—

The White House

June 13

9:00 A.M.

President Ryan Keener took a sip of his coffee, looking over some doc.u.ments regarding the new world. A meeting was underway, with the President and his Cabinet discussing the potential implications of the portal to Gaerra, and their plans for the new world moving forward.

The members of this meeting included the following:

Secretary of Agriculture Alex Perdue

Attorney General Gabriel Carr

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Samantha Gray

Secretary of Commerce Bernard Rose

Secretary of Defense Richard Lee

Secretary of Education Tyler Hernandez

Secretary of Energy Jane Ross

Administrator of the EPA Jarvis Nielsen

Secretary of Health and Human Services Grant Granger

Secretary of Homeland Security Nathaniel Fury

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Daniel Carson

Secretary of Labor Victor Reece

Secretary of State Alexander Madison

Secretary of Treasury James Hamilton

Press Secretary Lina Greene

Vice President Mike Adams

All members present were very active in the discussion of the new world. Alex Perdue was interested in the new crops and livestock that the other world had to offer; Lee, Hernandez, and Ross were interested in the mana gems; and all were excited to open up new trade channels in the new world. The abundance of resources would solve many issues present today, such as the depletion of fossil fuel supplies and the monopoly that China has over certain rare metals. Despite these treasures, the United Stars still had a glaring issue. How would foreign affairs work out in such a situation? Every country in the world would want access to the riches beyond the portal, and the United States would not be able to keep it a secret forever.

"Eventually, we will have information leaks." Madison flipped to the next slide in the presentation. Gesturing, he emphasized, "We need to release information before September at the latest. What you see here are plans to 'raid' Area 51 this September. With the event known to millions, at least some will come and we absolutely cannot risk any conflict with civilians. Even beside this, we still have the issue of spy satellites catching a glimpse of the dome around the portal, and there is even a possibility of our own soldiers saying a bit too much!" As the Secretary of State, it was Alexander Madison's job to manage relations between the United States and other countries, essentially acting as the chief foreign affairs advisor. If the U.S. kept the portal a secret and other nations found out on their own, then relations between those countries would deteriorate. Even U.S. allies would begin to lose trust.

"Yes, I agree with Alexander's worries," voiced Vice President Adams. "We need to carefully coordinate our press releases. There is also the issue of Congress. Though not official, our war against the n.o.bians would require oversight from Congress. If we were to continue our efforts and perhaps even secure land or economic rights in Gaerra, Congress would need to know about the details."

"Well, good thing there ain't any laws about portals and aliens from the UN!" Attorney General Carr added.

The President pondered the situation for a bit. "Alexander and Mike both have very good points, and I am supposing that nations like Russia and China would be the most outspoken against our endeavors. Especially China, seeing that we've got access to resources and cheap labor on the other side. Let me think… We can release some basic information about the portal for now. We can have Lina and her team handle all the details."

"Right. So we want to release things like the data about the planet, the presence of a habitable atmosphere, and some properties about the portal?" Lina asked.

The President agreed, alongside other members of the cabinet.

"Should we mention anything about sentient life? Or magic?"

This was certainly a tough question. Everyone present in the meeting looked at each other while President Keener placed his hand on his chin, in deep thought. The world would find out eventually, but would it be wise to give out such information now? UN member nations might see this as a reason to let them in, wanting to demonstrate a united front when greeting these aliens. However, putting the focus on aliens rather than on the gold mine of resources that the United States has access to would grant more time for the U.S. to solidify its position on the other side of the portal. In order to mitigate the first worry of UN member nations, the U.S. can try to appease some of them, particularly those allied with the United States, in order to bring them closer to its sphere of influence.

"How about this, we can come clean to our allies about this, and tell them about the resources we have access to and the presence of sentient life on the planet. Our official announcement will just have basic details, but talks with our allies will occur behind the scenes. We will give them some deals; we can grant access to scientific teams and in the future, companies and trade rights, in exchange for some economic concessions." President Keener looked to his left, seeing Secretary of Commerce Bernard Rose nodding his head.

Bernard agreed, expanding on President Keener's idea. "We can ask our allies to bring tariffs down to our level. This has been an issue for a while now, with some of our European allies having unequal vehicle tariffs, which defeats the premise of free trade."

"Bringing our allies and some neutral countries closer will be excellent, especially considering some are already falling for Chinese influences. Of course, we would also have to present offers to our adversaries, Russia and China. It may even be possible to bring Russia into Western influences, if we present the right deal. I'm sure they'd prefer access to a whole new world full of wealth rather than invading Eastern European countries," Madison added.

