Chapter 148: Loyalties and Priorities

Chapter 148: Loyalties and Priorities

Mark Guilderan, the Republic’s Secretary of State, rushed into a private chamber in his office and locked the door.

He took a deep breath, sat at his desk, and initiated a secure video conference call.

Moments later, Glenn Maxwell, the director of Terran Intelligence, appeared on his screen.

“Mark!” Glenn said in a cheerful voice, “How are you this fine day? Keeping the ship of state from getting stuck in a canal?”

“Barely,” Mark said as he squinted suspiciously at Glenn Maxwell. Glenn? Cheerful?... Friendly?

Glenn laughed pleasantly... actually pleasantly.

Mark looked at him very carefully. His people sense had served him well both during the Sol Wars and in the years that followed.

Something was definitely not right.

“I have a situation, Glenn,” Mark said in a very serious tone, “This is a secure line, and I need you to be completely honest with me.”

“Ooo!” Glenn said happily, “This sounds serious! Shoot!”

“Is Jon Wintersmith telling the truth?”

“Jon said a lot of shit,” Glenn laughed, “some of it I can confirm, and some of it—“

“Is that psycho planning on starting another Sol War?”

“I haven’t talked to her since all that bullshit over in the Federation went down between her and Jon,” Glenn replied, “I mean, I can confirm she is behind the bio-weapon. That much I know is true, and we both know that there is definitely a regime change in the works... or was... Fuck! I can’t get anything out of Marrow, Monarch, or any of the rest of those assholes except for ‘hold fast’ and root out the traitors...”

Glenn burst out in laughter again.

“I mean, the nerve of them... of us... calling anyone traitors, right?”

“Don’t give me that shit!” Mark snapped, “I know you know more than just that!”

“Geez, relax, dude,” Glenn laughed, “Ok, there is also this, you know that Samuels chick, the Reaper lord?”

“The one who nuked the Barnard’s Star system?”

“Yeah, that one!” Glenn snickered, “Well, she wasn’t picking targets at random. There was a lot, and I mean a LOT of stuff where she hit, much more than was officially there. It’s all vapor and teeny tiny pebbles now, but those asteroid bases were hollow and completely FILLED with all sorts of things, including a significant number of nuclear weapons. Another ‘warehouse’ was packed to the gills with people, hundreds of them, and I mean hundreds, along with other traces and debris that could be weapons and military supplies. We know that depleted uranium was there in significant quantities, enough for it to have been tank armor. That Samuels woman wiped out a secret army, nukes, millions of tons of food, medicine... and only she knows what else. Patricia Hu was definitely planning on something.”The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

“Goddammit!” Mark snarled, “I didn’t sign up for this!”

“C’mon, Mark,” Glenn said pleasantly, “None of this should come as a big surprise. You knew what she was when you got into bed with her. What did you think she was going to do when she got into power, hand out puppies? We all knew some dark shit would go down, so don’t sit there and pretend to be all shocked now.”

“But starting a Sol War?” Mark asked as he shook his head. “No.”

“Uh, oh,” Glenn laughed, “I know that look. That’s the ‘Mark is about to take his toys and go home’ pout. You are in WAY too deep to back out now. This goes south, and we BOTH swing... literally... AND the treatments stop for our families. That ‘bio weapon’? That’s what your wife has to look forward to while she cries and puts flowers out at the landfill. Traitors don’t get headstones, Mark. We just cremate them and toss the ashes in the bin. Is that what you want?”

“...”

“Yeah,” Glenn replied with a smirk, “think about that. Have you seen what that plague does? Take a look at what Karen has to look forward to, broke, disavowed, and alone. If you want ‘out,’ the first thing you need to do is put a gun to her head and pull the trigger. It would be kinder.”

“...”

“Sorry,” Glenn smiled, “I don’t mean to be a dick, but that’s the facts, dude. We are fucked. The treatment was bogus, and Patricia Hu has decided to go all... well... Patricia Hu on us... IF she’s still alive. Nobody has seen or heard of her since she got stabbed. Monarch and Marrow claim that she is still in charge, but if she is, then she is just taking her beating like a little bitch, and that really doesn’t sound like the Patricia Hu I know.”

“Jesus...”

