Chapter 66: King

“Let’s remember who acted illegally in this situation,” I said, looking directly at the host, Larry King. Billy had orchestrated this interview largely due to Larry’s direct but non-confrontational interview style.

“Let me restate that,” he said quickly. “China has accused you of an illegal act of aggression against them. How would you characterize the events?”

“I would say that the Chinese government, or individuals illegally using the power of that government, undertook activities targeting my companies, intellectual property, and business activities. The latest attack was provable beyond a reasonable doubt that the Chinese government was actively involved in the efforts. In their attack, they crossed international boarders, took military action against a peaceful, civilian installation on Russian soil, and stole two fusion generators from the facility. They moved those generators to a Chinese research facility that was guarded by elements of the Peoples Liberation Army, presumably under the assumption that the world would not risk a confrontation with them.”

“But it wasn’t the world that responded, was it?”

I smiled for the cameras. “No.”

“Why didn’t you let the politicians work to recover your property?”

“As much as I like some of our politicians, the reality is they would be blocked so long as the Chinese government was complicit in the activities around stealing my intellectual property. Additionally, thanks to the language that is in all of my company’s generator lease agreements, I had authority to act.”

“How so?” he asked as he leaned closer to me.

“Our lease agreements are very favorable to the lessee but do come with certain obligations. One of those obligations is the need to protect the operators of the generators and the intellectual property involved in their construction, operations, and security. If these obligations are not met, I have the right to intervene.”

“Let’s come back to that intervention in a minute,” Larry said. “First, I’d like to hear a little more about these obligations, and how you are certain they apply to China.”

I nodded. “Our language clearly states that the protections of the contract apply to all generators owned or operated by my company, not just the ones within the country we have the lease with. China ignored this and attacked and seized generators in an adjacent country. This immediately put them in breach of their own lease agreement. With just that fact alone, I had several options including the cessation of all power plant operations in China. About fifteen percent of their country could have woken up with no power as soon as we learned who was involved in the theft of our property. Instead of taking that action, we gave notice to the Chinese government and gave them five days to remedy the situation. They rejected our request immediately and then endeavored to shape the political arena to suit their narrative of the events. That was when I knew we would need to take alternative action.”

It was Larry’s turn to nod. “And that action was decisive.”

I smiled. “It was. We knew we could not recover the generators, so we took alternative measures to protect the intellectual property held within them.”

“I think we’ve all seen the video you’ve posted of the raid on their facility. They are accusing you of using privately controlled weapons of mass destruction. How do you respond to that accusation?”

“I think, just as they are trying to change and manipulate the facts of their own actions, they are trying to change and manipulate the definition of a WMD,” I said.

“According to military experts, a WMD is any weapon that causes death or bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, disease organisms, or radiation. What we did near the Chinese base does not meet any part of that definition. We caused no deaths or injuries. We did not release any chemicals, biological agents, or radiation.”

“What did you do?” he asked as he leaned in closer once again.

“We dropped a hundred kilos of steel about a hundred meters outside their perimeter fence to create a distraction,” I said.

“A hundred kilos of steel?” His tone was incredulous. “It’s been reported that it was in the half-to-one kiloton range of a distraction.”

“That is an exaggeration. It was moving pretty fast when it touched down,” I said with a smile. “We could have dropped it much harder or used a much larger mass if we wanted to flatten the building that had our generators. I did not want the risk to life that such a strike might create.”

“So, you sent a team in to destroy the generators?” he asked, leading me to where I wanted to go.

“Yes. I had a small team of security contractors willing to penetrate the facility and subdue the guards so that the generators could be destroyed.”

“Contractors? Where do you find contractors like that? Military experts have said the raid was executed with a precision of some of the best special operations forces in the world.”

I shrugged. “I try to hire the best, regardless of the role we ask them to fulfill.” I didn’t see the need to mention that there were nine new millionaires in the world as a thank you for the members of the team.

“At the same time, there are reports of significant blackouts happening across the industrial zones of China and Hong Kong. That was you as well?” He asked.

