NationStates Jolt Archive

Golevka Asteroid,
4.475 AU from Earth

"Yess!" - screamed Fred. "We're onto it! Here you are, my baby! Come here to Freddie!" - he turned to the crew of the spacecraft - "Lads, here it is. What we were paid for. Golevka 'roid, the little, itty, bitty speck of spacedust that the good boys at Allanean Arms wanted us to find. We're getting our reward, after all."

One of the crewmembers, a punk-haired youth of about twenty years old, shrugged as he looked at the main screen. "Captain," he asked, "What do they want with the thing, anyhow? I mean, sure it has ore and stuff in it, but what's so special about this one? I mean, except it being so damn big?"

Captain Frederick Sanders Sr. smiled at the sailor. "Actually, me lad, I have no farking clue whatsoever. What I do know, however, is that the corporate big shots want it dearly. There's sixteen of us on this craft, and our reward for finding this little cutesy 'roid is one point two million bucks, Allanean, payment due in good, solid 24k. I get two hundred fifty, you spit the rest. You know the drill."

"Capn'" - replied the youth. "She might be worth a million bucks to us, but she be the ugliest rock I ever saw in my life." All laughed.

"Nay, me lad." - replied the captain. "Money is never ugly. Now get yourself to work and ready the claim beacons!"

Golevka Asteroid,
4.475 AU from Earth

Years have passed after the claiming of Golevka by the Allaneans – it was now used as a refueling station and a Naval Boy Scout Corps base. But now, the Allanean government had decided to renew it's old policy of asteroid-hunting, with a vengeance. It was Golevka that was going to be the base for this. At Golevka, dozens of merchant and military spacecraft refuelded and went out for their missions – planting Allanean flags in seemingly useless bits of rock.

The first was 323 Brucia asteroid, for which an Allanean explorer named Marcus Sheilderberg was awarded two million dollars (Allanean dollars, mind!) by the United States Deprtment of commerce. It would become the construction location for a military base for the United States Navy.

Allanean Arms Corporation was not to be outdone by the Federal governemnt, and without further ado it colonised – or rather, claimed something called 1221 Amor – a little bit of rock only a mile in length. This would however be enough for the intended purpose – a dock to build and repair cruisers and escort vessels for Navy contracts.

The final victim of Allanean greed was asteroid 1620 Geographos. Forte Industries had it, and what they had planned for it was anybody's guess – they sure weren't telling anybody. Such was the way of Ripley Forte.