Global headlines and social media explode as Matt Marmaduke, Freeholder of Missouri, offers sanctuary to 120,000 V’ren refugees. His defiant, grounded leadership redefines first contact—turning a cornfield into the fulcrum of human history.
On June 1, 2440, less than 24 hours after the Calnareth’s unplanned Missouri landing, Freeholder Matt Marmaduke answers direct questions about first contact, rapid response, and the challenges of welcoming 100,000 alien refugees into the Freehold.
Past midnight, Matt and Leonard discuss the million V’ren refugees still in orbit, their skills, and the politics of settlement. Matt plays for time, looking to secure long-term leverage and stability in the continental interior—offering Missouri hospitality as part of the plan.
Over a simple farm dinner, Matt offers T’mari the ancient welcome of his family’s land—guest right at his hearth and table. Between shared histories, cultural respect, and talk of futures under open skies, a bond begins to form, rooted in hospitality and the promise of sanctuary.
T’monn stared out the window, the Missouri night rolling past in streaks of dark and light.
“If you told them to leave,” she said, “they would. But most would rather stay.”
Matt didn’t answer right away. The red demon called Pickup growled beneath them, chasing its own headlights through the gravel dark.
“They’re not going anywhere,” he said. “This is home now.”
Alone in her quarters at day’s end, T’mari records a private message to W’ren. She admits her first-contact misstep, reflects on Matt’s quiet gravity, and shares her worries for L’tani. Between the Missouri twilight and her own sleepless thoughts, she resolves to do better—for her people, and for Earth.
Matt and T’mari face the cameras for the first time since the V’ren’s unplanned arrival. She offers grace, he offers grounded reassurance—and when the first silly question lands, he sighs, answers, and moves on. It’s diplomacy, Freehold-style: do the work, absorb the nonsense, keep the mission on track.
At noon local time, V’ren medics announced two new vaccines—one for their crew, one for humans. Matt Marmaduke took the first dose personally. A public Q&A is scheduled for later this evening.
At the top of Chicago’s corporate skyline, Amazon’s most powerful executives weigh an unconventional offer from a man on the ground—one that could reshape the refugee crisis, their power structure, and the game they think they’re playing.
Matt Marmaduke only has hours to scale Missouri’s capacity for one hundred twenty thousand V’ren refugees. In a tense holotank briefing, he and General Leonard Wood trade requests, concessions, and political jabs—balancing construction gear, medical personnel, and the delicate power game that comes with being a legally neutral Freeholder.
As first contact unfolds at the Freehold, Matt fires off a series of terse dispatches—balancing family safety, corporate authority, and legal contingencies. From keeping his daughters out of harm’s way to activating formal protocols, these messages reveal the immediate, calculated moves behind Missouri’s first encounter with the V’ren.
Matt pushes for a limited media tour of the V’ren ship to build public trust, navigating cultural protocol, security concerns, and a moment of unexpected personal rapport with T’mari. Cameras roll as Missouri’s first steps toward the stars take shape—measured, cautious, and just irreverent enough to stay human.