Cislunar Space
United States Space Force Academy
0800 hours
"Madam Under-Secretary, what can I do for you today?"
Lieutenant General Cameron smiled brightly at the screen, while internally cringing at her delivery of that line.
God Almighty, she hated politics.
"Superintendent Cameron, I'm afraid that this meeting was not called for personal reasons, so I suggest you keep the military formalities and other meager chitchat to a minimum," the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, Madame Renee Lavoie, replied.
"Madam?", her Assistant Secretary-General under her, a Mr. John Long, squeaked out whilst holding a briefcase.
Snapping her fingers, the Assistant-Secretary General rushed to place it on the table adjacent to them and revealed the contents of the formerly filled-to-the-brim briefcase.
"I want to request that special care is made to prevent a diplomatic incident while the scheduled guest and the UN liaison are on board your academy," she chided.
The Lieutenant General, clearly confused, said, "Excuse me, Madam Under-Secretary, but what is that you are referring to? We are a military installation that..."
Waving her hands in the air, Madame Lavoie responded back, "That is not what I am referring to. Although special care has been given from our side, such as providing the special guest with an American Marine as his UN liaison, there is still some...", scratching her neck to reveal her discomfort, she finished her sentence with, "hesitation from the politicians in the UN whether the special guest is the best choice for building the new ISS."
"Then why agree to send him up here then?", General Cameron quipped back.
Clapping her hands together, the Under-Secretary-General of the UN, who was not used to people questioning her decisions, answered with, "President Seon is...no, has exceeded the requirements for our perfect candidate to build the new ISS." Counting out the reasons in her hands, she continued, "He is intelligent, respectful, most of all, will follow orders, and has a previous military background along with a tremendous knack for being innovative. I mean...he built a whole military academy in space, the same one you're in now, with only a year's time to do it mind you, with technology that hadn't even been invented yet? Who said that the impossible can't be done with men like him?"
She smiled, as if proud that some mother out there could raise such a diligent child as him.
"A military academy and an International Space Station are two different things..."
"And that is why you will help him every way you can. He has already been trained by the Japanese on how to live as an astronaut for three months..."
General Cameron then interrupted, "I was not made aware that he would stay up here in space for more than a week. We were told to give him a brief tour and help him realize his plans of constructing the ISS but..."
A new figure entered the screen. "Madam Under-Secretary, the Ambassador of the United States wants to speak with you regarding the inclusion of the United States in..."
As the Under-Secretary-General left, the Assistant Secretary-General apologized before quickly exiting with papers sprawled all over his hands. "Madam Under-Secretary, wait for me!"
The call ended as the screen cut to pitch black, leaving Cameron feeling as empty as she felt beforehand.
"So, how bad is it?", Vice Superintendent Calloway asked.
YOU ARE READING
Aphelion
Science Fiction"It was all a dream come true...before it turned into a nightmare." In the near future, Quibilah is part of a group of students tasked with the mission to save the world, one school day at a time. The only difference between her and other students i...
