Post by Lorpius Prime on Nov 9, 2008 4:40:01 GMT -5
"What's happened?"
Hyong was in a disheveled state as he entered the big room. He had cleared his schedule for the morning so that he could sleep late. His plan had been to enjoy himself the previous evening, and it had all worked out perfectly until he had received an urgent page to a meeting in Hyarahek's office.
"You're late," the Ambassador said with a snarl.
Hyong bared his own teeth in response. Gracia had found them a hotel where they would be able to meet without the human media becoming aware, she seemed well-practiced in such things. The only problem was that it was in another part of the city from the embassy, and Hyong was not good with the humans' public transportation, even if he had been inclined to use it. Gracia had gotten him a private taxi, but it still took considerably more time to arrive than if he had simply had to travel the few building levels from his quarters in the embassy to his superior's office.
He decided against saying anything provocative to Hyarahek, however. The Ambassador was clearly furious; his wings were fully extended, blotting out the sunlight from the window behind him.
"My apologies," Hyong said, "I was unprepared for a sudden summons."
Hyong's deputy, Yenga Goying, was already in the room, she caught Hyong's eye and tapped her forehead with a claw. Hyong straightened his beret.
Hyarahek snorted. For a minute he just glared at Hyong, most likely wondering if the Operative's lateness was sufficient grounds to dismiss him, and whether Hyarahek really wanted to do that. He did not seem quite ready to take that step, however.
"Your little plan is backfiring, Operative Hyong Yaheek," he said.
"In what way?" Hyong took a seat beside Yenga. There were two other people in the room, Hyarahek's lackey Gaxahyeng from the diplomatic staff, and his military attaché, Commander Horexker. Gaxahyeng glowered at Hyong, but Horexker was at least respectful enough to salute. The Commander was from the actual Navy, while Hyong was merely an Intelligence Operative, but they were both still soldiers.
"The humans have extracted even more from the Kekregka in their negotiations," Hyarahek said after Hyong was seated, "the Kekregka are going to give them basic gravity generators."
Hyong felt his eyes widening slightly, "They have told you this?"
The Ambassador showed his teeth, "Of course not, their plan is to keep this hidden from us."
"Then how have you learned this?" Hyong looked to Yenga, had she picked this up from her own sources and reported to Hyarahek before him? But his deputy made a negative gesture and nodded back toward Hyarahek. Hyong looked back to see that the Ambassador seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
"No, Operative, I took a much more direct approach, something you have been much too reluctant to try yourself. I bugged their conference room."
Hyong stood up, "You're conducting intelligence operations without my knowledge?"
Hyarahek pointed a claw at his nose, "Your incompetence has forced me to take these measures. You have had those probes for over a year and done nothing with them!"
Hyong's wings extended to their full size with an audible snap, and he very nearly tore Hyarahek's throat out, the fool was leaving himself arrogantly exposed leaning forward across his desk the way he was. Hyong restrained himself, though; both Gaxahyeng and Horexker had gotten to their own feet, clearly ready to tackle Hyong if they needed to.
Still, Hyong could not let this go for nothing.
"You idiot! They can detect the microprobes we have! If they realize what you've done they'll install countermeasures and take precautions with their information security, the probes will become entirely useless to us!"
"And what use were they before? If you don't take some risks with your assets—"
"Calculated risks! Justified risks! You've put the viability of our entire intelligence operation on this planet in danger for an insignificant adva—"
"Insignificant?" Hyarahek had calmed somewhat from his initial anger when Hyong had entered the room. But now he was clearly just as enraged as his intelligence operative, and snarled back at him from across the desk. "You think the transfer of gravity manipulation technology to a backward planet full of ground-crawling scum such as this is insignificant?"
"An insignificant advantage in time, you buffoon!" Hyong screamed, then took a few ragged breaths before continuing. "If you had the patience to let this proceed as I had advised, you would have learned this same information without putting our resources in jeopardy."
"You still think these humans will permit you to accompany them on their excursion?" Hyarahek clicked his teeth together, mocking the idea. "Better to have learned of this exchange now, so we can put a stop to it before it even begins!"
Hyong fell back into his seat. He was still tremendously furious, but beyond even the point of wanting to strike the Ambassador, that would no longer be sufficiently satisfying.
