Book 4: Chapter 9: A Declaration of War
Will
July 2334
UFS Council Session
I was touring one of the new experimental open-air towns on Valhalla when I got a message on my heads-up. The UFS had just called an emergency session. That would have been significant news at any time, but right now with the Starfleet issue, it almost certainly meant trouble.
The bios would take time to get to communicators, so I didn’t feel the need to seat my manny on the nearest surface and leave it. Instead, I turned up the horses and sprinted to a green space where I could find a bench to plant my butt on.
Within minutes, the manny was seated in an Adirondack chair and I was in virt, waiting for the session to start. While I waited, I read the prepared statement from the Pangean Council.
At 8:30 yesterday, standard time, the Pangea Navy engaged with devices controlled by a faction of the Bobiverse commonly referred to disparagingly as Starfleet. These devices were illegally cordoning our communications station, with a stated intent of using it as a bargaining chip for extortion against our government. Our forces carried the battle, but the enemy, possibly in a fit of pique, destroyed the hostaged systems.
In addition, our attempts to recover control of the Pangea system autofactories were met with the same response.
We are now in the precarious situation of having lost half our manufacturing capability and virtually all our communications with the rest of the UFS. There is no acceptable justification for these actions. Accordingly, the Pangean Council has declared war against the group known as Starfleet. To the extent possible, all Starfleet assets will be identified and confiscated. Commerce or communication with Starfleet operatives by Pangea citizens will be considered illegal and will be punishable under the War Measures Act.