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Beyond Hope
- Chapter 49 - Greed[]
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Preparing Long Journey to the Inner Sphere[]
Huntress system, Kerensky Cluster (Clan Space)
3063
Scientist Kenneth Blood Spirit waited at the airlock queue as the dropship readied for passengers at Point Zulu, the Huntress End of the Crimson Road's chain of fixed-route Jumpships and fast-loading dropships.
It was surprisingly ordinary. Aside from uniforms, the SLDF security personnel were about where he would expect them to be, and as lightly armed as security police on York were in the civilian areas. The somewhat jarring presence of merchants selling various comforts and random items was only jarring to an extent-in some of the safer, less raided enclaves, such stalls were fairly common, though the sheer array of goods for sale was a little disconcerting.
A branch of Falconbank stood next to a Diamond Shark currency exchanger, across the corridor from 'Rowe-McClaren Merchant banking-serving YOU!' and a Ngo Enterprises Credit Union ("Savings plans for retirement and student loans done here!")
It was a little bit offensive to think of someone hoarding work-credits like that, and even more jarring to imagine that such scrip could be hoarded... at least, by someone other than a Merchant Caste.
“A strange sight is it not?” An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind him.
“Aff, ovKhan.” Kenneth turned to see a Jade Falcon Trueborn Mechwarrior.
“I am Nathan Roshak. It seems we shall be traveling to Kowloon together.”
He bowed his head, "Ovkhan."
Nathan gently touched a finger to Kenneth's chin, and said, "they do not react well if you stare at your shoes, Kenneth. Kowloonese take submission as a sign of hostility, they misread it as 'slave behavior' and will think less of all of the Clans if you do not meet the eyes of everyone you speak to."
“Aff, ovKhan.” Kenneth slowly raised his head.
"Better. They given you your stipend cheque before you were released to the station, quiaff?"
Kenneth checked his pockets, and found the flatrender. "Aff."
"Good. The place we are going, does not 'do' work-credits. They deal in cash, you may find this chalcas as hell, but keeping your money safe is necessary, as is being careful with how you spend it. Administrator Stephanie..." he gestured at a Diamond Shark packed for the same transport and just leaving the Diamond Shark moneychanger's stall, "...will handle the task of your banking, and she is acting as the interim pay master-that is, master of payment. She is ethical. You can trust her, at least, as far as you can trust any Merchant."
“I understand, ovKhan. What is that smell?”
“They call it a ‘food court’. That is another aspect in which we must exercise caution,” Nathan answered. "They will sell you as much as you will buy, without regard for whether you can actually eat it… and some of the foods are… take some getting used to. My first spin through the Inner Sphere during Revival showed me humans can and do eat things that are… rough on the digestion. Much of it 'street food' like the Ban'mi stall-I recommend the Pho'ga, but you are risking a lot if you ask for the wrong sandwich."
“I will rely on your superior experience, ovKhan.”
"Smart man. We have an hour before the dropship is ready to load, and there is a fried chicken place on this level that makes it in a way I have only had on Blackjack… which is to say, very good. Come on, we will gather the rest of the mission and dine on fried chicken while we wait."
“Aff, ovKhan,” Kenneth nodded.
The sign over the chicken stall said "Klaus und Sambon's Bavarian-Style Southern Chicken!" illustrated with a cartoon bird in lederhosen.
He watched as Merchant Stephanie and Nathan Roshak navigated the menu-a menu which had so many things on it. So much sheer variety of choices it was dizzying. Food is not rationed?
When he got his tray, it was loaded. Mashed potatoes, greens that smelt like something wonderful, and two large pieces of chicken meat… fried in some kind of breaded crust.
And a tall cup, full of a fizzy sports-drink to wash it down with.
He'd literally never seen this much food in one sitting in his life. An Elemental who was showing some sign of aging sat down next to him, with a tray containing yet MORE food. "Portions are kind of small, Star Colonel," the big man rumbled.
"We are on a budget," Star Colonel Roshak told the huge man. "So we have to keep it modest, even by Warrior standards."
"Aff," the huge man nodded.
Kenneth looked at his tray of food. He complains of small portions and I have enough here, I may have to increase my exercise period to keep from becoming overweight.
Kenneth dug in and experienced further shocks. The food… it was spicy. He could taste herbs and flavorings in it, not just processing. It was like seeing in color for the first time in your life.
He also felt himself coughing and wheezing at the unexpected experience.
"Careful little man," the big warrior said, gently and helping him to avoid humiliation. "First time eating Inner Sphere food, quiaff?"
“Aff.”
"Yeah, I thought so. Take it slower, we have an hour or so before the dropship is ready to load, so take it easy, enjoy it, in a year, you will think of this? As bland, but your first experience is the one you will always remember."
“You may wish to keep a supply of these on hand as well.” Nathan slid over a container of chewable calcium based antacid tablets.
"For…"
"Heartburn." both men said simultaneously.
"My first tour during Revival, we had dinner one night at a place run by someone who adapted quickly. That night was 'chili-dogs' and tortilla chips in a spicy vegetable dip. It burned going in, but nothing compared to how it felt while digesting, and coming out was unspeakable. My Star Commander almost had the innkeeper shot for trying to poison us, until she realized the man had backed off on his spicing, and ate harsher things himself regularly," Nathan added.
"Ghost peppers on Summer. Remember those?" The Elemental suggested, "Your bondsman sat there and ate one raw."
