August 31st, 2267. 14:45 New Xenuian Headquarters – Kitchen
The headquarters had been a chaotic mess today. All heads on deck were called very early in the morning. The reason for the chaos was because of the Freemason’s Daily headline, ‘Dale Rosberg’s Trashy Character Exposed!’
That was the first domino that fell. All of the other small media and news companies picked up the headline. Elias was aware that the Daily Colonial, the largest media company on the planet, was doing an in-depth review of the final two candidate’s characters. What they were writing about wasn’t known, but there was substantial chatter that the Xenuians had seen.
The first article was damning, though not at all unexpected to Elias. The floodgates that opened it were bad news. The Daily Colonial’s piece was released around noon and contained the most salacious, and frankly worst, things Dale was accused of doing. So bad were the described actions that Dale’s wife was very publicly filmed exiting their home with two large bags. She was seen crying heavily as the car auto-drove to an undisclosed destination.
Draco then walked into the kitchen and looked at Elias, “Uhm, boss…”
“Cancel the canvassing. Pay the people but no bonuses will be paid,” Elias said with a sigh, “How much did this plan cost us?”
“Well, to be frank, the signup rate was abysmal, so we’re only out about two million credits.”
“Dare I ask what the damage in the polls is?”
“It’s early but a ten percent swing is expected as the best possible scenario for us. As of right now William is ahead of us by two percent, which is a six-point swing from yesterday,” Draco closed his eyes, “One of the pollsters that I’ve been in contact with expects it to change by up that amount again tonight.”
“Is there anything that can be done in the debate tonight to alter that?”
Draco shook his head, “The exposés that have been released are just crushing Dale. Sir, I think we need to have a conversation with him so that he doesn’t burn any bridges with William. We need him in the cabinet.”
Elias nodded, “Once my meal is done, I’ll have a conversation with him. I’m at a loss at what to say to him though.”
“If it makes you feel any better, neither do I.”
Elias took a bite from his hastily made sandwich and smiled, “It doesn’t but I thank you for the attempt to comfort me from this situation.”
Draco shrugged and headed back to the office. There was plenty of work ahead of him this afternoon. On one hand, their voter registration campaign had been unexpectedly poor, which ended up saving them a fair amount of money. That was the only real benefit, the pollsters believed such voters who barely supported Dale flocked to William instead. Their one real plan to influence the election worked in reverse.
Elias would finish his sandwich in the kitchen alone. Truth be told, he didn’t want to be around anyone. He was seriously tempted to tell the team to quit working and head into the city for some fun. Of course, he wasn’t about to do that. Ignoring the work that did actually need to be done, his team had a habit of dying when left to their own devices.
That, more than any other reason, held him back from giving such an order. There was no evidence of an enemy agent, but Elias’ gut said otherwise. Even Constantine thought Elias was grasping at straws. Nevertheless, Elias still believed someone was out there working against them.
With his sandwich now finished Elias headed upstairs to his office. The mood in the outer officer was dour. Everyone had looks of defeat on their faces. Elias knew how hard and quickly his team could work, there was no sense of urgency or passion behind their efforts. There was little that he could say at this point to rally the troops.
He walked into his office and sat down in his chair. He pulled up the communication system and began to call Dale. The call rang a few times before being answered by a panicked woman. Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Good afternoon, this is Mr. Rosberg’s campaign, how may I direct your call?”
“Good afternoon, I’m Elias Mendicate, I need to speak with Dale immediately.”
“Oh, thank god, I was wondering when you’d call. We all were really,” the relief in her voice could be felt on Elias’ end, “I will transfer you over to him immediately.”
The call went silent for a moment then changed to some annoying hold music. Moments later a frantic and very angry Dale picked up. Elias was taken aback by the entrance.
“WHAT IN THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?”
“Excuse me?” Elias sounded confused.
“You told me that you’d back this campaign and get me elected.”
“I would watch the attitude. Yes, we did tell you that we’d back you. Of course, when we spoke initially we had no way of knowing you were a man bereft of any societal morals and possessed a dubious ethical character.”
“ARE YOU SAYING THIS IS MY FAULT?” screamed Dale.
“Yes, your past actions have caused you to be exposed. You tried to cultivate an image that ran counter to who you really were,” Elias spoke slowly and methodically, “We’ve done significant research on the matter, we believe someone from the tabloids contacted a writer for the Daily Colonial three days ago. We don’t know where the meet-up was nor did we know the contacting individual. It is presumed that a large packet of information was shared. The obvious issue was that we learned about this after the articles had been published, not before.”
“Fucking hell. We’re going to go on an all-out blitz…”
“No, you will apologize for your past transgressions and own up to it all,” Elias said firmly, “You need to own this in order to gain a position on Wiliam’s cabinet.”
