A High Frontier Tale of environmental conservation by Paul Watson
A small agricultural colony on the outer rim world LVR-113, run by Weylan-Yutani has gone off-line and nothing has been heard from them for the last 2 months.
Colloquially known as the Hippy Commune, it has steadily produced ‘miracle’ solutions to many of the agricultural problems on Earth.
Their work has been widely publicised in the popular and scientific press. Their current project has involved investigating solutions to hive collapse on colonies of Earth’s honey bees in an attempt to solve their decline over the last two centuries and reintroduce them back into the Earth’s ecosystem to restart crop production and pollination on the exhausted planet.
The finer details are currently under wraps but there is rumoured to be pivotal progress in beating the fungal aspects of honey bee deaths (although, as ever, the rumour mill has it that there is a military element looking to skewing the research into biological warfare than harmless honey bees).
Responding to such rumours, concerned environmental activists on Earth have been campaigning to get current findings made public, but so far the ICC have refused, citing W-Y’s right to complete research before the need to publish.
The loss of communications is disturbing – the data is vital to Earth’s continual survival and, whilst rival corporate sabotage is something NOT to be ruled out, an official investigation needs to take place.
As such, your task force of Corporate, Scientific and Military back-up is being hastily assembled.
However, whilst gathering your forces together, the environment group Mother Earth has publicly stated they will perform their own independent investigation. The hiring of a private commercial freighter by the activists was first speculated to be a pointless publicity stunt, but the failure to spot several key members at recent protest rallies has led to the conclusion that they have actually gone ahead with their threat and are already on their way to the research colony – 3 days ahead of the official team.