"I remember. Too bad about Henry," Nathan said. "He was a true believer, even if he was a Spheroid."
“Aff,” the large man nodded. "What was it he said on Tukayyid?"
"Everything is ammunition," Nathan enunciated in an imitated accent. "Rocks, trees, you do not give up just because you ran out of consumables. He managed to get that sweep star back to the evacuation point by throwing boulders at the Comguards. If I could have a dream force, it would be Aidan Pryde and Henry Jade Falcon multiplied by hundreds. No 'quit' in either one of them."
“Aff.”
"Morgan, you realize where we are going, Aff?"
"Kowloon."
"Aff, his sister's world." Nathan said. "I wonder if she knows… or cares, how he died?"
“She will have been told the official version, as their government would spin the events. But neg, I doubt she truly knows.”
"Troublesome," Nathan nodded. "Still, I doubt it will come up. We are there to display Clan virtue and learn their methods. I doubt speaking with Duchess Ngo… er, Duchess 'Steiner-Davion' will have any impact."
“Aff. We are but two among many. I doubt we will rate particularly highly on the list of people she shall even desire to speak to.” Morgan looked at Kenneth. “YOU on the other hand, I suspect she will wish to talk to. You are an oddity and interested in her creation in particular. She will almost certainly wish to speak with you.”
"Me?" Kenneth was a little apprehensive.
"You are a Scientist, Kenneth. Henry used to speak of his sister's frantic interest in all things scientific… and now, she is co-author of the physics research paper that got you a subsidized ride to Kowloon as part of a multi-Clan effort," Nathan explained. "In this, Morgan and I, and the rest of the warriors? We are here to protect the objective. And that is you, and the other Scientist Caste on this operation. Stephanie was assigned to make sure you have the resources to carry out your mission. YOU are the 'star of the show'... eat up, I think you will find this entire journey very educational… I know we will."
Kenneth suddenly felt slightly ill at the idea of being the center of so much attention.
"Where do you suppose the Star Adders are?" Morgan mused.
"I would guess they are at their first recharge point, N'Buta was at least smart enough not to try to take the Crimson Road stations by force." Roshak said, pausing with a beans-and-rice dish on his fork. "I imagine he has been wise enough to deploy advance parties to map his route to avoid fighting the multinational force holding the Inner Sphere's route to Huntress."
"Eighteen months minimum?"
"Aff," Nathan nodded. "Still, the race is on. We will see for ourselves which path is better."
“They must gamble on finding the right stars, these stations mean we have predictable reliable charge times to count on. Should prove interesting which wins out in the end.”
"I am, as a veteran of Revival, more confident in Marthe Pryde's tactic of Diplomacy than Cassius N'Buta's decision to go feet first into Revival, version two-point-oh," Nathan confessed.
“Aff. As Sarak Yeh proclaimed, this is a war we will not win through force of arms alone.”
"Um…why?" Kenneth asked. "Is not the stronger path…"
"The stronger path is not always the path we revert to, Kenneth," Morgan offered gently.
"I have seen this myself. A bondsman once told me, if we had declared outright ourselves as the SLDF returned, many of the most costly battles of the invasion would never have happened-because we would have been welcomed as good news. Revival soured that horribly," Nathan explained. "We lost the good will before they even learned our names, because of how we began that campaign. N'Buta is using better supply logistics, and using scouting and reconnaissance more…but he is repeating the same mistake we spent half a decade learning was a mistake. This time, the other side is better prepared and far more aware, because they know we exist. In 3048, they did not."
“And Comstar is no longer going to supply us with intelligence or block HPG traffic,” Morgan nodded.
“They are going to waste lives,” Kenneth understood.
“Aff. Marthe tried to teach them. They would not listen. We can not stop them. So now their warriors shall pay the price of N’Buta’s ignorance and hubris.”
"Part of our mission, is to prevent that act from blowing back on the rest of the Grand Council." Stephanie commented from the side. "Hence, Diplomacy."
Kenneth looked at the rest of his meal. I will need my strength when the time comes despite what my stomach says.
He resumed eating his meal at a carefully measured pace.
Hot Food, Cool Drinks[]
Traffic Control
Kowloon, Federation Commonwealth (Lyran State)
3063
Janet looked at herself in the mirror. The Marine Sergeant stripes now on her sleeve were new. As new as the Lieutenant’s markings on Nikki’s uniform.
“We’ll make an officer of you yet Janet,” Nikki re-assured.
“I have little doubt,” Janet smiled. “I am just what they call a ‘slow learner’. Some things just take longer for me to understand and I cannot be kept in training forever, especially when I do meet standards for an alternate open billet. So I expected this.”
“Well we’re still going out to celebrate. I will not consider this night complete until we hit two of my three criteria for a good time. Get drunk, get laid, and/or wind up in jail for having too much of a good time.”
“Only you would consider winding up in jail a good thing.”
“It does depend on what we’re thrown in jail for. Come on.”
“Very well. I shall ‘wing girl’ for you. But do not expect me to get too drunk or to wind up in jail with you.”
The bar was a smaller local type on the outskirts of Ia Drang. Nothing overly fancy but certainly not a dive either. But neither was it a place typically visited by Coast Guard personnel.
“Two shots of your best whiskey,” Nikki declared as she sat at the bar.
“A pint of pale ale,” Janet ordered.
“Wuss,” Nikki condemned.
“One of us should remain sober enough to function,” Janet countered.
