Brussels, Belgium, Outside Preventer Headquarters
"I'm sure we can work some sort of reasonable compromise between yourself and the Warfields," Preventer Chief Une told the balding, mustachioed man next to her as they walked to the parking lot.
"I have the utmost confidence you will, Ms. Une," he replied. "I just hope that this will be resolved soon."
"As do I, Mr. Sulamaya." They were now at the gate of the lot.
Orl Sulamaya gave her a cordial smile. "Until we meet again, Counselor." He turned and made his way to his car.
Lady Une watched the man as he got in his car and sped away. She gripped the railing in front of her and leaned on it. Heaving a great sigh, she mentally reviewed the whole situation in her head. Ever since the start of the Mars Terraforming Project, the idea for creating new colonies had been tossed around. All current space colonies were stationed around special points around the sun in geosynchronous orbit called Lagrange points. The Italian-French mathematician Josef Lagrange discovered five special points in the vicinity of two orbiting masses where a third, smaller mass can orbit at a fixed distance from the larger masses. More precisely, the Lagrange Points mark positions where the gravitational pull of the two large masses precisely cancels the centripetal acceleration required to rotate with them, thus allowing the construction of artificial satellites or space colonies around them. In Earth's orbit, there are five Lagrange points. With the advent of the Mars Terraforming Project, Lagrange points around Mars had been the subject of heated debate as to the construction of space colonies around them. And whenever there was something like this, there were bound to be conflicts of some sort. The Warfields, an industrial combine, and the Sulamaya Construction and Industry Corporation were competing for operating rights and construction priority. The economy would get a huge boost if either company received the rights, so the Earth Sphere Unified Nation called in the Preventers to arbitrate the hearings. As if her job weren't already hectic enough...
Tucking a loose strand of chestnut-brown hair behind her ear, Lady Une casually walked to her car. Looking up at the sky, she smiled wistfully as she recalled her former superior's memory. Mr. Treize, you would know how to handle this, she thought to the sky. Pausing at the door of her vehicle, she remembered the one thing her beloved employer had left her. Ever since the end of the Mariemaia Uprising, Lady Une had taken in the girl as her own daughter. It was the least she could do to honor Treize's memory. She had grown to adore the inquisitive and outspoken little girl, nurturing her spirit and naturally independent nature. Recent events with the Lagrange point situation had forced her to place Mariemaia under the care of one of her agents. Mariemaia had taken to Aeron Mackenzie rather quickly, as the two became fast friends. The girl accompanied the Preventer everywhere. Lady Une had sent the two of them to the L3 colony cluster to retrieve Trowa Barton and Catherine Bloom. She needed the both of them to assist her with the negotiations, because Orl Sulamaya had specifically requested so. As to why, she had no idea, but if she was to finish this deal, she needed to do it as expediently as possible.
Opening the door to her car, she quickly shut it again. She had forgotten the paperwork in her office. As she started to walk back to the building, she heard a loud click emanate from her car. She didn't even get a chance to look around when the vehicle exploded in a huge fireball, throwing her forcefully into another car. As she slammed into the car, she heard something crack and then felt a sharp, shooting pain all over her body. Then her head hit the pavement and Lady Une felt no more as the world went black.
"I'm sure we can work some sort of reasonable compromise between yourself and the Warfields," Preventer Chief Une told the balding, mustachioed man next to her as they walked to the parking lot.
"I have the utmost confidence you will, Ms. Une," he replied. "I just hope that this will be resolved soon."
"As do I, Mr. Sulamaya." They were now at the gate of the lot.
Orl Sulamaya gave her a cordial smile. "Until we meet again, Counselor." He turned and made his way to his car.
Lady Une watched the man as he got in his car and sped away. She gripped the railing in front of her and leaned on it. Heaving a great sigh, she mentally reviewed the whole situation in her head. Ever since the start of the Mars Terraforming Project, the idea for creating new colonies had been tossed around. All current space colonies were stationed around special points around the sun in geosynchronous orbit called Lagrange points. The Italian-French mathematician Josef Lagrange discovered five special points in the vicinity of two orbiting masses where a third, smaller mass can orbit at a fixed distance from the larger masses. More precisely, the Lagrange Points mark positions where the gravitational pull of the two large masses precisely cancels the centripetal acceleration required to rotate with them, thus allowing the construction of artificial satellites or space colonies around them. In Earth's orbit, there are five Lagrange points. With the advent of the Mars Terraforming Project, Lagrange points around Mars had been the subject of heated debate as to the construction of space colonies around them. And whenever there was something like this, there were bound to be conflicts of some sort. The Warfields, an industrial combine, and the Sulamaya Construction and Industry Corporation were competing for operating rights and construction priority. The economy would get a huge boost if either company received the rights, so the Earth Sphere Unified Nation called in the Preventers to arbitrate the hearings. As if her job weren't already hectic enough...
Tucking a loose strand of chestnut-brown hair behind her ear, Lady Une casually walked to her car. Looking up at the sky, she smiled wistfully as she recalled her former superior's memory. Mr. Treize, you would know how to handle this, she thought to the sky. Pausing at the door of her vehicle, she remembered the one thing her beloved employer had left her. Ever since the end of the Mariemaia Uprising, Lady Une had taken in the girl as her own daughter. It was the least she could do to honor Treize's memory. She had grown to adore the inquisitive and outspoken little girl, nurturing her spirit and naturally independent nature. Recent events with the Lagrange point situation had forced her to place Mariemaia under the care of one of her agents. Mariemaia had taken to Aeron Mackenzie rather quickly, as the two became fast friends. The girl accompanied the Preventer everywhere. Lady Une had sent the two of them to the L3 colony cluster to retrieve Trowa Barton and Catherine Bloom. She needed the both of them to assist her with the negotiations, because Orl Sulamaya had specifically requested so. As to why, she had no idea, but if she was to finish this deal, she needed to do it as expediently as possible.
Opening the door to her car, she quickly shut it again. She had forgotten the paperwork in her office. As she started to walk back to the building, she heard a loud click emanate from her car. She didn't even get a chance to look around when the vehicle exploded in a huge fireball, throwing her forcefully into another car. As she slammed into the car, she heard something crack and then felt a sharp, shooting pain all over her body. Then her head hit the pavement and Lady Une felt no more as the world went black.