3054...
Who benefits? a careful, measured use of leverage and you can uncover a rotting carcass crawling with scavengers and parasites.
Elizabeth's efforts involved a liberal amount of second-hand equipment refurbished by her family's firm, being used to produce more of that same equipment initially. Ngo industries had built their reputation by repairing salvaged equipment, very little of the firm's actual inventory in 3049 had been new product, but decades of making spares for existing machines meant that in 3053, putting together the basic tooling for a huge range of military products was...well...cheap.
too cheap.
This was more evidence of sabotage. she carefully documented her suspicions, as the new industrial zones on Kowloon were brought on-line.
it wasn't just the prices. it was time, as well.
"Artificial Scarcity." she muttered. the evidence was literally all over the financial books now. There were a few compromises she had to make-systems even her firm hadn't been contracted to repair before, more hands put to work in factories-but the costs were lower, and with gages and measurement tools and a good Quality Assurance program, this was less of a problem than should have been.
'should have' being the operative terms. Everything in the literature and journals insisted that what was happening on Kowloon this year, was a physical impossibility.
Kowloon was racing ahead. Domestically, the economy was growing at eleven and a half percent, up from three percent last year. "Why hasn't anyone done this before?" she muttered, going through the figures.
The loans were being paid off, and tax revenue was expanding fast enough that banks were elevating interest rates to keep pace and keep the currency supply locally stable.
Unemployment was dropping, as spin-off industries were already forming from the edges of the military industrial complex she'd poured rocket fuel into, public aid payments were also plunging.
Elizabeth made note to increase education spending to keep the higher wage jobs local, endowments from the interest payments from the leveraged loans she used to apply that rocket fuel going straight into printing up textbooks and manuals, hiring teachers and trainers, and expanding the education system throughout the Kowloon system.
Normally, such moves would be dangerous. Increasing educational infrastructure spending was often at the expense of defense and public order funds, and this really wasn't any different-except that there was more money available than her best projections had suggested two years ago.
CMW, Defiance, GDE, Nashan...the customer list for Ngo Industries was distinguished, and most of them were willing to arrange licensing and subcontracting agreements with little producers on Kowlooon-expecting chump-change and a little good free publicity, mostly, and discounts on the corporate maintenance and expansion plans they already had.
They weren't getting chump-change now, though.
No, indeed they weren't getting a few phennigs on the Kroner.
"Can we sustain this?" she muttered. "I don't see why we can't."
Her reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door of her work-space.
Elizabeth pulled her mind into her body, and answered.
"Liz, we need to talk." Patrick said.
"you've got the bad-news expression." Elizabeth said, "and I smell alcohol."
"yeah. Henry." he said.
"what?"
"Henry apparently survived when the Clanners took Blackjack, Liz...our brother...He joined the Clanners." He handed her the intelligence report.
she took the report, and opened it, reading as she walked into what used to be Grandfather's living room.
she fell into a couch without clearing away the butcher-paper and printouts.
"He's alive?" she asked.
"It would seem so."
she closed the file. "We need to bring him home, Pat, bring him home and get him deprogrammed from that cult."
"That's not all the bad news, Lizzie, we might not have to go far to get him." Patrick dropped into the only clear chair in the room. "The unit he's part of? LIC thinks they're heading for either here, or Coventry."
"We're not ready yet." she said, "we're just...we're not ready."
"We need to get ready. wrack your brain, give me a plan, little sister."
"Everything we've got then." Elizabeth said, "everything Li's got squirrelled away, every trick and tactic we can come up with, that's what we're going to need. How long does LIC think we have?"
"Two years?" he said doubtfully, "if it's going to be here, we might be able to mount our own defense, but I can't put together an expeditionary force if it's Coventry-we don't have the men."
"Work to be done, then." Elizabeth sighed sadly. "Work to be done...and if they bring our brother home, aw god..."
"one thing at a time." He said, "but you're taking this better than I thought."
"The Kells, Pat." she said, "Their boy Phelan's been indoctrinated into this Clan Cult too. I never imagined I'd have to even think about being in Morgan Kell's position, having to face a family member across a battlefield."
"you won't be."
"Won't I?" she asked, "I might not be carrying a gun, but he's my brother, and he's in with my people's enemies, same as you...only I won't have to pull that trigger, and maybe that makes it worse."
"What are you contemplating?"
"Remember Li's 'historical renovation' project, the ballistic missile submarine?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's almost finished."
"Make sure it can actually fire ballistic missiles." Elizabeth said, "and I need to start a survey for nuclear reactors capable of breeding Plutonium-we're not going to play their game, Pat. We can't afford it without a fleet of our own in space..." she dug through a pile of papers and came up with a thumb-drive, "Project orders, we're going into the capital missile business-only while we're selling conventional arms to the AFFC, we're giong to be buildng nuclear tipped weapons for here at home, everything we need including contractor numbers is on this stick...and tell Li I want a commission, if someone is going to be launching nukes, it should be the person who designed and ordered them-tell her to arrange for my qualification course."
"Elizabeth, you're-"
"I'm exempt from the Draft and can't serve in an AFFC military formation, there is nothing in the law that says I can't serve in a paramilitary organization under civil control. Legally, the Coast Guard is a civil agency, not a deployable military formation, i can do this, Pat. Best case scenario is I get to ride around in a submarine for one weekend a month and two weeks a year. worst case, who would you rather have with those keys, a stranger or your sister?"
"emotional blackmail, Liz...but fine. I'll send Li to talk you out of this, and in the meantime..." he accepted the stic, "I'll put this in motion."