“This is our chance to let loose Janet. I know you’d like it if I went looking for your stick but I’m really not into that on so many levels,” Nikki chided.
“Fine. If the barkeep knows how to make a fusionare without either of us telling him how, that will be my real order. If not, I will stick with the pale ale.”
The barkeep’s face took on a wicked smile.
In a few moments he mixed what had the appearance of a fusionare.
“I had to substitute some local ingredients for the proper recipe but I think you will find it acceptable.”
Janet cautiously sipped the drink.
“Savashri…” Janet coughed.
“That bad?” Nikki looked sympathetically.
“No. I did not expect that burning sensation.”
“That would be the ijero,” the barkeep smiled. “Gives it a local twist.”
“It is interesting,” Janet resumed nursing her drink.
“Now time to survey the patrons, see who I want to go flirt with…” Nikki used the mirror behind the bar to covertly check out the local patrons.
The barkeep placed two more shots of whiskey in front of Nikki. “From the gentleman at the end of the bar.”
“Maybe I don’t need a wing girl tonight. He certainly looks like some fun,” Nikki checked out the man.
“Go get him, tiger,” Janet smiled.
Nikki slid off to the other end of the bar with her drinks, leaving behind a few bills of local currency to pay for her friend’s drinks.
“Another,” Janet said as she kept working on her drink.
She watched her friend go off to a private booth in the back of the bar as she continued to slowly nurse her drink.
The chime of the door opening and closing announced another customer.
Janet’s hopes for finding her own diversion were crushed as she turned to see who came in.
“You,” Janet seethed.
“I can’t believe it. They let a slaving whore bitch like you into the service? Has the Duchess gone mad?” The man from not so long ago that she had exchanged blows with during her capture had changed little.
“My presence offends, I shall leave.”
“No, you don’t get off that easy. We’re finishing what we started this time.”
"No, you're not. You're going to go back to your seat, and leave your ex-girlfriend alone, sabby wellwallah?" The guy wasn't imposing. He was short, and there were a thousand meters in his stare.
“She ain’t my ex. She’s one of those deserters. A slaver and a whore. Why would you defend her?”
"Then, you got no claim," the short man said evenly. "Miss, my friend over there…" the flat-eyed short man said. "He thinks you're hot. Why don't you go talk to him? I'll deal with ex-boyfriend here. My buddy's name is 'Ox'."
“I understand. I will leave this to you,” Janet nodded, showing just how much she had changed as not long ago a challenge like this would have demanded her direct response.
"You need to step out of this little man."
"No, I really don't. Herr Meier, you had too much already somewhere else, I think. Why not have the barman call you a cab, before the SP's show up. I like this drinking establishment, it would be a shame if it got on the off-limits list, feel me Heinie?"
“What’s the matter slaver whore bitch? Afraid to finish what we started? Need someone else to fight your fights?”
The short man reached out, and brushed his fingers on the man's shirt. "I don't like watching unfair fights, heinrich, and she's not wearing their uniform, so she's not one of them, not anymore. You can have the barman call a cab, or we can have the SP's show up with an ambulance, you choose."
“This place stinks now. But if we ever meet again, slaver whore bitch we will finish what we started. You and me.” The man left.
Eddie Vanh watched him go, then pulled his civilian jacket down, putting the knuckle duster back in his belt. "Keef, gimme a pitch of Ia Drang brown, at my table, and four glasses, ayah?"
"Ayeh, Chief."
Eddie tapped Janet as he passed, "Come on, have a seat, we're going to wait until the patrols spot your… 'friend' out there, otherwise he's going to lay in doggo with his civilian pals."
“Thank you. I must admit it was a difficult choice to not meet his challenge.”
"Yeah, well, you showed you learned restraint," Eddie nodded. "You got more than the Rockjack frail for an escort?"
“I am her escort,” Janet tapped her marine branch insignia.
"Well, I was going to get blotted, but I think maybe not tonight," Eddie mused. "What you say, Ox?"
Horstien chuckled, "Get off the white horse, Eddie, she'll be fine."
"If I do it, it's a civilian under civilian rules. If she does it, it's Captain's mast at minimum," Eddie reminded his friend. "The Service doesn't go soft on that, even when the civvies provoke. I'm doing a public service…. besides, you were supposed to try chatting her up."
"Come on, Eddie!!" Ox despaired.
"He's shy, Sergeant. That's all," Eddie said casually. Janet noted that Eddie sat with his back to the wall, and his eyes were searching the room.
“He is a challenge then? I shall enjoy this night after all.”
"I'd say so," Eddie agreed agreeably, as the barmaid brought a pitcher of something the color of coffee with a cream coloured head, and four glasses. "You want ice in yours?" Eddie asked, as he presumptuously poured all four glasses.
“I have not tried this particular beer. I have found some are better with chilled glasses, some better with ice. Which would you recommend?”
"Then let it stay room temperature, or it's bitter," he cautioned her. "It's a Ia Drang style brown ale."
“Thank you, Eddie. I get your name right?”
"Some men weren't raised right," Eddie noted. "Ahey, Eddie." he nodded.
“I am Janet. You and Nikki seem to be hitting it off as they say.”
"I was raised right," Eddie suggested. "How long, Ox?"
"Five more minutes I would guess, I started the call when you stepped up."
"Good enough."
"You started the call?"
"Eddie signaled," Ox said. "About the time the city boy loudmouth started walking at you. He wasn't sure if we needed SP's or an ambulance."
