TBntG-2 Chpt 7

=The Bull and the Genie=
==Chapter 7 - Book II - The Ninety-five Theses==
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==Tottering on the Edge==
===Being Framed===
Fox's Den - New Avalon, Federated Suns
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"Drafts from our own fucking banks!" First Prince Hanse Davion didn't normally shout. That made it more effective. "An entire border that was safe, which now might see war, because every bit of evidence points to us murdering the Protector, along with 50,000 citizens." 
"We didn't do it," Quintus Allard said. There were other reports, reports of battles going well—mostly well. But the entire plan, a plan years in the making could be derailed. 
"Are we certain Michael didn't pull this off?"
"As near as we can be," Quintus said. "The banking information—it looks like it might be something of the Capellans, but…"
"But we have no hard evidence. And we'd say that even if I'd been laughing when I pushed the button," Hanse said.
"Sir, if the Taurians attack we should be prepared. Some of the second and third wave units can be redeployed."
Hanse frowned. "They don't believe us."
"No, Sire," Quintus said. "not to put to great a stress on it, when Archon Katrina informed the Taurian ambassador that you would never do such a thing…"
"'This is the same man who declared war at his own wedding.' I saw the recording." Hanse shook his head. 
 Time to be a Fox. "No. All of our units will keep moving forward. No units on the Taurian border are to go on alert."
"Sir, if the TDF attacks!" one general said, to fall silent as Hanse shook his head.
"They've rebuilt. They're far more powerful than they were, but they still needed the Lyran's help to move their people. We all know how long it took to set up the logistics for this war, and this came out of the blue. The Taurians, if they invade, will be handicapped, and that will give us more than enough time to move forces then—without taking actions that will convince every man, woman and child in the Concordat that we really did plan this out."
"It's a hell of a risk, Sire." Quintus said.
"They don't trust anything that comes out of our mouths. We just hope that they'll trust the evidence of their own eyes."
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===Reeling from Tragedy===
Protector's Office - Taurus, Taurian Concordat
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Edward rubbed his eyes. He was always tired and always hoping that he might wake up from this nightmare. Like Janice, and lord Janice and his other brothers and sisters had lost their father as well. He should be talking to them. Should be with them and Mom, but…
"There's been no action taken against our anti-piracy forces."
"No, Sir, we can recal—"
"Through the Lyran Commonwealth, which has assured us Hanse Davion would not do such a thing, but probably won't let our forces come through them to fight him."
"They would betray us?" an adviser asked.
"They wouldn't have to." Edward shook his head. "They're in a war, and that means no fast transit. Katrina Steiner could ship our people home with a clear conscience, because there's no way they'd get home in time to change anything, not without jumpships that she can say, in all honestly, they don't have available." And if she decided to go to war with us, that'd leave our units marooned in the middle of the Commonwealth.
No. Better to leave them where they were. General Cheng had already made preparations, pulled some of her units in, but so far there was nothing to report, other than her Lyran sources seemed to be a honestly shocked as everyone else. 
 
"This makes no sense." He shook his head. "Every unit facing us was either heading for the front, or stripped to the bone. Hanse is a lot of things, but stupid? No."
 
"The people…" The Minister of the Interior took a deep breath. "The people believe it was the Davions. Sir, you may be Thomas' heir, but your position isn't sure, especially if they think you're letting them get away with this."
 
"I know." Everyone primed to hate the Davions. "But we can't go off half cocked. Not unless we want an offensive that will just stall out and leave us vulnerable. Marshal Willis, I want three plans. A limited series of punitive strikes, limited territorial gains, and lastly, a full scale attack. Also, call up our reserves, but for now they'll just take the place of offensive units." The reserves had been equipped with the equipment the frontline units no longer needed, which meant a combination of old mechs and gear, run by reservists.
 
"That may take us about a month."
 
"We only get one shot." And maybe, we won't have to. Everyone in the room knew that. Edward shook his head, and glanced at one of the monitors, this one on a 24 hour news station. There was a line of Taurians a block long outside of one of the recruiting stations. Whoever called me a leader is an idiot. I'm in front of a herd of angry bulls, desperately trying to not get run down or lead them over a cliff. 
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===On the Hunt for the Tip===
Restaurant, Samantha City - Taurus, Taurian Concordat
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"I say we ignore 'em Boss." Mike was playing devil's advocate as he sat with his boss and the rear of the busy restaurant. 
 
"Account number 02302111A," Daphne said. "If they know that, they could put us all in prison for the rest of our lives. Just the name, once people start pulling on strings."
 
"He's a fucking Davion."
 
"I don't think so." She leaned back, running her fingers through her curly hair. "The public terminal he gave us? That was a cloaked terminal." 
 
Mike frowned. Cloaked terminals were terminals where the video cams weren't disabled—that was a trick teenagers played to make prank calls and were always surprised when they got caught. No, here the video cams that kept vandals and such away were looped, showing perfectly ordinary people. It was one of Daphne's services after all. 
 
"And? We kept the looped material."
 
"That we did." Daphne smiled. Whoever used it didn't consider we need the footage to loop from somewhere, so just keep filming, and then every month of so, recycle it.
But this time…
 
She pulled out her big, clunky pad. The Taurus-made pad was nothing like Comstar's models, but Daphne was a patriot even if she believed that the State shouldn't prevent a woman and her organization from making money of the old-fashioned way. 
 
"Here we go." She said. "The three times the code was used for this phone."
 
"Three guys. Three separate guys." Mike leaned forward. "Okay, not someone cheating on their wife."
 
"No. I had Tom go through the footage for a week before and after this."
 
"He must have loved you."
 
"I don't pay him just to make loops and play games." Daphne paused. "Here we have a good view of the guy."
 
"Could be anyone."
 
Yeah. The popular view was that Lyrans had blond hair, Dracs were Japanese, etc, etc, But nearly a thousand years of mixing had made mono-racial nations the exception, not the norm. Only an idiot would think that you couldn't find any appearance you needed if you say, needed to fit into another world. 
 
"But he came back and made a call from this phone."
 
"To who?"
 
"Ever feel you need a new look? He called a Faceman." 
 
With that, Mike leaned back. "Not just a cosmetic surgeon. A Faceman."
 
"Yep." Daphne knew why he was surprised. It was one thing to get a new face. But new fingerprints? That was a little more difficult.
 
"One of our guys?"
 
"Nope. Freelancer. We're going to talk to him."
 
"Those guys live on their discretion."
 
"And I find myself working for a guy who can either send us all to the Pit for the rest of our lives, or make us a lot richer. I think I'll be able to motivate him." Daphne said. Mike made the instinctual warding gesture at the name of the High Security Long-Term Confinement Facility. Or the Pit, actually using the remains of an SLDF fortress. 
"I see your point, Boss."
"So let's go."
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Book 2 - 07