So basically, the head of the main intelligence agency of the Gallic Royal forces suddenly contacts you claiming that the royalty has been infested by Nomads... oh, wait, not just them, but we, the Council as well - et a few spies, so to say -, et in exchange for some help, he offers you what exactly? The very thing you want the most, Tau-44, your home, which was taken from you by the very same Gallic Royal forces, oui?- Pierre tried to summarize the whole in a little bit sarcastic tone so that the Commander would notice the mass of contradictions he was trying to point out.
Et then you agreed- he stood up and began walking around, continuing his speech -, et brought a fleet into the Kingdom, without notifying us. I am not aware of your communications with Colonel Giroux, but I wouldn't be surprised if in the future he would consider you only as intruders in Gallic space.- arriving back to his chair he stopped -Oh, et I can assure you, there was no Council force great enough to be called a fleet at that time in Burgundy, I would know about it.
After a short silence, Pierre leaned forward on the back of his seat from behind to look right into the eyes of Anders and continued with an array of questions:Did you at least make sure half of what that D'Aramis said is true or just jumped in blindly, hoping that something good will happen? If you did, what did ensure that his words were not empty et he did not use the Colonial forces as mere puppets to reach his own goal, whatever that might be? How do you know he isn't the infested you went there to fight, et that you didn't shoot normal humans? What made the Colonial Leadership trust a two day old friendship over a year old alliance? - asked, a little bit louder at every question, almost shouting at the last one.
Pierre stopped for a few seconds to straighten himself and calm down a bit, and then continued:You did not just show the people how vulnerable their tyrant is, you also made that tyrant aware of his weaknesses, and the amount of his enemies. Surprise is a card you can play only once, monsieur. Now the king will think twice who he decides to pick as guard, et he will be guarded way more toughly than before. Because of this, you, along with those Fallen Grace Rebels did not only fail at assassinating him, but who knows how many operations of the Council you made impossible with this stunt.- he paused for a moment, thinking about these new "rebels" -If this D'Aramis would have really wanted to work with The Council, he wouldn't have excluded us in the first place. Currently I expect nothing from them, et I yet to know what I should. Could you explain me a little bit more why you think they would be good allies in our struggle?- with his last words he sat down.
"What have you heard of the Nomad War, LaFlamme, the one that almost consumed Sirius at the turn of the century? One house with an overpowering military, causing dissent among the others with the intent to conquer and destroy the entire sector. Rather similar to our current situation, do you not think? It may have occurred before either of our people were known to the Alliance's houses, but the wounds of it were still sore as we made our place here. Over a decade before any of you were here.
"This war was ended by the Order, whom you have spoken to since your arrival. Their very existence has been identifying and combating these aliens, these Nomads. We did not simply charge in with our capital ships. A team was sent in initially and the situation confirmed before full investment; the threat was made clear."
Anders put his hands together and rested his chin upon them. "As for D'Aramis, if he was infested he hid it behind his humanity extremely well. If I had not known who he was before hearing him out, he could very well have passed for a Councilman. A bastard son of the King, with a heart for the people and his own children in the care of President Connors and his wife.
"Unless the Royal Navy has invested in purple contact lenses and fleshy spine grips of some sort, the men killed were most definitely infested by Nomads, their loyalty to the King... assured. I do not know what plans you had to infiltrate his guard, but I doubt any true human would be able to do so.
"I am not sure on your exact opinion on the matter, but D'Aramis is not alone in his past. As you mentioned, for one year the Colonials have had an ally in the Council. If you happen to know, what percentage of your forces previously served in the Royalists' Navy?"
Anders leaned back, awaiting his Gallic counterpart's response.
Those, who join our ranks join us because they want a democratic Gallia, free of tyranny et oppression, whether they being citizens or ex-officers of authorial forces from the Kingdom.- he answered with haste. -Of course at ex-Royalists we have to be careful, not to let any spies into our movement.- He pauses for a fraction of a second, in his mind recalling his initial distrust towards Giroux too. Distrust, which faded over time and through many occasions the ex-Royalist proved himself to be a true follower of the Council's cause. -Over time however, most of them proved to be a great asset to our faction, sharing our ideals about the future of Gallia. So far I am yet to say the same about your rebel amis.
At this point, he chuckled a bit, on the words of the Colonial about Lelouch.
With a heart for the people... his own children in the care of President Connors... - the words of Anders has been echoing from the mouth of the Colonel, with his usual sceptical tone, sourly smiling for a moment. But then that smile faded away fast. -Do you realize you are talking about the head of all spies within the Gallic Kingdom? Head of all who has been taught of perfect deception et infiltration. Do you think it would be so hard for him to fake emotions, or to find two gallic-looking children he could care less about, just to throw them in like some kind of fake insurance to prove his non-existent wish to help you? Do you think it would be so hard for him to fake humanité in order to hide his alien identité if it would be the case? Do you think you could know when he speaks the truth or when he lies to you?
After a few seconds he continued:Through the Cerberus, The Order has given us information about these Nomads, so oui, I know what we have to deal with here. An alien race superior to us in numbers, firepower et skills of infiltration. Et now we have a head spy even you are unsure about whether he is infected or not. Add the two et you will get a master deceiver. Dealing with men like this, you cannot be sure when he will back-stab you.- Pierre sighed. -I can only hope you know what you are doing. But I have to be sure about how it will impact us if you don't, as hope is just not enough when it comes to dealing with the securité of my own men.
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A shower and fresh robes adorned Doc as he entered Ravenhurst. Having been on Sabbatical, he needed to catch up on current events. Baffin had become a very happening place and those he left to hold down the fort had done a fine job.
He entered quietly, a guard telling him that the visiting parties were quietly meeting. Respecting privacy, Doc went over to a table of hours'douvres, took a few pieces of cheese and crackers before pouring himself a glass of cognac.
