of main RP characters
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2568171&highlight=#2568171

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2521613&highlight=#2521613


EOE trade
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2350074&highlight=#2350074


A hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Dominion
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2264851&highlight=#2264851


Molnya
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2212271&highlight=#2212271


EOE mottos
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2020808&highlight=#2020808


Factbook link
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1784607




OOC3: The Chancellor of my nation is recently deceased. He was killed by terrorists (Super-Secret: HA! IT WAS THE ISA!) Director Kerrik is acting leader until he gets around to holding elections.

While the efficient and ruthlessly paranoid External Security personnel would doubtless be aware of some irregularities in the official story, they probably wouldn't know much more than that ... for the moment. However, Kaukolastan has just been advanced several places on the ES list of things to look deeply into, so they'll doubtless figure it out- sooner or later.

Not that the Overlord would care much, even if the facts were publicly acknowledged.</OOC>

IC:

Kerrik opened the letter, skimming the text. The ISA Director's eyes narrowed. "So, they see and understand the weapon's capabilities. This will be interesting." He raised his voice, turning to Sub-Director Allens. "I want you to personally deliver the response. Tell them that I will speak to the Representative myself, and that he should report to Agency HQ at o-eight hundred hours, on Tuesday." Kerrik flashed his perfect grin. "But phrase it nicer than I did."

Allens saluted and nodded. "I assume the meeting will be secure?"

"Of course. But courteously. We must be nice to our guest. This will be important."

"Aye, sir. I'll send our response."

"I'm looking forward to this." Kerrik turned and headed back towards his office. Allens threw another salute and clicked his heels, then set about to replying.

<IC>
The representative of Evil Overlord Enterprises will arrive by commercial aircraft at 0540 local time.

His Omniferocity looks forward to a successful relationship with Kaukolastan.

Eternal Arch-Villain Psychopompos
Minister for Pre-Subjugation External Affairs

0530 GMT
Corsingard Skyport

The morning sun was rising on the capital city of Corsingard, and the orange glow shone from the miles of glass and steel skyscrapers that stretched from the horizon to the horizon. The clear blue sky was only interrupted by the plumes of smoke from the factories in the distance. The heat index had already struck twenty-seven degrees centigrade and climbing, and the businessmen and women were sweating as they bustled about the roaring city. Elevated Maglev trains rushed between buildings, while animals and people ducked into the cool shade of the stations and the breeze of the passing. With school on a three week summer break, many children played games in the alleys between the towers, getting their play in before the heat forced them inside.

Inside the glass dome of Terminal Seven, Sub-Director Allens stood, facing the Governmental District to the North. Laid out in a series of hubs and spokes, the clear Plexiglas bubbles of the Skyport glimmered and shone as jets taxied through the dozens of runways. Allens clasped his hands behind his back, his tailored suit barely wrinkling. He smiled behind his dark sunglasses, and listened to the KNN report playing from a television behind him.

“Wow, Tom, it looks like it’s gonna be a scorcher today!”

”I’ll say, Lisa. We’re looking at the sixth straight day of this heat wave, and it shows no sign of breaking. I’m thinking about heading down to the Convergence to jump in the river for a swim, or maybe checking out a new air conditioner.”

“Well, even this heat hasn’t dissuaded the local fans, and they're turning out in force for today’s game against the Terenaus Drillers, isn’t that right, Rob?”

“Sure enough! I’m already out here, enjoying a nice new Meat Works Bratwurst, and this crowd is building fast! Another full house out here for the baseball game, and if the Ravens continue their streak, it shouldn’t be the last.”

”Thanks, Rob. Now to Phil at the Stock Exchange. How’s trading today, Phil?”

”Great, Lisa! The I&S 500 struck twenty-thousand this morning, and it’s rising with the heat.” There was laughter. “If you look to the graph, we’re showing the big movers so far. Most of the movement is in biotech and energy-“

Someone spoke from behind Allens, breaking his reverie. “Sir, the ambassador is arriving now.” An ISA Agent, dressed in another black suit, tie, and sunglasses, stood behind Allens, his vest bulging suspiciously under his left shoulder. It was a running joke that the only way to tell ISA operatives apart was by the price of their suit, and the ISA did not disapprove of this humor.

