The Port Garland Crisis (FT)

Brother Lal's Office, UN Headquarters, MY 2287

Brother Lal sat at his desk, interfacing the holoscreen and carrying out various official duties of his rule. Setting production priorities for the bases under his direct administration; directing the creation of the twelfth Standard Peacekeeper Memeplex, by resolving disputes on certain controversial memes for inclusion; and managing the foreign affairs agenda of the Planetary Governate. Quite boring and standard, really, though in all honesty he much preferred this kind of work over the spontaneous crises that would sometimes capture the galaxy in the blink of an eye. Then, however, an urgent alert played and a request for a holoconference was issued, apparently from both Santiago and Morgan together, which piqued his interest considerably.

What could these two be trying to do together? Considering that their relations are cold at the best of times, this really must be something.

With a sigh, he accepted the request, and so both Colonel Santiago and CEO Morgan materialized before him in their holographic forms. Brother Lal looked at the two of them expectantly, and said, "So the two of you wanted a conference of me. Why have you issued the request? You interests are not known to intersect..."

He then held his hands together, and glanced between the two of them, waiting for one of them to speak up and reply. After a brief few seconds, Morgan cleared his throat and said to Brother Lal, "As you may know, in the past few months, Morgan Industries has experienced conflicts with the corporation known as Kuat Drive Yards over usage of space in the shipyard as well as..."

Lal raised an eyebrow, and cut Morgan off with a signal of his hand. "I have no interests in your corporate conflicts, Morgan. The Governate has no interest in getting involved in this."

Briefly, Morgan shook his head, and continued, "If I might finish before you deliver a verdict, Brother? As you may know, although we do currently control the usage of Port Garland, it remains under the ownership of Kuat Drive Yards, and they do have policies that hurts the expansion of Centauri shipping and continue to use the facilities for the construction of their warfare vessels. I believe that this state indicates an ongoing threat to our economic status, and it does not do well to have corporations from a foreign polity control the focus of our transportation and construction efforts. It is high time for the Planetary Governate nationalize Port Garland and use it to serve the interests of ourselves and our citizens."

Sighing, Lal looked back at Morgan cursorily, before replying, "Though what you are saying is not without merit, there is danger in this line of thought. We cannot risk the impairment of relations with the Rheans: you, of all people, know that they value their property rights considerably. And ultimately, what is this all for? Your own self-enrichment, perhaps? The majority of us will only suffer from this course of action, while you will prosper, which is a state of affairs that should not be entirely unfamiliarity to you."

Morgan frowned briefly, and looked back at Santiago. "Perhaps a second voice is needed to sway Brother Lal."

With a terse sigh, Santiago says, "Perhaps so, but it is to my displeasure. In any case, while Morgan is right in some respects about the economically adverse effects of the foreign control of Port Garland, that should be the last of our concerns. Think about the military side of this affair. A corporation of a foreign polity has control of the locale where a hundred percent of our war vessels are manufactured. This is unacceptable! Already they know much of the composition and number of our vessels, and while we have avoided the divulging of too many of our schematics, some of the information may have leaked and found its way into their hands. This is a dangerous state of affairs, plain and simple, and we must act decisively."

Looking over the two carefully, Brother Lal replies, "Though I believe that this course of action will have dangerous consequences, the idea is not without merit. I must consult with my advisers to determine which way is best to take. Perhaps you will see something from this: I will alert you should we choose to implement this. Until then, do not expect anything.

***

Six Months Later

"Operation Aurora Encore is in effect."

Such was the automated message sent to both Morgan and Santiago once the policy was instituted. Waiting until a point when the spaceport was effectively clear of any Rhean war vessels, the Planetary Defense Force (with its already substantial presence at Port Garland) immediately seized control and removed any vestiges of its control by Kuat Drive Yards, of which there were surprisingly few, considering its Centauri administration. It was declared an official property of the Planetary Governate, however they promised that business would continue as usual except for the immediate end of all construction projects of foreign war vessels, though which "foreign" war vessels was quite obvious.

