Let Us Unite: Chapter XII
Date: December 25, 2858
Location: Hilton Head, Terra
Jane Agnis glanced around and ensured no one was within sight before vanishing into the maintenance pathways. She already had complete control of the camera systems, and all that she had to do was use the codes provided and send the message out to Luyten and Ross. The program would also send signals to others infiltrating the system over the last three years. Terra would be ready for the Return of the Terran Hegemony. Whether Comstar liked it or not.
Stripping the awful Comstar robes off, Jane walked through the corridors with a familiarity bred of long hours spent working in and around HPGs. Taking a few corners, she finally found where she needed to be.
In HPG complexes around the Inner Sphere, places like this were where ROM placed the devices used to spy on the intelligence agencies around the Inner Sphere. But this time, those same systems that benefited Comstar would now be used to undermine them entirely.
Grabbing a ‘Noteputer out of a backpack, Jane plugged a cable in and began to upload the program and authorization codes emplaced long ago by the Terran Hegemony Intelligence Corps and Star League Intelligence Corps.
“Come on,” she tapped her foot as the upload continued, the creep of the data transfer filling her with a sense of uncertainty and worry. The longer it took to get all this done, the more danger she was in.
One minute passed, then two, and finally, after what felt like an eternity of watching the bar, the upload completed itself. With a sigh of relief, she detached the ‘Noteputer and then ran a quick program, reformatting the drive and frying the internal components.
Jane slipped out of the maintenance corridors and back into the gray robes. A sense of relief overcame her as she vanished into the crowd, leaving the complex for their homes.
But across Terra, the SDS stations were being subverted. An hour after Jane had disappeared into the billions on Terra, the HPG sent two transmissions at the standard time before shutting itself down.
The future had been set in motion. Nothing would be stopping it now.
Date: January 5, 2859
Location: Tara, Northwind
The Spaceports were filled with dropships, the streets were eerily silent, and the City Hall was currently the center of the Inner Sphere. Across the galaxy, eyes were turned towards Northwind in the hope of a better future instead of endless war.
“If I may bring this meeting to order,” Precentor Jeremy Ford of Northwind stood at the end of the table, bringing the room to silence. “We are gathered here today to try and bring about peace in the Inner Sphere. As a representative of Comstar, I declare that we will continue to be neutral in this conflict and will do our best to assist with whatever is needed to see negotiations continue.”
After his small speech was concluded, Precentor Ford gestured for the first of the representatives of the houses to stand up.
“I am Melissa Davion, and I was chosen to represent my father’s interests and the interests of the Federated Suns. It is our hope that peace will become a reality in this conference and that our people will be given time to recover.”
“I am Franklin Kurita, cousin to Coordinator Myogi Kurita. I am not present to negotiate, as the Dragon will not be bound by treatise nor honor what has been decided by those who will one day fall to our Samurai. I will observe and report to the Coordinator what has been decided.”
“Gerald Marik,” A gruff man stood up and frowned. “I do not believe that any of this will be successful. But I will endeavor to represent the Free Worlds League well in these negotiations.”
“I am Ilysa Iten,” a noblewoman stood. “I have long been a representative of the Lyran Commonwealth and personally of Archon Elizabeth Steiner. It is our goal that peace should thrive here and that our nations may all prosper.”
“I represent the Capellan Confederation,” A tall man stood, his frame towering over everyone around him. “I am Jurdan Aris, and I will ensure that our voice is heard.”
With the big powers now each acknowledged, it moved onto the Periphery… Well, what few states had even bothered to send representatives. The Taurian Concordat had refused an invitation unless the Federated Suns were removed from the summit, the Canopians had simply refused to accept the invitation wholesale, And the Outworlds Alliance had been divided. Each state had sent observers, but they were explicitly not given power to negotiate, only to report what was decided at this summit.
After the introductions, real politicking happened. Peace was possible, but it would have a cost, and compromise without loss was what each of them strived for.
–
–
“Colonel Bradley,” Gerald Marik greeted the Eridani Light Horse Commander. “I had heard you passed away when your unit vanished from the Inner Sphere.”
“Our disappearance was necessary,” Ezra Bradley replied as he shook the other man’s hand. “And I found medical aid in the process, thus fixing several of the issues that plagued me.”
“It is good to see a man of your caliber on his own two feet again.”
“I have Elizabeth here to thank for it,” Ezra indicated the uniformed young woman. “She was able to find resources that I did not have access to and, as such, was able to restore much of our material losses.”
“Would you be available for hire in the future then?” Gerald asked. “Because I believe that this will end in us pushing to yet another war.”
“The Eridani Light Horse has employment for the foreseeable future,” Ezra’s face seemed made of stone. “We will notify the Mercenary Review Board if that ever changes.”
With that, the Marik wandered off to speak to others, leaving Ezra Bradley and Elizabeth Cameron alone in a darkened corner.
“This is fucking awful,” Cameron swore. “Is there always this much backstabbing and vague threats in politics?”
“No, sometimes it’s even worse,” Ezra sighed. “This is actually better than I expected. Because there are people having discourse instead of insulting the other at the moment. However, I expect Melissa Davion and Franklin Kurita to be close to blows by the end of the day. Melissa is a proven battlefield commander, and based on the intelligence we’ve gathered, Franklin was recently assigned to a frontline unit. He will assume that she is weak and incapable or that she has not seen combat. That will lead to poisonous words and will not see good results.”
But before their conversation could continue, the first night of the summit was called to an end. This was little more than setting the stage for future talks.
“What day will we bring the reveal?” Ezra asked once they were secluded and surrounded by the Black Watch.
“On day three,” Elizabeth replied. “There’s something about the symbolism. On the Third day, Christ rose from the dead. And now, on the third day, the Terran Hegemony is reborn.”
“Knock, Knock, Knock!”
“General Bradley,” Hazen stepped inside the room. “There’s a Colonel Clinton here to see you.”
“With your permission, ma’am,” Ezra looked askance of the Director-General.
“Granted,” Elizabeth replied. “Let’s see what this man has to say.”
The door opened, and a gray-haired man entered, a limp gait showing off an old injury.
“You’re looking awful good for a dead man,” Clinton snarked. “Why’d you up and disappear on the rest of us like that?”
“I had other obligations,” Ezra shrugged and stood to shake the other man’s hand. “But as you can see, it was for the better.”
“I’ll say,” Clinton sighed. “The Folks I spoke to said you got some sort of message, but I never got confirmation ‘fore y’all disappeared.”
“The message,” Elizabeth stood and held out a Cameron star in her hand. “Was this.”
“Do you still hold to your oaths?” Ezra finished. “Because the Terran Hegemony has not forgotten them.”