“Why are these fucking news fucks not investigating William?”
“They have, but unlike you, they’ve found very little to go after him. The worst they have is him playing hardball with companies he was trying to purchase. There’s no history of him cheating, using prostitutes, going on drug binges, or even drinking in excess. Or cheating his would-be business partners or the owners of companies he was trying to buy.”
“I am not admitting to shit, we’re going to fight…”
“You are down six points in the polls already after only six hours. That number could double by tomorrow morning. Or worse,” Elias said, “Attacking William or even the media would guarantee you two things, losing the election and the seat in the new government. Stained as you are now, you are still useful.”
“Fuck that, I am going to go on the attack, that will bring my supporters…”
“YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ANYTHING YOU ARROGANT CUR!” Elias shouted, “Shut up and listen to me. I need you in the cabinet. If you go against my wishes, I will make it nearly impossible for you to collect any revenue from your reclamation project. Do as I say.”
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“You wouldn’t dare…” Dale’s sentence hung on the last word for an uncomfortable moment.
“I would. I never wanted to dictate to you how things should be done on your end, but now I fear I must put our mission ahead of any desires you may have,” Elias said as he sent an information packet to Dale, “I just sent you a list of things I need you to do during the debate.”
Dale responded sarcastically, “What is that?”
“The opening question is going to be William’s and your character. You will answer that you’ve shown a lack of good morals in your personal life. You will apologize for your transgressions and you will endeavor to be a changed and importantly a better man in the future. Now whether you become a better person matters little to me,” Elias said confidently, “After that, you will ignore any petty dig or attack on your character and you will focus on the topics at hand. Under no circumstances are you to attack the media or William.”
“WHY MUST I SUFFER THIS INDIGNITY???” Dale lashed out.
“Because you put yourself in the spotlight and because you acted like such a lout,” Elias snapped back immediately, “You will do this because it will show that you are committed to your campaign and cause. William will both notice and respect that. He may think a great deal of things about you, but he will respect that. And that is exactly what both we and you need.”
“And if I do this, charade, you will not hold that development deal over my head.”
“Correct, you will need to humble yourself today. If you play ball and get a seat in William’s cabinet, then we will foreswear that development. Otherwise, that clause in the contract we sent you will be activated,” Elias spoke calmly yet firmly, “Dale, I want to impress this upon you, I do not want to do that. You can make all the credits in the world for all I care, I want you on that cabinet, end of story, that is the only thing I want you to do.”
“But in order to do that I need to humiliate myself,” Dale’s face flashed several different powerful emotions.
“No, your past actions have already done that for you. I need you to rise above the mess that you’ve created and be better now,” Elias said calmly, “Or at the very least say and look like you’re going to do that. Now, if you are able to do that, you’ll be able to work on fixing your image for a future campaign."
All Dale could do is give a meek nod of his head, “Very well. I’ll read through this information and contact you if I have any additional questions.”
Elias tried to smile, “It’s always the darkest before the light shines. You’ll get through this.”
The call then ended. Elias spun his chair around and looked out his window. The sprawling cityscape was all he could see. But despite his calm appearance, he knew deep down months’ worth of work was all for naught. All because they put their support behind a hideously flawed candidate.
The big question would be whether or not the new government would review industrial output quickly enough to impact their plans. It was too early to say, but Elias believed, and desperately hoped, that they were at a point where nothing the new government could do to negatively impact the construction of the gate.
“We needed him in charge of the government when we turn this system into our beachhead,” Elias said as he stared out into the distance, “What will change now?”
21:30 Living Room
There was no hope for the positive outcome the team so desperately desired. Thus the team tempered their expectations and held out a simple hope, for Dale to not fuck up this debate. For two long, and quite painful, hours he had been successful.
Everyone noted how Dale looked like he was on his last legs. He was attacked from every angle and had just taken a beating during this debate. To his great credit, Dale made several great points, points that the public comment on the debate noted and respected. But the polls were a lost cause at this point.
“William is at fifty-three percent, Dale is down to forty percent now,” Castor said, “Eighty percent of the undecided are leaning toward William now too, though to be fair the sampling on that is pretty fresh.”
“The moment the articles were released we lost,” Daphne said, “All that work and money for what?”
“We still have an into the cabinet in play,” Elias said, “That is more than nothing.”
“To be fair it feels like we’re clinging to something that doesn’t make us look like idiots,” Draco said, “We should have picked another candidate…”
“The problem with picking another candidate was who else would both take our money and had the capability to win,” Katherina said, “Frankly no candidate checked both those boxes besides Dale. We knew of the sketchy background but went forward with it.”