“Probably both. He is from those tax evaders. He was the one who captured me after the damnable flood waters incapacitated my mech. Supposedly he is also a local boxing champion. But as you surmise he is likely not alone.”
Eddie chuckled. "That was funny to watch," he said. "Usually a Kahanist is… less of a dickhead than to pick a fight with someone still in the service."
Nikki spoke up, "Why did he back down?"
"Accent," Eddie said. "High country guys don't mess with Ranchers from the Folly. Not in a long time… and not alone. We don't fight fair."
“And his father would almost certainly have words with him for causing trouble in town. Both for just being in town, and for causing trouble,” Ox nodded.
"My boy Ox here, he's an ex-ganger from New Saigon. He's big, blonde, thus, 'Ox'. If it got too deep he'd be in there too. In the field, he's a guy who can almost hide in a plain white room, and he can move silently through dry leaves these days."
“And I’m never far from my little gift baskets. If it escalated bad enough we would have options. But thank god it didn’t,” Ox nodded.
"So you're… out?"
"Finished my five," Eddie said. "Maybe a little more, it's done, so it's time to go home and work the ranch."
“What about you, do you have any post service plans?” Ox asked.
“I have not thought that far ahead,” Janet admitted.
"She's like Cheri, Ox, a lifer," Eddie said. "You know, you can probably get personnel to reopen your file and keep your earned rank if you head out before tomorrow-you don't have to muster out."
“That depends on how drunk I get tonight,” Ox nodded.
"Drink Up, Sergeant," Eddie said. "You'd make a shit civilian anyway."
“Aff. In the Clans there is no such thing as life after being a Warrior.” Janet nodded.
"I know, two tours on Huntress, one at Londerholm," Eddie admitted. "Seen how the Clans treat their people first-hand, thus I get why you'd want to be with us instead."
“It was a sobering lesson. But one I have come to realize I needed to learn. Now I finally feel like I actually truly understand honor. Not what the Clans call honor. But the real meaning,” Janet nodded.
"Your promises must weigh more than your threats," Eddie nodded.
“Aff. And Ox, before this night is done, I am going to teach you just what it means when a Clan Trueborn is truly in the mood.”
Eddie's eyes scanned the room even while he drank.
Ox’s expression took on an expression of pleading for help.
Eddie ignored it. "Ox… Nikki, Janet, this side of the table please."
"What's up?"
"Trouble."
“Is he back with friends?” Janet asked.
The door opened and a group of men came in.
"Yes."
“Savashri,” Janet shook her head.
"You're still in the Service, YOU stay out of it." Eddie slid his hands along the table, testing it, as one of the civilians pointed at their corner. "I, on the other hand, mustered out this morning and therefore, I only have to face a civilian court and charges of disorderly conduct."
“There is another option. Perhaps riskier,” Janet said.
“Gun, third guy, left hip, concealed. Also number four, shoulder rig," Eddie identified.
"I see it," Ox said just as quietly. "Knife and maybe a side piece on number one."
"Yep," Eddie nodded.
“What foolish idea is forming in your head? Because I think they’re looking for blood, and serious blood,” Nikki asked.
Eddie stood up, letting Nikki slide behind him, and scooted the table forward half a meter.
Ox was sliding out the side, and moving.
“They should not be the ones to face him. At least not outnumbered as they are,” Janet frowned.
"HEY! You're back again!!" Eddie's expression was shockingly friendly. "You know, I'm really glad she turned you down on that blowjob, I think you might be the bestest wingman I've ever not wanted!!" He was still holding his glass mug, half full of beer.
“This could have stayed between just me and her, but you had to get involved.”
"Yeah, but you had to be a dickhead in public. Look, Joshua, this ain't the fight, or the place, or the time," Eddie sounded so reasonable, loudly, loud enough that the music player stopped.
“We can take this outside. But only if she comes with so we can finish what needs finishing.”
Eddie jerked his thumb, indicating Janet, "She's active duty, dickhead. She's legally obligated not to fight back. I, on the other hand, mustered out this morning. Do the ****** math."
“We won’t tell her commander if you don’t.”
"Naw, see, your promises have to weigh more than your threats, or your word is shit. She swore an oath. If you want a fight, I'm it. You want to beat on a woman who isn't allowed to fight back? I'm also the only deal you're getting, and that second one comes with jail and a trial… for you. I don't think Rabbi Meier's going to be real happy to hear his champion boxer is causing trouble in town, do you? That kind of shit disqualifies you from the tournament. Think about it."
“I see. You want her in the service. So she can suck and ****** every officer.”
Eddie shrugged, "Dunno what you mean there, but I notice you don't have service stripes. She does. You got something to prove, but you didn't volunteer. Tells me who sucks right there. HEY, maybe prison is just your style!!"
A fist wrapped in a length of chain whipped out. Eddie stepped to the side and low, blocking the foot-sweep that would've been missed by someone who wasn't alert. His beer glass, however, whipped into the small ribs under the loudmouth's arm, and broke with a double-crunch that said something else broke too.
Eddie's follow up jammed broken glass into the man's abdomen.
“See Joshua, this isn’t the ring. There’s no refs here. Just you, me, and all the training I went through in how to fight when your life's on the line, not just points!”
Number two reached for his weapon, and Ox racked the pump on a shotgun. "No Guns boys. Your man had a chain, Chief Petty Officer VANH had a mug of ale that is now ruined. Ambulance and Cops are on the way."