Outside the Terminal Dome, an executive jet was sliding up to Gate Four, and Allens smirked slightly, never turning from his post. “So, he’s here. Is the Terminal Secure?”

“Yes, sir. Everyone here is cleared, even the maintenance workers. An armored limousine is waiting nearby, and we’ve locked down the LOS.” Overhead, the jet’s two F-37 escorts banked into a holding pattern, and armored ISA utility vehicles flanked the resting aircraft. In the tower, snipers held down the exposed areas, while more agents patrolled the tunnels.

”Good work, Operative.” Allens watched the plane begin to disembark into the tunnel.

Like most things the ISA approved of, the access tunnel was shadows and mirrors. Or rather, cameras and optics. While it appeared that the tunnel was glass, and Allens could see into it, and those into it, out of it, it was not as it seemed. Instead of three inches of bulletproof glass, the walls and ceiling were several feet thick, and enclosed heavy duty scanners and electronics. The inside was lined in tiny cameras that transmitted to the outside panels, while the outside did likewise to the interior. Air conditioners and heaters blew the correct temperature onto the back surfaces of the flat-panel displays, to give the correct “feel” of the weather. But in the space between the two systems of displays and recorders, security hardware was installed.

The very access tunnel the party walked through was a security checkpoint. Bags were X-rays, as were people. Thermal imaging was taken. Electronics were scanned. Any transmitters were located. At either end of the tunnels, hidden in the ceilings, were blast doors that could slam shut in an instant, turning the access way into a holding cell. This was the very ideal of the ISA, everything was secure, and nothing was interrupted. The people would never be bothered or slowed by the measures, and they would have no idea they were even being virtually interrogated. This expensive and overwrought system was also a symbol of Kaukolastan, of the belief that technology was a solution unto itself, and of the wealth that could afford such a system.

The ambassador and his party were duly noted, recorded, and filed, but not bothered. Even normal civilians would be unhindered, and these were personal guests of the ISA. No minor inconvenience would even be near them.

The tunnel turned, and then met the Terminal, where Allens waited, flanked by several armed Agents. He smiled politely and raised his right hand to shake. “I’m Sub-Director Allens, Internal Security Agency. I hope you enjoyed your flight, and welcome to Kaukolastan.”

OOC: Topic change was in order, to coordinate with events. 8)

#tagged... Kaukolastan, you wouldn't mind if I have spies reporting on weird things happening right?

Like most Foreign Department officials, Conrad Karagiosis had a non-descript appearance. His suit was tailored silk, but of a conservative design. His features were likewise ordinary, and would be difficult to remember a few hours after seeing it. Aside from the ubiquitous RF implant common to all EOE citizen/shareholders, he was a completely unremarkable person walking through the jetway.

His companion was a different story entirely. Colonel Yorgieva was slightly taller than Conrad, and walked with a lithe certainty that bespoke decades of military training. Her features were hard, and her face bore scores of tiny broken blood vessels from exposure to low atmospheric pressure. Aside from her RF implant, the sensors monitoring her found nothing out of the ordinary.

Conrad recognized Sub-Director Allens from the dossier compiled by External Security. He shook the proffered hand and introduced himself.

"It is my pleasure to be here, Mr. Allens. My name is Conrad Karagiosis, from the Foreign Affairs Department of the EOE Ministry for Pre-Subjugation External Affairs." He presented his diplomatic credentials, then waved a hand toward his striking companion. "This is Colonel Yorgieva. She is one of the Dominion's most prominent Kosmonauts, and is also the Executive Officer of Space Command. She's recently back dirtside from a long tour aboard Mikoyan."

Yorgieva gave a short bow, ignoring Allen's outstretched hand. Conrad smiled broadly and said, "Shall we go? There is a great deal to discuss."

OOC: 5CN, since we’re on good relations, you can have people here, probably an embassy, too. (Just consider it always having been there.) With the Internal Security Agency running the show now, any outright espionage would be cracked down upon, but obviously, something is going down.

OOC: In Kaukolastan, we hold this year as 2027ce.