"Okay, sounds good folks. I can already see my approval rate skyrocketing, haha." Everyone laughed or smirked. "If no one has anything else to add, then this meeting is hereby dismissed." As everyone got up from their chairs, President Keener suddenly put his hand up. "Hold on. Alex, Grant, see what you guys can do about getting new livestock and crops into our farms. Make sure they're clear of any unknown diseases and parasites." Upon receiving these orders, the two men nodded and exited the room. "Bernard and Daniel, stay here please. Samantha, Richard, and Alexander, we will talk later about our newly acquired intel on the n.o.bian political situation."

The room was vacated except for the President himself, the Vice President, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The President wanted to discuss with them about the new economic options available to them. President Keener then clicked a b.u.t.ton on a remote, activating a screen which displayed the figure of Amba.s.sador Perry. With regards to Perry's connection, it was just fine as he was transferred to Area 51 for this conference call. The scientists were still working on wireless communication through the portal.

"Alright. Can everyone see and hear me?" Perry asked.

"Loud and clear," Mike confirmed.

"Alright. Now let's get down to business. We want to establish a town near the base for the purpose of cultural exchanges. I hear the PX is already set up?" Keener asked.

"It is, Mr. President. Some local merchants have already begun submitting orders for various merchandise. In particular, they seem to like our snack items, stationery, cleaning supplies, and cookware." Rose answered. He then stopped to look at a doc.u.ment on his desk, before continuing. "We have also had reports of some locals wanting to set up shop, but we had to turn them away for now. We informed them that we are currently busy with construction, and they are free to lease when construction is finished."

"Excellent. Daniel, you still okay with the current residential plans?"

"Indeed I am, Mr. President. I'm thinking about part.i.tioning a section of our territory in order to allow locals to build their own community; there may be a case of extreme culture shock if they were to fully integrate with modern infrastructure and communities. I'm willing to bet almost all of them have never seen a shower before!"

"Hmm, that is right. I'll let you sort out the details of this part.i.tion, but we also should leave some room in our own residential areas to accommodate any natives who wish to live with modern amenities. We may also want some learning centers to help natives learn about our customs, and perhaps also vice versa."

"Will do, Mr. President. Also, I've already contacted some major corporations regarding the new world. We can accommodate a lot of their stores, but I'll have to confirm with Bernard once the mall and department stores are finished."

"Okay. Finalize those reports and get back to me. Perry, about the n.o.bian prince, when will you be available?"

"I have to relay a message to King Selios and handle n.o.bian negotiations, but I should be free around this time tomorrow."

"Excellent. I'll set up the meeting with the others. Oh, and try to schedule a tour for the Sonarans. I hear that they want to visit the United States before formalizing our deals. We haven't yet released information about sentient aliens to the public yet, so hold off on the tour until at least July. Maybe an Independence Day tour would be fun?"

"Right away, Mr. President."

The group continued to discuss economic and residential matters regarding Gaerra, hoping to develop plans to secure exclusive economic rights on the other side of the portal before opening it up to America's allies.

US Emba.s.sy, Sonaris

Month 6, Day 13

Foreign Affairs Advisor Leah Sindis was reading a book from her office in the American Emba.s.sy. The book was one that caught her eye as she inspected the shelves; it was a history of World War 1. At first, she was skeptical since global wars were on such a ma.s.sive scale that they couldn't possibly be carried out, with the exception of the war against the Axon Empire. As she continued to read, she realized that it wasn't truly a global war that spanned all nations; it was just a war between the most powerful of nations. Still, this did not take away from the shock as she saw the death toll, at almost 20 million. Half were military personnel and the other half were civilians. Civilians? She remembered that word from her conversation with Perry earlier; he described the word to her as non-combatant villagers.

10 million innocent people perished in this war. Sindis wondered what that would be like for her own people. Her country's entire population would be wiped out in such a conflict. Well, it was a good thing she secured a military alliance with Perry.

Suddenly, the phone in her office rang, startling her. Remembering her training from Perry, she picked up the phone and answered the call.

"h.e.l.lo, Foreign Affairs Advisor Sindis speaking."

"Miss Sindis, I have an urgent message that you must relay to King Selios." Perry then described details regarding a possible coup against the n.o.bian emperor and n.o.bian plans in the South Grenden Plains.

Sindis sighed. She was glad that there was a possibility of ending the war, but upset at the news of a potential attack in the South Grenden Plains. This area was home to the Ovine Mountains, where the Sonaran Federation mined most of their mithril ores. Without these resources, the Sonaran forges would collapse and their economy would crumble. Additionally, their Sonaran troops would need to rely on older weapons and gear with questionable durability, creating a major disadvantage for their war efforts.

Hopefully, the Americans would come to their aid once more, although it wouldn't be likely. Sindis reasoned that the Americans a.s.sisted in the defense of Sofius because they had personnel there, and thus needed to secure an extraction for them. Fort Sogath, on the other hand, has no Americans that require saving, and therefore has no reason to receive American aid.