Secretly, a memo is sent to the executives of Kuat Drive Yards. It reads:

***

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Board of Directors, Kuat Drive Yards
From: The Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri

Greetings.

Though the seizure of Port Garland and the institution of official Centauri control was a grim necessity, we have cause to believe that some compensation may be offered. If you would be willing to take waive your losses, we may offer a substantial sum of precious metals and energy credits as compensation. This is our one offer, and we urge you to consider it carefully. We have nothing against your business, but we find the presence of a foreign group in control of the facilities in which our war fleet is manufactured... unsettling. If you turn this down, no further offers will be made.

[The Seal of the Planetary Governate]
The Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri
From: The Board of Directors, Kuat Drive Yards

We shall dispense with the pleasantries. This "nationalization" of KDY property is nothing but theft. KDY has been nothing but faithful in agreement to construct ships for the Planetary Governate. Our operations for the construction of Rhean warships has been winding down for months, as stipulated in our contract. If the Planetary Governate had honest intention in this, it could simply have offered to purchase the port rather than seize it and offer meager compensation that does not cover capital expended and lost future revenue. We, the Board of Directors, make one offer and one offer only. Return the port to us and we will go on without further incident. Reject our magnanimity and we will turn to the CSR.

Kuat Drive Yards

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Board of Directors, Kuat Drive Yards
From: The Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri

The Planetary Governate summarily rejects your offer. You speak of us as not having honest intention but do not forget the unfair terms of the contract regarding control of the spaceport. In spite of the great sums we have paid, we were availed only the ability to take control of the administration of the spaceport, and we afforded no small role in the business of the spaceport. You already possess significant sums: look at all that has been paid to you just so that we have the rights to fill the offices of the spaceport. Is what we have offered you not unfair? The numbers were enclosed, they are hardly a paltry sum when you add all those from earlier agreements to it. Together, they should more than exceed the costs you have expended on the spaceport. You have profited from this venture, and significantly so. As for the contracts, indeed, they are reaching their final legs, and by our reckoning the agreement on warship construction has reached its end. We have already paid our dues in this venture, and no more: give us what is rightfully ours.

[The Seal of the Planetary Governate]
The Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri
From: The Board of Directors, Kuat Drive Yards

We will argue no further. You have wrongfully seized our property and you will get your due.

Kuat Drive Yards

------------------------------------

On Rhea, the largest companies owned by citizens of the Planetary Governate are seized for KDY. An embargo is declared as well, though it is not entirely popular.

Of course, being that very few Centauri citizens travel abroad, and the few that do are under the aegis of Morgan Industries, almost all of those seized are subsidiaries of Morgan Industries. As for the embargo, being that the Planetary Government is self-sufficient on nutrient, mineral, and energy production and only trades for luxury and exotic goods, the effect is not particularly large. In addition, because most of the trade goes through Morgan Industries (twice hurting them), the vast majority of Alpha Centauri is unaffected and is mostly in support of the seizures with memetic engineering instituted by most factions to encourage support of the policy, depicted as defying the larger foreign powers.

***

CEO Morgan's Office, Morgan Industries, MY 2287

Morgan paced back and forth in his office, considering what could be done. Operation Aurora Encore was a success, there was no doubt, and Lal certainly did what he wanted him to do, but the Rhean response was unexpected and caught him off guard. He expected them to attempt to penalize the Planetary Governate more so than his own subsidiaries and trading missions. His gambit, it seemed, had been a failure: although he had hurt Kuat Drive Yards and got Port Garland nationalized, the projections were that he would lose thousands upon thousands of energy credits from the losses in trade and the illegal seizures of Morgan Industries subsidiaries. And so he composed his own message to the Rhean government:

***

[HIGHLY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Confederated States of Rhea
From: CEO Nwabudike Morgan, Morgan Industries

To whom it may concern,

This memorandum has been written by my own hand on the behalf of the Board of Directors of Morgan Industries. For some time, I have held the people of Rhea in great respect for their understanding of the true importance of property rights, who have always seen to allow the proper flow of trade and commerce. Following the events of the last few days, my respect was shattered.

