The Bounty Hunter - Chapter 102: Contact

October 7th, 2089

King William’s POV

I took a seat in the holographic projector room, waiting as the device slowly started generating the chambers that the Council of Nine meets in.  I kept still as the light scanned over me in order to recreate a likeness of myself.  I opened my eyes to see the council chambers as if I were there.  Chancellor Hermann of Germany was seated on my left, while Secretary Zhao of China was on my right.  The Secretary looked unwell, with odd markings under his eyes, likely due to a lack of sleep.

The chambers were uncharacteristically silent as everyone reviewed the information that caused us to hold our meeting early, not even President Morris nor Premier Sharapov made a sound.  Emperor Akintola was the first to break the quiet, as we had planned beforehand.  “I feel that I speak for everyone here when I say that it is hard to believe the conclusions that the reports from Saudi Arabia are leading us towards.”  He paused momentarily for someone to disagree, but continued on when that was not the case.  “I propose that we establish a coalitionary base at the site for further research.  Should our suspicions be confirmed, it will also allow us to have the flexibility for rapid military response once the situation has progressed.”

That declaration finally managed to rouse the other members.  “Establishing a base that deep in the Empty Quarter would be an enormous expenditure, even if we divided up the cost!”  Chancellor Hermann exclaimed as Secretary Zhao also interjected.  “I agree with the Chancellor.  I also find it suspicious that the Emperor would suggest this base within the confines of a fellow monarchy.  All evidence at this time is indicative, but still inconclusive.  It is nowhere near sufficient to justify such action.”

Murmurs went through the members as they thought about Secretary Zhao’s words.  I decided to speak.  “It is difficult to take China’s call for inaction seriously, given their previous position on Pandemonium.  I recall then that Secretary Zhao argued against a coalitionary task force on the same basis as now.  ‘Pandemonium has yet to establish themselves as a true threat to global security.’ Those were the precise words.  And yet here we are today, holding an emergency meeting in part because of the rise of Pandemonium.”

Secretary Zhao shot me a glare that was… disconcerting after I finished speaking.  Before he could respond, however, the two-man parade of buffoons decided to act up.  “William is right!  Pandemonium has been a massive pain in the ass since they started and it’s only getting worse!  The Tokyo attack in particular has shown they’re getting bolder!”  President Morris yelled with his usual bluster.  “For once I agree with the Americans.  The Sino faction has done nothing but been an obstacle.  It is very easy to dismiss the threat when your nation has yet to be targeted!  As such, I will treat any further obstruction on the issue of Pandemonium by China as an open admittance of state sponsorship!”  Premier Sharapov added.

There was a collective intake at the Premier’s declaration.  The Treaty of Tehran in 2035 has defined state sponsored terrorism as an overt act of war, giving a legal basis for the targeted nation to respond with full force militarily without repercussions from the international community.  The Premier must be under significant pressure by his party to take action against Pandemonium.

A formal proposal was put forward to establish an international task force to deal with Pandemonium, which passed 8-0 with China abstaining.  But I fear that this is too little too late.  Getting set up will take time, which simply gives more opportunity for Pandemonium to spread like the cancerous tumor that they are.  Their rapid expansion has been remarkable and I fear they have already become embedded globally through various proxies ranging from criminal enterprises to legitimate corporations.  Unless they are foolish enough to overcommit their core forces on an operation and fail, I doubt we will be able to eradicate them anytime soon.  This is why I wished to start the task force preemptively in the first place.

Discussions shifted back to the establishment of the coalition base.  “I support the idea for a dedicated research and security team on site, but I fail to see why a full-fledged military installation would be necessary.”  President Abdikarim of the Central African Confederacy spoke to the room.

I saw many of the other council members nod in agreement, seeing this compromise as reasonable.  They do not seem to realize what could occur if the anomaly stabilizes.  They are only seeing the short-term risks and benefits, as expected of politicians who are more focused on getting re-elected than on the actual well-being of their nation and people.

I chose to intervene once more.  “I would agree with that logic, however, the council has ruled differently on a previous issue that has striking parallels to this one.  President Abdikarim, I believe you were the strongest proponent of placing military defenses on the Mars research outpost, were you not?”  “Yes, I was.”  “Why?”  “Well, it was because of the possibility for…”  President Abdikarim stopped in mid-sentence as he realized my point.

There was a poignant pause in the council chambers, only to be broken as Secretary Zhao said “I second the original motion proposed by Emperor Akintola and wish to carry it for a vote.”  The full-fledged coalition research and military base proposal passed 9-0, ending the emergency council session and allowing for us to all go and start organizing with our allies for this undertaking.

I sighed as the holograph projection ceased, holding back an undignified yawn as I walked over to my study after waving away the servants.  I will have to contact my daughter and let her know that she will have to let her task force be integrated into the international one once it gets up and running.  I dare say she will be cross for losing her oversight of the investigation.  Hopefully she can get additional information from the witness in Japan, ideally it will be enough to cause her to stay in the region longer than the initial timetable allotted.

A small smile crossed my face at the thought.  If Vivian needs to stay longer, she will be able to take my place in a variety of bothersome diplomatic affairs in East Asia that I would rather not deal with.  She will be exasperated with me, but she will still do it.  At least there is some good occurring from this whole affair.