Chapter 14 - Investigations

Bartain walked until he saw the familiar sign of the "Lawson" convenience store - he'd picked it as his drop off and pick up point. As a protectorate of the Council of the Five Eyes, Japan was a de facto member of the same military-intelligence polity as the United Kingdom. As such, Bartain found the advanced movement and credit privileges he enjoyed back home extended to Japan. Convenience stores had long since become a state industry - they were post office, bank, grocery store, addiction management centre (Alcohol, Tobacco, Sugar) and office suppliers all rolled into one. And with one on every second street or block even in the quiet sleepy villages such as Oarai, Ibaraki, they were ideal intelligence collection centres.

Once it had doubled down on its pacificist international posture, Japan had focused its intelligence gathering systems, internal and external on technological methods. There could be zero possibility of international embarrassment in having a spy or agent caught if those spies and agents didn't exist.

And so Japan had joined the the nations of the British Commonwealth, NATO, The Indo-Pacific Alliance all of which was led by the USA. Japan focused on technology and received in return full access to the protection and information mechanism of The Five Eyes. It wasn't until 2040 that all these nations openly created the Council of The Five Eyes as a kind of supreme strategic leadership and coordinating body for the military, intelligence and economic cooperation of the members.

Bartain held his Military ID to the terminal outside the Lawson and a few moments later an unmarked rickshaw pulled up, hologrammatics deactivated, and he got inside.

"Destination - Kyoto, voice response off, visual response only." he said and the rickshaw panel flashed up a route plan then sped off towards the inter-prefectural maglev freeway where it would chain-join with other rickshaw. It was time to see what on earth Kat had found so interesting there. Financial surveillance had placed her there one 5 occasions in the last month, once prior to entering officer training, and then nothing before that. It stood out like a sore thumb. Bartain took out his personal e-note and re-read the report from financial signals intelligence. Based on the purchase locations, there were two locations where Kat had spent most of her time. Neither of which were known to 5Eyes as espionage or subversion recruitment hubs. Completely clean. Mark Bartain wondered what he would find there, and he also wondered why his superiors were so interested in this cadet, sorry, "Officer".

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Bartain didn't truly consider someone an officer until after their Special to Arm training, and even then, a year in rank on duty station as well really ought to be considered a probationary period he thought. What on earth had a slightly above average soldier like Kat Suzuki done to deserve such surveillance? And why had Sergeant Major Bartain be instructed to 1. bait The Lodge into recruiting her and 2. turning her for use as an asset with The Lodge? Somebody had plans for this young woman. But who? Perhaps the Vice-Admiral had an idea of who it was, but just hadn't informed him. Information Security recommended partitioning during investigations to avoid confirmation bias, as well as to reduce the risk of one poor unlucky man being captured and tortured and then giving up too much.

Months before coming to Japan, during his visit to the Space Command Staff Centre in Yorkshire, and discussing the Flag Room incident with some of his most trusted colleagues, Mark had found himself being interviewed by the Head of Space Force Intelligence.

"You were right to cover this assault on your perosn up and bring this to us directly. The Lodge is well known and normally we tolerate its presence. The thinking is that while they do undermine the sense of us all being on the same team, they do tend to have a positive effect on morale, retention and on internal reporting. But this time they seem to have gone too far. Striking a Sergeant Major? Intimidating cadets and staff into God knows what kind of favours-for-loyalty."

"Yes sir, very concerning sir." Bartain replied, standing to attention two metres from the desk of the Vice-Admiral Intelligence.

"I've read the reports you have been sending too. That was very good thinking. Destroy them."

"Yes sir. I understand."

"After this term is completed at the Officer Leadership Training Camp, you will be working directly for me. Honest soldiering seems to have bored you - you'll keep your rank and regiment, officially, and be on administrative leave. You are in reality, going to investigate The Lodge for me."

"Yes sir, I'll" Bartain hesitated "... I'll need to arrange a few things but yes, absolutely."

"Good. We'll get to the bottom of this little cult. We'll find out who is pulling the strings, and why. And then we will decide whether or not we prefer them to stop." the Vice-Admiral smiled. "Right, thank you Sergeant Major. I expect I will be seeing you soon."

The Vice Admiral gestured to the door, Camp Sergeant Major Mark Bartain braced, turned and marched out in the formal military manner.

Once he was gone the Vice-Admiral muttered to himself as typed a name into a request for advanced surveillance and a "Peacetime Rights Waiver" request. The wheels of military bureaucracy were slow even in the late 21st century. With luck, by the time this keen Sergeant Major had completed his duties at the camp and joined him here in Intelligence - Investigations, all the legal permissions would be in place.

The Vice Admiral sighed as he looked at the name he had written in the e-note and said to the empty room "Roger, Roger, Roger, what have you gotten yourself involved in now?"