"If Governor Shyankyang were willing to authorize military action against this world, we would not be having this meeting," he said acidly. "All that is at stake here is your own pride, Hyarahek. I remain completely confident that the humans will grant my request. If they do not discover what you have done, that is. I am simply waiting for their deal to be finalized so that preparations for the voyage can be made."
Hyarahek smoldered, "Well the deal has been finalized now, Hyong Yaheek. Your 'friend' among the humans accepted the Kekregka's proposal this morning."
The Ambassador raised one arm and jerked his wrist around, activating the volumetric projector in the surface of his desk. A diorama of a human conference room sprang to life in miniature on top of the desk. The microprobes which the Republic's colony in this system could produce were far larger and less stealthy than the top of the line models available to less backwater stations, but there was nothing deficient about their recording capabilities. Hyong was able to recognize the human Pascual Molinas and the Kekregka ambassador Rokden without any trouble. Their tiny holographic selves were shaking hands, something which looked absurd even at that scale, given the great disparity in the size of each species' arms.
Hyong watched the little scene unfold, but Hyarahek's eyes were fixed on him. They hovered just above the projection and burned with a fury that Hyong found far more disturbing than what the probes had recorded.
"Now, Commander Horexker," Hyarahek said as the recording ended, "tell Operative Hyong Yaheek what our pacifist Governor has authorized in response."
The OES did not have a designated order of succession for its executive branch. If the Chief Executive died, resigned, or was otherwise incapacitated before the end of his term, there was no Deputy Chief Executive to step up in his place. The office would remain vacant until the General Assembly met to appoint a new Chief Executive. It wasn't a tremendous oversight, each of the Executive Councilors had full authority to run their respective Departments in the absence of leadership from the Chief Executive, and the Departments did have a strict hierarchy for succession. The simple truth was that, back in 2051 when the OES constitution was being written, its founders had felt no particular need to create an executive officer whom they knew would end up doing nothing but attending ceremonies and public relations functions.
Which was how Pascual found himself attending this particular public relations function. His uncle might have been able to skip off to Singapore for a few days with the Admiral of Earth Fleet, but someone had to greet the African Union Defense Ministers at a conference on continued cooperation between Earth Fleet and the African Standby Force. Apparently the protocol officers thought that Rear Admiral Lagorio, the Fleet's chief liaison with Earth's national militaries, was a little too obscure to be suitable. So Pascual had been drafted.
He's also a little too creepy, Pascual thought. The Rear Admiral was sitting next to Pascual at the long dining table, and the man gave him the willies. Preposterously thin, he had a hunch to his shoulders and sunken eyes that gave him the appearance of a vulture dressed up like a man. Lagorio had said very little to Pascual or anyone else beyond shaking hands with a few of the Defense Ministers that had approached them before the ceremonies began.
A burst of applause told Pascual it was his turn to stand up and address the conference from the little podium that stood to his left. He got up and shook hands with the OES staffer that was introducing him.
Originally, Pascual had planned to pick up Sonia from the airport at about this time. When he'd called last night to tell her that he'd be tied up, however, she hadn't been too concerned. Apparently she was extending her vacation for a while longer to visit a friend in New York where the shops were even classier than in Martha's Vineyard. Pascual shook his head, then he forced himself to smile as he straightened the little note cards which had been prepared for him.
"Thank you everyone, thank you Teo," he nodded to the previous speaker and looked out across his audience. None of the guests seemed to have missed many meals in their lives, and the medals on the ones wearing uniforms of their countries' militaries said they hadn't missed many wars, either.
"My uncle sends his regrets that he couldn't be here right now," Pascual continued, "he's in Singapore reviewing the Earth Fleet station with Admiral Kozlov at the moment. But, like him, I understand just how important Africa is to the OES and to Earth Fleet. Twenty percent of Earth's people are Africans, but thirty-five percent of Earth Fleet's personnel come from African countries. Each of you represents the military of a single nation, but together you are part of a tradition of world service for which all of humanity is grateful."