“It was another distraction. We did not want them just looking at the facility we were raiding.”

“Don’t you worry that they will take action against your generators inside China now? You sort of took the gloves off, didn’t you?”

This was the one thing we wanted to make sure all of the Chinese government understood.

“I don’t think we took the gloves off,” I said. “I think we hinted at what a full response could look like if they want to escalate further. They have conducted industrial espionage efforts against me for years. They escalated to a clearly illegal act by stealing generators operating in Russia. I responded with a very limited demonstration of what we could do in response. If they are considering escalating further, I’d suggest they go look at what a kilo of steel did to some unpopulated land near their facility. If the individuals within their government continue to endorse theft and piracy over fair trade and open dialogue, I won’t hesitate to stand toe-to-toe with them.”

Larry looked at me. “I believe you,” he said before looking into the camera. “We’ll be back right after this break.”

“How do you do it all?” David Letterman asked Chrissy as I watched from the green room with Billy.

Following our PR releases of the deep-space repairs on Mars-One, Chrissy’s popularity had surged, and we were carefully managing her appearances as part of our overall China narrative. I was fortunate she had shown herself to be a real trooper as we orchestrated to keep our viewpoint in the news.

“What do you mean?” she asked with a smile. “I’m sure you work as hard as I do.”

“But I don’t do things in the orbit of Mars, or on Mars, or on the Moon, and I definitely don’t spend time as a fashion model when I get back to Earth,” Dave jibed.

“I guess I’m lucky enough to work with a great team and have incredible support from friends and family,” Chrissy said with the flash of a smile for the cameras.

“But you do a lot of hard work,” Dave said.

Chrissy leaned forward a little and I wondered if she was purposefully pushing her shoulders forward to highlight her cleavage. Her wardrobe was a tasteful navy dress, with a scoop neckline that hinted at well-formed breasts.

“I do work hard, but I’m not kidding about the teamwork needed. For the three build specialists we had on Mars, we had another twenty working on the rovers on the Moon, and a team of nearly sixty engineers here on Earth. I wasn’t the leader of the team, but I became one of the hands-on-experts and made it through the entire selection process. On this latest mission, I was chosen to be the primary person performing repairs because of all that training I had done for Mars and the work I’d done in vacuum on the Moon. But I was partnered with another astronaut up there, and we also had a back-up team with us.”

Dave nodded and pulled up a picture of Chrissy and Katiana on the side of Mars-One working on one of the engine clusters. We had covered their operation with an RPV, so had a large collection of imagery to use in our PR efforts.

“So, you and your partner spent more than four hours in space, working on these engine repairs, and this is less than two months after you were working as a model in Milan,” he flipped pictures to show Chrissy in an ad campaign she had shot for Roberto Cavalli. “You definitely get around more than most models or astronauts,” he said with his signature smile.

“It was not normal,” Chrissy admitted. “My modeling work in Milan was planned out nearly six months in advance with my agents and myself, making sure I would be on Earth for it. Then this issue with Mars-One came up while I was in training for our next Mars building project. Since I was available and experienced, I was selected for that role.”

“How do you manage modeling when you’re so busy in your other job?” Dave asked sincerely.

“You know, I almost said I was done modeling,” Chrissy said. “I mean, I am incredibly busy and staying in shape for modeling and everything that goes into that is not a small-time commitment. But I realized that I like breaking down the stereotypes of being some sort of bimbo who only looks good. I realized a while back that modeling and doing my work off-planet provides proof that women can do more than look pretty, or that smart women can’t also be beautiful. Like I said, I’ve been blessed to be given the opportunity to do both, so I kind of think I have an obligation to show that I can.”

“So, what’s next for you?” Dave asked.

“Well, the Mars-One incident has caused some problems with our schedule, so I’m not one-hundred percent certain. We were performing work-ups to build a larger hydroponics and farming section on Mars. That was to include a test build of a similar structure at Aristarchus Base before the new resort opens there. If we stick to that plan, and just adjust the schedule, I’ll probably be on the Moon within the month.”

