Alpha One - Chris Burton [79]
Schneider paused again and then delivered his summary. He concluded that the legitimate use of sub-space weapons had achieved the desired effect, and that Alpha had the initiative to progress the battle to a satisfactory conclusion. He paused again and then opened the meeting to questions.
Then all hell broke loose, with one journalist shouting out a plethora of questions all at once. Commander Penance intervened and stated categorically that one question should be asked at a time, with only one question per journalist, with hands raised to prompt the speaker to select a questioner. “Everybody should get a chance to ask a question. Please keep your questions brief and to the point.”
Penance then selected a journalist from the front row.
“Commander Schneider. Billy Thompson. Earth Today. What makes you think that the development and use of sub-space weapons is legal?”
Schneider smiled and paused before answering. “Alpha’s legal team looked at our articles of association and our memorandum documents and determined that the factor behind what and how we conduct our R & D is based on who funds it. Since ECG had banned the development of the weapon, we sought funding elsewhere. It is not appropriate at this time to divulge who, but Alpha’s incorporation documents are there for all to see.”
Each journalist was then selected from a show of hands. In common with all media briefings they announced their name and who they represented, prior to asking their question.
“What about the use of these weapons?”
“The same thing applies. Alpha has taken our environmental responsibilities seriously and has stringent controls for the use of these weapons. Hence the reason why they have only been used once in ten years.”
“Are there other yields available? How much stronger are the maximum yield weapons?
“Yes there are other yields. It is not appropriate for Alpha to release information about weapons which have not yet been used because of the security implications.”
“Why did Alpha not advise ECH or the media that the weapons were developed and made ready for deployment?”
This was by far the most contentious issue. Schneider knew that what he was about to say would cause political uproar on Earth.
“Alpha has kept ECG updated on both the development and deployment of these weapons over the last twenty-five years. The information was deemed to be defensively sensitive and, because of the potential security threat, was not released to the public.”
Sure enough, the room erupted and Penance took over and spent a good few minutes calming the room down. He then selected one questioner and stated that this would be the last question.
“So ECG knew about these weapons right from the start. Could you not say they were funded by stealth?
Again Schneider smiled. “Yes, they were aware, and no, they had no part in the funding.”
He sat down and gathered his papers together while Penance closed the meeting. The meeting had gone as anticipated, and the media representatives would draft their articles and communicate them back to Earth via secure comm links. President Roslyn will be delighted, he thought.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The Aftermath
“Commander Schneider did well.”
“Yes he did. He has cleverly deflected the pressure from Alpha onto President Roslyn, which means that we can concentrate on our priority, winning this