Pascual switched his cards while light applause filled the gap in his words. "Since the very foundation of the OES," he went on, "Africa has played a leading role in the defense of Earth and in building humanity a place among the stars. Nothing and no one can diminish the honor which has come from that role. As we look to the future, we expect only greater things from Africa. In two years, the Kampala Spaceport will begin its Phase III construction that will install two new tethers dedicated entirely to Earth Fleet traffic. By the time construction is finished, Kampala will be at the center of the second largest network of Earth Fleet support installations on Earth. That is something Africa can be proud of, and I'm not just saying that because the President of Ecuador is a family friend who thinks you're making him look bad."
The polite laughter was a relief; Pascual had worried that that particular joke would seem inappropriate. He went on the last card, "Finally, the relationship Earth Fleet has with your own militaries is stronger than those of any other nation. Just last week we were all pleased to hear that Earth Fleet had assisted soldiers of the African Standby Force in destroying one of the last remaining outposts of the Great Jihad in the deserts of Niger. At long last it seems possible that we may rid ourselves of this scourge once and for all. More than anyone else, it has been the African Union that has held the line against the Jihad when it was strong, and moved decisively to crush it when it grew weak. I know that all members of Earth Fleet, and everyone who is a part of the OES, are proud to have helped your governments and your soldiers win that fight. It is a relationship that we will never forget, and one that we are committed to continuing long into the future. So with that, I want to welcome you to Caracas and to this Conference; and I hope you'll all enjoy the meal we've prepared for you this afternoon. Thank you."
They applauded him as he sat down, and a nice steak made of juicy Argentinean beef beckoned to him from a plate. Rear Admiral Lagorio was ignoring his own steak in favor of the salad. He turned to Pascual.
"Is President Herrero really a family friend?" he asked, then plucked a cherry tomato out of his bowl with his long fingers and slipped it between his teeth.
Pascual finished chewing and swallowed a slice of his steak. "He's my Godfather, went to Columbia Business School with my father. His family usually has my mother and me over for Easter dinner."
The Italian Admiral bobbed his head. "How fortunate for you to have such connections."
Pascual raised an eyebrow, but the other man just turned away. The steak suddenly tasted less fantastic in his mouth. After a moment, he decided that he couldn't just leave the conversation there.
"So how did you end up in the Fleet, Admiral?"
Lagorio didn't look back at him; instead his eyes gazed out across the other tables in the hotel ballroom.
"I was in the Incursori when Libya fell in 2029. I fought the Mujahideen for thirty years, was the force commander of UNSIFA for the last ten. My government asked me to resign in 2060 so that I could join Earth Fleet as a go-between for the peacekeepers. They told me to turn over my operations to these…" he snorted, then turned to fix Pascual's eyes again. "I know every one of them," he concluded.
Pascual grimaced. He hadn't liked the atmosphere around Lagorio when he'd first sat down, but now he was discovering that he didn't like the man's attitude, either. It was true that most of countries represented in the ballroom didn't often score top marks in political freedom or corruption measures, and anyone familiar with the issue knew that the overrepresentation of Africans in Earth Fleet was the result of political purges from national military ranks more than anything else. But it was also true that the African Union countries were among the most dependable supporters of OES unity and Earth Fleet expansion out of all the nations of Earth. Pascual knew the speech he'd just given glossed over a lot of very real problems, but despite all of that, he truly did appreciate the people that he was thanking on behalf of the OES. He was rather disgusted by Lagorio's closed-minded dismissal—
His phone rang. Pascual pulled it out of his pocket to see the Foreign Councilor's office number flashing at him. He put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
Councilor Durante sounded extremely agitated, "The Bats are moving a fleet and the Tadpoles are trying to bug out. I need you back here right now."
Pascual nearly knocked down his chair when he stood up.
The Intelligence Section offices were on the fifth floor of the embassy, just below the Diplomatic offices on the top floor. Hyong hooked the claws of his feet and hands through the lattice on the wall of his office and hung there for a few minutes, brooding. Yenga Goying sat on a chair on the other side of the room; Hyong's deputy seemed far less agitated by the whole situation.
"No warning at all?" Hyong asked without turning around.
"None," Yenga said. "I found out when he came into the office looking for you."
Hyong's wings shivered. "Why keep us informed at all? He planned this without any input from Intelligence."
"Do you really need me to tell you that?" she asked.
"No. Of course it's because Hyarahek hates us, and hates me especially, Yenga," he turned his head around to grin at his deputy. "But that doesn't explain this behavior," he said more seriously. "This will be the second time in just a few days that our ships will confront the Humans over the Kekregka. Hyarahek is going to destroy our friendship with them."