IC:

Born: 1985ce
Graduated Secondary Education: Valen Central Academy, Class of 2003ce
Higher Education: Bachelors Military Science and History, Class of 2007ce
Commissioned Second Lieutenant: 2007ce
First Lieutenant: 2008ce
SECRET: Entered Army Special Forces: 2009ce
Iron Bars Awarded: Rescued thirteen hostages at extreme risk to self, 2009ce
ISA Commission, Field Supervisor: 2010ce
Intelligence Supervisor: 2012ce
SECRET: Deployed to Geridan as counter-resistance organizer: 2012ce
Raptor Talon Awarded: Actions on behest of Dominion in foreign lands, 2014ce
Section Chief: 2014ce
Higher Education: Bachelors of Psychology and Sociology, 2018ce, Efrenata University
Higher Education: Masters of Psychology and Sociology, 2021ce, Efrenata University
Higher Education: Honorary Masters of History, 2022ce, Corsingard Institute
Sub-Director of the ISA, Operations Division: 2024ce
Handled Wolfish Crisis: 2025ce
Exemplary Service Award: 2026ce
ALL ACTIONS AS SUB-DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS, ARE CLASSIFIED UNDER ISA ORDNANCE 24.68

Brief:
Robert Allens is the most visible of the ISA’s Sub-Directors. Answering directly to Director Kerrik, he is the head of all operations the ISA conducts, ranging from counter-terror to investigative to espionage. All field agents eventually report to Allens, whether domestic or foreign deployment. It is anticipated that he will succeed Kerrik as ISA Director, as the ISA DARPA Chief, Richard Phaellan, is mostly an unknown, while Allens has been deployed in numerous theaters, and serves as the pleasant face of the normally reclusive agency.

He is a smooth, knowledgable man, with a mastery of how people and societies function and interact. He is very cordial and friendly, but as Operations Commander, he is also ruthless and lethal. He is divorced, with one child, but does not maintain contact with his family, out of dedication to the ISA.

After the death of Chancellor Fenris and the dissolving of the State Security Agency, Allens has also served as a sort of SECSTATE for Kaukolastan.

Allens shook Conrad’s hand and turned to the woman. When Yorgieva bowed instead of shaking, Allens smoothly shifted his hand to the side, and returned her bow in a courtly manner. Rising, he smiled confidently. His earpiece chirped, and a tech began to read off valuable information on the guests, their IDs verified by the scanning systems.

Allens motioned for the door. “We’ve provided an Agency limousine for transportation, if you would come with me?” Kosmonaut? Sounds like someone is interested in our friendly neighborhood space resources.

As they proceeded through the brilliant terminal, not stopping for any security checks that might insult their guests. They reached the exit, and two ISA Agents waited at the doors, their Sag 2 rifles held ready. They turned as one, and the double doors opened into a short tarmac, where a black limo waited, windows tinted, armored, and with a jamming set on the roof. Another Agent, holding a Sag 2 Commando, opened the back door for the guests.

Nice day out. The scrubbers must be working overtime to keep the pollutants down.

After the ambassadors had entered, the Agent opened the next door for Allens. He seated himself, facing the two ambassadors. The doors closed, and as the passenger Agent settled in, the limo began to roll forward gracefully. “Would you care for a drink?” Allens asked, motioning to the side bar. “We have a full stock.”

As the convoy rolled through the artificial chasm streets of Corsingard, nearing the Governmental District, they passed little traffic, with these streets being locked down for twenty minutes. Allens turned again to the two, “So, what brings your honored presence to this nation, if I may so inquire?”

Conrad glanced out the window of the limousine for a moment, then spoke “His Omniferocity instructed the Foreign Department to make contact with your Government regarding your recent test of an orbital bombardment system." He gestured slightly to Yorgieva, who drew a folder out of her briefcase and handed it over to the diplomat. Conrad passed the folder to Allens with a slight smile.

Allens cocked an eyebrow as he opened the folder. There were several pages of computer printout accompanying at least a dozen high-resolution photographs. He laid the papers aside for the moment and scanned the pictures. After a moment, he recognized the first three as very high-resolution photos of the Thor's hammer satellites. He controlled his facial expressions with an effort.

"So I take it that our secret new weapon is no longer a secret." was all he said.

Conrad Karagiosis leaned back in the comfortable seat of the limo and grinned. "Not necessarily. The Dominion has had a similar weapon system in place for several years. Most of our testing was done on Luna. We're certainly not interested in advertising our capabilities." He leaned forward again and spoke earnestly.