“And this new resort, it’s going to be accessible for everyone?” Dave asked with interest.

“It might be a little expensive for everyone, but I know Paul is trying to get the economics to work so it’s comparable to an Earth-side luxury vacation. He believes that getting more people to experience what we’re building is a key goal for our overall efforts.”

Dave smiled. “He’s been in the news quite a bit lately. How does it feel to be with the man some people are calling ‘the king of the world’?”

Chrissy laughed it off. “He would be the last person to call himself that. I enjoy being with Paul, the man. When he is being all business, he’s as driven as anyone, but even then, he is always approachable and open to feedback. Everyone has seen him on the Intern shows. He really is just like how he appears.”

Billy was nodding next to me. “She nailed that,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I coached her about the ‘king’ comments cropping up. We want to reinforce that you are at best, first among equals when it comes to interactions and business. The Chinese are beginning to realize how isolated they are politically in this mess. They are behind the ‘king’ comments, so we want to immunize people to their rhetoric.”

“If I were king of the world, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I could just remove Sun and his likes from power,” I said.

“Which is what you are doing, or trying to do, if you think about it. Just because you don’t claim the title doesn’t mean you don’t have the power they are ascribing to you. It might not be divine right, but you demonstrated you have the power of the heavens behind you. We need to walk a very fine line until this gets resolved.”

I nodded and looked back at the monitor. Chrissy was laughing at something Dave had said and then they went to a break. I watched Chrissy rise and shake Dave’s hand before she headed off-stage. I was looking forward to holding her in my arms. It had been nearly a week since I had been alone with her. It was enough to make me worry about her heading back to the Moon and Mars again soon.

“But we certainly did not authorize the creation of such a weapon,” Senator Blain said as he pandered for the cameras. “You took it upon yourself to weaponize your spacecraft and use it to attack a world power!”

I reached into the satchel sitting beside my chair. Security had raised a few eyes when they saw what was inside it but passed me through the metal detector and X-ray machine regardless. I pulled out a large crescent wrench and sat it on the table before me.

“What is that, Mister Taylor?” he asked.

I lifted the wrench. “This is the weapon I used on China, Senator. We smelted down several chunks of steel into a rod with small guidance fins attached. It was the roughly one hundred wrenches in terms of mass and composition. I’d ask how you plan on monitoring every piece of equipment my crews take to orbit? I do not believe the charter concerns itself with mass delivered to orbit other than the fact that the United States of America is entitled to receive the lowest commercial rates I offer for such service.”

There was a murmur in the panel and audience attending yet another hearing.

“You’re saying you dropped a wrench on them?”

“The equivalent of a wrench, yes. Granted, sir, it was moving at a velocity of nearly seven thousand meters per second, but it was only a hunk of dumb metal.”

“It was still an attack on a sovereign nation undertaken without consensus or authorization by our government.”

“I was not aware the government was empowered to authorize military action in relation to a commercial dispute, Senator.”

He got red in the face. “Don’t mock me, sir! You know good and well we are the authority governing your charter to operate in orbit. If you refuse to follow the letter of that charter, it can be revoked!”

I smiled. “Sir, if the Senate moves to revoke the charter my company operates under, so be it. I have firm commitments from three other countries to immediately offer charters of similar or more advantageous structures to me.”

That caused more than a murmur in the gallery behind me.

The chairman of the committee rapped his gavel to restore order.

“Mr. Taylor, are you refusing to acknowledge the rights and obligations this committee has with regard to your operations?” Senator Blain asked once it was quiet again.

“No, sir. I’m simply stating that the rights and obligations you are alluding too are not actual points of fact in the charter as it exists or in the SHARE Act the charter is established under.”

This caused the other Senators on the committee to mutter.

“And just what do you think is covered in the SHARE Act?” His tone of derision was evident.