"Hyarahek doesn't believe we have a friendship with the Humans, Hyong, that we were mistaken about them. He thinks the Charterlings are using the Kekregka to divide the Humans again so that they can be used against us. And with this trade they're making, he's convinced the Governor that he's right."
"Shyankyang's a Consequentialist, but he's not stupid. If we contact High Commander Gyergroch, he can convince—"
"Our ships are probably halfway to the Human picket. By the time you finish one comm cycle with the colony they will be here."
"Then we'll have to convince Shyankyang to recall them down in one cycle. The Humans stood off Hyarahek a few days ago; they can stall long enough by doing it again."
"The Ambassador didn't have authority to start shooting last time, he'll have it now. The Humans won't have any choice but to surrender."
Hyong dropped from the wall, whirled around, and advanced angrily on Yenga, "They don't know that!" he bellowed. "That's the whole problem with this, they still think they can fight us!"
His deputy just shook her head coolly, "Then they'll lose."
"Damn him," Hyong turned and slammed both his hands down onto his desk and dug his claws into the surface, imagining it was Hyarahek's throat. "Hyarahek is as incompetent as he is dishonorable." He sighed, "I cannot tolerate the betrayal that he is arranging, especially not as its primary effect will be to weaken the position of our country in this system. Can you?" he looked over his shoulder at Yenga.
She said nothing for a few moments, then tossed her head to one side in a shrug. "We have sought the friendship of the Humans, and I will trust your judgment that they are worthy of it. If it is true, then the Ambassador is acting dishonorably. But we cannot stop him; we will have to tolerate it. Unless," her wings twitched slightly, "you are proposing something dishonorable yourself."
"No," Hyong flicked dust he'd scratched up from the claws of his hands. He walked around his desk to the little locker that he kept by the large window in his outer wall.
"I will need you to send our message to the colony yourself," he said as he opened the locker. "Do it as quickly as you can, but it must convince Shyankyang to stand down those ships. As you observed, we only have time for one cycle."
"I said we didn't even have that long," she corrected.
Hyong ignored her, and pulled a little disk off a shelf from inside the locker, he pressed it to his palm to activate it. "Here's my private cipher; use my name if you think it will help."
Hyong watched for the look of shock from his deputy, but Yenga took the gesture quite impassively.
"And what are you going to do?" she asked without even getting out of her chair.
"Try to keep things under control until the Governor can respond, I suppose." Hyong took a monocle out of the locker and held it against his right eye for a few seconds until it secured itself to his face. Then he blinked twice to turn on the display.
"All by yourself, then?" Yenga sounded mildly amused.
Hyong's hand hovered for a moment over his sidearm. "Yes," he said, and passed the weapon over to lift his combat harness off its hanger so that he could step into it. "Just ask me how I'm going to do it after I've already done it."
He curled up his wings so that he could pass his arms and legs through the straps of the harness, then tightened it around his shoulders. Yenga followed orders and didn't ask him what he was doing. The last thing Hyong took out of the locker before closing it was a rod-shaped device that he'd paid a friend to tinker up back at the colony before he'd been transferred to this planet.
He moved back behind his desk to stand in front of the window. "All right," he said, "get that message worked up and sent. If this works, I'll promote you two grades. If it doesn't… I guess Gyergroch will promote you two grades. But he'll also make you take this job, so be sure the message works."
Yenga stood up and saluted. "Good luck," she said.
Hyong returned the gesture. Then he turned around and opened his window. A light breeze passed into the office, and Hyong took a couple of deep breaths of the warm and humid air.
He touched a control on his chest to turn on the combat harness' gravity field. That required him to pause for a minute to make sure of his balance before he tried to move. Once he was sure he could walk again without falling over or cracking his head against the ceiling, Hyong walked up to the window. He held the rod device in his right hand out in front of him and parallel to the ground like a handle bar, then activated it with the claw of his thumb.
The air around him crackled and Hyong's fur stood up. The rod was a jamming device. It didn't have anything like the power of the machines which went into combat vehicles, but it was still sufficient to dazzle the embassy's sensors just long enough that no one would notice a single man in a combat harness leaving the building.
