(Officer’s Club, Sarcyne Naval Base, Dimiya Orbit)
“So, what did you need to see me about, Alok?”
Captain Maeral Zumrora was in a rather sour mood, despite his recent promotion. While a captain in Naval Intelligence was important, it really just meant that they were dealing with important problems. Like Alok Paxisys, he was one of the few intelligence officers that the Black Star Company’s CEO liked, and was willing to work with, which is why he was stuck on the Navy’s version of Paxisys’s task force.
Today, they were both meeting in the Officer’s Club here on the base. While the Confederate Intelligence Service was a civilian organization, they worked with Naval Intelligence often. Each group had different specialties and focuses, which helped to paint a broader picture of the situation. Of course, Paxisys was wearing a Lieutenant’s uniform, unmarked, as a polite cover to let him sit openly here in ‘officer country’.
The reason they chose to meet here was because of concerns they both shared about other parties who may be looking to listen in on their conversations. Actually, they rotated their meeting spots regularly, so that it would be difficult to plan an ambush, or arrange anyone to bug their meeting location. It was simply good tradecraft to not allow yourself to fall into predictable patterns. Those patterns might be unavoidable when you were dealing with contacts who didn’t know your face, or who communicated through dead drops, but when you knew the person on the other side, you could dispense with some of the checking of bona fides in favor of ensuring that no one knew where to set up to spy on you. With enough time and preparation, he knew, it was possible to get an agent into even the most secure facilities, and exploiting habits was one of the ways infiltrators got on the inside.
Paxisys sighed as he took his chair. “Remember that exclusive retreat you hired a special contractor to clean up a while back?” Despite picking new places to meet whenever they needed to talk without leaving electronic trails, there was no excuse for sloppy tradecraft like saying things openly.
“Yeah, can’t say everyone was happy with the end result, but so far things have worked out fine. Why, something come up?”
“Well, one of my people was looking over the supply manifests detailing the takeaway from that job. You know they used reclaimed materials for some of the new work, right?”
“Yeah, can’t say as I blame them, honestly, with the way that whole business went down. And their business is built on using reclaimed goods wherever they can to keep costs down, right? The quality has never suffered, so it hasn’t been an issue, and that attitude instead of just scrapping everything and starting fresh makes them popular in some circles.”
Paxisys nodded. “Yes, well, you heard how they got a couple pieces out of that which were better than the rest? Most of them went to decorating the contractor’s yacht.”
“Yeah, I remember. Also, one got sent to that long-term expansion project he has going, right? What about it?”
“Well, a couple of the special pieces went missing after he took delivery. I’ve done some checking, and the original supplier of one of those pieces went out of business rather suddenly over in Alliance space. I’m wondering if you’ve heard anything more about where those pieces may have gone?”
“No, I haven’t. But then, my associate in the area isn’t exactly well informed about such things. He does his best, but the limitations we had to put on him to keep the relationship…” Zumrora shrugged helplessly.
“I understand. Unfortunately, my gut is telling me that the contractor may be looking to expand operations locally as well as abroad, or at least open channels for information gathering to try and predict future trends. One of the pieces that went missing would be perfect for a local office.”
“I see. So, is this a continuation of the SP debacle, or something else?”
Paxisys considered that for a moment, judging his answer carefully. “Between the SP, and that hothead you had to deal with before the contractor worked on that retreat, I’d say it is more of a CYA setup, but you know how quickly things can go from CYA to something more proactive if things hit the rotary air mover.”
“You think this is going to be a problem?”
“On its own? No. But sooner or later someone is going to start going down the path the SP did, because that contractor doesn’t play by the rules everyone else does, and he’s made no secret about the fact that he isn’t going to play their game. There are a lot of important players out there, and they do not take kindly to people refusing to dance to their tune. Eventually, someone is going to get a case of terminal stupidity.”
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“And that guy isn’t going to just sit back and let it happen, especially now that he has diversified into other markets. They know they’re losing any leverage they might have over him, and he knows they know. They’re going to try something stupid, and he’s going to be ready for them.”
Paxisys nodded. “So now I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, I would really like to keep incidents of terminal stupidity from causing more collateral damage than is absolutely necessary. On the other hand, part of my job is to keep monitor and control unauthorized information channels.”
Zumrora winced. “Yes, I can see where that would put you in a difficult position, especially given the nature of who was most likely to get stupid. Thankfully, my area of responsibility isn’t as contentious. Some pride involved, maybe, but the new tools and the training opportunity they recently gave us went a long way to smoothing over those issues.”
The captain considered for a moment, and said, “From what I know of the man, he won’t get too upset about any actions you take to curtail his access, as long as they are ‘part of the job’. Like how he tolerates and even invites a certain level of action when the roles are reversed.”
Paxisys considered that. “So, focus on protecting major assets, while allowing him to essentially do as he pleases inside certain boundaries? Yes, I can make that work. We have to accept a certain level of these things from other governments, after all. But if it comes out, there are people who will be more than simply annoyed with a business doing it.”
“Well, they are in that interesting middle ground. Owning an entire star system as an independent colony may qualify them as a government in some eyes.”
