Back at Jonson Station, the senior JE staff discussed what, if anything, could be done in response to Rival's clearly illegitimate conquest of Jonson Outpost. Given Rival's massive fleet and superior weaponry, JE certainly lacked adequate resources to mount a counter-attack of its own. Alas, Earth-based military and police forces had long ago given up enforcement in the asteroid belt, since they were already overwhelmed by ongoing political struggles on the home planet, not to mention trying to cope with the ever-worsening climate crisis. The only practical option seemed to lie with some sort of collaborative effort among the space colonies of the region.
Seaplane discussed the situation at length with Lilabelle in their private suite, and together they decided to launch a diplomatic effort to try to convince the colonies to organize themselves into a federation capable of confronting their common enemy. Accordingly, Lilabelle and Seaplane arranged transportation aboard the next colony transport scheduled to visit the Station, rather than engage the Explorer which would be needed for other missions. They took a shuttle out to the transport when it arrived, thus embarking on an extensive diplomatic mission, leaving the younger generation to operate Jonson Station.
Meanwhile, JE staff continued to hear news of ongoing Rival operations. The week following the attack, a routine transport docked at Jonson Station and unloaded several large crates. As promised, Rival had returned the androids left stranded during the attack. Alas, the positronic brains and many reusable electro-mechanical parts had been stripped out, leaving only gutted carcasses. Sarah found this infuriating: “How could they do such a horrible thing?! Dismembering sentient androids like this...just as immoral as killing living biological creatures...it turns my stomach!” She was so upset, that she refused to let the operational androids and gynoids even view the remains.
Rival also followed up on his promise to send an invitation for the Rival Resort grand opening, scheduled for two months later. Understandably, JE staff declined to attend.
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