TBntG-2 Chpt 21

=The Bull and the Genie=
==Chapter 21 - Book II - The Ninety-five Theses==
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==Views from the Top==
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===Puzzling over the Meaning by an atrocity===
Mount Davion - New Avalon, Federation Suns
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"Why would they do it?" Hanse asked. He stared at the documents, the best MIIO had been able to find about the Gray Death Legion. They were a new unit, that had distinguished themselves… and had thrown it all away in a terrorist attack that would see every nation in human space hunting them down. Not even the Combine would give them shelter.
 
Hanse wasn't a fool. He himself had done things that most people would see as terrible, but this wasn't just terrible, it made no sense.
 
On the other hand, if people just did things that made sense, Jinjiro wouldn't have thrown all of his father's achievements away to slaughter millions. Hell, for all we know it could be some drunk trooper and Grayson is covering for them. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing…
 
Then why go back to their land grant? When the first eruption of rage had ended, Hanse had found himself expecting that they'd head right for the periphery, to become just another pirate band. But MIIO agreed—they had headed back to their home. With a Free World's League duke and military detachment waiting for them.
 
Communications were… confused. They had been captured, they hadn't been, they were dead, they were alive, and MIIO also agreed that Janos looked to be just as in the dark as anyone else was. Which was probably one reason he was letting Ardan and the Heavy Guards in. Well, that and one regiment was better than every regiment Hanse had storming over the border.
 
Still, if it wasn't for Melissa's idea… the TDF weren't the friends of the Free Worlds League, especially now that they were starting to compete in the same market, but nobody would believe that the TDF was in bed with the Federated Suns. Right now relations were as good as they ever had been, which equaled out to "hostile neutrality."
 
Well, without Michael stirring the pot, maybe we can do better. Not to mention that Maximilian had given them abundant reasons to hate the Capellans, while allowing the Taurians to demonstrate why it would be bad to attack them in a way that convinced even the densest local nobility of the Federated Suns.
 
But technically, it wasn't a Federated Suns invasion. The Federated Suns was just, officially, providing a bit of assistance to the Taurians, in case Grayson attempted to resist arrest or anyone else attempted to kill him before he could face trial.
 
Of the implication was that Janos was so hapless he couldn't even keep his own people in line, and yet couldn't risk a confrontation with the Suns, that might keep the FWL quietly focused on its internal politics, while the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns rebuilt and prepared for their showdown with the Draconis Combine.
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===Meeting between Periphery Leaders===
Outskirts of the City of Samantha - Taurus, Taurian Concordat
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I wonder if anyone is really fooled by this, Edward thought. They were in a small cottage, safely away from the press… with a four-mile exclusion zone, and a one mile "lethal force" zone, complete with aerospace fighters orbiting over head, and powered armor units serving as close security. Still, the point wasn't to conceal that he was having a meeting, but who with and what was being discussed.
 
"Magistrix," he said, extending his hand.
 
"Protector," Kyalla replied. "I had not expected such a prompt response to my feelers."
"Time is moving quickly." Edward said. "I am not my father, but I am not a fool. The Inner Sphere has stopped mass fighting—for now. But sooner or later, they will start again, and we need to be ready for it."
 
"We." She raised her eyebrows. "The Concordat seems fairly ready."
 
"We were lucky. Not that we didn't prepare but… even today the Inner Sphere is vastly larger than we are."
 
"And yet you are the face of more cooperation," Kyalla said, taking some of the treats Edward had set out and nibbling one.
 
"I am. In the long run, unless we wish to simply exist in a never ending cycle of destruction, cooperation is the best way—the only way to go, although not all of my people agree."
"The supporters of the late Grover Shraplen."
"Yes, among others." And it's difficult fighting against them, not just politically. Whatever their differences, Grover had given his life saving Edward's little sister. He shook his head. "Centuries of distrust are not eliminated over night."
 
"And that includes you, it would seem."
 
"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war." Edward shook his head. "I don't agree with it, not entirely, but equally, yes, there will be those in the Inner Sphere who look to our prosperous worlds with greed, and the best way to avoid war is to ensure that they see no easy targets, and we can do that by unity."
 
"What is your proposal to achieve that happy goal?"
 
Edward handed her a folder. Kyalla stared at it, and then started reading. Her eyes widened once or twice. Then after about ten minutes, she put it down. "Who else knows about this?"
 
"My closest advisers. That's why there's so much handwriting in it. I'm not willing to trust to computers, not yet."
 
"Renunciation of the right to change of borders by violence, declaration of our mutual security guarantees for the worlds between us. Promise of the free movement between our states… Creation of a mutually supported colony and scouting organization, focused on extending our borders… A joint promise that any nation attacking one of the parties shall be treated as an aggression against both parties…" She flipped through the rest. "It's impressive. But you have the larger economy, so I can't help but assume this would benefit you more than us."
 
"That assumes things are the same between us in ten years, when the last of the provisions would take effect." Edward shrugged. "We don't have the same degree of mistrust the Inner Sphere does, but it does exist. Either side can back out, of course."
 
"And what are your material enticements?" Kyalla asked.
 
"At the minor level? We can provide your Pike Support vehicle with fuel cell engines, which will improve it radically. My engineers have been looking at it as a good multi-use militia vehicle. That would mean you could use TTI's marketing networks."
 
"That's something that is negotiated between undersecretaries. You have something else to sweeten the pot."
 
"I do. The Canopian shipyards haven't been able to produce JumpShips in useful numbers since the pirate strike of 2940." Edward paused. "We're fitting up the tooling for two new production lines. We can help you rebuild your shipyards to produce Merchant class JumpShips."
 
Kyalla tensed slightly. "Two new lines, what's the other one for?"
"Monoliths. Those will take longer, but if you'll look at this…" he handed her another sheet. "Taurus and Canopus will cooperate, sharing costs and training, to establish two shipyards for Monolith class JumpShips, one at Canopus and one at Taurus." He paused. "Lastly, once we get our new production line ready, we can also start selling you powered armor."
 
"Well, it sounds nice, but…" Kyalla smiled. "You know, the Capellans love our circuses and shows, but it seems that the state feels we're dangerous to the Capellan spirit. Now that you're handling police duties for the bordering regions, maybe you could suggest to Chancellor Liao that people need to have fun when not slaving away for the glory of the Capellan nation."
 
Edward leaned back. Now they were to the bargaining stage, and he could handle that.
 
And convincing Kyalla that her fortunes were better served by working with the Taurians rather than looking to the Inner Sphere would go a long way to achieving his ambitions.
 
After all, why be obsessed with the Inner Sphere when we sit on the borders to the rest of the universe. 
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Book 2 - 21