The Embargo
A standing embargo locking ships inside the Earth system and strangling traffic through the tunnel gate.
Story so far
An embargo is in effect over the Earth system. York reports to Boomer that the Homecoming Queen cannot leave orbit because of it, though not so much as a single missile has been fired at the behemoth.
Outside the tunnel gate the same embargo has ruined Zander at Squirties: nobody is transiting the main tunnel access route, not even reporters, and he has not had a refueling customer in days while owing Dictum Waystation Controls, Limited twenty-five thousand credits a month. Zander clings to the hope the embargo will lift and traffic will return, while the Uzi Jesus toy tells him he is probably fucked. Between the embargo, the war threat, and the Mantis System detonation, the whole approach has emptied out.
Role
The blockade that traps the resistance fleet in orbit and bankrupts everyone outside the gate.
Relationships
Sources — 2 recorded facts, by chapter
- The block that prevents departing crawlers from actually returning home, routing them to the Homecoming Queen instead.
- A standing embargo locking ships inside the Earth system and strangling traffic through the tunnel gate.