“You aren’t the only person with real reservations concerning this situation,” Glenn said smoothly, “To be honest, I’m not particularly thrilled about it either. What we need to do is have a meeting, a real meeting... ALL of us... well, all of us at the top anyway. We need to get together and make Patricia Hu come forward and explain herself, her plan, and exactly what the fuck she is going to do about this clusterfuck. She needs us as much as we need her, and if we say ‘no Sol War’, then there will be no Sol War. We need to know what the plan is, what is being done about the treatment situation, and what her real plans are for after she gets into power. If enough of us band together, she will have to come out of hiding, or the whole plan goes belly up, and we can all cut a deal with Momma. You know the Prime Minister likes things to run smoothly. If we all come forward together, we can nip this in the bud and maybe, just maybe, save our own hides in the bargain...”

Glenn leaned forward and locked eyes with Mark through the screen.

“You in?”

Glenn wants us all to meet? Glenn, “Paranoia” Maxwell wants a... wait... that tone... Oh no...

Mark had seen this before. He remembered that tone, the exact tone that Glenn was using... right... now...

It was back in the War of Independence when the Zebus caught that weeb spy. It wasn’t obvious. In fact, if you hadn’t seen it before, you’d miss it.

But there are certain things that if you ever see them once, you never forget, no matter how badly you want to. It was something about the cheerful tone of voice. There was no mistake. It was the exact same tone that spy had as he was cheerfully telling Momma Augustine everything while her little hench-girl was turning his brain into a Mr. Potato Head!

God, he hated that psycho and her goddamn green blazer. Until he met her, he naively thought he knew all of the horrors one human could inflict on another. He still occasionally had to deal with her, and whenever he did, it was always some truly fucked up shit.

He didn’t like Glenn. He had even wished on more than one occasion he would die in a fire, but even Glenn didn’t deserve what they did to him.

“Yeah...” Mark said as he took a deep breath, pretending to carefully consider things. “Set up the meeting. I’ll be there.”

“Great!” Glenn said happily as he bounced up and down, “I’ll set it up. I’ll get in contact with you once the details are set.”

“Looking forward to it,” Mark said smoothly, “It will be great to finally get this resolved. Thank you, Glenn. I owe you one.”

“No,” Glenn grinned, “thank you!”

The screen reverted to his desktop as the call ended.

Fuck.

Mark took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Yep, he was in the shit. On the bright side, his rather fucked up life prepared him for moments like this.

Priority one.

At times like these, he always knew what that was.

He clicked a few icons, and a well-dressed woman in her thirties appeared.

“Sir?” she asked.

“I hate to impose, but all Hell has just broken loose, and I have to take care of a few things personally. Could you please convey my apologies to the Kalent and let him know I will be out of the office for a few hours. Let him know that I want to continue our conversation, but that conversation will be much more fruitful in a few hours.”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied.

After that call was finished, Mark stood and calmly did not run out of the room. He then calmly did not run down the hall and out of the building.

***

Karen Guilderan was unloading the dishwasher when the front door opened.

Augustine trailed off.

“Everyone else came as little surprise but you... you... Why? Why, Mark? Why did you do this?”

Mark looked down.

“I wanted...”

He sobbed.

“I wanted another hundred years with her.”

Augustine sighed. It was the one reason she could accept, not forgive, but accept.

“It was supposed to just be a... ‘realignment’... you know, like we did to Tak? I had no idea what she really had planned. By the time I found out the truth, I was in too deep, but... I can’t. Not another Sol War... No... Not even for Karen. I can’t be a part of this anymore. I was just going to run, head for Saralan, or Quorcox, or maybe just get a ship and see how long Karen and I have left...”

Mark trailed off.

“So why didn’t you?” Augustine asked.

“Two reasons,” Mark replied, “One, a Kalent just showed up in my office carrying a hyperspatial communications device—“

“Wait... walked into your office with that?”

“Yeah, I’m not happy about it either,” Mark said with a wince, “Anyway, It was some ‘lord’ from their homeworld who wants to establish direct relations with the Republic.”

“No shit?” Augustine asked incredulously.

“No shit,” Mark replied with big eyes. “I might be a traitor, but I’m still the Secretary of State, and this is HUGE! They even want to discuss a nonaggression pact, possibly even a technology exchange!”

“Well, goddamn!” Augustine said in amazement. “What do they want?”

“Just a Federation citizen that we have in custody released... so far,” Mark replied, “The Plath is up for multiple homicides, but the critters they wasted weren’t citizens, so it’s a no-brainer... though I suspect they will want more in the end. However, they did say that they were unhappy with the Federation’s performance of late... to ol’ Scaly-Snatch’s face! God! The look on her face! She actually destroyed my door on the way out she was so freaked!”