Over ten Morgan Industries subsidiaries based on Rhea have been seized by agents of your government and illegally given to the corporation Kuat Drive Yards for no reason but to punish the Planetary Governate. Their actions are inexcusable, but that does not permit you to seize the assets of an innocent party to give to our rival. Assets numbering in the hundred thousands of panzers or energy credits have been taken from our corporation, and many of them with nothing to do with Kuat Drive Yards. What has, for instance, Kuat Drive Yards to do with Morgan Studios Rhea? Or, for instance, Morgan Gravitonics Rhea?

There is little good sense for your actions, and they are beyond justice: it is simply recompense. You have returned illegal seizures of property a hundredfold with more of the same. Stop this madness, and turn to diplomacy and honest discussion so that we may end this debacle, that would ruin the good reputations of both of our nations and the credibility of our governments.

Signed,
CEO Nwabudike Morgan
Morgan Industries

***

For a brief moment, Morgan relished the layers upon layers of irony latent in the situation. And then he grimaced, and sent the message.

The Rhean government snubs Morgan, with Dmitri sending one short encrypted message: "Spare me your outrage. Intelligence suggests you were the one pushing most heavily for nationalization. Don't whine when we return favor." Within the tetrachy, there was debate as to further action. Carducci had even suggested a brief raid on Port Garland firing ion cannon but escalation of the sort was shot down.

[HIGHLY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Tetrarchy, Confederated States of Rhea
From: CEO Nwabudike Morgan, Morgan Industries

This is a grave accusation and an insult to the honor of both myself and Morgan Industries. You have no basis for your reply and Morgan Industries respects the property rights of all governments, individuals, and organizations. The only ones to take advantage of this situation are your clients in Kuat Drive Yards. Any potential benefits Morgan Industries receives from nationalization are indirect at best, whereas what you have done involves the direct redistribution of assets unfitting of a society such as your own. Has the leadership of the Confederated States of Rhea no shame? You have gone far and beyond "returning the favor", and this is pure and outright theft.

Do not be surprised if the assets you have seized for your client turn out to be of little value.

Signed,
CEO Nwabudike Morgan
Morgan Industries

***

With that, numerous Probe Teams working for Morgan Industries' secret corporate espionage team act decisively to exploit already-known vulnerabilities in the systems of the subsidiaries of Morgan Industries that were seized and given to Kuat Drive Yards. Many of the computing systems are damaged, with files erased and the software required for operating the equipment of the subsidiaries has been significantly corrupted to make continued operation impossible. Fixing the systems would be difficult, considering that most are proprietary in nature and use exotic Centauri quantum computing, the latest advance from the labs of Morgan Industries.

***

Meanwhile, however, life on Chiron continues as normal. Port Garland continues to operate, albeit at a higher status of alert, and Morgan Industries freighters simply look for new partners, many in underexploited markets in the various small independent colonies and homeworlds for exotic materials and other desirable goods. Lal mulls over what to do, regretting his decision to allow a plan to nationalize Port Garland and approving Operation Aurora Encore, even considering contacting the Tetrarchy directly and attempting to appease them by ending the nationalization and appealing to them by suggesting that various powerful interests have simply escalated the situation and that the Centauri government should not be to blame. However, not wanting to be seen as weak before the other factions or as turning back on the others, he decides to wait and watch... for now.