“Yeah, but if you go that route, then you have to deal with the major holdings they have in Confederate space.”
“Yes, there is that.” Zumrora paused, and then shook his head. “I’m sure that guy has considered that point, though, or someone in his group has. Might be better to just be ready to react to whatever he has planned than trying to run preemptive damage control and making things worse because we guessed wrong about which way he’d leap.”
Paxisys considered that. “It may leave us open to a bit of backlash, but compared to the other potential problems, I like it. Though I just hope that nothing happens before we get an idea of the size of his network.”
Zumrora chuckled darkly at that. “And since when have we been that lucky since that guy came on the scene?”
“That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”
(Private Box, Shadowlight Concert Hall, Thelorious, Dimiya)
Senator Ayda Bryneiros was enjoying the performance of one of Thelorious’s hottest acts when the door to her private box opened unexpectedly. Her eyes flashed to the Felisan woman who entered, and then to the guard behind her. He said nothing, but gave her a signal they had arranged long before. Anger turned to caution in a flash. This woman was trouble. What kind, she didn’t know, but if Rathal had used the signal, then it wasn’t good.
“Who in the abyss are you, then?”
The Felisan smiled, and moved easily in her expensive dress gown, looking not out of place in a setting like this. She said nothing until she was seated next to Ayda, her tail swishing slightly in what Ayda knew was a sign of confidence. Finally, she settled in the chair, and said, soft enough that eavesdroppers would be quite frustrated, but Ayda could still hear her over the performance, “Who I am is of no importance. Who I serve is quite another matter altogether. You see, my Master is someone of a degree of importance, and because of that, people tend to seek out disagreements with him, and his people.”
“What does that have to do with you, you might wonder? Well, Senator Bryneiros, you are a member of the Intelligence Oversight Committee, which has, in the past, been used by my Master’s rivals to try and impact his affairs. You, yourself, were not a part of those activities, which is why you retain your position when so many others have lost theirs. Now, my Master would like your… cooperation so that, should similar activities come up in your committee, then you will allow him to know, so he can take proper measures to prevent things from getting out of hand.”
Ayda’s eyes narrowed. This Felisan couldn’t be suggesting… No, she had to be. The last major shakeup on the Committee was because the Shining Path had taken a run at Black Star, and had apparently gotten their hands caught in the cookie jar. The idea that their faction leader organized an assassination was foolish, despite the evidence given to the insurance company after that particular policy was paid out. No, despite what was said publicly, everyone knew that the whole thing was a very pointed hit, and the one who did it had gotten away clean. It was a very clear example of why one should get the measure of their opponent before they tried to strike.
She took a breath, and said, “And why would your Master, no matter how many Black Stars are in his skies, think it would be appropriate to come to me? Why would he believe that I would agree to even listen to what he has to say, through you, instead of reporting you to Confederate Intelligence? That is, after all, what I should be doing this moment.”
“Ah, but that is simple enough. You are from Tevion, are you not? A very conservative planet, that one. Very religious. If I’m not mistaken, Tevion boasts the largest concentration of hardline worshippers of the Communion of the Three Divines. Things like the Rite of Luwreni aside, they tend to be rather set in their ways when it comes to issues of morality, especially sexual morality, yes?”
Ayda most certainly did not like the way this conversation was starting to go. Hesitantly, she nodded, “Yes, it often puts us at odds with other parts of the Confederacy, but Tevion is more conservative than most. Your Master would probably be run off world the moment he tried to set foot on the planet, to be honest.”
“No doubt, no doubt. But it isn’t my Master that is the concern here. You, on the other hand, are known for being something of a moderate, at least as far as your people are concerned. Your opponents have mentioned more than once that your appearances at services are few and far between, and have gotten less frequent the longer you’ve held your seat. The last election was a close one, wasn’t it? Your opponent got over forty percent of the vote.”
“And what does that have to do with this?”
“Why, that should be obvious, Lady Sugarplum.”
Ayda’s blood froze at the name, and she was sure her heart stopped at the mere mention of it. No wonder Rathal had given the signal. Oh god, how did she know? How had she found out? She’d been so careful.
“Yes, I think you begin to see how this affects you.” The Felisan was still talking but she was hardly listening. “Imagine the shock back home when people learn that the respected, if somewhat moderate, Senator Bryneiros was moonlighting in an underground ‘ponygirl’ racing league, and as one of the prize-winning mares, no less! And that her trusted bodyguard was not only her owner, but her breeder as well? The scandal!”
“W-what does your Master want?”
“My Master is a fair man. In return for his help ensuring this information does not come to light, and perhaps entertaining him with an ‘audience’, when he happens to be on Dimiya, he simply asks that you provide regular reports on anything ‘interesting’ that comes across your desk, or is mentioned in Committee.”
She paused, and then said, “Oh, and should you wish to continue on the racing circuit, have no fear, as my Master does not shame others for their kinks. And, as the new ‘manager’ of the League, after the former manager had a sudden urge to retire, you will find that the information on all participants, as well as that of the regular spectators, is far better protected than it was before.”
With that, the Felisan handed her a card, which she took dumbly, and left the box, leaving a horrified Ayda alone with her thoughts.