The men looked at Ox, and then at the Barman, who had a shortened fowling piece with two barrels and a seeker-light.
"We're going to wait quietly now," Eddie said. "Is there a Corpsman in the house? We got a wounded man here!"
Janet went up to the bar and grabbed a towel and the strongest proof alcohol she could find and began pouring it on the towel and Joshua’s wounds.
"Ephraim Meier, right?" Eddie met the eyes of one of the gunmen.
"Yes…"
"Yeah, figures. Call your Dad. Your brother on the ground's going to need a lawyer. Let him know Chuck Vanh's son put him there, on the ground, with broken ribs and what may turn into peritonitis if the glass isn't taken out."
The kid still stood frozen.
"DO I need to repeat myself, Mister Meier?" Eddie demanded in a drill instructor's tone. "PHONE, call your old man!!"
'Y-yes sir!" the kid moved, fumbling for his portable comm and activating it.
Eddie collected firearms from the rest of the group, examined them, and laid them on the bar.
"Now, cadets to be, what did we learn today?" Eddie continued.
The gathered men looked sheepish as the realization of what they had done was starting to set in and what the consequences would be.
“Now Joshua, if you still feel the need to fight me, there is a way. The Service does allow for us to compete in competitive sports and maintains its own training regimen for boxing. I’m certain an exhibition match could be arranged.” Janet pressed the towel into Joshua’s side as he winced from the sting of the alcohol and pressure. “But that could be a while with your injuries and legal trouble.”
"Good news for him, is they'll let him enlist with a criminal record if it's not class Alpha," Ox mused.
"You know this for sure?" Nikki asked.
"Yeah. I joined up to get out of an assault charge. Five in the service or twenty in Blackgate. I picked five in…"
"You should re-enlist Ox," Eddie said without looking. "Seriously. The kids coming up need a good example."
“I could say the same about you.”
"I… am not a good example," Eddie said. "Besides, someone has to run the home-place, and Mom's getting on in years."
“All right Eddie. I’ll make sure the greenhorns don’t come in too green.”
"Just keep them out of the body bags," Eddie said. "And make sure you keep them from doing something stupid."
“As many as I can. As many as I can,” Ox nodded.
Eddie flashed Nikki a woeful glance, "Sorry about the mess, Lieutenant. Sorry about wrecking your night out."
“There’s still a chance to get my two out of three for a good night out rule met.”
"But… where are we going to find leather pants our size?" Janet quipped.
“We’ll just have to find some other way to get our freaks on with these two,” Nikki nodded.
“Back of the SP cars when they show up?” Janet asked.
“Perfect. We’ll get laid and be up for getting freaky in the back of SP cruisers.”
List of Items[]
Kowloon, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran State)
3063
"...welcome to the wonders of bigotry and racial politics, Sergeant." The woman speaking wore two five pointed stars on her collar, and had worn a campaign hat on her way into the station.
Nevertheless, Janet knew General Evelynn Mosovich on sight. She was hard to miss, really. While they'd been able to rebuild her face, the eyes were a pair of multi-reticle devices.
"Ma'am?"
"Item one: I have eleven witnesses who say you did not take part in the fight. This is good, it means you're not going to be facing charges for assaulting civilians. Congratulations, you absorbed your training correctly… for the most part."
"I guess I do not understand… why am I here?"
"Item two: you were mostly sober during the altercation. Which makes you a witness, potentially to a hate crime, involving one of the most decorated Coast Guard Marines in the last ten years. Who happened to have signed his discharge papers at six a.m. that morning, and is now facing assault with intent to kill in the civilian courts, because the local prosecutor doesn't like Southies. I'm here because I'm technically mister Eddie Vanh's liege lord and acting regent while Her Grace is out and about puking her way to potentially trillions of Kroner in licensing for an invention…and you're here in this room with me, because we're waiting for the lawyers who will take your deposition. I need to know exactly what happened."
"Wait, you are involved?"
"That's what Feudal obligation means. The problem is, I can't sweep it under the flagstones and make it go away. Her Grace insisted on the concept of 'rule of law'...so I need to know how hard I can push this. Which means knowing the facts from someone who at least was sober during the altercation."
"But it is personal."
"Yes. I've known him since he was a toddler, and his family have been linked with mine since the Independence War."
"He did not seek to kill that man."
"He shattered a beer glass, breaking the man's ribs, then used the handle and shards to open his abdomen, Janet. That's plenty of evidence of something, and if it's not killing rage, I'm not sure what is. Walk me through the incident, everything you saw, everything you heard, everything you can remember. Use the mnemonic techniques you were taught in training."
Janet began reciting the play-by-play. General Mosovich did not interrupt, question, or probe for details, she just sat impassively.
"...the Ambulance and the police arrived at that point." Janet finished.
"Thank you for that. You'll be speaking with a civilian lawyer from the prosecutor's office, assuming he gets here, and you'll have a Judge Advocate sitting…" Evelynn cast about, "right there, next to you. The prosecutor will ask leading questions and interrupt. Don't fall for it, it's possible in one of these to get witnesses to remember things they don't actually remember, because those things never happened, by making them question what they saw and heard, or even experienced."
"It was clearly self-defense!"
"No, it's clearly a setup," Evelynn stood. "The Duchess is away, that makes some opportunists more opportunistic. Currying favor with voter bases through manipulated or created crises and events milked for publicity, or to feed ongoing local issues and rivalries, even feuds. You stick to your integrity and speak only the whole truth, let the chips fall where they will… but don't let them manipulate you into anything else."