Dmitri's only response to the message is to release a recording of a Rhean agent plying information out of a mid-level PDF official with drink. The official revealed, in his drunken state, that he was informed by his superiors that Morgan Industries and the Spartans were the ones who pushed most heavily toward nationalization if Port Garland. Reaction on Rhea is mixed, as a slim majority is outraged about Morgan Industries' actions in using their government to eliminate a competitor while those skeptical argue against the validity of a drunk man's testimony. There is also a mixed reaction to the sabotage of Morgan Industries property on Rhea. Some see it as escalation in sabotaging recompense for KDY's losses while others see it as Morgan Industries rightfully protecting their proprietary information from competitors. However, the far majority, including the Tetrarchy, are outraged when KDY escalated things further by sending a Star Galleon-class Frigate modified with ion cannon to attack Port Garland and shut it down before fleeing due to risking people's lives. The Tetrarchy sends encrypted message to the Planetary Governate stating they had no hand in it. However, that is as far as they are willing to go, stating escalation should be expected.

Burninite vessels continue to trade with both nations without incident. '

ENCRYPTED
TO: Dmitri
FROM: Jenova

While the Rutians sleep, your nation holds great power. Be wise, and ever careful.

Sincerely,
Jenova Incincerator

ENCRYPTED
TO: Zakharov (OOC: My bad if spelling is wrong)
FROM: Thorgood

Tell your planetary leaders to be careful with whom they are playing. The Rheans are very powerful, and very capitalist. No seizure of private property is a good idea, and especially so without due process.

Nevertheless, in light of our useful relationship in the past, if there is anything that the University of Planet needs that we can help you with without great risk to ourselves, we would strongly consider it.

Sincerely,
Thorgood.

When the Rhean footage of the drunken PDF official talking about the role of Morgan Industries and the Spartan Federation in encouraging the nationalization of Port Garland, two separate announcements are made by both factions involved. According to Morgan Industries, they announce publicly that they had never been involved in pushing for the nationalization of Port Garland and adamantly stand for the protection of property rights, and claim that the agent simply found a man who was willing to say what he wanted him to say after being softened up enough with drink. The Spartans affirm the Morganite proclamation, adding that they are neutral on the events of the crises and that they see it as a corporate conflict and not within their realm of interest.

Meanwhile, when the Frigate is sent, it finds itself before much of the Planetary Defense Fleet and is warned to leave Centauri space for its violation of Centauri sovereignty, and that force will be used against it if it does not obey. The alert level of the Planetary Defense Force rises again, and it seems that escalation is eminent...

***

Academician Zakharov's Office, University Base, MY 2287

Academician Zakharov was performing the usual duties of his role, reviewing the numerous research reports being filed by scientific teams and examining the administrative state of the University of Planet, especially as far as resource allocations and production was concerned. Then, an alert was sounded as he received an urgent message: one from Doctor Thorgood of Burnination. Being that the two of them had worked together in times of crisis, he quickly opened the message to find that it was about the "crisis" in Port Garland.

Ugh. Great. The NewsNets won't shut up about this madness, and now it seems I am being requested to act on it.

He sighed, and considered his options. Yes, he could just stand by and do nothing, there was nothing to lose or gain from this situation, but a good colleague was calling and he hardly wished for the Planetary Governate to enter into open conflict with the Rheans. And indeed, something was off about the situation: clearly this was not something Lal wished to do himself, and there were obviously powerful interests pressuring him to do so: Morgan and Santiago were almost certainly the culprits, even if they so fervently denied it. So he composed a message:

***

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: Brother Lal
CC: Doctor Thorgood
From: Academician Zakharov

Pact Brother,

I have become aware of the "Port Garland Crisis" as it has been so dubbed by the NewsNets, and I am quite unsettled about how this is progressing. At the current rate, the escalation is becoming quite rapid as the foreign corporation attempts to harass us with their vessels and warmongers in our own Planetary Defense Force prepare for conflict. This cannot be allowed to stand. I am *almost* certain that Morgan and Santiago have been pressuring you, and while good relations with our fellow faction leaders is important, we cannot bend over to submit to their will. Pact Brother, I know you have excellent judgement in situations like these and you must exercise it. Stop this madness, please. It is for the good of Chiron and of the Galaxy.

