SotU3 Chpt 40

=Chapter 40=
==State of the Union - Book 3==
----
Little Paris, Dieudonne
Silver Hawks Coalition
April 1st, 3068
----
Little Paris was being rebuilt as it continued to be adapted for the needs of the Silver Hawks Coalition’s government. Among the completed sections were discreet meeting rooms, surrounded and separated by trees, jamming and sophisticated security. Isis Marik would prefer that she was heading to one of them with Galen Cox for privacy with him, but besides being an abuse of her access to them (she would hardly be the first to use them for personal matters, but as one of the triumvirs she was held to a higher standard) she wasn’t particularly keeping their relationship a secret.
“You have one guest." the guard warned. The obvious guard, that was. There were others hidden away. “No obvious weapons but he could have anything under those robes. Set off the metal detectors like you wouldn’t believe, your grace.”
Isis nodded in understanding. “I believe it, but this particular emissary would not be sent as an assassin. And I shall have Colonel Cox to protect me.”
Galen smiled at the skeptical look. “I’m not entirely defenseless outside of my ‘Mech; but I’m also not too proud to hit the alarm if it is needed." he promised the guard as they went past the man.
The building inside this particular security perimeter was a tiny chalet, the downstairs serving as an antechamber with modest kitchen and bathroom facilities attached, to support extended discussions. Isis didn’t think she’d need them. Inside she went up the stairs to the room above, the meeting room proper.
The lights inside were dim, but a robed man awaited them at the table. He rose when he saw Isis but paused when Galen came up the steps behind her. “I had hoped to meet with you in private.”
“Had you?” Isis asked him blandly. Galen went around her to draw a chair back for her, which she accepted. “Could you get the lights?” she asked her lover and he adjusted them upwards until she nodded her satisfaction. Then he seated himself next to her. “You asked for a meeting." the Triumvir reminded her guest. “Where would you like to begin?”
He began by throwing back his hood, revealing a face familiar in shape, but not identical that she had seen in pictures. One eye was mechanical and wires were visible beneath the skin of his face and the bare right side of his head… also beneath the flesh of his hands, she realized with distaste.
“You have reached out to the Word of Blake." her biological father began. “Does it surprise you that we would reach out in return?”
“I reached out to certain elements of the movement. Not yours, I think.” She hoped her voice didn’t tremble as she saw Thomas Marik - the real Thomas Marik - for the first time.
Thomas Marik smiled, something that made his face more horrible than it already was. “If a leader in their youth does not lean towards moderation then they have no heart. But if they do not recognize the need for firmer measures in their maturity, then they have no brains. There are many viewpoints in the Word of Blake, but they are views of how we should reach our goals, not of what they are.”
Isis shook her head. “And you think that everyone will come around to your methods? The Toyamaists are terrorists.”
“Some of them.” The man shook his head. “Terrorism is a tool and those who don’t recognize its constraints are also tools. Its useful for some purposes but limited. Those who learn better can be valuable.”
“Is that what we are to you? Tools?” Isis asked
“We’re all levers and fulcrums to someone, it circles around. I’m traveling to Terra for the first time in decades because there are those who think that I’ll be useful leverage for them, in discussion over the paths we’ll take in the future; but in inviting me, those same people are allowing me to have my say. We use each other to our mutual benefit. Sometimes it’s more lopsided and adversarial, but that’s rarely ideal for a long term relationship.”
“So who was using Katherine?” Galen asked flatly.
Thomas Marik looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. “Myndo Waterly, originally. I assume you know something of Operation Scorpion.”
“I lived through it." the colonel pointed out. “ComStar’s damp squib of trying to take occupied worlds back while the ComGuards and the Clan’s best warriors were all on Tukkayid.”
“Yes… Waterly never understood the long view.” The cyborg shook his head in annoyance. “She hated the Federated Commonwealth. Her endgame involved dividing the realm again with puppet rulers on each side. Frederick Steiner on the Lyran throne, Katherine Steiner-Davion on the FedSuns… or Anastasius Focht and Kathleen Madison, if you prefer those names.”
Isis hid her surprise at the revelation that the retired Precentor Martial was apparently a Steiner. She noted that Galen didn’t seem to be surprised and made a mental note to ask him later. For now though, it could be taken as evidence that the man in front of her was probably telling the truth about it. “And then?”
“Rule the Inner Sphere from the shadows, I suppose. Waterly was always ambitious but not very bright. It was only a matter of time before one of her puppets strangled her - as Focht proved almost immediately. Even if it had worked, the entire scheme couldn’t have lasted very long. Puppet masters never do, in my experience - people resent being kept on a string, partnerships are almost always more rewarding in the end. It’s why Ian Cameron managed what no one else ever had.”
Galen was still focused on his earlier question: “So Waterly had Catherine replaced by Kathleen Madison?”
“Yes, on the first day of Operation Scorpion. She was promptly rushed into security, well away from the rest of her family, just in case someone tried to take out all the Steiner-Davions on New Avalon at once. You never met the real Catherine Steiner-Davion.” Thomas paused and then shook his head. “I’m not sure what happened after that, precisely. The operation falling apart meant that my only source of information became Kathleen herself, and she claimed that the real Catherine was killed after the first few days. Tidying up the loose end.”
