Chapter 204: Official Organization

Raccoon City Airport.

It was completed on November 1, 2009, and until a month ago, that is June 30, 2012, the airport added two more terminals.

Since Raccoon City Airport was built, it has received countless accolades such as "most advanced" and "undisputed number one," its scale far surpassing all airports in the Solar System.

Raccoon City Airport is also Colorado's, even the whole of North America's, orbital transportation hub; when cargo ships and cruise liners dock, they can immediately transport goods and tourists throughout the Americas.

A view from high above.

Dozens of small vessels, indistinguishable in appearance and about a hundred meters long, hover near the ground within the airport, which is the size of a city.

Each terminal has ten jet bridges connecting to these ships.

Above the forest on the airport's north side are eight Precursors-type engineering ships over three hundred meters long, plus two engineering ships resembling the Precursors type but a hundred meters longer.

These ten large vessels keep less than a hundred meters apart, lined up in a row, hovering a hundred meters above the ground.

They are two rings larger than Yuyou, yet unarmed civilian transport boats shuttle between the airport and the ten large vessels.

From a distance, although the transport boats appear numerous and dense, each has its own lane, transporting or unloading passengers and cargo in orderly fashion.

The transport boats function like airport shuttles.

For the animals living in the forest north of the airport, the sky is perpetually overcast, and sunlight is sufficient only at dawn and dusk.

But for passengers visiting the airport for the first time, it is a rare spectacle.

Passengers can't help but take out their phones to photograph, then tag the location and post to social media.

However, many nearby residents, whether driving or taking the maglev train past the airport, have already become accustomed to the massive vessels docked here.

For those who have visited the airport many times, it is even more so.

Among them are Ai Sa Ke and a group of Umbrella workers.

Of the ten engineering ships hovering above the northern forest, eight Precursors-type are the models the company rents out for the Official Organization's exploration, mining, and colonization within the Solar System.

The other two are Umbrella's own, equipped with fold‑jump engines, Precursors II-type engineering ships.

Naturally, to accelerate humanity's exploration and construction in the Solar System, the company also fitted the Precursors I-type it rents to the Official Organization with fold‑jump engines.

Those vessels that can dock in the airport lack fold‑jump capability; they are merely "regular" flights between Earth and the Moon.

After all, the lunar near side, overseen by Bai Hou, is a mining base jointly built by the company and the multinational governments that formed the Official Organization; after nearly ten years of development, it is no longer just a base but a colony with a population close to nine million.

It should be noted that Umbrella publicly announced its fusion technology and products such as the Precursors I-type engineering ship on January 1, 2003.

From the 2003 public announcement of the mining base's construction to today, July 30, 2012, more than nine years have passed.

The original multinational governments began issuing numerous colonization policies in mid‑2007, providing benefits and even bonuses to encourage families to relocate and jointly build the colony.

At the same time, to match the colonization wave, various multi‑birth policies were also issued.

Although netizens constantly joke with memes like "don't dare to have kids" and "can't afford to have children," the population growth is indeed significant.

According to the census at the beginning of 2012, the global total, including the existing colonial population, was about 7,413,360,000.

At this moment.

The bus carrying Ai Sa Ke and others left the highway, used a fast lane to enter the interior of the airport, and finally arrived at Umbrella's dedicated docking area.

Ai Sa Ke, seated on the right side of the carriage, looked out through the single‑pane window and saw many employee buses also belonging to Umbrella.

The bus came to a stop.

"Hoo~!" a coworker whistled, stood up, took down his suitcase and said to everyone, "Another wonderful workday, everyone, perk up!"

"Just because of that line, after today's shift you have to treat everyone to drinks," another coworker joked.

"If I'm treating, I'm treating, let's go!"

"Hahaha! Refreshing!"

The group laughed and chatted, and Ai Sa Ke also took his suitcase and walked out of the bus with his coworkers.

Next, they left the docking area with colleagues from other company departments, passed the outer security check, and entered the airport's A‑zone hall.

Just as they entered…

"Passengers on flight UM076, please note: check‑in for this flight ends at 10:10. Passengers on this flight who have not checked in, please proceed to counter 27 as soon as possible. Thank you."

"Attention, passengers…"

Ai Sa Ke heard the various announcements echoing through the hall.

Besides the announcements, the A‑zone hall was bustling with people of various identities and nations gathered together.

A man in a suit, after hearing the broadcast, held a paper‑cup coffee in his left hand and a brown briefcase in his right, and hurried toward counter 27.

There was also a family of three who had completed check‑in and checked their luggage, wearing floral shirts and shorts, strolling at a relaxed pace through the crowd.

Beyond these civilians, what caught Ai Sa Ke's eye were the "soldiers" assisting the entry‑exit security staff in maintaining order.

Three fully‑armed soldiers stood at the security checkpoint, expressionless as they surveyed the surrounding crowd.

The soldiers wore dark‑green combat uniforms, carried MA‑series rifles, sported titanium‑alloy armor protecting vital areas, and their helmets' right‑eye slots featured built‑in holographic displays.

These three soldiers gave Ai Sa Ke the first impression of being like the armed security his company had a few years ago.

However, a badge resembling the United Nations emblazoned on their left shoulder plates indicated that they were not Umbrella security but the UNSC army.

The badge also bore the letters UnitedNationsSpaceCommand, abbreviated UNSC.

The Official Organization now cooperating with Umbrella is the Unified Earth Government, abbreviated UEG.

UEG's predecessor was the United Nations, formed by governments worldwide, with the UNSC's military affairs under UEG's command.

On October 1, 2008, at the United Nations General Assembly, governments officially announced the establishment of UEG and UNSC.

Even though governments had made numerous explicit statements and preparations before the summit, the world still plunged into massive change, though the turmoil was quickly suppressed.

As an employee, Ai Sa Ke knows that UEG and UNSC quickly fell into place on all fronts, inseparably linked with Umbrella.

Moreover, four years have passed, and the vast majority of people worldwide have gradually adapted to life with UEG and UNSC.

(End of chapter)