Cooperation

"Jones!

You need to get moving out of here.

NOW!!"

Shouted a man from the bridge deck of the cargo ship as it reached their destination at new port.

The man who shouted through the communication line, happened to be the Captain of the cargo ship that was transporting fuels and freight containers.

Jones was Esmond's tamed Kraken, who was helping speed up the movement of cargo ships around the world that the Space controlled.

After deciding to head out of the Spatial Ark Star World for the evening to check on the other Krakens placed on Earth, but also Mars and most recently Venus.

Jones spawned several dozen Kraken Younglings to help hasten the speed of the cargo ships as they arrived on the exotic island locations of the planet after its terraforming.

The ships transported goods onto the smaller islands that were being turned into tourist destinations for the people of the Spatial Ark Star World.

After seeing the positive results from Mars, where the new inhabitants of the planet, quickly adapted to the land, weather and unique flora life to the planet.

Surprisingly, the planets influenced how life would naturally form but with Igdra's help with the World Tree roots, the accelerated growth utterly sent the Scientists of the Space and explorers to run wild.

Mercury quickly became the hotspot for adventurers who wanted to travel across the planet and leave their stamp on the lands.

Jones was their earlier while establishing a colony of the Krakens to keep the seas clean and safe.

Jones also worked to establish a coral sea life across the various planets to keep the seas nice and healthy.

Spina and Frigus wanted to come and play also, but Jones had them stay back at home since he knew they would create a ruckus without Rahzil or Esmond to watch over the two brats.

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Just as the ships docked at the island port, Jones whisked over to the Space before heading directly over to Earth, after some of the Kraken Younglings made a startling discovery regarding ancient civilisations.

Calling over Carter to examine the deep-sea structures, the Krakens discovery surprised Carter enough that he asked Jones to collect everything for the Spatial Ark Star World.

Carter thought about informing Esmond immediately but held off until the scientists at the Necthea Institute gave him evidence concerning the ancient structures.

The Necthea Institute ended up creating a department dedicated to Jones and the mysterious finds of the Krakens across Earth.

All the shipwrecks of the past and treasures would easily turn the planet upside down, especially concerning the history discovered.

The lost library of Alexandria was discovered off the coast of Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea with most of the scrolls and knowledge of the past intact.

It appeared that the contents of the library were locked into the underwater structure to safeguard the history of the Great Library from turbulent rulers who wished to exterminate scholars.

Esmond planned to make the knowledge available to the world but at a later date, since he expected world leaders to fight over the rights to control and manage the ground-breaking finds.

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For now, Esmond wasn't aware of the latest findings, nor was he aware of James actions across Eastern Europe, with the formation of Primal Management European offices in Ukraine.

The Aeternus Curatio Group as well as the Avitus Financial Group decided to intervene in the Ukrainian Political landscape, quickly establishing deep connections with a variety of politicians.

James and the executives of the Aeternus and Avitus both worked to leave a trail of evidence to screw over the corrupt politicians in the future.

Right now, the protection afforded to Esmond's companies allowed them to easily fit into Ukrainian society.

Even Astrum Bank quickly established itself as a leading financial institution with reputable evaluation, as they offered great deals to new customers, leading to a mass exodus of money from other banks across the Eastern European nation.

By the time May the 3rd arrived, governments across Europe decided to connect with the Astrum Bank in the hopes of creating deeper connections that might enable them to borrow money at a significantly lower interest rates.

James went on a small trip with his wife and daughter to the grand opening of the Europe headquarters in Kyiv, and found himself in a special meeting with Penelope Raghar, the CEO of Avitus Financial Group.

Much to his displeasure, the meeting involved key personnel from the Shadow Intelligence Agency on Nedric's request, leading to Aryan Waseem appearing as well as Ellea Vashelm.

"You know, I never expected Esmond had so much strength in his grasp that its practically meaningless in front of the fragile mindset of the public.

Africa clearly demonstrates the lack of public awareness in the greater extent of changes occurring across the planet." James said while knowing the people within the room had worked just as hard as him to gain a strong foothold across Africa.

The continent went through extraordinary change and development no one ever expected to see for at least several decades, but the influence of Esmond's companies and the Space helped transform the land into a technological marvel.

Zathra Motors and Manston Engines also played a big part in taking over the market to establish themselves as the leading car manufacturer across the entire continent.

A large number of international companies were made aware of the changes across the continent because of the political troubles brought upon by the change in leadership in Egypt and Libya.

Even Yemen being reformed and turned into a paradise on the Arabian Gulf made many people in America feel worried that they were about to find greater opponents in the world power political game.

England found itself strife with calls from African leaders, who wanted their treasures and cultural trophies returned that were taken away by the British Empire.