"What are you going to do, in your… other roles, I mean?"
Evelynn held her campaign hat one-handed. "I'm going to ram it up their ass sideways and wreck some political careers in Hue," she said lightly. "I'm just letting them make their bed of nails first."
"What about my assailant? What about this 'Joshua'?"
"Well, when he gets out of hospital, he'll be facing charges, as will his friends. I think his sports career is, well… done, even if he makes a full recovery. In any case, he is no longer your problem."
"In the Clans-"
"In the Clans, hey, they'd let him bleed out and get a laborer to bury the body. You know it, and I know it. Josh Meier is a civilian. As it stands, he's getting as much medical help as his family can afford, plus what the taxpayers are footing the bill for as a prisoner of Her Grace's Government, awaiting charges for assaulting a serving member of the military. It was threats and insults, but the intent was there with the chain and the pistols, along with the gathering of 'friends'. Have a brilliant morning, Sergeant. It's supposed to be lovely today."
With that, Lady Mosovich was gone.
Problems with Politics[]
Evelynn walked out into the glare of morning light, and popped her cover back on, returning the salutes of Ground Forces, Coast Guards, and local Constables as she walked to the parking lot.
"Your boy's going to be fine. Recordings and multiple witnesses contradict Meier's assertions," she said as she got into the utility truck with Charles Vanh. "His boys went to town looking for a fight and targeted someone they knew couldn't legally fight back."
"It's a stupid law." he mutters.
"Tell Lil'bit that. Or better yet, you're the speaker, get it changed," she parried as she started the truck. "It's not like you don't have the authority to introduce legislation…"
"I lack the ability to get that one passed," he told her. "Nationalists worry about the threat of a military coup. Social Democrats don't like the military, or police. Which is funny, considering they run for the prosecutor's office every election on a law-and-order platform. Royalists would support it, most of the Co-ops… but it's not enough votes without Her Grace stepping in to endorse it up-front."
"This incident might do that," Evvie said. "Swing the Nationalists and Independence factions, anyway. The so-called 'victim' was trying to assault a serving military member over her racial origin."
"That's… disgusting."
"Yeah." She pulled up onto highway One and rolled into the traffic on Kowloon's largest paved east-west artery. "I have no clue what Peng's thinking, bringing this to trial."
"Scary Veteran headlines maybe?" Charles suggested.
"With how many of our people are veterans now? That might play in the Core Worlds… oh ****** me running…"
"Tharkad politics again, isn't it?"
"Yep. I wonder who's hooks are in Peng's office and what they're hoping to achieve. But it's Tharkad politics, not even OURS."
“Opportunism. It has to be. Because really, there could be lots of parties at play here. Not everyone is happy with Victor’s solution to our political affiliation, especially with what Liz and Arthur are up to. And letting former Steel Vipers immigrate and even into the Service has upset a lot of people. Lots of flavors of reactionaries. Anti-technology, anti-clan, and just plain old anti-logic. This incident has just provided them all with a common ground on which they can make a stand.”
“Makes it more convenient to site in the political artillery.”
Smear Campaign[]
New Avalon, Federated Commonwealth (Federated Suns, State Capital)
3063
"Tell me this isn't happening." Elizabeth Ngo-Steiner-Davion said, reading the update from home.
“Oh it’s happening.” Helena Drillson (Cameron) was thumbing through a tabloid. “Some of this anti-Clan sentiment is out there. This article is trying real hard to make it out that she was soliciting. As a prostitute.”
"We knew that kind of crap would be going on, Helena. It's who it's splashing on," Elizabeth said with a scowl.
“Which doesn’t help with some of his comments caught on recordings.”
"I guess we cut the sales trip short and let the professionals handle it. Cheer up, we're going to have to skip the Ender's Cluster trip this round. I'll just have to let the real professionals do their jobs."
“There’s always next year right?” Helena tried.
"For now," Liz said. "Truth is, I need to put Corporate Security into looking at who's pushing funds to the Social Democrats."
“Want me to ask Jane to work her magic on the HPG and Comstar banking access?”
"Yes, please?" Liz said. "SDP and Absolute Law parties-their talking heads are talking in unison. That tells me outside money."
“And now for the really big question: what are we going to do when we find the source?”
"Depends on a host of things. I expect I'll have to do something Grandfather rarely did," Liz stated. "At least once or twice, but I suspect breaking someone's credit will be enough."
“That could be more difficult this time, since Victor’s made Kowloon a jointly administered world. Makes a lot of our old leverages work differently now.”
"Yeah, it does," Elizabeth's face went to that emotionless mask. "He's also made me effectively a sovereign ruler. Which opens some tool boxes I wanted to keep closed."
“I wish there was more I could do to help.”
"You're doing enough, and if you do more, you might be implicated, which won't do, Helena," Liz told her. "Christ, I'm going to have to talk to Victor about this… and whoever gets the First Lord's seat. No matter what we find out, or it might splash on Arthur, or the kids."
“Shit. Theodore’s got about a year left. Hell of a bit of timing.”
"Election's in November," Liz agreed. "We're in May, so less than a year."
“I keep hoping this is a nightmare. Like the last one I had.”
"Nope, this is politics in what passes for peacetime," Liz shook her head.
“I suppose it is. That Ivory Tower I grew up in shielded me from a lot, but not everything,” Helena nodded.
