"On the week of July 28th, I'm going to need both of you to ensure none of our forces are under contract. Even if they are, I need you to call them home until this whole meeting is over."

In Tama's office were his cousins, Marshal Jusuf Tama and Admiral Susilo Tama. The Marshal and Admiral oversaw Tama Financial's private military subsidiaries, Executive Outcomes and Blue-Water Shield.

"I also need you two to keep Inculta quiet. I cannot give Mantrez any reason to exclude me, and it would do a great deal for me if the nomads were not blasting shells into the air all across the coast."

The Marshal looked clearly distressed. "We can definitely withdraw all our forces within the next month, but the later would be nearly impossible. There are maybe only 10 fortresses across the coast that we know about, and you've authorized the release of at least 300 anti-aircraft guns during your term alone."

"If you'd allow, I can use our navy to patrol the coasts..." started the Admiral.

"No. We cannot have any of our own forces out there. It could pose a risk to our presence at this meeting. We will not have any men guarding the borders of Inculta, only a small defensive force at home. We need to spread the word of the ceasefire, starting with all Incultans under both your commands."

"Look, Hal, of course we can tell our men to communicate this on their leave, but the second some idiot pilot decides he's going to sack up and cut through the Desert, there is nothing keeping them from shooting it down." The Marshal knew very well of the aggressiveness the Incultan tribes projected towards strangers. He's always had to deal with complaints and potential lawsuits for the destruction of many corporate airships, and the deaths of their victims.

"Well, I guess we will need to release yet another public statement, warning against any kind of passage through the territory."

"Have you talked to the energy department yet?" the Admiral inquired.

"No, there is no need for their research since we'll be getting this technology anyway. They can calculate all the figures once this gets moving, if this does not turn out to be a complete failure..."

---

Tama stepped up to the front desk at Maritime Futures. He was to meet his uncle, Professor Jony Tama, the acting Director. "I'll let you in, sir."

He was escorted to the elevator, and the lobby girl set the dial to the top floor. "What brings you here, sir? The next publication is not set to come out until September."

"I'm just here to visit my uncle and check a few numbers. Not here on official business or anything." The elevator ride was long, and the girl had always been particularly chatty whenever Tama came. He never bothered to ask her name, but she definitely grew on him with the undertones of ambition in her expressed curiosity.

They reached the top, and straight ahead were the double-doors to his uncle's ridiculously lavish office. His own was 1/10th the size, but this building was designed to impress and legitimatize the firm. Tama walked through, and saw his uncle awaiting him at his desk.

"Uncle, I'm going to need to get a hold of some numbers. I need the current National Power rankings, and the energy production of all states on that list."

"Hal, I know what you're looking for, and I can already tell you that Procellia will be the biggest player in this, next to New Beginning. Neither of them even make it in the top 10 in the energy sector, but Procellia has juggled it's way across the top 5 in National Power ever since this list was first published. If they get a hold of this technology, they'd be able to fully power themselves with minimal cost, and be fully integrated within 5 years if they fast track the process across that dreadful continent. I doubt they would be energy exporters with a size as great as theirs, but there is much untapped potential there."

"This all sounds like speculation. I mean, what have we actually heard from that place? As far as I've lived, publications on Procellia have majoratively been either outdated, or followed some questionable paper trail that probably have nothing to do with them."

"We know enough. Their population is 3 times the size of Inculta, and we're fairly confident that a majority of that nation is modernized. Even if we are wrong about this, it does not change any of the numbers I've given you."

Tama crossed his fingers and leaned forward. He knew of this nation, and even that it consistently ranked highly in National Power, but he really had no confident knowledge of it. He could not name even one Procellian. "Where would Inculta rank in the National Power Index, if we were a state?"

"As of this year? Barely 2nd, with Procellia confidently in 1st."