“Dale was the right investment,” Viviana sounded disappointed, “But he got hit with a scandal at the wrong time.”
Elias looked down at his data slate, “Hmmm.”
“What are you reviewing?” Draco asked.
“The industrial output. It’s possible that the final bits of the ring will be produced before the election occurs, but the worst-case scenario appears to be mid-week of election week,” Elias said, “Which means the assembly of the gate should be finished by early to mid-December.”
“So, what, if anything could they do to hang up the project?” Daphne leaned forward and inquired.
“They could slow down or halt any ongoing projects,” Elias said.
“But isn’t that construction project classified as a Confederate technological test?” Viviana asked, “Shouldn’t that pre-empt or prevent the next government from intervening?”
“In theory, but they could halt things if they so choose,” Elias sighed.
“What if we manufactured justification to not only not pause it, but make it the primary focus for the industrial sector to complete?” Draco said, “That way the new government wouldn’t dare mess with it?”
Castor nodded, “That could work. The original message came from a university on Earth with tacit approval from a Senate subcommittee.”
“A subcommittee that has never heard of, nor ever has reviewed, this project,” Elias said, “Facts that could be found.”
“Why can’t we spoof a request, or make it sound like the subcommittee is taking up the request by the end of the year, or something?” Daphne asked.
“Tomorrow morning Draco and Castor, I want you working on that. It needs to be locked down. I want the message sent the week before the election,” Elias said, “Which means you are under three weeks to go.”
“October second is the election, right?” Katherina asked.
“Yes, first Monday of the month,” Elias said.
The team quieted down to listen to the final statements. William made a clear and concise message for his candidacy. Even Elias had to admit that he was the better candidate for these people, even if their way of life was coming to an end in mere months. The message was quite moving.
Dale’s message was a conciliatory tone. It didn’t come off as well rehearsed or practiced. He ran on at times and looked mighty uncomfortable speaking. His apology came off as honest, even accepted by a great number of citizens. But they weren’t going to vote for him. For starters, they didn’t like being lied to by him, and secondly, the lack of a strong moral fiber in Dale’s body made him an unappealing candidate.
Elias then stood up from the chair, “Well, I’m calling it a night. I want this day to be over.”
The team collectively agreed and slowly began turning things off. Before too long everyone was heading to their quarters. Thirty minutes later the lights were off, and everyone was in bed. The Xenuian base was still as could be, resting away their dreariness hoping that the next day would be a more positive one.
September 1st, 2267. 03:27 New Xenuian Headquarters – Garage
The subterfuge team made their way back from whatever their mission was that day after midnight. One after another arrived until Constantine, their leader, showed up an hour later than the rest. More importantly, he arrived back home alone.
“Fuck me harder,” Daphne moaned out as she leaned against the grey wall.
“As you wish,” Constantine said as he grabbed Daphne’s ass hard when he thrust into her.
The two continued their affair for thirty more minutes. Daphne was aglow with her recent tryst. She hastily put her clothes back on and winked at Constantine.
“Remember, the idiot mustn’t find out about us.”
“There is no us,” Constantine hissed as he put his junk back in his pants, “There never will be an us. We are using each other for physical pleasure, nothing more, nothing less.”
“That wasn’t the deal, you said…”
Constantine interrupted her by grabbing her cheeks and squeezing, “You inferred that I had capabilities that would allow you to avoid punishment back home. While I have some pull, for someone such as you? I’m not sure anyone is capable of preventing that.”
Constantine then let go of Daphne’s face. She stepped back and gritted her teeth together. She then looked back at him.
“Then find the person that can allow me to be me.”
“You’ll have to be married immediately. Elias is, to be frank, the only person who even showed any willingness to be with a woman as damaged and ill-minded as you. The power his family wields will be necessary for you to not be re-educated.”
Daphne scowled as she looked at the floor, “Fine, I’ll marry the idiot. While we’re on this mission I expect you to continue fucking me good. I’ll give him my sloppy seconds.”
Constantine walked over to Daphne and leered down at her, “If you try anything against me, I will kill you. You may have been able to control Elias, but if you so much as look at me incorrectly, I will end you.”
“Oh, I am keenly aware that you’d do that,” Daphne formed an evil-looking grin, “If I die from this mission your wife back home will get a message delivered from me. And if you don’t utilize all your resources to help me, I guarantee you that I will end your career. You see, two people can play this game, but I’m not interested in stopping, and I suspect you aren’t either.”
Constantine turned and left the garage in silence. Daphne couldn’t make out what expression he wore. She knew she’d have to be careful now. Both sides were interested in continuing their carnal relationship, however temporary it may be. But both sides were also keenly interested in not having their dirty launder aired.
But how long could they keep this a secret?