Hyong took one more deep breath, and jumped.
Hyong was in a disheveled state as he entered the big room. He had cleared his schedule for the morning so that he could sleep late. His plan had been to enjoy himself the previous evening, and it had all worked out perfectly until he had received an urgent page to a meeting in Hyarahek's office.
"You're late," the Ambassador said with a snarl.
Hyong bared his own teeth in response. Gracia had found them a hotel where they would be able to meet without the human media becoming aware, she seemed well-practiced in such things. The only problem was that it was in another part of the city from the embassy, and Hyong was not good with the humans' public transportation, even if he had been inclined to use it. Gracia had gotten him a private taxi, but it still took considerably more time to arrive than if he had simply had to travel the few building levels from his quarters in the embassy to his superior's office.
He decided against saying anything provocative to Hyarahek, however. The Ambassador was clearly furious; his wings were fully extended, blotting out the sunlight from the window behind him.
"My apologies," Hyong said, "I was unprepared for a sudden summons."
Hyong's deputy, Yenga Goying, was already in the room, she caught Hyong's eye and tapped her forehead with a claw. Hyong straightened his beret.
Hyarahek snorted. For a minute he just glared at Hyong, most likely wondering if the Operative's lateness was sufficient grounds to dismiss him, and whether Hyarahek really wanted to do that. He did not seem quite ready to take that step, however.
"Your little plan is backfiring, Operative Hyong Yaheek," he said.
"In what way?" Hyong took a seat beside Yenga. There were two other people in the room, Hyarahek's lackey Gaxahyeng from the diplomatic staff, and his military attaché, Commander Horexker. Gaxahyeng glowered at Hyong, but Horexker was at least respectful enough to salute. The Commander was from the actual Navy, while Hyong was merely an Intelligence Operative, but they were both still soldiers.
"The humans have extracted even more from the Kekregka in their negotiations," Hyarahek said after Hyong was seated, "the Kekregka are going to give them basic gravity generators."
Hyong felt his eyes widening slightly, "They have told you this?"
The Ambassador showed his teeth, "Of course not, their plan is to keep this hidden from us."
"Then how have you learned this?" Hyong looked to Yenga, had she picked this up from her own sources and reported to Hyarahek before him? But his deputy made a negative gesture and nodded back toward Hyarahek. Hyong looked back to see that the Ambassador seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
"No, Operative, I took a much more direct approach, something you have been much too reluctant to try yourself. I bugged their conference room."
Hyong stood up, "You're conducting intelligence operations without my knowledge?"
Hyarahek pointed a claw at his nose, "Your incompetence has forced me to take these measures. You have had those probes for over a year and done nothing with them!"
Hyong's wings extended to their full size with an audible snap, and he very nearly tore Hyarahek's throat out, the fool was leaving himself arrogantly exposed leaning forward across his desk the way he was. Hyong restrained himself, though; both Gaxahyeng and Horexker had gotten to their own feet, clearly ready to tackle Hyong if they needed to.
Still, Hyong could not let this go for nothing.
"You idiot! They can detect the microprobes we have! If they realize what you've done they'll install countermeasures and take precautions with their information security, the probes will become entirely useless to us!"
"And what use were they before? If you don't take some risks with your assets—"
"Calculated risks! Justified risks! You've put the viability of our entire intelligence operation on this planet in danger for an insignificant adva—"
"Insignificant?" Hyarahek had calmed somewhat from his initial anger when Hyong had entered the room. But now he was clearly just as enraged as his intelligence operative, and snarled back at him from across the desk. "You think the transfer of gravity manipulation technology to a backward planet full of ground-crawling scum such as this is insignificant?"
"An insignificant advantage in time, you buffoon!" Hyong screamed, then took a few ragged breaths before continuing. "If you had the patience to let this proceed as I had advised, you would have learned this same information without putting our resources in jeopardy."
"You still think these humans will permit you to accompany them on their excursion?" Hyarahek clicked his teeth together, mocking the idea. "Better to have learned of this exchange now, so we can put a stop to it before it even begins!"
Hyong fell back into his seat. He was still tremendously furious, but beyond even the point of wanting to strike the Ambassador, that would no longer be sufficiently satisfying.
