"I'm not sure I understand."
"Then listen carefully, because you play a vital role in my plans."
Narval motioned a now openly apprehensive Drummer to the chair beside his desk. As Drummer sat, Narval leaned close.
"My strategy has two facets: one involves INOR, the other, the UIPS. They are interdependent."
Unfolding his clasped hands, Narval's fingers drummed the desk.
"I repeat, with INOR in turmoil no head of state can feel secure. New philosophies surface and attract supporters, occasionally, even strong leaders. If forces with objectives opposing mine move into the Outer Region, I will not sit by idly. I will intervene, even if it means imposing the most stringent discipline and controls."
"With respect, President Narval, does Planet Pluto have the right to intervene into the affairs of other nations?"
Narval scowled, recovered, and snickered.
"Power gives us rights we would not have otherwise. When the old United Planetary System decided to use Planet Pluto as the forward base for Slingshot, they invested the planet with some of their most advanced technologies. Other communities throughout the Outer Region are just that: places where people live, work, play, consume and little else.
"Slingshot has given Planet Pluto a far greater role in the solar scheme. And now, a role that was entirely unexpected when Slingshot was first planned, dissolution of the unified solar government released us from UIPS domination. We gained opportunities to fashion and strengthen an infrastructure, and freedom to confuse our INOR neighbors with a melange of schemes to satisfy their greed. Slingshot technology, facilities, and materiel give to us, more than to any other member of INOR, the means to attain our aspirations. Power creates its own logic, Drummer.