“I believe you should move ahead with the recruitment of your pilots and crew. You’ll want to have them trained and available before you launch. I’ll be happy to discuss it with your new marketing director when we hire ‘em, but I think you should launch several new routes at the same time as you announce your new airline. Create a large media splash.”
“Should we alert the existing airlines?” Samantha asked. “This is really going to hit their bottom lines.”
“They should be tracking the certification progress,” Jonas said. “I’m sure they know it’s coming.”
“Speaking of that, Fred, I neglected to ask about the progress of the certification,” Marc said.
“We’re tracking for an October certification,” Fred said. “But, there are some machinations to push that out beyond Christmas.”
“I could live with that,” Marc said. “I’m not sure we want to start up an airline in the middle of the holiday travel season.”
“You are too nice a man,” Jonas said.
“Cautious,” Marc corrected. “Anything else?”
“I will let the report speak for itself,” Jonas said.
“While we’re on the subject of planes, Catie informs me that her new cargo ship should be ready by October, barring a major setback.”
“That will free up pilots as well as Oryxes for other uses,” Blake said.
“On that subject. I’ve formally communicated to the Paraxeans that we’ve dedicated the first planet to them. I’ve also just heard that they’ve decided to name it Mangkatar, which means something like ‘new home’ in Paraxean.”
“So, what’s their timeline?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“Liz is on her way to their asteroid in the Sakira to bring some colonists back. That should allow them to complete their planning and stage their colonization. Both they and we will need to make the first mission using the Sakira. Hopefully after that we’ll be able to follow up with one of our space carriers. We’re planning to convert the Victory, and they’re planning to convert the Galileo to accommodate twenty- to thirty-thousand colonists. Catie is designing the jump ships, and once we’ve established a base settlement on each planet, the ships should be ready and able to take care of sending the space carriers to it. Catie is asking for a few more months before we try and move something as big as the asteroid.”
“I would think so,” the admiral said.
“I believe our new Academy and our new University are slated to begin holding regular classes starting in late August,” Marc said. “Are there any problems?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Blake said. “Fred and I have handed off the management of the construction to the prime minister’s new director of public works.”
“Okay, then I’ll wait to hear from her. Kal, how is recruitment going?”
“We have eight hundred finishing up their training in Guatemala. We’re going to scale back for three weeks while the Academy puts their cadets through it. Then we’ll ramp back up. We have a full class here in Delphi City; they should finish about the time the cadets are coming home,” Kal said.
“That’s an impressive start.”
“I need to know how many you plan to take with you to Artemis and how many, if any, you plan to send to Mangkatar.”
“I’ll be asking you for those numbers,” Marc said. “We need a few for the first mission in the Sakira, but you’ll need to plan on staffing both space carriers, assuming one flight wing each. Also, for Artemis, we’ll need a ground force to protect and police the colonists.”
“I’ll work on numbers for you. Blake, are you going to do the pilots?”
“I will,” Blake said.
“Thank you,” Marc said. “While we’re on the subject of colonies, Sam, how are our would-be colonists doing?”
“They’re doing fine. We’re still training and cross-training. They’re actually getting into shape. So no problems.”
“Still having fun?”
“Yes, especially with the kids.”
“How about our international situation? Sam, I know you’re not the foreign secretary anymore, but I’m hoping you can still help me keep tabs on the international issues.”
“Might I recommend that you make her your National Security Adviser; that would give her a formal role and allow clear lines of communication,” Admiral Michaels suggested.
Marc looked at Samantha.
“That works for me,” she said. “I like keeping my fingers in the pie, but I’d like to avoid all the work so I can focus on Artemis.”
“Good, then you are officially appointed,” Marc said. “What can you tell us?”
“First, I think you should hear ADI’s report on the Russian manufacturing.”
“ADI?”
“Thank you, Sam,” ADI purred. “I’m happy to report that the Russian companies have completed their designs, which incorporate the mini fusion reactors into their ships and locomotives. They and I are very happy to see very strong orders for both. They have already increased hiring, and that is adding a boost to those local communities.”
“That is excellent news,” Marc said. “I’m still worried about the stability of the Russian government.”
“Things have progressed well on that front. The president and the government seem to have weathered the storm caused by the release of those documents.” Samantha referred to the leak of documents showing the pilfering of the Russian treasury by several major government figures as well as some of their newer billionaires.
“The economic news that ADI reported is helping them establish a stronger link to the communities. We’re still hearing pleas from separatist factions, but Margaret is telling them to work with the government,” Samantha said. Margaret had served as Delphi’s Ambassador to the U.N. and was now the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Okay, so treading water on that front,” Marc said.
“I think that’s an apt analogy,” Samantha said. “They are now pushing for us to allocate them space on Delphi Station.”
“We promised to allocate lab space,” Marc said. “Their people will have to move into whatever cabins are open. I do not want to create separate enclaves on the station.”
“I understand, but you do realize that it will happen anyway.”
“To some extent, but if they’re spread out among the other residents, I hope it will help to integrate them