"If Governor Shyankyang were willing to authorize military action against this world, we would not be having this meeting," he said acidly. "All that is at stake here is your own pride, Hyarahek. I remain completely confident that the humans will grant my request. If they do not discover what you have done, that is. I am simply waiting for their deal to be finalized so that preparations for the voyage can be made."
Hyarahek smoldered, "Well the deal has been finalized now, Hyong Yaheek. Your 'friend' among the humans accepted the Kekregka's proposal this morning."
The Ambassador raised one arm and jerked his wrist around, activating the volumetric projector in the surface of his desk. A diorama of a human conference room sprang to life in miniature on top of the desk. The microprobes which the Republic's colony in this system could produce were far larger and less stealthy than the top of the line models available to less backwater stations, but there was nothing deficient about their recording capabilities. Hyong was able to recognize the human Pascual Molinas and the Kekregka ambassador Rokden without any trouble. Their tiny holographic selves were shaking hands, something which looked absurd even at that scale, given the great disparity in the size of each species' arms.
Hyong watched the little scene unfold, but Hyarahek's eyes were fixed on him. They hovered just above the projection and burned with a fury that Hyong found far more disturbing than what the probes had recorded.
"Now, Commander Horexker," Hyarahek said as the recording ended, "tell Operative Hyong Yaheek what our pacifist Governor has authorized in response."
* * *
The OES did not have a designated order of succession for its executive branch. If the Chief Executive died, resigned, or was otherwise incapacitated before the end of his term, there was no Deputy Chief Executive to step up in his place. The office would remain vacant until the General Assembly met to appoint a new Chief Executive. It wasn't a tremendous oversight, each of the Executive Councilors had full authority to run their respective Departments in the absence of leadership from the Chief Executive, and the Departments did have a strict hierarchy for succession. The simple truth was that, back in 2051 when the OES constitution was being written, its founders had felt no particular need to create an executive officer whom they knew would end up doing nothing but attending ceremonies and public relations functions.
Which was how Pascual found himself attending this particular public relations function. His uncle might have been able to skip off to Singapore for a few days with the Admiral of Earth Fleet, but someone had to greet the African Union Defense Ministers at a conference on continued cooperation between Earth Fleet and the African Standby Force. Apparently the protocol officers thought that Rear Admiral Lagorio, the Fleet's chief liaison with Earth's national militaries, was a little too obscure to be suitable. So Pascual had been drafted.
He's also a little too creepy, Pascual thought. The Rear Admiral was sitting next to Pascual at the long dining table, and the man gave him the willies. Preposterously thin, he had a hunch to his shoulders and sunken eyes that gave him the appearance of a vulture dressed up like a man. Lagorio had said very little to Pascual or anyone else beyond shaking hands with a few of the Defense Ministers that had approached them before the ceremonies began.
A burst of applause told Pascual it was his turn to stand up and address the conference from the little podium that stood to his left. He got up and shook hands with the OES staffer that was introducing him.
Originally, Pascual had planned to pick up Sonia from the airport at about this time. When he'd called last night to tell her that he'd be tied up, however, she hadn't been too concerned. Apparently she was extending her vacation for a while longer to visit a friend in New York where the shops were even classier than in Martha's Vineyard. Pascual shook his head, then he forced himself to smile as he straightened the little note cards which had been prepared for him.
"Thank you everyone, thank you Teo," he nodded to the previous speaker and looked out across his audience. None of the guests seemed to have missed many meals in their lives, and the medals on the ones wearing uniforms of their countries' militaries said they hadn't missed many wars, either.
"My uncle sends his regrets that he couldn't be here right now," Pascual continued, "he's in Singapore reviewing the Earth Fleet station with Admiral Kozlov at the moment. But, like him, I understand just how important Africa is to the OES and to Earth Fleet. Twenty percent of Earth's people are Africans, but thirty-five percent of Earth Fleet's personnel come from African countries. Each of you represents the military of a single nation, but together you are part of a tradition of world service for which all of humanity is grateful."
Pascual switched his cards while light applause filled the gap in his words. "Since the very foundation of the OES," he went on, "Africa has played a leading role in the defense of Earth and in building humanity a place among the stars. Nothing and no one can diminish the honor which has come from that role. As we look to the future, we expect only greater things from Africa. In two years, the Kampala Spaceport will begin its Phase III construction that will install two new tethers dedicated entirely to Earth Fleet traffic. By the time construction is finished, Kampala will be at the center of the second largest network of Earth Fleet support installations on Earth. That is something Africa can be proud of, and I'm not just saying that because the President of Ecuador is a family friend who thinks you're making him look bad."