Your fellow Pact Brother,
Acdmn. Zakharov

***

Brother Lal's Office, UN Headquarters, MY 2287

At his desk, Brother Lal sighed, and combed through the numerous reports on his holoscreen as he considered what he wanted to do. This whole nationalization business was folly from the very beginning, though at least Morgan seemed to be getting what he deserved. The escalation was quite simply frightening and while the Planetary Governate had certainly increased its strength greatly in his time as Planetary Governor, there was no way they could beat the Rheans in an open conflict. Certainly a Unity-class battlecruiser could take down a Star Destroyer on equal terms, but when the enemy had more Star Destroyers than you had vessels, there existed an issue. And even the mighty UNS Odysseus could be easily swept aside by a single blast of the Eclipse's superlaser.

Then, interrupting his contemplation, he received a message from Academician Zakharov, his Pact Brother. It seemed that it was sent both to himself and to Doctor Thorgood of Burnination: perhaps the good Doctor wanted him to help end this madness. Zakharov quite correctly noted the role of Morgan and Santiago, and urged him to take action to, so Zakharov said, "Stop this madness, please". It was certainly not an incorrect quote, and indeed, he needed to take what action he could. Things had not quite escalated into true conflict yet... but with all the corporate intrigue and heightened levels of military alert, it seemed inevitable, and then he felt the urge to open up his message client and compose one immediately.

I better do this before there's even a conflict to resolve. We'll be blown apart in seconds.

***

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Tetrarchy, the Confederated States of Rhea
From: Planetary Governor Pravin Lal, the Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri

To the leaders of the Confederated States of Rhea,

I must express my most honest apologies about the recent crisis that has enveloped once-warm relations between our two nations. Perhaps it is necessary to add the voice of my government's true leadership to the discussion. In the last few months, although I was neither the one to propose this nationalization (yes, that would be Morgan and Santiago, I will not lie) nor the one to design Operation Aurora Encore (that would be the Planetary Defense Force), I certainly had signed the order, and now I regret having made that choice, not merely for the sake of saving myself but for the sake of all of the galaxy.

I believe that this "Crisis" is not truly meant to be a conflict between our governments, but is a manifestation of corporate conflicts. I did not truly wish to implement the nationalization policy: I knew that the repercussions would have been terrible and would have much preferred to pay off Kuat Drive Yards for the property rights. However, I came under significant pressure by powerful interests, and I had, for that time, bended to their will in the belief that somehow it would not come back to bite me. But so it did, even though it did so for Morgan many more times over. I would like a peaceful discussion of this "Crisis" on neutral grounds, and for a reset of relations to prior to the nationalization of Port Garland.

Naturally, it is too easy for me to hope for these things without anything to back me up, and so I am quite willing to pay significant reparations and to bring the other factions into line, thought I would prefer to negotiate a settlement on Port Garland. In exchange, I would ask that you return the control of the subsidiaries of Morgan Industries, though I firmly believe that they will need to pay their own price for the restoration of their subsidiaries to working condition. At the same time, I hope that new agreements can be made on the limits of private organizations and their role in galactic politics, so that another crisis like this can be averted. There is no reason for conflict between the two of our parties: let us settle this in a peaceable manner and avoid the appeasement of the corporations and warmongers among us, and have mutual concessions be made.

Cordially,
Planetary Governor Pravin Lal

ENCRYPTED
TO: Academian Zakharov
FROM: Thorgood

That was quite a good move, politically. It was perhaps unwise to cc a Burninite address, though. The Academy may be suspected of having ties to us officially by your planetary government.

Nevertheless, it was a good play -- and I would say worth it, even though I undoubtedly pulled you from much more interesting and intellectual tasks.

Sincerely,
Thorgood

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: Planetary Governor Pravin Lal, the Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri
From: The Tetrarchy, the Confederated States of Rhea

Your terms are agreeable. We too agree that this has gone on too far. We had not approved of the attempted raid on Port Garland and will gladly bring those responsible for it to heel. We suggest Burnination as neutral ground for these discussions.

Cordially,
The Tetrarchy

P.S. Morgan Industries' subsidiaries will be returned.