Quietly, he spoke with his own people to catch up on what was going on. For now, listening was the wise move.
"Yes, from the little I have heard of Giroux I can see why mistrust would be there initially. Do not think we blindly trusted, nor fully trust as of yet, D'Aramis. As I said, a small team of agents were sent in before the main group. As much of his plans were ratified as was possible, and the Order did not detect any signs of infection when faced with him." Placing his hands upon the table, Anders continued. "A master of spies may have feigned the former somewhat but, again as I said before, the Order have since learned rather well if someone is infected. This was also backed up by the data we received from the Guild Core later on, our agents should be a bit better in that department."
He sighed, looking towards the door through which was the silver hall they had entered from. "The operation could have gone better, different steps should have been taken. Quick action was required in the window we had, so here is where we find ourselves. As with Giroux and many other defectors, D'Aramis has the chance to prove if he is worthy of all our continued trust; at the very least it is a Valor and its complement against the King's forces.Turning back towards LaFlamme again, the Commander finished:"The same two points apply to the Colonials, and perhaps a mutual friend in the Discordians can prevent this developing to the point where all those who rely on us are brought in harm's way. Shall we call them back in and move forward from this?"
Pierre was deep buried within his thoughts for like two minutes. Since landing in the hangar, his initial temper has lowered, making him able to think more rationally.I know nobody more expert at Nomads than the Order, if they checked D'Aramis, he is clear, but then that still does not make his intentions clear. Oui, Giroux had his time too to prove his allegiance, giving him time too may work. Neither total ignorance et hostilité nor blind trust are options here, but something in between... after all a little distance never hurts et time will surely tell if this D'Aramis is really who he claims to be.
Donc,- he looked up on the Commander -I cannot argue with the Order, et the results of the scans, but then we still have the master spy left. I would like to know more about him, hence I would like to ask you to share any et every detail you have about this Lelouch D'Aramis, his Fallen Grace Rebellion et the event itself after the meeting. I hope that is not too much to ask for.- With that the Colonel stood up and began walking to the door. -I think notres amis been waiting for us for a good while now.- He opened the door and let the others in. -Excusons-nous for making you wait too much.- He imagined how the half an hour of discussion with Anders felt like months for the rest while waiting outside.
Richard enters the room, he imagined himself what took them so long. It was a long discussion so far and he hopes it did benefit them both.
"Kallisti again, I hope you have had a good discussion and did clear some things out. I must say I fell asleep on a chair while looking towards Planet Eris. Thought a small rest of my eyes, but it seemed it took longer for me too. But where were we before we left the room?"
He takes a seat and await a response to freshen up his memory..
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Anders had since also stood up, standing near the viewport but facing the door. "Indeed Richard, I apologise for having kept you waiting quite so long. However, I believe they were fruitful and we can move forward from this remaining allies. And LaFlamme, I'll have our information on D'Aramis forwarded to you after this is over." Sitting down again as the others filed in, making for their original seats, Anders started the conversation again. "I believe we'd gotten as far as acknowledging the vulnerability of all three of our territories should the Gauls decide to invade through Baffin. Redirecting a sizeable fleet through Tau-29 would be relatively simple for them given Kusari's choice to bow down and become the puppets of King Charles.
I understand that the TAZ get on fairly well given their proximity, but the Council do not, by the same 'virtues' of the Kusari-Gallia relations. Correct me if I am wrong though."
Richard takes a look at Commander Anders.. Then he looks at LaFlamme and wonders himself what to say.. He takes a small peek at the door, he expected Doc to come along. It seems he is too busy with his glass of cognac. Then he just stirred in his glass of water which he brought along.. While doing this he looks Commander Anders straight in the face.
"If the Gauls would come they would come by Tau 29 indeed. I wonder if they have discovered the Roussillon and/or the Coronado Jumphole. If this would be the case an invasion would be inevitable at some point. Something that concerns me the most will be the Tau 29 to Baffin jumphole. If it is really not protected they can just have a walk in the park within our beloved home."
He stops stirring within his glass. and reminds himself about something his wife said before he left her to go to this meeting.
"The kusarian government.. I am not sure what they would decide, honestly in a way I suspect they will stand along with Gallia against the council. But they could do that also by the Roussilon Jumphole within Tau 29. I am aware the council has a good minefield there, but only a minefield will not protect you if they decide to invade."
Richard takes a look outside the window and he sees the Tau 29 jumphole.
"Then again, if it would be needed I do not hesitate to destroy the Jumphole from Baffin to Tau 29 to keep Baffin safe. It might safe Baffin at that point but it makes Roussilon a primary objective of the Gauls."
He takes another look through the window and he hopes its peace will remain...
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Kusari has bent over for the Crown, it is obvious for a good while already. They have seen the might of the Kingdom et they fear it, no way would they refuse cooperation with them. If the royalists say so, the Naval Forces will aid the Royal Navy without a word.- Pierre frowned. -If the scouts of the royalist forces discover Roussillon from the Tau systems, they will immediately know that it is our hideout, the minefield is an obvious sign of that. After that, they have two choices: press on with the assault et over time eventually conquer the system, or look for alternative entrances. If they choose the former, I can assure you, we fortified that entrance well et they won't be able to get in without significant causalities on their side. I calculate that the minefield will give us enough time to evacuate the system in time.- Pierre sighs and continues his flow of thoughts. -In case they choose the second option, they will eventually come across the jump hole leading to Baffin. That one is indeed an easy entrance to all of our claimed systems, but I do not think of destroying the hole itself, it sounds drastic enough to consider it a last resort. I would rather think about strengthening that entrance, similar to the fortifications of Roussillon.- he stopped, awaiting the others to comment on what he said.
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