Yet the governments couldn't focus completely on Africa because of the internal problems made aware of by Liber Tellus Global News.

From political scandals to acts of bribery, all was unveiled to the public, leaving governments scrambling to save themselves from the public outcry.

This helped bankers and wall street investors race around like headless chickens as they tried to save themselves from the impending financial collapse.

Some people assumed they could save the market from crashing, but nobody was aware that Eddie completely controlled the financial system of the world at this point and set it to crash on 29th of September 2008.

James was made aware of this fact, only to find it appalling, he eventually concluded it was for the best if Esmond wanted to gain dominance over the American Market.

Aeternus Curatio already announced a Worldwide Conference to unveil several new products that all seemed in line to change the societal progression for the better.

This included the C02 Scrubbers that were going to be announced to combat greenhouse pollution and the first launch of the reusable Inter-Spatium Rajin 1 rocket.

It would be launched at the beginning of the conference, only to display the deployed satellite that would collect the space rubbish in orbit.

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"Mr Trudell, it's obvious to us all that Lord Esmond has left the overall development of the world in our care.

As of now, you must be aware he is travelling in deep space with his fleet, working to establish a foothold in the unknown.

Until we are called upon to help, our job is on Earth, even if it means we have to hide our true actions across Africa.

Just the groundwork in Kenya to create the foothold city of the first Industrial Space Elevator can't be displayed to the world without raising many questions.

Thankfully the low infrastructure across majority of the continent has helped us quickly remake Africa into an ecological beauty with cities intertwine with nature." Aryan Waseem said as he sipped on his freshly poured glass of scotch.

Penelope agreed and added, "I think the Western and Eastern powerhouses believe they can gain a foothold in Africa eventually with order finally set in stone across the entire continent, but they won't be able to remove us, no matter how hard they try.

The infrastructure we have set up across the continent is state of the art, and easily accessible.

Even the medical system has helped fill in the lack of healthcare across the continent, which was sorely needed to help gain the trust of the people."

"Yet in Ukraine we are supplying weapons and war machines to help our own standing in their land…

Don't you think we are trying to cause needless chaos where there isn't any?" James questioned Aryan and Penelope, believing he could stump them but in turn Ellea took his breath away with her answer.

"Russia is fighting the Georgian war to increase their military prowess for future warfare in Ukraine.

After the collapse of the USSR, the new Russian government hasn't had the time to create a cohesive military structure and order that can handle invading Ukraine.

Right now, they aren't considering any action against Ukraine because of the close relationship between the two nations but I can say for certain that will change in a heartbeat.

Rashid of the Hassassins has already found evidence that Russia is recruiting and suppling forces in Iraq and Iran to support their actions.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are working in the favour of the Russians, so please withhold your disgust at our actions when we are working to ensure Lord Esmond's leadership and influence in the future isn't contested.

You should rather be asking about North Korea…" Ellea laughed as the secretive meeting delved into subjects of conversation that would turn intelligence networks alight.

As James listened to the plans of a new North Korea, Esmond found himself entertaining various leaders of the Obadia Fleet.

At first the noble leaders of the Obadia Fleet tried to asset some dominance, but their noble elegance fell short the moment they caught sight of Esmond.

The aura of his Great Noble Primordial Patrician Human body state naturally exemplified itself in the presence of the Noblesse Leaders of the Obadia Fleet which included Commander Sofriya Styntrun, who was utterly surprised by Esmond.

She never expected to find the leading figure of the Ark Alliance to wield such raw strength that it became difficult to breathe at times.

Esmond withdrew his aura after noticing the Noblesse Leaders withheld their arrogance and started to behave, especially in front of Philippa.

They were surprised to find themselves in a meeting with Royalty.

Even though the Noblesse Society of the Athideous Star Sector was based of nobility, they didn't have a King or Emperor but a council of leaders who each came from a Great House of the Star Sector.

They controlled most of the Athideous Star Sector, but the Senate that contained Elected Commoners and Noblesse governed the area instead of the Council because they largely focused on greater issues.

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Only a few Leadership members of the Obadia Fleet could withstand some part of Esmond's aura, until they were crushed by a larger sum of pressure that made them dig their heels into the ground.

Esmond found himself seated around a large oval table with Philippa seated to his left and Carter to the right while the Obadia Fleet had Commander Sofriya with the head researcher of the fleet on one side and spokesperson of the Noblesse Houses on the other.

"Seems you have found the Tartarus Zone to be far outside of your original expectation…" Esmond stated with a slight grin.

He looked out at the other Noblesse members of the Obadia Fleet who mingled with members of the Ark Alliance, which only led to surprise interactions between vastly different people.