Elizabeth got up and checked the connected stateroom. Arthur was snoring softly. Returning, she said, "Baseline-first, identify who's running it, and what their real objectives are. Going with the principle that the methods you use give the results you have to live with, and assuming the other side believes the ends justify the means."
“Well right now, about the only people off the suspects list are on this Dropship and Evvie.”
"Throttle back. Clear your mind. Who Gains? They're using falsehoods and staged incidents, stoking bigotry, who gains? How do they gain? This size of coordination doesn't happen off of raw feelings, that's just the people they're using."
“Let’s see. There’s the Brotherhood of Cincinnatus. They’d gain simply by making Kowloon look unstable.”
Elizabeth brought out a stylus and a board, and wrote "Brotherhood of Cincinatus". "Who else? And what do they gain that's worth the effort?"
“The reactionaries. There are a lot of people who don’t like the way things are changing and Kowloon is the most visible example of radical change.”
"I'd say those fit more in our 'possible finger puppets'," Liz commented. "Reactionaries are emotion driven. Whoever is doing this, running it, orchestrating it, is using logic first."
“Yeah and there’s no one solid group of them to call out, except the argument that the Brotherhood could be put in this category too.”
Liz wiped the slate,and wrote something else. 'Who Stands to Gain?' followed by two categories, Money and Power.
“Of the various reactionary groups, the Brotherhood does seem the only one organized enough to pull something like this off, and would fall in the power column.”
"They're ONE suspect," Liz said, then she wrote Brotherhood of Cincinnatus under the 'power' column, but then, she wrote something else. Old Earth, and she put it under both columns.
“Given the rhetoric of some of the factions of the Word of Blake that would make them prime suspects. Which almost makes me want to discount them for being too obvious.”
"Gaia devoured her children," Liz said. "Earth preyed on the rest of the human worlds. It's what set off the Outer Reaches Rebellion, and why Mitch Avellar didn't want you as First Lord. I see both a money and a power motive there, but it's dependent on who's really running the Communications Ministry-is it St. Jamais, or is it Mori?"
“Another fringe group to put in the power column would be the Citizens for Davion Purity. They would love to end the alliance and are gunning for your husband and his siblings.”
Liz wrote that one in, then frowned. "More like puppets than active players, Helena," she said. "They are, as you put it, 'fringe'. That means lacking the mainstream influence to have DBC and CBC running the propaganda, never mind Associated Press or Der Spiegel."
“Yeah, and with their power base being mostly in that half of the realm, well… it’s not impossible they’d find sympathizers to help them out with certain groups in this half.”
"Like I said, they make better sock puppets for someone else… However, foreign intelligence agencies, including every Star League Member State? Each one would have both a power, and money interest, including the Lyrans."
“Yeah. ISF, SAFE, Maskirovka, MIIO, LIC, and on and on.”
"So, let's look at things differently." Liz sat down and folded her hands. "Governments, mine, the Commonwealth, the Cappies, Dracs, Free Worlds, every one of them have a cadre of people who are neither appointed to their position, nor elected. And I'm not talking the Nobility… and we're disrupting the hell out of their comfort zones."
“That is certainly true and opens up a lot more suspects.”
"Yep, it does indeed. Because that group can include both puppets,and puppet masters, and history shows it's a group that has few to no hesitation about running destabilizing ops against other states, even when their leaders are talking alliance."
“And they’ve clearly studied Kowloon to know exactly who to back for their efforts.”
"Let's look back, oh… about a thousand years ago exactly. There was this tiny country in South-East Asia, allied to one of the big Alliances of the mid-twentieth century, the 'Cold War' alliances. Their president was a chap named Ngo Dinh Diem… and their biggest primary ally was in with them, fighting a war with neighbors to the north, and a civil war at home. One day, some mid-level officials in that large, primary ally, decided he wasn't 'effective enough' at holding back the Communist threat… so they arranged a series of incidents and encouraged a coup. The Republic of Vietnam spent the next decade bouncing between incompetent military juntas to make the jobs of some men in Langley, Virginia slightly more convenient. We can't pretend our allies aren't suspects in this, even if their Heads of State happen to be innocent."
“It’s Ryan Steiner’s pro-Stiener secession movement all over again…” Helena shook her head.
Elizabeth nodded. "We stopped that one by bribing the right guy, then dropping an LIC audit on him. I don't have access to the court in Tharkad, but I do have Arthur, and he does… But we need to know who 'the right guy' is, and if we can possibly reach him first. And second, if a bribe will work, or if I have to make other… arrangements to get someone who we CAN negotiate with in place in this person's stead. Grandfather only had to do it three times… and he did it from a cell in Blackgate."
“Well neither of us is in a cell in Blackgate yet.”
"I'd prefer not to have prison time added to my resume'," Elizbeth agreed. "SO… we play the odds, and see where clues can be found."
“Let’s see, there’s no butler in this scenario. They always do it in that case.”
"Counterpoint, our suspects are ALL the butlers. Long term servants of the powerful whose positions grant them power. But not the kind that makes it onto 'Lifestyles of the Nobility' on the Feelings channel. Our strongest suspects are not 'public' officials. They're officials, paid by the public, who's never even heard of them."
“Ugggh. That opens up way too many holodrama tropes for who could have done it.”
