looked back at the admiral for a moment then offered a faint smile to crowd. “Good afternoon, everyone. First, I would like to thank Admiral Grant for the opportunity to speak to you on the day the newest Akita Dreadnaught comes into service, but the topic I wish to cover is of a different concern. For that, I want to bring you back slightly to my company’s origin.”
Hood returned to his seat and watched the Epherium executive spin through his presentation like a gifted salesman. Nostalgia was his weapon of choice and he used it well; from the Apollo 11 landing on the moon to the creation of the first orbital station around Mars.
Hood was no stranger to many of the mega-corporations that developed technologies for the EDF. Despite the increase in funding for NASA and various other nations’ space agencies after the near-miss asteroid event of 2018, hundreds of private corporations, like Epherium, were founded to spearhead colonization of the solar system. Many people believed Epherium and their ilk wielded too much power and influence. Perhaps it was true, but Hood had to admit that without them, mankind would still be struggling to get a base on Mars, or worse, on the brink of extinction.
After McCracken concluded his marketing glitz, he clicked the remote again, and the video screen changed to display a schematic of a spaceship super-imposed over a large crowd of people. Unlike some of the other officers seated around the room, Hood recognized it immediately. The ship displayed was one of the three colony ships Epherium developed for their Triad Colonization project. Three sleeper ships loaded with five thousand colonists were launched years ago to form the basis of a sustainable colony on worlds in the Cygni, Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani systems, each light-years from Earth. Hood and others knew them as the Epherium Three and he was there to watch them leave.
“The promise of hope, ladies and gentlemen,” McCracken continued. “Hope for humanity’s future. Before the Cilik’ti, our own Sun had given us reason to ponder our fate. Even today, solar flare activity is on the rise. It won’t be long before we could have another event like the one that destroyed our terraforming research station in Venus’ orbit in 2107. This project and others that Epherium has undertaken over the years—”
“Excuse me, Mr. McCracken,” Colonel Becker interjected. “With all due respect, I’m sure that the history lesson works well with the kids back home, but what relevance does this have to with this meeting?”
Admiral Grant stood and moved to stand next to McCraken at the podium. “Excellent question, Colonel. The straight up answer is this. Almost a month ago, EDF Command received an unknown signal from deep space. It was originally thought to be of Cilik’ti origin, but further analysis revealed a surprising answer. The signal was identified as a homing signal from one of the Epherium colony ships. Nearly two weeks later, another signal was identified from a second ship.”
The admiral looked past Becker now and made sure the strength of his words echoed throughout the room. “Our extra-solar operations are vital to our security and represent a strong future for mankind. The cessation of hostilities with the Cilik’ti left us with a veiled threat if we continue to venture outside our own system, and they are out there. Thus far, our Proxima operations base is thriving and is now well-defended, but we can’t rest on that alone. Forward operations of the EDF 4th fleet have reached Barnard’s Star and have identified two locations suitable for a base and a domed station on one of the planets in the system. It’s a good start, but it will take time to make it operational.”
The admiral’s eyes found Hood and his stare seemed to weigh him down. “We’ve been careful and guarded in our approach in these operations, but these signals propose a significant problem. If the Cilik’ti have detected them, we
Hood returned to his seat and watched the Epherium executive spin through his presentation like a gifted salesman. Nostalgia was his weapon of choice and he used it well; from the Apollo 11 landing on the moon to the creation of the first orbital station around Mars.
Hood was no stranger to many of the mega-corporations that developed technologies for the EDF. Despite the increase in funding for NASA and various other nations’ space agencies after the near-miss asteroid event of 2018, hundreds of private corporations, like Epherium, were founded to spearhead colonization of the solar system. Many people believed Epherium and their ilk wielded too much power and influence. Perhaps it was true, but Hood had to admit that without them, mankind would still be struggling to get a base on Mars, or worse, on the brink of extinction.
After McCracken concluded his marketing glitz, he clicked the remote again, and the video screen changed to display a schematic of a spaceship super-imposed over a large crowd of people. Unlike some of the other officers seated around the room, Hood recognized it immediately. The ship displayed was one of the three colony ships Epherium developed for their Triad Colonization project. Three sleeper ships loaded with five thousand colonists were launched years ago to form the basis of a sustainable colony on worlds in the Cygni, Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani systems, each light-years from Earth. Hood and others knew them as the Epherium Three and he was there to watch them leave.
“The promise of hope, ladies and gentlemen,” McCracken continued. “Hope for humanity’s future. Before the Cilik’ti, our own Sun had given us reason to ponder our fate. Even today, solar flare activity is on the rise. It won’t be long before we could have another event like the one that destroyed our terraforming research station in Venus’ orbit in 2107. This project and others that Epherium has undertaken over the years—”
“Excuse me, Mr. McCracken,” Colonel Becker interjected. “With all due respect, I’m sure that the history lesson works well with the kids back home, but what relevance does this have to with this meeting?”
Admiral Grant stood and moved to stand next to McCraken at the podium. “Excellent question, Colonel. The straight up answer is this. Almost a month ago, EDF Command received an unknown signal from deep space. It was originally thought to be of Cilik’ti origin, but further analysis revealed a surprising answer. The signal was identified as a homing signal from one of the Epherium colony ships. Nearly two weeks later, another signal was identified from a second ship.”
The admiral looked past Becker now and made sure the strength of his words echoed throughout the room. “Our extra-solar operations are vital to our security and represent a strong future for mankind. The cessation of hostilities with the Cilik’ti left us with a veiled threat if we continue to venture outside our own system, and they are out there. Thus far, our Proxima operations base is thriving and is now well-defended, but we can’t rest on that alone. Forward operations of the EDF 4th fleet have reached Barnard’s Star and have identified two locations suitable for a base and a domed station on one of the planets in the system. It’s a good start, but it will take time to make it operational.”
The admiral’s eyes found Hood and his stare seemed to weigh him down. “We’ve been careful and guarded in our approach in these operations, but these signals propose a significant problem. If the Cilik’ti have detected them, we
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