“Obviously she was lying." Isis pointed out. “We have met Catherine, on Tharkad last year.”
“Probably, she was lying." the older Marik allowed. “Probably. And assuming that I’m right that Madison attacked the real Catherine over Summer, and assuming that the Steiner-Davions are telling the truth about killing that imposter, then she’s not going to be available for further inquiry.” His lips quirked into a macabre smile. “Certainties are hard to come by for some matters.”
Isis leant back in her chair and steeped her fingers. “Why are you confiding in us?”
“Because I want you to do something." he replied with an appearance of forthrightness. “Not because of a deal. Because with the information I give you, I expect that you’ll be motivated to act in ways that benefit us both.”
“To make me your puppet? The way Thomas Halas was?”
“He was never my puppet. Waterly thought he was hers, but that was her error. It was always a partnership. I had a capable leader at the head of the Free Worlds League, developing it into a realm that the Federated Commonwealth couldn’t simply devour. Thomas got the chance to be the leader he believed he could be - he lacked the bloodline and connections to rise to power himself, but as you yourself admitted: he was an able Captain-General for thirty years. More than most Mariks manage. I’m proud of what we accomplished together.”
“And then you betrayed him?”, she accused him
“Never!” The Blakist’s one flesh eye was sharp, the denial of Isis’ accusation instant and if it was not heartfelt then he was an amazing actor. Of course, he probably was. “But Thomas had done all that he could there. I ensured that he was able to escape with his family - the same outlet you tried to convince him to take.”
“Except that you wanted him to continue the civil war." Isis concluded. “I suspected as much. Corinne would never have botched the coup.”
“She wanted the power, but wasn’t willing to do what was needed to gain it.” The cyborg shrugged philosophically. “I’m not forcing her to fight anyone. Thomas could have accepted his defeat and no one had to push Kirc Cameron-Jones to put forward his claim.”
And yet there is an implicit threat against Corinne’s daughter, and her own life. Isis decided not to call him on it. There was no need for him to know she knew.
“It benefits me, of course." Thomas Marik admitted. “But I’m certainly not managing the war.”
Galen murmured: “How very Lucifer-like of you.” He was evidently having to restrain himself.
Against her better judgement, Isis put a restraining hand upon Galen’s knee. “Was it your hand in the Federated Commonwealth Civil War as well?”
“Some of my allies took a hand. Katherine was becoming too much of a problem." her… the man who had once been her father admitted. “Or Kathleen as it turned out. At the time we didn’t know for sure if she was Madison or if the entire doppelganger plot had failed miserably. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised - Hanse Davion would have been on guard for such a thing, but of course he conveniently wasn’t around long enough to be a factor. I do wonder if she had a hand in that…” He shook his head. “Not that it matters now.”
Galen’s hand was clenched into a fist, beneath the table and out of sight of the Blakist.
“Anyway, breaking the Federated Commonwealth in two was good for us, but her reuniting it. In fact if not in name - was not. It was clear she intended to tighten her grip, take the First Lordship and transition that into permanent control of the Star League. Utterly unacceptable from my point of view.”
“Are you telling me that you supported Victor?” she asked incredulously.
“I was hardly the only one. As much as I’d like to say that I had Immortal Spirit sent to Coventry just to keep you alive when Katherine sent a warship to destroy Victor’s campaign, my personal sentiments wouldn’t have been enough to divert quite that level of resources. Broadly speaking, many of the Word see his willingness to work with other realms to battle the Clans as admirable. We rather expected that a victorious Victor - please excuse the alliteration - would have led to a permanent separation of the two halves of his parents’ realm. He certainly didn’t want to rule either.” Thomas Marik’s face showed some chagrin. “And then Peter Steiner-Davion returned and everyone’s plans went out the window.”
Isis snorted. “Well, we agree with that point.”
The Blakist shook his head. “At that point our plans for the Federated Commonwealth were all obsolete. It’s impressive, in a frustrating sort of way.”
Galen narrowed his eyes. “And then Kathleen Madison made it back to Terra.”
“It answered a lot of questions.” Thomas smiled ruefully. “If she’d arrived sooner we might have sent her to Tharkad to try to spin things out, but by that point the war was essentially over. Her ship had mis-jumped terribly, which just goes to show you can’t rule random chance out as influence. She and the crew were incredibly lucky to be alive, much less near enough to a star system that they could be rescued.”
Thinking back, Isis had to admit that the imposter reaching Tharkad probably would have made things challenging. Victor had pushed ahead to hit the Lyran capital sooner than was really wise expressly to try to avoid it. “What did you want to happen - just a division into two halves doesn’t seem like enough for you.”
“It would have been acceptable. My best case scenario was five distinct factions - an independent Skye, the Federated Suns divided between Hasek, Sandoval and some rump Davion realm in the Crucis March. We needed a relatively intact Lyran Alliance to continue holding back the Clans - Victor might have clung to power there if he was so inclined.” The elder Marik shrugged. “Not how it worked out, so we’ll have to outlast Peter’s influence. I won’t live to see that, I imagine, but it’s likely the next generation will have its own trials.”