"Including the easiest way to eliminate the problem. Fire them." Liz relaxed into her seat. "Statecraft 201, Helena. Everyone is replaceable because you can't afford for them not to be. Anyone who you can't replace? Is in charge because you can't function without them."
“Yeah. I know. Votes mean nothing. Those who count votes are the ones that matter.”
"Contrarily, if you allow that state of affairs to continue, the public will stop believing in votes. Shortly thereafter, they stop believing in you. And when they do that, they stop doing what?"
“They stop obeying."
"Bingo. You win the chicken dinner. They stop obeying. A lord who is not obeyed is a noisy beggar who will soon no longer be a lord. Katrina raised hell with Arthur Luvon, but Grandfather had five key assistants to key advisors assassinated in three orders. Those advisors began failing their lord, and the public lost confidence in Alessandro. As a result? Katrina was Archon. Alessandro had people he couldn't function without, so eliminating those people destroyed his powerbase the same way eliminating a counterweight will destroy a flywheel. The first two were why my Grandfather was seized."
“In this case though, it seems we’re dealing with people who believe they are irreplaceable.”
"Right, which will net us some hilarious faces when they get fired," Liz said. "IF my supposition is right and it's either allied, or Lyran. Enemy states that are outright enemies? I have fewer scruples about hiring the assassins. I'm not my Grandfather."
“Well thanks to Jane, we do have a dropbox number that at one point belonged to the Dancing Joker. I wonder if they still check it or if they’ve moved on to a different one now,” Helena mused.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, we need to find out who we're playing against. That should inform what we do next."
“Yeah. More wait and see. I just hope when we’re done we don’t shake too much public confidence in government.”
"Do you know what scares me, Helena?" Liz asked.
“That we’re getting far too used to this sort of thing?”
"I grew up with it. No. What scares me, Helena, is that this is the 'governing' part I actually enjoy... It's why I pawn so much of it off on poor Charlie, and now Evvie. If I didn't have my science, and you, I’d be earlobes deep in these plots, because it's the only part that is clear to me."
“The truth of government is no one person can do it on their own. We all need others.”
"I know. It's why I can identify the weaknesses in another company's positions so easily. It's how I knew what to offer when we were building yours. I know I need people, you need people, and I know my adversaries in a negotiation, or merger, or takeover? Need people, same for statecraft… and those people are an asset, and a vulnerability."
“Which brings us to a paradox. The right kind of people are irreplaceable in a government, but for government to work they must be replaceable.”
"I disagree. If you can't replace someone, then you need them too much, and they become a complication. But it does limit the pool for replacements: you have to be able to find enough of the right kind of people, and that's hard. I can't replace Arthur, or the kids, or Evelynn, or you… or a lot of people I might need to replace. But not because of their function. It's because of who they are."
”And that is my contention. For government to work, you need people of a certain caliber, morally, ethically, and philosophically. Those sorts of people are not common.”
"Counterpoint: you need a good average because the perfect is impossible," Liz observed. "Thus, why I let Cao Ky take backhanders in New Saigon County, or look the other way when Donnsen appoints yet another semi-competent relative to a no-work job in Hue. I know their dirt, their corruption, their inefficiencies. But the average is mostly functional and when it gets too bad, I can make sure they're replaced with someone who at least fears the rep of 'Duchess Headshot', if they aren't clean themselves."
“It is better to be feared than loved,” Helena nodded.
"Maybe. I think Machiavelli was ignoring a lot of context. Nobody will hide a Tyrant who's losing to their vengeful enemies, so being feared limits your ability to spring back."
“I do tend to think that is a translation issue. Some of the other sections do make it seem like he does allow for both states to be true at the same time.”
"He specifically says in the translation Grandfather used to read to us, 'it is best to be both'," Liz allowed. "Which, I have followed to the best I can manage. The real term is Respect. If the people fear you but don't respect you, they'll eat you alive as an enemy. If they love you and don't respect you, they'll walk over you like a cheap carpet. Respect? That's a hard one to earn, and it's only ever earned, not given. If you must 'demand' respect, it's because you don't 'command' respect-that is, deserve it."
“Sometimes I wonder what he’d say about someone like Uncle Alyks.”
"I imagine the answer a sociopath would give, a moralist would give, and so on. You told me about 'Uncle Alyks', and the impression I landed on was a manipulative abuser… Your pardon for that, but that's the vibe I get."
“I’ve had a fair bit of time to think about that. I believe in his own way he did care about me, but it’s clear how he carried that out…”
"Ask Seether. Most abusers DO care, in a twisted way, about their victims. She told me once, in confidence, that in the worst abuse cases she ever worked, the abuser thought they were being righteous and kind."
“I know. In a strange way I’ve been able to resolve what Amaris did to me, for the most part. It’ll always be with me and a part of me. But I still have the baggage of Aleksander Kerensky to off load.”
"We all have baggage, Helena. I'm burdened by a commitment to be nothing like my biological mother," Liz confessed. "I drink a hell of a lot less than I used to and saddle Arthur with disciplining the children, because I remember the bruises hidden under clothes, and wearing long sleeves in summertime, and not going swimming because someone might see. I refuse to do that to my kids."
“I know. And for what it is worth, I think you’re doing fine.”
Liz poured water into a glass. "I'm always on the edge of it, Helena," she said. "I can feel it, sometimes."
“And just as you pull me back from my ledge, I do my best to pull you back from yours.”
"Here's to learning from the past, Helena, so we don't make other people's mistakes." Liz raised her water.
“Cheers.”