Jack of Harts

When America returned to space after the Second Great Depression and the Cybernetic Wars, Kirtland Spacebase became Los Alamos Laboratory’s primary launch facility. Kirtland housed the most advanced aerospace craft some of the smartest scientists in the world could design and build, and their exploration ships were found, or not found when they did not wish to be, all over the solar system by the end of the century. The advent of hyperdrives gave Kirtland Spacebase a new mission. It became a vital secure link between Los Alamos and the distant stars, and even Kirtland lost track of how many scientists went into space aboard their rockets. What exactly qualified someone to call themselves a scientist was unclear in those heady days of space exploration, after all. Even Kirtland did not know, and simply went with the flow. If they could afford to buy passage on a shuttle headed out to the orbital stations or beyond, they could fly from Kirtland. After the requisite background checks, of course.

The Second Great Depression was a difficult time for all of America. Some States and cities collapsed entirely. And their own soldiers and commanders abandoned some military bases. Kirtland Air Force Base was not one of them. They were a high-tech center of new research and weapons linked directly with Los Alamos Laboratory by an underground highway and a common mission. To keep their weapons and knowledge from falling into the hands of those who would betray their fellow Americans. That mission is why Kirtland stood with the Convention of States that Texas called to deal with the Federal government once and for all. Evidence collected during the Drug Wars pointed to Federal involvement with the drug cartels that attacked Texas and the other States. The Convention debated how to deal with the new President, any one who followed his orders, and the Federal power structure that had made it possible. Kirtland was one of the many military bases that supported the Convention’s final decision on how to do that.

Kirtland Air Force Base never had to choose whether to follow Federal or State leadership during the Second Great Depression. It had a century-long relationship with Los Alamos Laboratories that had resulted in the construction of an underground highway linking the two installations. That was constructed to allow them to transport secret programs between the installations in complete security, and at Kirtland they disappeared into the large amount of routine traffic it conducted every day. That link brought Kirtland far closer into the Los Alamos camp than most outside observers ever guessed. When the Second Great Depression arrived, Kirtland did not need to pick sides between the Federal and State governments. Los Alamos was a side after all. All they wished was that Kirtland’s most devastating weapons not fall to any of the various extremists striving to control them, and Kirtland’s commanders were happy to follow those wishes.