Bill wished the ground would open and swallow him. All these weeks pining over Arlene, trying to find the right way to ask her out, and now…
Ben’or looked at him expectantly. Bill had to say something before the awkwardness became too much to bear.
“Nice to meet you Ben’or,” he managed eventually. He hesitated again, trying to figure out what to say that would get him out of there. “I should probably let you two catch up.”
He closed his holoscreens and headed out of the lab, the same way Ben’or had come in.
Arlene watched his retreat with a perplexed look.
Ben’or drew her attention back to him. “So, what have you been up to since we last spoke?”
She smiled. “That is a long story… one that I’d love to tell you. But I’ve got a meeting that I need to get to. But perhaps we could have dinner later?”
“I’d like that.”
“Where are you staying?”
“I’ve got a hotel Giles recommended to me.”
Arlene tilted her head. “He knew you were coming, then?”
“He did. It was his idea to keep it a surprise.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Oh it was, was it?”
“Yes.” He studied her face carefully. “Why? You don’t like surprises?”
“No, no… I’m thrilled you’re here. Just a little taken aback, is all. What about the council?”
“I had some leave, so I figured I’d combine it with a diplomatic visit.”
She nodded in understanding. “Ah, so you’re here on business?”
“A little. Just smoothing the wheels of interplanetary relations. And what good is it having friends and allies if we don’t nurture that relationship?”
“You make a good case. No wonder your emperor couldn’t say no to you.”
“Well, from what I recall you’re not bad at negotiations yourself,” he chuckled. “Let me know when you’re free and we’ll make a plan to meet up.” He hugged her again before he disappeared back out of the lab door.
Arlene watched him leave, astounded that he would suddenly show up out of the blue.
Paige’s office, Safehouse, Gaitune-67
A knock on her door broke her from her concentration. Paige looked up to see Maya grinning at her. She blinked rapidly to bring her friend into focus. “Hey.”
“Whatcha up to?” Maya asked. “It’s gone midnight. Time to stop working and come have some fun.”
Paige checked her holoscreen clock. “I guess I lost track of time.”
Maya edged into the office, moving more slowly now. “What are you working on then?”
“Oh, just an idea I had in class earlier.”
Maya slumped in the guest chair. “Can’t believe you still find time to do class part-time and running the company. And doing a job here.”
Paige shrugged, giving Maya a wry grin. “I have good people around me. They let me have it all.”
Maya returned her grin. “So what’s the idea?” she asked, perching down on the guest chair in front of the desk.
Paige leaned back, pushing her hair back off her face while stretching out her back. “Well, we were talking about educating the public at large about the benefits of narrowing the gap in financial wealth.”
“Ha! Good luck with that!” Maya scoffed.
“Yeah, right?” Paige agreed, her face brightening somewhat as she talked. “But it got me thinking. What if we could put it in the form of entertainments, through the social channels we normally push the fashion stuff through. Make it engaging?”
Maya pursed her lips. “I think there’s a danger of it becoming propaganda though. You’ll lose a lot of people. Most folks like their entertainment devoid of any kind of agenda.”
“Yeah, but what if it wasn’t with a specific agenda. Propaganda is where you only give one argument. One side of the argument. What if we did all sides? So it’s real education. Real information.”
Maya thought for a moment. “You mean developing an informed populace?”
Paige chuckled. “Yeah. I know. Unrealistic. But even if we could help just one percent of folks who want to know what’s going on, wouldn’t it be worth it?”
Paige could see Maya’s brain churning. “Yeah. But what’s it going to take?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out now,” Paige told her. “We’d need to run the content as campaigns, and it would need to be well thought through.”
“And then the content would need to be designed to be informative and cover all angles.” Maya was getting into it now.
“Yeah. I’ve been drawing up some outlines and examples, and a list of folks on the ground who I could give this to run.”
The conversation lulled for a moment. Paige thought about getting some air, then realized she should probably think about getting some sleep instead.
“So what about their normal work?” Maya asked. “You know, advertising the nail colors, et cetera?”
“Well, I’ve got a theory that if we increase the value of the content we’re pushing out, we may even increase our engagement and conversion rates.”
Maya arched an eyebrow at that. “Bold theory.”
“Yeah.” Paige wiped her face with her hands. “But we’ve got to do something. Things are getting rough out there. The other outlets are being bought up by the Northern Clan and pushing their agenda. There’s a polarization in the messaging happening. I swear, if I were down on Estaria exposed to the crap they’re pushing out through every channel, I’d be questioning which way was up.”
Maya pulled her hair tie out and worked on recapturing it into a ponytail. “Yeah, it’s pretty intense out there,” she agreed grimly. “We’ve been picking up chatter on the circuit about other political manoeuvres happening behind the scenes too.” She paused. “Molly is convinced that something is coming.”
Paige studied her friend, her own facial expression grim now. “Yeah. I mean, why else would she agree to work with her mother?”
Maya snorted playfully. “She’s a martyr for the cause! But you know, that Director Bates is something. Pieter pulled an audio of one of her ‘pep talks’ to her new analysts. It was not pretty.”