"His Omniferocity realized that others would eventually have the political will and technical expertise to develop their own version of the weapon system we call Javelin. He ordered Space Command to develop countermeasures against the possibility that the developing nation might prove hostile to Evil Overlord Enterprises interests."

Allens listened carefully, his face revealing nothing. The EOE diplomat continued.

"Having developed and tested a system we call Proton to deal with the threat of another nation developing Javelin, His Omniferocity ordered the Foreign Service to develop a less ... exciting ... means of reacting to the potential threat." Conrad reached into the pocket of his jacket and drew out a sealed envelope. "His Omniferocity has instructed the Minister to offer a non-aggression treaty between our two governments. As a treaty nation, your Government would be permitted to join Evil Overlord Enterprises in several profitable ventures already underway outside cislunar space. The details are in the envelope."

Conrad nodded at the folder in Allens' hand. "The text portion of that folder reveals the orbital inclination, speed, and altitude of your new weapon sat, just to show that we do know what we're talking about. Have your techs and engineers check the figures. The rest of the photos are a montage taken from our two space stations, OMF Mikoyan and the Science Station Heinlein- which is located at LaGrange-1."

Conrad slid back in the seat again and looked out the window. "That's the gist of it. The devil's always in the details, but that's what keeps a professional diplomatic Corps in business."

Allens scanned the packet. Trade agreements, non-agression pact, limitted intelligence sharing... these are all things I think Kerrik will be more than happy to hear.

He glanced over at the two ambassadors. "Well, this has to be the first time an orbital weapon has brought two nations together, doesn't it?" He smiled with that ISA half-smile, and he tilted his head. "These seem to be agreeable terms of treaty, and I'm sure the Director will be pleased to open relations with his Omniferocity."

He paused for a second. "And we really didn't advertise it. We just had to test it." Another grin. "I think this could be a profitable relationship."

"And we really didn't advertise it. We just had to test it." Another grin. "I think this could be a profitable relationship."

Conrad shook his head. "You misunderstand. I doubt many nations have the equipment in place to both detect and correctly analyze your weapons test. I merely meant that Evil Overlord Enterprises is not interested in advertising your capabilities- any more than we would advertise our own." He gave a tight smile, which didn't reach his eyes.

"As for profit, that is one of His Omniferocity's primary concerns, of course. EOE does nothing out of altruism. We expect that Kaukolastan will make fine customers for high-quality ores from the Belt, vacuum-drawn ceramics, and other space-related industries. We will be happy to purchase bulk foodstuffs, luxury goods of various sorts, and timber products- among other things.

We can offer you access to the entire Molnya satellite array. There are now 16 Molnya birds in geosync orbit. We use them to plot launch and recovery windows, as well as tracking possible impactors for our fleet of Orbital Insertion Vehicles. Your personnel will have access to Heinlein as well. Most of our Space Command personnel train there."

Conrad smiled broadly. "Both nations profit, here. Your space program gets a boost from EOE's experience. EOE gets a customer for products and services from our space program." The smile faded quickly away. "And- best of all- we're not wasting time, money, and energy shooting down each others' satellites."

"Of course. War is the both the greatest innovator and the greatest waste of resources known to mankind." Allens tipped his head. "And I believe we can help you in other ways as well. We have one of the largest plastics industries in the world, which is always helpful in space related projects, and we do much research into micro-electronics and biotech."

"That's where most of the organics come from, nowadays. Most of the natural resources were expended decades ago, and all that remains are protected parks and reserves. We've had to become experts in hydroponics and genetic engineered crops and foodstock." Allens shrugged. "Such is the price of progress."

He leaned forward a little, "I think we have an agreement. I am aware of your position on foreigners on EOE lands, but rest assured that your people are welcome here, so long as they obey the laws of this nation."

Conrad sank back in his seat and grinned. "His Omniferocity will be pleased. Since you are familiar with the Dominion's restrictions on foreigners, that simplifies matters.

As for Dominion personnel who travel to your country, any non diplomatic personnel who break your laws should be treated like any other lawbreaker. Most of them will be merchants and similar business types, of course. I trust that your government has no objection to the Ministry setting up an Embassy here. So long as the Embassy has a list of rules and restrictions for Dominion citizen/shareholders, anyone who breaks your laws has no legal standing with the Dominion."

He glanced out the window again. "I look forward to a long and profitable arrangement."