The polite laughter was a relief; Pascual had worried that that particular joke would seem inappropriate. He went on the last card, "Finally, the relationship Earth Fleet has with your own militaries is stronger than those of any other nation. Just last week we were all pleased to hear that Earth Fleet had assisted soldiers of the African Standby Force in destroying one of the last remaining outposts of the Great Jihad in the deserts of Niger. At long last it seems possible that we may rid ourselves of this scourge once and for all. More than anyone else, it has been the African Union that has held the line against the Jihad when it was strong, and moved decisively to crush it when it grew weak. I know that all members of Earth Fleet, and everyone who is a part of the OES, are proud to have helped your governments and your soldiers win that fight. It is a relationship that we will never forget, and one that we are committed to continuing long into the future. So with that, I want to welcome you to Caracas and to this Conference; and I hope you'll all enjoy the meal we've prepared for you this afternoon. Thank you."
They applauded him as he sat down, and a nice steak made of juicy Argentinean beef beckoned to him from a plate. Rear Admiral Lagorio was ignoring his own steak in favor of the salad. He turned to Pascual.
"Is President Herrero really a family friend?" he asked, then plucked a cherry tomato out of his bowl with his long fingers and slipped it between his teeth.
Pascual finished chewing and swallowed a slice of his steak. "He's my Godfather, went to Columbia Business School with my father. His family usually has my mother and me over for Easter dinner."
The Italian Admiral bobbed his head. "How fortunate for you to have such connections."
Pascual raised an eyebrow, but the other man just turned away. The steak suddenly tasted less fantastic in his mouth. After a moment, he decided that he couldn't just leave the conversation there.
"So how did you end up in the Fleet, Admiral?"
Lagorio didn't look back at him; instead his eyes gazed out across the other tables in the hotel ballroom.
"I was in the Incursori when Libya fell in 2029. I fought the Mujahideen for thirty years, was the force commander of UNSIFA for the last ten. My government asked me to resign in 2060 so that I could join Earth Fleet as a go-between for the peacekeepers. They told me to turn over my operations to these…" he snorted, then turned to fix Pascual's eyes again. "I know every one of them," he concluded.
Pascual grimaced. He hadn't liked the atmosphere around Lagorio when he'd first sat down, but now he was discovering that he didn't like the man's attitude, either. It was true that most of countries represented in the ballroom didn't often score top marks in political freedom or corruption measures, and anyone familiar with the issue knew that the overrepresentation of Africans in Earth Fleet was the result of political purges from national military ranks more than anything else. But it was also true that the African Union countries were among the most dependable supporters of OES unity and Earth Fleet expansion out of all the nations of Earth. Pascual knew the speech he'd just given glossed over a lot of very real problems, but despite all of that, he truly did appreciate the people that he was thanking on behalf of the OES. He was rather disgusted by Lagorio's closed-minded dismissal—
His phone rang. Pascual pulled it out of his pocket to see the Foreign Councilor's office number flashing at him. He put the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
Councilor Durante sounded extremely agitated, "The Bats are moving a fleet and the Tadpoles are trying to bug out. I need you back here right now."
Pascual nearly knocked down his chair when he stood up.
* * *
The Intelligence Section offices were on the fifth floor of the embassy, just below the Diplomatic offices on the top floor. Hyong hooked the claws of his feet and hands through the lattice on the wall of his office and hung there for a few minutes, brooding. Yenga Goying sat on a chair on the other side of the room; Hyong's deputy seemed far less agitated by the whole situation.
"No warning at all?" Hyong asked without turning around.
"None," Yenga said. "I found out when he came into the office looking for you."
Hyong's wings shivered. "Why keep us informed at all? He planned this without any input from Intelligence."
"Do you really need me to tell you that?" she asked.
"No. Of course it's because Hyarahek hates us, and hates me especially, Yenga," he turned his head around to grin at his deputy. "But that doesn't explain this behavior," he said more seriously. "This will be the second time in just a few days that our ships will confront the Humans over the Kekregka. Hyarahek is going to destroy our friendship with them."