“Oh my ancestors. I’d pay money to hear that!” Paige couldn’t help but smile at what she might have said.
“No need. I’m sure he’ll share it with us after a few beers. Speaking of, I think that would be an excellent plan before hitting the sack.”
Maya pulled up her holo. “All right. Lemme see if we can peel him away from his MMO-RPG holo games.” She started tapping a message, muttering as she typed. “I dunno what it is about those things, but it seems that Bourne and Oz have been more than a little involved in it. I can only suspect that somehow Pieter has pitted them against each other for his own amusement. I’ll get him to meet us in the common area. You can do the talking once I mention it, ok?”
“You’re on!” Paige brightened, getting up from her desk. The pair headed out into the corridor leaving the thoughts of the imploding domestic situation on Estaria for another day.
CHAPTER TWO
Gardner News Studios, Spire
Brad Gardner couldn’t get a word in. “But Chancellor, isn’t it true— Isn’t it true—”
The chancellor continued to talk over the show host, loudly. Obnoxiously.
But Brad was tenacious. “Chancellor if you’d allow me to just…”
The overweight Estarian chancellor finally stopped obfuscating long enough for his chins to cease wobbling, permitting Brad to ask his question.
“Isn’t it true that the decision to continue trade with Ogg is a political and economic discussion meant for the decision makers in the Senate, not military personnel?”
The chancellor sneered briefly before speaking.
“Well, this may have been true once upon a time,” he sneered, looking down his nose at the interviewer, “but if we need to defend our economy then we have to do it through any means necessary. That makes it a military matter
.”
The host tried to match the speed of his speech. “But chancellor, that simply isn’t correct. In fact, that statement is verging on treason. Military commanders aren’t elected by the population to make those kinds of—”
“I can assure you,” the chancellor interrupted, “that the people who love this planet the most and want to make sure that its interests are protected are the same men and women who have been serving in the armed services since before you were even born.”
“Whether they love the planet isn’t the question…”
Brad tried to keep the interview on track. The chancellor didn’t appear to operate on logic. Instead he just reverted to the same sound-bites he’d been airing on every other show, and every other media channel, for the last week. Brad had hoped that he could get him to say something different, but it just wasn’t happening.
“This is a matter of protocol and due process,” Brad tried to reason. “Just because they have access to the means to put a trade embargo in place, doesn’t—”
The chancellor cut over Brad again, “As I explained already, desperate times lead to desperate measures, and the Estarian economy is in dire straits. If you had missiles coming at the planets no one would question the appropriate authorities stepping in to defend you. And yet it is clear that the Ogg government is deliberately acting to jeopardize our very way of life.”
“I’m sorry, Chancellor, but that statement is simply not true.”
The chancellor continued talking without reference to the exhausted interviewer.
Brad exhaled, trying to keep his frustration invisible in the face of the unruly guest. It wasn’t the first time that an interviewee had steamrolled him in a discussion, but professional pride stopped him from retaliating with similar tactics. He knew that made him appear weak. Late News with Gardener was one of the last bastions in a stand against towing the line of corporate sponsorship, but there was a limit to how much longer they were going to be able to hold out.
Already they had been criticized for having a radical approach to their discussions, and their investigators were being blocked from many of the press conferences and events in protest to their bold claims against the establishment.
The only reason the Chancellor agreed to come on the interview was for exposure. And he was getting it.
Without very much heat.
Brad pushed his shoulders back, resigned. “I’m afraid that’s all we have time for tonight. Chancellor Rogen, thank you for your time.”
“In other news,” he continued, turning to the front, his eyes now relying on the auto-cue that had just started up again under camera one.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Chancellor being led off the stage, and into the blackness of the studio beyond.
Good riddance, he thought to himself, while simultaneously kicking himself for not having been able to manage the conversation better.
Base conference room, Gaitune-67
Molly strode back into the base conference room an hour later. She stopped in her tracks at the door.
Bloody hell. How did our team get so big?
Well, you’ve got Karina on board now. On account of her proving herself with Giles in his latest escapades. And then Arlene is up to help sort out the university fiasco. And then you’ve just got the usual suspects.
Molly collected herself and continued into the conference room, grabbing the only empty chair.
Joel sat across the huge table from her. She felt like he was a million miles away from her, which was pretty normal these days.
Sean and Karina sat down at the far end, to her right, clearly separate from the rest of the group. To her left Crash, Brock, Paige, Maya, Jack, and Pieter were interspersed between.
She nodded to Arlene. Arlene and Paige sat together. Molly could tell from subtleties in the body language that Paige was still enamored with Arlene’s special qualities.
She’s probably heard some of what has gone down on Giles’s missions.
Yeah. Giles doesn’t exactly keep details to himself. Especially not when he has the opportunity to show off.
Which makes me wonder why there hasn’t been more gossip about-
Hahaha. You stop talking in your head, but you know I know exactly what you’re thinking!