“The SHARE Act establishes the legal structure for private companies to operate with limited oversight in the upper atmosphere and near-Earth orbit. It requires the chartered company to provide guarantees of prudent safety oversight and risk management in return for representation in the event of a dispute with other international parties within the structure of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. In return for that representation, the United States is entitled recompense specified within the charter. In my company’s case, that is most-favored-nation status for lift as specified in cost per kilogram to orbit,” I said.

I took a sip of water, in case he wanted to interrupt me yet again. When he did not, I continued.

“This panel has been briefed on the actions taken against my company by either the Chinese government, or individuals receiving patronage from that government, which imperiled the safety measures this committee and the administrators of my charter have previously agreed to. When those external violations occurred, this body did nothing. Most recently, actions taken placed three lives in jeopardy of slow death in deep space, and this body did nothing. Now, in a matter unrelated to the safe operations in space, concerning a separate business operation, this panel suddenly wants to get involved in international politics and posturing? That is the authority I question, Senator.”

The chairman’s gavel was pounding before another word could be exchanged.

“Mister Taylor,” The chairman said. “We will adjourn this session until the morning,” he said abruptly. “Members of the committee will remain to discuss the scope of our review in closed-session.”

He rapped the gavel once more.

I rose and lead Candace outside to the hall.

“That went well,” she muttered as we got a little space around us.

“I thought it did,” I replied. “Our position is clear for them, now. Where’s Billy?”

I looked around the hallway, expecting Billy to be nearby with some reporters. Instead, I saw Tamara approaching.

“Billy has the press outside,” she said, anticipating my question. “It’s cold enough to keep questions short,” she added.

“How about the other release?” I asked.

“We’re set for a three-thirty delivery,” she said. Candace frowned at me. I knew she was not a fan of our planned next steps.

“Should we hold off on that until we get through the hearing tomorrow?” I asked as we started heading for the exit.

“I think you should hold off longer than that,” Candace said. “You know what this could trigger, right?”

I nodded. “We’ve debated this for almost a week. I can see your points, Candace. Based on how Blain was acting in there, I’m not sure we can wait.”

“Then give it to the FBI,” she said. “Let them bring the charges rather than you advocating for the censure or expulsion of a sitting Senator.”

“Tamara, let’s hold on those plans until we know where the committee stands,” I said.

“Okay. You had better put your coat on, there is a bitter wind out there,” she said as we paused by the doors.

Less than an hour later, we were back at the Georgetown house, much warmer and sitting in the office reviewing plans.

“Yuan Yuhan managed to contact me in the Senate Office Building,” Tamara said as she wrapped her hands around a cup of tea. “She asked that I let you know Chen is advocating for a formal apology but does not have the numbers within the party to force the issue.”

I waved her comment away. “Lila’s right. If there is not action and proof, it’s just words right now. What was she looking for?”

Tamara shook her head. “Nothing. She made the trip over to the Dixon Building and called me from outside. I ran out for five minutes to chat with her. She only seemed to want to ensure we knew Chen was still trying to support us.”

“They’re playing a future card,” Candace said. “They are assuming you may prevail and want to stay on your good side. I wouldn’t read anything into it,” she concluded.

“Okay, enough politics and intrigue for a moment. How is our overall schedule looking?”

“We lost somewhat over a month with all the inspections and re-work on the Orions,” Tamara said. “We needed three, five, and six to be delivering materials to Aristarchus, to be ready for the greenhouse build adjacent to the resort space. We can’t cram enough deliveries into the current time window to hit the planned opening before Christmas.”

I had suspected as much. “Any chance of a limited opening for New Years?” I asked.

“How limited?”

“What can we do? I’d really like to be able to have something to show Starwood.”

“About that,” Candace said. “We’re fine with them on the contract and management side, but the delay is going to stall their staff training as well.”

“How is that tied to the greenhouse project?” I asked. “They should be up there training now, or right after Thanksgiving.”

“They will be,” Tamara said. “But our original schedule had us modifying an Orion for a bulk passenger delivery. Getting them up there on the OTVs while we finish lifting build materials is the problem.”

