Thanks. While I appreciate your initiative in dealing with a clear threat to the Natio, I'd have preferred an arrest and trial. Thanks to yesterday's timely briefing, the session he didn't show up for was intended to be his arrest for treason and formal removal from the Senate. Please let the system work next time.
You're probably not going to believe this, but it wasn't me. Immolation is messy business, tends to traumatize whichever civilians have the misfortune of finding the remains. I prefer airlock malfunctions, personally.
In the interest of disclosure, I did send someone to explain to Reyes the consequences of his rash actions, but my agent reported that he never showed. And while my people may not always be honest with you, they know not to lie to me.
I'll admit, my first inclination isn't to believe you on this. Still, I can't think of a reason you'd lie to me about it. No matter how it went, Reyes' lifespan was considerably shortened the moment he chose treason, and I could hardly blame you for doing what needs done.
Alright, this wasn't you. Even still, I have a hard time believing this was an accident. The timing was too perfect for it to be a simple malfunction. Someone else knew what he had done and removed him from the board before either the Commission or the Consular Guard could. I want to know who.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go say some inspiring words at that idiot's funeral.
I'm having ISA look into it with assistance from Archer. The first step is to identify everyone who had access to the government channels and go from there. Given how quickly it happened, it would have to have been someone that could pick up those messages that set this in motion.
The combination of the Tau-44 incursion and the rather abandoned yet now properly lane-connected southern Taus has led to a resurgence in the cardamine trade. Agent Synchronicity is handling some deliveries via the newly-expanded Another Won. I figured we should probably make good on our agreements with the new Maltese government representatives. Return trip isn't quite as profitable, but the handoff is near a refinery, and we could use some structural materials ourselves, what with the rate we seem to be bolting more and more bits onto Canberra.
I'm sure you've noticed it in your security briefings, but it looks like the Enclave has taken their toys and gone home. Naturally, I'm not too pleased that they'll evade a well-deserved guillotine for their actions at Leeds and elsewhere, but their departure takes a lot of pressure off of us. It also opens up some opportunities, particularly concerning our claim on Roussillon granted under the Leviathan Accords. I'm forwarding Aquila's scouting report so you both can get up to speed on the current state of the system.
Kelly, their report indicates that Rodez is salvageable and could serve as a base for our own efforts in the system. I'd like your people to confirm that, and make preparations to move forward should their assessment prove accurate. A full colony would be ideal eventually, but naturally that'll take time and effort, both in recruitment and construction. I'm perfectly happy to start with a more modest structure. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all.
Victor, the presence of a Maquis battleship, along with other heavy assets, is concerning. I'd like your people to check in with them, see if they'd be amenable to making a deal. We don't have the forces to push them out, and I'm not eager to get us embroiled in any more conflicts now that we've had one major one end. If they are, and their terms are reasonable, we can move forward. If not... well, we'll just have to deal with that when we get to it.
Oh, Victor, one last thing. Have you had any results from the Reyes investigation? I'm not entirely comfortable having an assassin about, even if they did us a favour.
We did, but you're not going to be any more comfortable with what we did find than when we didn't find anything. Before I proceed, if we're going to move into Rous, we probably shouldn't keep Crayter out of the loop. That treaty of ours, you know. With some luck, maybe they'll judge the minefield to be too great a hazard for their warships.
Now, the Reyes investigation. We investigated every single person with access to the diplomatic comms, and further investigated their contacts within two degrees of seperation. This was a time-consuming process, thus the slow response. We found nothing. At this point, we decided to work backward, tracing the order for decontamination.
The problem is, it wasn't ordered. It was put in as a direct override, something very few people have the ability to do - namely, the Ministers, yourself, Kane, and Jones.
I know it wasn't me, though we did investigate to make sure my credentials weren't fraudulently used. It wasn't any of the other ministers, it wasn't Kane, and Jones hasn't used his emergency overrides at all - they're just a relic of the initial setup, really, but we keep them active in case of issues that might affect Aquila's equipment in a hazardous way. That leaves only one possibility.
I think Annabella took her 'assure the security of Natio Octavarium' directive a little too liberally. Kelly has a team working on that. Personally, I'll be taking the stairs for a while.
That's a good point about looping in Crayter. It should've occurred to me, but I'll admit that I've been a bit busy lately. I'll get in contact with them sometime tomorrow or the following day.
As to the Reyes investigation, you're right, I'm not feeling any more comfortable. That is not the conclusion I had expected, and I'm suddenly feeling a lot better about being relocated to Kwinana. I know that Annabella and the other Lovelace units were designed to be creative and act with a great deal of autonomy, but I hadn't expected one to resort to assassinating a traitor unilaterally. This wasn't what we had in mind when we gave them full-right citizenship.
With any other citizen, I'd order an arrest and trial just to make a point, but how do we do that with an AI that's an integral part of our capital city's systems? I don't even know what sort of sanction could be applied short of shutting her down, and given the extenuating circumstances, I hesitate to suggest that. After all, given that Reyes' murder ultimately did us a service, execution wouldn't be on the table for any other citizen.
For now, I'll await Kelly's report. In the meantime, keep this quiet. I would very much like to avoid a general panic.