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Chapter 29[]
Can you tell me where can we start over?[]
Kowloon, Federated Commonwealth
January, 3057
["Don't sell ships...sell rope..."]
Elizabeth took her time going back to Kowloon-in part, to avoid the level of massive discomfort and undesired weight-loss from violent nausea and vomiting-she took a few days at each stop to recover between jumps, and filled that recovery time, with securing more contracts, offering loans, and generally structuring a supply and support line for the RX-78's production phase.
Not all of her meetings were with established corporations. Many of them, were with small, 'mom and pop' outfits working on a tight margin, and a few weren't even production equipment deals.
The Lyran Commonwealth is an interstellar nation. This is a bit like terrestrial nations made of archipelagoes of islands isolated by ridiculously dangerous and extensive seas.
Upon her arrival at Kowloon in January of 3057, she brought with her a mountain of financial resources, and a thick sheaf of mineral rights claims to the outer systems of much of the Coventry province-mineral rights quite rightly seen as valueless in the terrestrial-focused mining business that dominates most of human space.
She in turn, leased those rights to prospectors, along with access to ships and equipment paid for in large part by the leases on those rights, rights that included things like water ice, carbon, and rare earths.
The moves when viewed through the conventional established industries don't make sense...but then, that's kind of the point, isn't it?
Expanding industries need raw materials, and the kind of materials needed for the production of Ferro-Aluminium, Ferro-Fibrous, and Endo-Steel. Along with the need for alloys used in Extra Light fusion engines, compounds for Myomers, and Triple Strength Myomers all rely on minerals and elements that are relatively rare in planetary crusts-but not particularly rare in asteroid belts, planetary ring systems, and so on.
Of course, it's easier to defend a planetary mining claim, than a volume of space. Thus, most industrial giants focus on what they can easily dig out of the ground in open pit mines or the occasional hard-rock crustal tunnel mines.
It looks like a long-shot. Liz doesn't think so.