Molly felt herself blushing as she stood up. The hub of chatter died down quickly, all eyes on her now.
“Ok folks,” she started, “you’ve probably heard that we have a new mission, hence the assembly. But we have a number of things going on right now. Not least the university issue.”
She nodded in Paige’s direction.
“So how about we start with that, and then we’ll get down to the action hero stuff.”
Sean snorted, then caught a glare from Karina. He covered his mouth and nose and then settled back down.
Paige sat up, flipping open a couple of holoscreens as Molly sat back down, giving her the floor.
“Well,” Paige began slowly, “the short answer is this. We’re screwed.”
There was a ripple of whispers around the table.
“Despite our best efforts to beat the system, making sure we would pass every single one of their criteria, somehow we’ve still managed to fail. Maya is in the process of acquiring their work product, so we can see exactly what we’ve done wrong, but they’re refusing to share it with us because it’s their IP, and therefore protected by law. Allegedly. We have people on the board working the legal angle right now.”
Molly listened intently. She noticed that she felt incredibly alone in a room full of her team.
There was quiet in the room for a few moments. Then Arlene casually raised her hand. “I may be able to help.”
Molly nodded her the go ahead.
“Well,” Arlene continued, “Ben’or is here, on a kind of diplomatic mission cum vacation.” There were a few knowing smiles around the table.
“Go Arlene!” Brock teased. A wave of light laughter washed through the meeting.
Blushing, Arlene tried to hide her smile but to no avail. She carried on with her point. “The thing is, he’s an incredibly talented diplomat.”
“Bet that’s not all he’s talented at!” Sean interjected. He’d expected the same response as Brock got, but instead Karina elbowed him in the ribs and the laughter stopped.
Arlene ignored him. “He may be able to help. He could see things we’re missing, and he may have strategies that we could use to resolve the problem. I’m sure he’s dealt with worse in his position.”
Molly glanced across at Joel who seemed to agree it was worth a shot. “Ok,” she confirmed. “Let’s read him in. I’d set a meet on Estaria with him, Gareth Jones, Paige, Maya and yourself. I’m sure if you put your heads together you can come up with something else we can try.”
Arlene took a note on her holo, mostly to avoid awkward eye contact with the others around the table. Paige’s face relaxed, and then she also decided to take some notes.
“Okay, next item,” Molly announced.
Sean leaned forward, the playfulness gone from his demeanor. “Are you going to tell them about you pushing your will?”
She shook her head. “I don’t see how it’s relevant.”
“They need to know,” he insisted.
“Not now. Besides, we still need to test it.”
Oz chipped in. Hmm. I can set up a test.
Molly sighed mentally. Fine. Can I get back to running this briefing?
Be my guest.
“Next item is a new mission from Lance.”
There was shuffling from the group. Everyone sat up in sudden rapt attention.
Sean chuckled. “’Bout time we got to blowing some shit up for the Federation,” he muttered. Molly glanced at him, and he simmered down again.
He’s acting out?
Seems to be. Resisting domestication, I suspect.
Cute.
Molly poked at her holo and the presentation screen unfolded from the center of the table. A Leath s
hip appeared on it in three dimensions. “The General has asked us to intervene in a weapons trade,” she explained. “It seems that a rogue Leath faction is trying to buy weapons from the Skaines. The location isn’t far from here, which I suspect is why we caught the case.”
Sean chuffed. “Sure. That, and the fact that the General needs plausible deniability on this—which he won’t have if he sends some of his guys.”
Molly narrowed her eyes at him, studying while responding. “Sure. But you do realize we’re using Federation ships, Sean? Or had that escaped your notice these last few years?”
Sean shrunk back into his chair, looking sheepish. He shrugged with one hand that was resting on the table, almost abdicating his point.
Molly continued. “Our job is to show up at the exchange and meet the Skaines, so that the Leath group can’t take receipt of the weapons. If they’re prevented from doing the deed, I’m guessing that will reduce the charges, and allow the government to deal with the problem quietly. This has political implications, so there is zero error on this one, folks.”
She paused to check that everyone was following. “We, on the other hand, will get to deal with the Skaines, who I’m told are a delightful species. They’re mercenary at worst and commercially-minded at best. And the Leath are planning on either using the weapons or selling them to the highest bidder in any kind of high stakes war they can get a foothold in. The General wants the weapons taken out of circulation.” She ran a hand over her hair and sighed. “But that isn’t our biggest challenge. Brock, Crash, Pieter. I need you three working on the logistics of the situation. This is going to be a mid-space exchange and all we have are the coordinates of the meeting point and the time. I’d rather only have to deal with the Skaine ship so we need some way of shielding the exchange from the Leath, who will be showing up at the same time. If that wasn’t enough to contend with, we need to account for one party showing up before the other.”
Pieter scribbled notes frantically. Brock listened, frowning attentively. Crash’s face remained expressionless, as usual.
Sean opened his mouth to speak again, this time raising his hand to shoulder level. “Does this mean we have permission to use lethal force?”
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