"Hyarahek doesn't believe we have a friendship with the Humans, Hyong, that we were mistaken about them. He thinks the Charterlings are using the Kekregka to divide the Humans again so that they can be used against us. And with this trade they're making, he's convinced the Governor that he's right."
"Shyankyang's a Consequentialist, but he's not stupid. If we contact High Commander Gyergroch, he can convince—"
"Our ships are probably halfway to the Human picket. By the time you finish one comm cycle with the colony they will be here."
"Then we'll have to convince Shyankyang to recall them down in one cycle. The Humans stood off Hyarahek a few days ago; they can stall long enough by doing it again."
"The Ambassador didn't have authority to start shooting last time, he'll have it now. The Humans won't have any choice but to surrender."
Hyong dropped from the wall, whirled around, and advanced angrily on Yenga, "They don't know that!" he bellowed. "That's the whole problem with this, they still think they can fight us!"
His deputy just shook her head coolly, "Then they'll lose."
"Damn him," Hyong turned and slammed both his hands down onto his desk and dug his claws into the surface, imagining it was Hyarahek's throat. "Hyarahek is as incompetent as he is dishonorable." He sighed, "I cannot tolerate the betrayal that he is arranging, especially not as its primary effect will be to weaken the position of our country in this system. Can you?" he looked over his shoulder at Yenga.
She said nothing for a few moments, then tossed her head to one side in a shrug. "We have sought the friendship of the Humans, and I will trust your judgment that they are worthy of it. If it is true, then the Ambassador is acting dishonorably. But we cannot stop him; we will have to tolerate it. Unless," her wings twitched slightly, "you are proposing something dishonorable yourself."
"No," Hyong flicked dust he'd scratched up from the claws of his hands. He walked around his desk to the little locker that he kept by the large window in his outer wall.
"I will need you to send our message to the colony yourself," he said as he opened the locker. "Do it as quickly as you can, but it must convince Shyankyang to stand down those ships. As you observed, we only have time for one cycle."
"I said we didn't even have that long," she corrected.
Hyong ignored her, and pulled a little disk off a shelf from inside the locker, he pressed it to his palm to activate it. "Here's my private cipher; use my name if you think it will help."
Hyong watched for the look of shock from his deputy, but Yenga took the gesture quite impassively.
"And what are you going to do?" she asked without even getting out of her chair.
"Try to keep things under control until the Governor can respond, I suppose." Hyong took a monocle out of the locker and held it against his right eye for a few seconds until it secured itself to his face. Then he blinked twice to turn on the display.
"All by yourself, then?" Yenga sounded mildly amused.
Hyong's hand hovered for a moment over his sidearm. "Yes," he said, and passed the weapon over to lift his combat harness off its hanger so that he could step into it. "Just ask me how I'm going to do it after I've already done it."
He curled up his wings so that he could pass his arms and legs through the straps of the harness, then tightened it around his shoulders. Yenga followed orders and didn't ask him what he was doing. The last thing Hyong took out of the locker before closing it was a rod-shaped device that he'd paid a friend to tinker up back at the colony before he'd been transferred to this planet.
He moved back behind his desk to stand in front of the window. "All right," he said, "get that message worked up and sent. If this works, I'll promote you two grades. If it doesn't… I guess Gyergroch will promote you two grades. But he'll also make you take this job, so be sure the message works."
Yenga stood up and saluted. "Good luck," she said.
Hyong returned the gesture. Then he turned around and opened his window. A light breeze passed into the office, and Hyong took a couple of deep breaths of the warm and humid air.
He touched a control on his chest to turn on the combat harness' gravity field. That required him to pause for a minute to make sure of his balance before he tried to move. Once he was sure he could walk again without falling over or cracking his head against the ceiling, Hyong walked up to the window. He held the rod device in his right hand out in front of him and parallel to the ground like a handle bar, then activated it with the claw of his thumb.
The air around him crackled and Hyong's fur stood up. The rod was a jamming device. It didn't have anything like the power of the machines which went into combat vehicles, but it was still sufficient to dazzle the embassy's sensors just long enough that no one would notice a single man in a combat harness leaving the building.
Hyong took one more deep breath, and jumped.