Shard Phantom Liberty
Extraterrestrial ménage à trois
"Extraterrestrial ménage à trois" – shard from Cyberpunk 2077 (Phantom Liberty). According to international law, space belongs to everybody – yes, yourself included.
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According to international law, space belongs to everybody – yes, yourself included. In practice however, it is controlled by three major players: Orbital Air, the European Space Council and the Highriders. The Keynan megacorporation has completely monopolized the market of commercial space travel and the ESC is focused on scientific exploration – for the good of all mankind, allegedly. And the Highriders? They're simply... home. They live among the stars and aren't particularly keen to welcome visitors, especially those who insist they should leave.
The tensions in relations between space nomads and the ESC are the result of a decades-old tussle over political and economical control of Luna and independent orbital stations. How does Orbital Air fit into this conflict, then? Interestingly enough, they didn't take sides. While the corporate Goliath would be able to wipe the renegades using a fraction of its military power, it opts to stay neutral and often offers to mediate between the Highriders and the ESC. We can only theorize why that is, but swiping the issue with Occam's razor points us to the conclusion it's probably all about the money. Waging war against the native spacers (as they like to think of themselves) would bring them little to no financial benefits while the PR damage could be disastrous, seeing as many of the Highriders emigrated from Africa and – obviously – Kenya. Even if they're not allying themselves with the spacers outright, simply abiding them can be hugely beneficial to Orbital Air, especially long-term, since – just like space – a corporation's outlook seems to be infinite.
The tensions in relations between space nomads and the ESC are the result of a decades-old tussle over political and economical control of Luna and independent orbital stations. How does Orbital Air fit into this conflict, then? Interestingly enough, they didn't take sides. While the corporate Goliath would be able to wipe the renegades using a fraction of its military power, it opts to stay neutral and often offers to mediate between the Highriders and the ESC. We can only theorize why that is, but swiping the issue with Occam's razor points us to the conclusion it's probably all about the money. Waging war against the native spacers (as they like to think of themselves) would bring them little to no financial benefits while the PR damage could be disastrous, seeing as many of the Highriders emigrated from Africa and – obviously – Kenya. Even if they're not allying themselves with the spacers outright, simply abiding them can be hugely beneficial to Orbital Air, especially long-term, since – just like space – a corporation's outlook seems to be infinite.
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