The Girl in the Tank: Galactic Consortium, Season 1

Episode Seven: The End of Quarantine ch. 2

"This girl really gets around," Kleppie said as he pointed at the view screen. The newscast showed the Princess Sarasvat, followed by a group of her diplomats, walking up to the White House.

It was lunch time and a bunch of friends had gathered in down rearward 1, the closest common room to Cheyenne's medibay. The boys, Kleppie, Madsen and Jensen, had accepted Dan's coming out and Bakala's increasing presence amongst them in good spirits. Nor did they bat an eye at Lana's obvious affection for Cheyenne.

If anything, Cheyenne struggled with it more than they did. This was her first... well she wasn't quite sure what it was. They were past flirtations, having kissed several times, but not quite in a relationship. It was the first time she had allowed herself to be attracted to a woman and it was a novel sensation. It was not, if she was to be brutally honest, the first time she had been attracted to a woman. But you covered those feelings - you told yourself that noticing a beautiful woman didn't mean you were interested in her.

"What I don't understand," Kavi said from next to Kleppie, "is why this is a tense meeting. Aren't we friends now?"

"It's not that simple," Madsen said. "There are lots of people who don't trust the Consortium back home and this situation, I don't know what she's going to do."

"Explain this situation to us again," Janda said. "I don't get it at all."

They all looked to Dan, he was as close as they had to an expert on political issues. "Okay," he said, "remember the initial issue in Kamchatka? We have Native tribes, too, in America. It's a very different situation in some respects, but similar in others. We conquered them over a hundred years ago. It's not a pretty part of our history, to be honest, but it happened. After a series of wars, we made peace and gave them small pieces of land, called reservations. Some of these Native Americans still live on those reservations and they are semi autonomous. Some are now asking for autonomous cultural standing in the Consortium."

"So they will be independent of America?" Bakala asked.

Dan shrugged. "I don't think so, exactly. I don't know that they can survive as independent nations, not on what land they have. And they know they won't get all their lands back, because other people are living there now. But they've also gotten a pretty rotten deal from our government in the past, some would say they get a pretty rotten deal even now. Having the Consortium back their claim means they can negotiate deals on a more even footing."

"How do people back home feel about that?" Kavi asked.

Kleppie answered, "There are plenty of Americans who agree that the Native Americans got a rotten deal. But there are plenty of others that think it was generations ago and we don't owe them anything better now."

"Plus there are plenty of Americans who don't like the Consortium interfering in what they consider a private affair," Dan said.

"But the Shoshone asked them to be involved," Cheyenne said. "You can't blame the Consortium."

"You don't watch enough conservative news shows," Dan joked.

"My mom watches enough for both of us," Cheyenne replied dryly.

"Here's my question," Madsen said. "There are a bunch of tribes, right? But it's just the Shoshone?"

"Right now," Dan said. "The others are waiting. What ever deal they hammer out, it will set the precedent for the others. That's part of why it's so important."

After the others had left she Skyped home to talk to her kids.

"Mom, are you going to be home soon?" James asked through the Skype window.