Sofriya understood Esmond was laughing at the failure of the Obadia Fleet to save themselves, only to rely on a distraction to give them a little extra time to escape.

She never expected the Ark Alliance to be a monster in hiding.

"… We failed… to truly assess the full dangers before entering the Tartarus Zone but that didn't mean we haven't failed to make some significant progress in our work."

Sofriya defended the Obadia Fleet, hoping the success of their projects would speak for themselves, but Esmond knew they lost more personnel than they originally expected.

"While that might be true, we cannot ascertain how your projects take effect in a growing Galactic Market.

In regard to that, I would love to hear your next course of action since we are travelling to a Mercenary Association Checkpoint to cash in our bounty." Philippa said purposely in an attempt to sway the actions of the Obadia Fleet.

"As the Relations Minister, Tralisa Semioni, of the Obadia Fleet, I can say for certain that we will be looking to dock and make repairs to our ships in a friendly region of the Zone.

Unfortunately, we aren't exactly familiar with the habitable parts of the Zone." Tralisa, a daughter of the Great House Semioni said before Commander Sofriya replied to Esmond.

"In that respect I can say we are more than capable of travelling through the region of space without any trouble, but I have to ask… what are your thoughts concerning some cooperation?"

Carter's direct manner of questioning made Commander Sofriya feel slightly worried for the Obadia Fleet, but she decided to take control over the meeting before it further went out of hand.

"If you don't mind, Commander Esmond… may we discuss the future of our cooperation in private?"

"Certainly." Esmond nodded to Carter who got up with Philippa and left for the crowd to the side so they could mingle with the others.

In the meantime, Sofriya and Esmond got up and walked over to a lounge set up to the far side of the reception hall where they had their own bar and food to enjoy.

Looking out at the view of the Titan Ship in the distance being repaired by the extensive number of Drones brought over from the Spatial Ark Star World, Sofriya finally decided to speak first and clear up the position of the Obadia Fleet.

"Obviously… I apologise that placed your ships in a tough position, but it's paid off for you in plenty of different ways.

Just securing the Titan Ship is a difficult task on its own."

"That's true, it does require a great deal of resources to move through space, but I can say that the capture of the Daelios Pirate Fleet will pay off a great deal of credits.

I plan to refit the Titan Ship to become our centrepiece with a mobile dock for repairs equipped.

After that we can easily manage the repairs of your ships within no time, but I hope that'll open up room for cooperation in the short and long term." Esmond already had the Ark Alliance flying towards the nearest Mercenary Association checkpoint with the Obadia Fleet following.

Everyone was travelling a snail's pace to manage the repair work going on during transit.

"Most of the Obadia Leadership believes in a working relationship that is capable of changing per the situation, but I wanted to ask… what conditions would you offer us if the Obadia Fleet joined with the Ark Alliance?"

Sofriya made sure to not express any emotion, but Esmond's heightened senses told him the Commander hoped to move away from the leadership of the young Noblesse.

"I can offer your fleet immediate repairs that won't need a dock and should fix most of the issues.

Resources won't be an issue either since I can assure a cheap and continual supply which won't be interrupt at all, but in return I hope Ark Scientists can work in hand with your own to help the development of research projects.

Overall, that is my main reason for our cooperation to exist.

It might not sound ideal for your Obadia Fleet, but I don't plan to set roots on a habitable planet just yet.

Rather I would like to create a stronghold in the Zone…" Esmond waved his hand as the holographic display of the coffee table activated to showcase the plans of the Citadel Megastructure.

Capable of housing more than 100 million people in comfort and luxury, Esmond watched closely as Sofriya lost control over her stoic face with her mind lost in the beauty of the Citadel.

"My Ark Alliance has begun the manufacturing of the Megastructure in secret.

I've named it the Star Alcazar, an open space port that will allow for trade and administration management to exist in the Zone without relying on habitable planets.

I can guarantee the Star Alcazar will easily attract all sorts of merchants and space legions who will want to work with my Ark Alliance.

We also have a Starbase undergoing construction which will be available to your scientists once its finished being built.

It has all the research and medical facilities you could possibly imagine…" Esmond swiped his hand to change the holographic display to show the Starbase he was rewarded by the System.

Even though it was already constructed, Esmond didn't want to unveil the Starbase right away, as the Citadel seemed more appropriate for the Tartarus Zone.

Esmond already had another Citadel undergoing construction for the Solar System, with the first iteration being constructed for the Zone instead.

Carter hastened the development of the Citadel, but it was roughly 2 months away from finalising its construction.

Until then, Esmond planned to lead the Obadia and Ark Fleets to a corner of the Zone that hadn't been explored in this timeline.