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: Doctor Thorgood
From: Academician Zakharov

In retrospect, I suppose that I should have forwarded it to you in secret, but in all honesty, I am a hundred percent certain that Lal already knows. On Chiron, it is difficult to hide anything from the Planetary Governor: he even holds significant infiltration over Yang's government. In any case, I do not expect him to act on me: we are allies, and we have held a relationship of trust and cooperate for literally more than a hundred years. There will be no issue.

And yes, I must return to most fruitful academic and administrative matters.

Best of luck,
Acdmn. Zakharov

***

[HIGHLY ENCRYPTED]

To: The Tetrarchy, the Confederated States of Rhea
From: Planetary Governor Pravin Lal, the Planetary Governate of Alpha Centauri

I am in agreement with Burnination as a neutral meeting ground. In addition, as promised, I have issued an ultimatum to Morgan Industries to end meddling in the affairs of foreign corporations directly through intrigue and to end attempts at insubordination, or dire consequences would be faced, and having monitored them they have withdrawn several of their Prove Teams from Rhea and brought them back to Chiron. To Colonel Santiago, I issued a holoconference, and she agreed without any pressure that a conflict over the issue would be undesirable and counter-intuitive to her own goals. Also, a significant amount of panzers and energy credits has been sent to Kuat Drive Yards as reparations.

Cordially,
Planetary Governor Pravin Lal

(OOC: Neither of you asked Jenova to hang out though, so she doesn't know she has guests :p)

(OOC: Just assume they mutually sent it afterward. )

(OOC: Well in that case, Jenova offers a diplomatic chamber in a craftworld.)

The Tetrachy arrive as agreed upon, with Dmitri bringing plenty of food.

Lal arrives as well, and offers beautifully remastered holobook versions of philosophical books from Old Earth, as well as accompanying virches to supplement the holobooks: the newest line of Peacekeeper holoprinted materials marketed to the Talent intellectuals of Chiron. He considered bringing some vodka imported from University Base's famous distillery as well, but then thought better of it, considering the episode with the drunken PDF officer. After presenting the gifts to the Tetrachy, he says to them,

"Greetings, esteemed members of the Tetrarchy, and again, my apologies for our role in the recent crisis. The powerful interests of Morgan Industries and the Spartan Federation brought our entire nation off the rails, but now that I have reasserted my authority, I feel that we should not have that issue once more. Again, I apologize for having approved Operation Aurora Encore, as it was a grave mistake and not in keeping with our peaceful and cooperative intent. I believe that we have already settled most of the disputes in question, yes?"

Jenova simply hovers, no other Burninite present. She'll almost certainly step in if she feels she's needed to mediate, but otherwise, she's just an observer.

"Indeed we have," says Chancellor Gordon. "What remains in dispute is the status of Port Garland itself. Given KDY's escalation of this conflict without permission, we feel it right to punish them in some way. We stand firm that KDY remain in ownership of the port but perhaps only as majority owner."

Lal nods, and says, "It would be fair to allow them to regain ownership, considering the questionable nature of the seizure as one dominated by corporate interests. A 3/5 KDY share and 2/5 Governate share agreement might suffice, and over time we could arrange and agreement to buy out the remaining share, in addition to what has already been paid in reparations. This way, I believe that we can sooth the injuries of both sides. Additionally, we will bar factions from getting involved in the running of Port Garland in the future and leave that solely to the jurisdiction of the PDF and the Governate."

"That is agreeable. Three years should be time enough to give KDY padding for the future."

Lal sighs, and says, "I have no qualm with that duration. Is that it, then? A fitting end to a conflict none of us had truly agreed to fighting. Perhaps we should simply have ourselves a meal for the remainder of the time here and remind ourselves of the warm relationship that our nations had and ought to have."

"We are all reasonable people, even if dispute arises from time to time. Let us feast to a bright tomorrow!" And Dmitri promptly devours an eighth of the food.

Jenova raises an eyebrow at the vanishing food. The phrase "uncivilized lout" never escapes her mouth, but you can smell it nevertheless.