Letter 44 - Charles Soule
- Volume I: Escape Velocity - Collects #1-6. The new US President, Stephen Blades, learns from a letter written by his predecessor, Carroll (a very thin stand-in for George W. Bush) that in the asteroid belt, an alien presence has built something that seems to be a mining operation. A nine-person crew of military personnel and scientists is already en route, but of course contact is slow and sparse. Blades makes some changes, such as using the super space technology that Carroll kept secret to win the quagmire oil wars, and his chief of staff is attacked. When the crew makes contact, there are more questions than answers. [4.5]