“Your substitute felt that the Star League would constrain the Federated Commonwealth." she told him.
Thomas Marik shook his head sadly. “That’s a knife that cuts both ways. So long as Peter Steiner-Davion controls the largest economy and the largest military - so long as he rules half of the Star League’s population - it won’t matter that he has but a single vote. He is the strongest member of the Star League Council and should the other other members vote for measures that would weaken the Federated Commonwealth… well, what would happen if he withdrew from the League?”
Galen scowled. “Peter is a reasonable man, he wouldn’t do that.”
“Peter Steiner-Davion has nothing to gain at the moment by being unreasonable.” The Toyamist leant forwards. “He will stand down as First Lord in 3070 and lose nothing. The Federated Commonwealth will have hegemonic power within the Star League. The membership will be fragmented and weaker than ever. The Capellan Confederation is facing an internal power struggle that could see Kai Allard-Liao upon the Chancellor’s throne - the brother of Peter’s spymaster. Hohiro Kurita has no heir that we know about. If he and his brother do not provide them, then Theodore Kurita’s successor might well be one of Peter’s nephews. But to misquote Mark Antony: Peter Steiner-Davion is an honorable man, a reasonable man, someone that you can do business with.”
He shook his head again. “He wields that like that a knife, so sharp you don’t even notice when it’s thrust into you. Even members of the Ruling Conclave buy into that. He took Odessa away from them, led them into the Star League and now they’re even negotiating with him over building new HPGs, competing with ComStar for a contract to link the major worlds of the Federated Commonwealth together with double-links of stations. What other nation since the Star League has planned on that scale?”
“He needed our help against the Clans." pointed out Isis. “Without the rest of the Star League he…” She saw Galen’s face. “Didn’t he?”
“It helped." he admitted. “And if the war had expanded, say if the Hell's Horses had fully engaged, then we might have been needed - but as it was, the most I can say is that we cut a few months off the war. The ComGuards, the Word of Blake Militia, the SLDF and Nova Cats all fought battles, but we didn’t fight even half as many as the AFFC did. There were more Federated Commonwealth forces deployed against the Clans than anyone bar the Draconis Combine can field in total right now.”
“If Peter Steiner-Davion - or some less reasonable successor - decided to apply the same sledgehammer to the Silver Hawks Coalition." Thomas pointed out. “You wouldn’t stand a chance. It’s possible the rest of the Star League would rally to your defense… but how well did such an alliance work out forty years ago?”
Isis pinched the bridge of her nose. “Are you trying to maneuver me into thinking of the Federated Commonwealth as an enemy? Because I have no intention of making the same mistake that Grover Shraplen is making now.”
Her… for want of a better word, father… smiled approvingly. “Oh very good. You are staying well informed. And no, that’s foolishness. I want you to do what you think is in the best interests of the Silver Hawks Coalition. Nothing more, nothing less. I have nothing against Peter - a surprising number of his goals are ones that I share. In a few cases, we even seem to have the same methods in mind. There are some obvious exceptions -”
“The continued existence of the Federated Commonwealth?” Galen suggested sharply.
“Obviously, yes.” Marik shook his head. “I’m probably not going to be leaving Terra for a long time - given how tumultuous our politics can be, I may never leave again. That being the case, it seemed best to at least settle a few unresolved matters.”
“Meeting me for the first and last time." Isis deadpanned.
“That’s one of them.” He rested his hands on the table before him. “I’d hardly have been able to offer you any sort of childhood, Isis. It’s no excuse, but it is a reason. And as a grown woman you don’t need me. If the Terran sect does decide to kill me, I doubt it’ll impact you at all.”
“You think they will?”, she asked
“Someone killed their predecessors." the man wearing precentor’s robes observed. “Would you believe me if I denied involvement?”
She thought for a moment and then shook her head.
“Nor do they. Peter Steiner-Davion will probably be equally skeptical if I protest innocence over his cousin’s scheming to create an independent Skye with their mutual kinsman as his figurehead.” He shook his head. “Maybe there’s something about my face that leads people to distrust me. How sad.”
“More about your life choices." Isis told him. “Do you have anything else to say to me?”
Thomas Marik shook his head. “You?”
Isis rose and gestured to the stairs. “Leave, and never return.”
He laughed, not merrily and raised his hood. “Very well. I can give you that, at least.” Standing, he walked - more limped really - to the head of the stairs and then paused. “One thing I would say to you, Colonel Galen Cox.”
“I’ll give it all the credibility I give everything else you’ve told us.”
Thomas Marik’s head nodded within the hood. “For all my failings as a father, I am proud of Isis. If you break her heart, I have a very long reach. Remember that.”
Galen snorted. “Why did Sun-Tzu Liao get a free pass then?”
The master of the Toyama Sect looked back at them and the expression beneath the hood was that of a monster. “My dear boy, who do you think introduced his sister to Cameron St. Jamais?” And then he was gone.
----
Previous Story Arc - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
Category:State of the Union Chapters