Once upon a time after the Darkness there was a Sebiestor airstrip owned by the local clans. Originally, it was the main airstrip in the region, but as the closest city grew and a spaceport was established, the old-fashioned airport fell out of use. It was still occasionally used, for cargo, some of it illicit, and for military, some of it also somewhat shady, but not that often.
In time, potholes appeared in the runway, and gaps were made in the chainlink fence. Eventually, it was brought up at the local moot that someone should take care of the damned place.
“It’s not on my clan’s lands,” said some.
“It’s not like we use it anyway,” said others.
“Whoever broke the fence should mend it, not us”, said a third one.
“We have never laid a claim to the strip”, they all said.
And the airstrip was forgotten, and mostly got used by smugglers, and sometimes hunters, and often no one.
Years later, troubled times hit the region, and it became under attack by foreigners. The situation was chaotic, and the Krusual, as is their way, immediately made their way in to the lands of the tribe.
“Sell us that old airstrip,” they said, “and we will make sure the government protects you from the foreigners.”
“Deal,” said a tribeswoman, and it was done, and they got a good price for it, and the outsiders settled in, and built their own barracks, and started to build defences.
It could have ended there, but suddenly, everyone had a interest.
“We will sell you the place, as it is our old ancestral lands,” said one impoverished clan.
“We would never sell the tribe’s lands, but you can use our ancient premises, as long as you pay us lease,” said another.
“We would never give our traditional turf to an outsider,” said the third.
“Excuse me,” said the tribe. “Yesterday none of you wanted the place. It is communal property, and should me managed as such.”
“Excuse me,” said the Krusual. “We are already here and it’s ours now.”
“We are going to sue,” said pretty much everyone.
And the case went to jurisdiction court, and stayed there for the next twenty years, but the tribeswoman who had first approached the outsiders lived happily ever after.
Here endeth the story. Who can tell me what the moral is?
