Dark Fate, Book 20 Prologue

Prologue – Trade Chat

(North American System Information Exchange Forum, formerly Community Building and Civil Defense Chat)

abby_gail, bento, RainyDayze, GringottsGoblin, DoritoMan, D.VaLuvr69, Carion, RadicalEdward, FusionGal, NotACop, Scholar, RamblingWreck, Anonymous4, Anonymous6, RedShift, SevenNationArmy, DarkLord, BagOTrix, White_Queen, Faraday, BackpageGal, FullServiceMassage, daytrader, LinaLuv, Skippy, shadow_clone23, THE_MERCHANT, jenny8675309, Rabbit, Angelus and Tracker are in the chat.

Rabbit: So, there I was, flat on my back, looking up at this ugly-ass troll as I try to pry his foot off my chest, when the rogue goes and stabs him in the dick with a flaming sword!

D.VaLuvr69: Some people pay to have others step on them, you know.

NotACop: I really did not need the image of some girl with daddy issues getting into a BDSM thing with a troll in my head, Luvr. I hope you lose every game you play for the next month.

D.VaLuvr69: HEY! There’s no call for that!

BagOTrix: Dunno, I think he’s letting you off easy on that curse.

abby_gail: You should see some of the ‘artwork’ of trolls on the internet. Someone took a female troll, and dressed them up like that big vampire lady from that horror game a few years back, that everyone was all ‘dommy mommy’ over. Then someone else took the same idea, and did the futa version.

NotACop: I am far too sober for this conversation.

RadicalEdward: Well, it could be worse. I got home early from work the other day, and my oldest daughter wasn’t expecting anyone home for a few hours. I walked in on my little girl doing the domme routine on her boyfriend in the living room.

RedShift: Oof. Talk about awkward conversations.

RadicalEdward: Yes, especially since I still have the collar her father gave me, even though he died during the activation.

bento: All right, before this conversation goes into literotica territory, is there something else we can talk about? ANYTHING else?

DoritoMan: Well, the new big shot from North Korea went and did an official state visit to Ceres. What’s her title, anyways?

Scholar: There are several, but when talking about her role as head of state, President or Chairman is appropriate. And yes, use Chairman, instead of Chairwoman, even though she’s a woman.

RainyDayze: Huh. Weird that North Korea is the first country to make a state visit to Ceres.

Scholar: Not really. Ceres has been making a concerted push to help modernize North Korea’s economy and military, according to the reports I’ve seen. Since they aren’t a party to any organizations that have sanctions or treaties regarding the country, they can trade freely, after all.

Carion: Yeah, I heard someone talking about that, the other day. They said if it was a corporate thing, then it would look like the prep work for a potential merger or hostile takeover.

DarkLord: Nothing so droll, I assure you. I simply saw an opportunity to cement the reputation of my kingdom and establish a friendly bond with a country that has been regarded as an outlier for generations. Respect is valuable currency to someone who receives little of it.

GringottsGoblin: You know, I’ve been looking at the North Korean markets. The government is planning something. There’s been a big shift in their production, recently.

RamblingWreck: What kind of shift?

GringottsGoblin: Well, if they weren’t supposedly pushing for an official end to the Korean War, rather than the armistice that’s been going on for longer than I’ve been alive, I’d say they were prepping for war.

Scholar: That, or some kind of major development project.

Anonymous4: According to my sources, they’re planning some kind of colony project.

Carion: Colony? Where? Like, some kind of underwater city?

Anonymous4: No, not underwater. Too many dangers. My source said they were shooting for the moon.

Scholar: Literally, or figuratively?

Anonymous4: Dunno. Could be either. Maybe both. They didn’t have all the details, just that they were working on gathering volunteers for the project.

bento: Wait, this just in! The North Korean government just put out a statement. They’re about to launch a lunar colony!

Scholar: What? Really?

DarkLord: Yes, really. The intended colony site is Gagarin Crater, on the dark side of the moon. The Kingdom of Ceres is leasing specialty equipment to the North Korean government to help with this project. It will also serve as a nice base for the squadron of X-pattern Hunters they purchased.

Carion: Why give them a lunar colony, instead of making one yourself?

DarkLord: Because I already said that Ceres would leave the territory inside the asteroid belt to the nations of Earth, and I’m intending to hold to that, unless someone declares war on Ceres. And, in the process, I have a friendly country in space with me, who can help keep an eye on things.

bento: But isn’t there a treaty against putting military forces on the moon?

DarkLord: I believe you’ll find that the DPRK also just announced their withdrawal from the Outer Space Treaty, citing the changing demands of a post-System world, and the need to defend themselves against threats like the Incux.

Scholar: This is going to change everything.

DarkLord: Not really. The only reason no one pushed for dissolving the treaty before now was that it was too expensive to have functioning military bases or colonies on the moon, or in space. The System, and everything that came with it, meant that kind of thinking was obsolete. Much like many of the wars and rivalries that continue to keep Earth from getting its shit together.

RedShift: Says the person who skipped off to make his own space kingdom.

DarkLord: And, by doing so, gave the world a chance to actually pull together, instead of getting overrun and enslaved by pirates. Remember, I lived through all this before. Everything fell apart. The only reason the current countries aren’t in pieces is because of the changes made this time around.

D.VaLuvr69: So, other than helping the North Koreans jump over everyone and start a new space race, what is the plan?

DarkLord: Ideally, the UN would cease being useless, or people at least pretend to get along, instead of the relentless backstabbing. Which is what I intend to talk about when I go speak to them.

White_Queen: What.

DarkLord: Oh, yes, did I mention that North Korea invited me to use some of their time during the UN General Assembly next month to speak to the UN as a whole?

Rabbit: This is gonna be bad, isn’t it?