“How long to swap configurations on the Orion?” I asked. Our plan was to use the cargo handling system in the lower deck to move palletized passenger pods into the space. We could easily take a hundred people on the short trip to the Moon.

“Two weeks, each way with safety checks,” Tamara said.

I sighed and closed my eyes, visualizing the timeline and overall plan.

“Okay, let’s pull Six out of the lift rotation and configure it for passengers to get the resort staff up there and working. Let Allen and Meagan know, and then we’ll adjust the other plans. We’ll have to keep Orion-Six in the passenger configuration. That moves Five to the primary carrier for the Mars greenhouse training with Mars-Two still designated for the actual mission, right?”

Tamara nodded and I watched her fingers dance across her tablet. “That puts Mars-Two departure in March, at the earliest, if nothing else slips.”

“Let’s make sure nothing else slips on that front. We can slow L-5 construction if we need too, but let’s get Mars Base back on track if we can.”

“You’re the boss. I guess this means Chrissy will be around for the holiday’s,” she added with a grin. “Anything special planned?”

“Senator Kim, it’s good to see you again,” I said as I shook Stanley Kim’s hand. I knew Kelly still dated the senator, even though he was from the other party. I was a little surprised to see him in the Residence for the Christmas party at the White House.

“And you, Paul. Or should I call you ‘your highness’?” He teased.

Despite our efforts to control the story in the media, some phrases took on a life of their own.

“He prefers ‘benevolent dictator’, if you have to call him something other than Paul,” Chrissy teased as she surprised Stanley with a kiss on his cheek.

“And your sister, our esteemed President, insisted that we not discuss politics in general and China in specific tonight,” he replied. “So, I promise to not raise that issue, other than thank you for finally shutting up Blain. I liked the DigiNews posting of the photos and that timeline of events showing how he began going after you after those meetings.

I laughed. After our last round of testimony before the Senate Committee, we had turned over a rather large file of photographs and surveillance tapes to the FBI where the senator featured in conversations with known Chinese agents. Having him on tape being told to target me was only the beginning. While we could not hand-over some of the evidence we had obtained, since it was of questionable provenance, we did point investigators on a path. We had also released some documents to the press. DigiNews had done a particularly damning recitation of facts.

“I understand the Senate Ethics Committee might have some interesting meetings after the new year,” Stanley concluded. He was one of the members on the committee.

“That is your job, not mine,” I replied. “Of course, I’ll be happy to cooperate in whatever manner I can.”

“Well, if we get facts like those laid out in that article, I won’t shield him, even if he’s from my party. Unbelievable what some people will do for their own advancement.”

I felt someone behind me and turned to find Kelly at our shoulder.

“That sounded a little like politics, gentlemen,” she admonished. “I don’t need any loose lips telling stories to the press about the President and the King of the World colluding over Christmas cocktails, now.”

I laughed and gave her a hug. Chrissy did the same and then we moved toward the bar to find one of the cocktails she had mentioned. After we all had a drink, I smiled as Stanley stood at Kelly’s side. They did make an attractive couple. Of course, the same could be said of Chrissy and me.

“Where are the kids?” Kelly asked, moving us away from politics for the moment.

“They’re are the house in Georgetown. Chrissy’s family is over from Switzerland as well, so they’re all catching up while we had to go to this political dinner,” I teased.

Kelly swatted my arm, just as she had when we were both younger. “You could have brought them all. It’s a party, not a political dinner. Mom and Dad are staying here and should be down in a little bit,” she added.

“I know. I talked to them this morning. We missed everyone at Thanksgiving,” I added.

Kelly nodded. “I took your advice on keeping my distance, and am glad I did, ‘oh mighty king’,” she said.

I shook my head.

“Chrissy,” Kelly said to change the conversation once again, “How long are you sticking around for? I thought you were training for Mars once again.”