"Thank you for letting me know, Amba.s.sador. I will relay this information to His Highness."

"Okay. That's all I called for. Have—"

Sindis interrupted Perry before he could end the call, suddenly having an idea. "Wait, sorry. Is it possible for you to a.s.sist us in our defense of the South Grenden Plains? We need the Ovine mountains for mithril ore, and most of the ore from our trade deal will come from this area," Sindis explained, hoping an economic incentive would be sufficient to necessitate military aid.

"Ah, don't worry about that. As per our mutual defense treaty, we are obligated to help defend your country, should your people be attacked."

Sindis sighed, relieved that the Americans would be so generous as to undertake such a responsibility. In her world, such alliances were rare, as kingdoms generally practiced isolationist policies, preferring not to get involved with the disputes of others. For the alliances that did exist though, allies would usually remain as neutral as possible, sending only equipment and supplies, unless the enemy was a mutual one. The Americans, from what she has gathered, don't see the n.o.bians as an enemy, but rather a misunderstood force, considering that they were attacked because of similarities between the national flags of the United States and the Sonaran Federation.

"Thank you, Amba.s.sador. We are in your debt," Sindis expressed with great grat.i.tude.

"Haha don't sweat it."

"Don't sweat it?"

"Ah it's one of the many phrases in our culture. Essentially it means don't worry about it. Well, I've gotta go now. Have a good day Miss Sindis."

Sindis said goodbye and the call ended. 'What an interesting man,' she thought, smiling. Remembering Perry's message, she quickly used her magical communication device to inform King Selios.

—

Fort Was.h.i.+ngton

General Harding had just finished giving his report to the President, and was now relaxing in his office, enjoying his coffee. He sorted through some reports given by the scientists and engineers of the base. Apparently, they had just finished setting up three satellites. There was a lot of math in the report so he just skimmed past a lot of those sections, and went straight to the summaries and conclusions.

"Hmm, what's this? 'Preliminary a.n.a.lysis of planetary properties, conducted before satellite launches, revealed the diameter of Type M planet Gaerra to be approximately 11,200 miles, about 1.4 times the diameter of Earth. Despite this larger size, no differences in gravity were detected; gravitational acceleration on this world is more or less equal to that of Earth, at 9.81 meters per second squared. The surface area of this planet is over double that of Earth.' What the f.u.c.k? None of this makes sense… I took enough physics back in high school and West Point to know this s.h.i.+t doesn't make any sense at all…" Harding thought aloud. He read further into the report, reaching some conclusions about these findings. Because of the difference in size, this planet would have a different curvature and thus the programming of missiles would have to be adjusted, if they were to encounter any civilizations with radar capabilities. The satellites would also need additional partners, in order to cover the vast surface area this world had to offer.

The satellite data noted in this report included pictures of the land ma.s.ses and a hastily developed, but extremely accurate compared to medieval cartography techniques, map of the world. The Central Continents were displayed clearly, and covered about the same area as the continents of Earth. The poles were ma.s.sive, with icy regions that were at least twice the size of Antarctica. On the other side of the world, several more continents were discovered, separated by a vast ocean whose size dwarfed the Pacific Ocean back on Earth. Interesting. The diplomatic teams may want to use this data for cultural exchanges.

He then set aside the scientific reports and viewed the reconnaissance pictures taken by the satellites. n.o.bian troops were beginning to conglomerate around the Avian River, which separates the North and South Grenden Plains. Their base of operations was a fortress known as Fort Nox, causing General Harding to smile, amused at the coincidence. Fort Nox is about 200 miles away from Fort Soonil, which guarded the pa.s.sageways into the Ovine Mountains. Factoring the primitive modes of transportation that the n.o.bians have available to them, he surmised that it would take three weeks for them to reach their objective. It might take two if the n.o.bians did not bring any artillery pieces, but seeing that their objective was a fortress, it would be suicidal to attack without artillery. With lumbering artillery that the n.o.bians have to haul, they could probably travel about 8 to 10 miles a day. In short, he and the Sonarans have ample time to prepare.

Harding didn't want to ma.s.sacre the enemy soldiers; they were humans too and many were probably in the army just to feed their families. He did not want a repeat of the Battle of Fort Was.h.i.+ngton, but if it came to it, he would prefer the obliteration of the n.o.bians rather than the loss of even a single American soldier. As such, he wanted to wait until the n.o.bians were far along into their march before acting. He planned to send airborne units to take key forts and industrial centers, in order to take advantage of the enemy's concentration of forces. By taking these locations, Perry would have a significant bargaining chip during his negotiations with the n.o.bian Emperor. If his negotiations failed, then Harding would need to coordinate a rescue operation for the prince and help Tempos stage a coup. With these thoughts in mind, he began drafting plans and making calls to the Pentagon.