Augustine laughed in delight. She hated Harruux-ta.

“Please tell me you have that on tape!”

“I do,” Mark replied as he pressed a few icons on his phone and handed it to the Prime Minister.

“Oh, I needed that,” Augustine laughed after she watched the drama unfold. “Ok, here’s what we are going to do. First of all, you are going to be Mark Guilderan and represent the Republic. You will deal with the Kalent, and you will get whatever you can get out of those slimy little fuckers. After that, you will, of course, privately brief me on the result. When you do, you will present me with a Mark Guilderan level document detailing everything, and I mean everything you have done and everything you have learned during your little experiment with sedition. Leave one thing out, and this deal is off, got it?”

Mark nodded.

“During our private meeting,” Augustine continued, “you will also visit with some lovely people who will help you remember any details you might have ‘forgotten’. You will cooperate fully with these nice people, understand?”

“Not Jacqueline!!!” Mark exclaimed in horror, “Please, anything but that!!!”

“What?” Augustine asked in surprise.

“I know what happened to Glenn! Please!”

“I won’t insult your intelligence by denying it,” Augustine replied calmly, “but how did you find that out?”

“I called him today and... I’ve seen it before, remember? Back in the tunnels?”

“Ah yes,” Augustine laughed, “I had almost forgotten about that. As I recall, It made quite the impression on you.”

“I’ll cooperate fully! Please!”

“Is this that second reason you mentioned?”

“Y-yes...” Mark replied quietly, “When I realized what had happened to him, I realized that you already knew I was involved, not suspected, knew. There was no way I could run. You would let me get conveniently out of sight and then... then...”

“You are absolutely correct about that, old friend,” Augustine smiled.

“So I couldn’t bring Karen. It might look like she was involved. I couldn’t risk it. And I couldn’t continue to support Patricia Hu once I received confirmation that she was planning on starting a Sol Wars level situation. So the only option I had left was to try to stop it, but if I did, they would go after Karen...”

“It’s what I would do in her situation,” Augustine replied.

“So I could only just sit and hope that you or someone else would put an end to it... and me.”

“Noble sedition... Now I’ve heard everything.”

“But when the Kalent showed up, I had a reason to have a private meeting with you, so I went home, said goodbye to Karen, and came here.”

“And you did,” Augustine said with a smile, “Ok, traitor, here’s the deal. You will remain at your post, serve the Republic and negotiate with the fucking Kalent. You will continue to be one of Patricia Hu’s crabs and keep us informed as to the comings and goings of the other lice. Then, at the appropriate time, you will help me maintain stability as we fix this goddamn mess. After that, you will face justice for your crimes... However...”

Augustine smiled.

“You will be at the end of the queue as far as trials go. There are going to be a LOT of trials and a FULL investigation. These things take time... could take years to fully address everyone and everything. We don’t know how long you two have left, but there is a very good chance that you will be able to spend most if not all of your remaining time together.”

Mark burst into tears.

“Thank you!!! Thank you!!!”

“Now, if we DO find a cure for what you have done to yourself, I will PERSONALLY drag you back from the gates of Hell and make goddamn SURE you serve the appropriate amount of time for what you have actually DONE thus far... But you would be a legitimate low-risk prisoner, and it would be entirely appropriate for your sentence to be served in an appropriate facility. Oh, you will face some very real consequences for your actions, count on it, but you won’t swing or be welded in. What actually happens depends on the details of your actions and the DOJ, but it will be fair... If it comes to that, and your cooperation will certainly count for something when it comes to sentencing. I’m sorry, but this is the best I can do. I can’t sweep this one under the rug. When the news breaks, they are going to want blood... and to be honest, I want a drop or two myself.”

“No! This is more than I dreamed of! Thank you!” Mark gushed. “You won’t regret this!”

“Make certain that I don’t, Mark,” Augustine replied. “Oh, and for the record, you are a FUCKING MORON!!! IDIOT!!! What were you fucking thinking?!?”

“No argument here,” Mark replied.

“Ok, now go, and don’t be an idiot when you deal with the Kalent.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mark rose to leave.

“Oh, and Mark?”

“Yes, Prime Minister?”

“When Glenn sets up that little meeting of his,” Augustine said with a little smile, “you might want to skip it.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”