Chrissy smiled at me before answering. “We had a little scheduling delay, so it looks like our mission is pushed back a bit. I told Paul he should build more Orions last year, but he did not listen to me and now my team has to pay the price.”

I looked at Stanley. “This is how I know I’m no king,” I quipped. “I get less respect than Rodney Dangerfield.”

We all laughed, and tension I had been almost unaware of left our small cluster. We continued to chat until Mom and Jim came in, then made our way over to greet them. Drinks drifted into dinner. Chrissy and I shared a small table with Kerian Stewart, who had become Kelly’s Chief of Staff and his date, a Miss Conner. After dinner and much well-wishing, we had adjourned upstairs with Kelly, Stanley, Mom, and Jim.

“Are you coming over here Christmas morning?” Mom asked. “We’ve got some gifts for the kids.”

“I don’t know. Chrissy’s family is with us in Georgetown. I don’t know if Kelly has enough beer for Bluey here,” I joked.

“Oh, behave,” Chrissy chided. “I’m sure they’d all love to come over here. How many people can say they opened Christmas prezzies at the White House?”

“Well, if you want us here, Madame President, we’ll of course come when you call,” I said with a laugh.

Mom just shook her head at me. “You might have gotten older, but I’m not sure you’ve grown up all that much,” Mom said.

“Do you have plans for New Years?” I asked, changing the subject.

Jim looked at my mother and shook his head. “No, why?”

“We’re going to a soft launch of a new resort. We’ve got room if you want to come along,” I said.

“Would that be the resort you’ve partnered with Starwood on?” Stanley asked.

I nodded. “I don’t think you and Kelly can come, however. The Secret Service would not appreciate the transportation or location, I’m sure.”

Kelly quirked an eyebrow at me.

“We’re opening the St. Regis on Aristarchus after the New Year. We’re going up there with the kids and a few folks to be pampered on the twenty-ninth,” I said.

Kelly frowned. “You’re right. I can’t do that, no matter how safe you tell everyone it is.”

I was happy to see Stanley pat her knee for comfort. I worried about Kelly being alone in office and in her life.

“I don’t know if I can make that trip,” Mom said. “Your GOT is one thing but going to the Moon is a different kind of trip.”

Chrissy shook her head. “We’re taking an Orion. We’ll leave Kenya and be landing on the Moon four hours later. An hour after that, we’ll be sipping a cocktail looking over the crater rim from the penthouse suite,” she said.

“It’s sounds like you’ve been there already,” Jim said.

Chrissy grinned. “I have, but Paul hasn’t. I went up last week with some of the staff and the Starwood media team for their print ad campaign. Since Paul delayed the Mars mission, I needed to find something to keep me busy.”

We all laughed, and then Kelly joined my efforts to get Jim and Mom to accompany us.

Two days later, we were back at the White House, this time with just the family, including Chrissy’s family. We had an early brunch before exchanging gifts. Ali was excited to have a set of POTUS sweats while Jer got a small portfolio case embossed with the Presidential seal. Mom and Jim gave the kids their traditional gifts of clothes but included the surprise of a set of lift tickets for Taos and the invitation for them to come down with them for a few days before heading to the Moon. Jane was included in that gift as well.

Chrissy and I both got professionally put together scrap books chronicling the year in photos and news clippings. There was a bit of overlap in the coverage, but Chrissy had more fashion photos while I was covered in more news articles.

Everyone looked a little surprised that there was no new jewelry on Chrissy’s hand. When the questioning looks came my way, I just smiled and looked at the diamond and pearl necklace I had given Chrissy the night before.

After the gift exchange Kelly deftly separated me from the crowd and got me in a quiet corner.

“China is in trouble, Paul. What are you going to do?”

In the month since their market crash, little had improved on the Chinese mainland. the political fallout from their failed attempt at stealing the manufacturing processes that made fusion practical continued to plague them. Countries and companies that had their own grievances around stolen intellectual property were no longer remaining quiet. Many were following our lead of embargoing sales to the regime until the theft was stopped.