BtH87

==Chapter 87 - By the Horns==
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First Circuit of ComStar
Hilton Head Island, North America
Terra
March 10th, 3026
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Vesar Kristofur had to use every ounce of his iron determination and willpower to avoid letting his emotions show on his face as he digested the news that Charles Seneca had just delivered to the First Circuit.
Few of the others in the room were so composed, and panicked statements were being uttered in increasingly loud voices . . . until Vesar held up one hand and softly said, "Quiet."
It took several minutes, but eventually the voices dwindled away and died.
"We are the First Circuit of ComStar," he spoke sternly. "Panic will gain us nothing," and he paused. "So. The Core that our ROM agent destroyed on Taurus was simply a decoy?" He chuckled. "That was clever of Thomas, I will grant him that. And according to ROM, the actual Core has already been decrypted and copied—multiple times—and distributed across not only Taurus but at least two other worlds in the Concordat . . . and we do not know which worlds. Is that correct, Precentor ROM?"
Charles Seneca winced and he nodded his head. "That is correct, Primus."
"But there is still more bad news on top of that! Edward Calderon has traveled to New Syrtis and met personally with Hanse Davion—and has just sold a copy of the Data Core to the Federated Suns. I did hear you correctly, did I not?"
Precentor ROM nodded again, his face ashen as he contemplated the possible consequences of his failure. "You did, Primus," he answered in a soft voice.
Vesar stood there and he closed his eyes; he stood there silently and unmoving for several moments and then he sighed.
"Holy Shroud III will be aborted," he said finally. "Unless we wish to burn every Taurian world down to the bedrock—and attack New Avalon to destroy the NAIS, which I am not prepared to give the order for—there is no way that we can stop the information from the Data Core being distributed."
A low moan emerged from several of the First Circuit and Vesar looked up sharply. "We must face reality as it is, Precentors!" He snapped. "Not as we wish it would be. This is all the fault of Julian Tiepolo and Myndo Waterly and their mismanagement of the entire affair from the very start!"
"The other operations? What about them?" asked Dennis Rainer, Precentor Tharkad.
"We go forward—Thomas Calderon deserves to die for this and if we can derail this union of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth, then we will have at least partially succeeded."
The Primus paused and he thought for a moment, and then he nodded. "But we must present the illusion to the Taurians that we are on their side. Thomas is willing to meet with us to negotiate the return of our HPG Stations and have the Interdiction lifted?"
Charles nodded. "We got that message yesterday. He wants to meet as soon as possible . . . but he insists on meeting on New Vallis."
"Primus," said Janice Kirk with a wince, "if we kill Thomas at this meeting the Taurians will never think we are their friends."
"And so we won't kill him at the meeting," Vesar said with a thin smile. "No, we will meet with Thomas and his government and we will agree to his terms—he wants to return to the status quo ante with one condition." He paused. "He demands that the Concordat station an official of their government in every one of our HPG Stations in the Concordat to ensure that none of their government message traffic is altered or delayed."
At that statement, there were shouts of disbelief and shock at the sheer audacity that showed, the lack of respect towards ComStar, and Vesar's smile grew larger. He held up one hand again.
"Yes, extremely disrespectful of him, is it not? However, we will, agree to this provision and restore communications. And we will ensure the safety of the Protector and his government on New Vallis and their return home—after that?" He grinned. "After that, the Concordat will need to find a new Protector. Charles," he turned to Precentor ROM. And his smile vanished. "Your team on Taurus is prepared?"
"We are, Primus. They only wait for your order to proceed."
"Those orders will soon be issued. I trust that your agents will handle this matter better than they handled the destruction of the Core?"
Charles blanched and he nodded. "They will, Primus."
"Now, we will need something to distract the Lyran Commonwealth, the Federated Suns, and the Taurian Concordat when we kill Thomas, his family, and Melissa Steiner. So, let us arrange to blame the Protector's Assassination on the Capellans," Vesar smiled again. "Maximilian Liao seldom lets someone get the better of him—and his forces got burned badly on their abortive invasion of the Concordat," thank you, Romano, Vesar thought to himself. "We will make sure—correct, Precentor ROM?—that the death of Thomas and his family will be traced back to Sian . . . which should start a conflict between the Concordat and the Confederation."
"And what about Melissa Steiner?" asked Precentor Tharkad. "Katrina Steiner and LIC will not believe that Maximillian Liao sent a team of assassins after her."
Vesar grinned. "That operation will be conducted by agents loyal to Michael Hasek-Davion, may be rest in peace. One final Parthian shot carried out from beyond the grave to deprive Hanse Davion of any happiness. One which will furthermore ensure that Michael's son Morgan remains the heir to the throne of the First Prince. I believe that will cause confusion and anger within the Lyran Commonwealth; the much loved daughter of their renowned Archon killed by Davions for revenge against a Davion. When this comes to light—whether or not the attempt succeeds—there will be a tremendous backlash in the Lyran Commonwealth about this alliance. Katrina will be forced to end this Federated Commonwealth nonsense." 
"Hanse Davion will be forced to ramp up his efforts to purge the Capellan March of any remaining Hasek supporters—which could well lead to a civil war as those supporters turn to arms to defend themselves against an enraged First Prince. And then, if in the course of things, the 'Capellans' attack, why, he will be forced to launch an offensive against them just to keep the rest of the Capellan March from rising up against him."
Vesar paused. "Precentor Dieron, make sure that House Kurita is prepared to take advantage if and when the AFFS redeploys to engage the CCAF in retaliation for 'their' future attack and the distraction of a civil war in the Capellan March. I am certain that Takashi will need little prodding to cross the border in strength. And Precentor Atreus, see if we can convince Janos Marik that if this comes to pass, perhaps it will finally be time for the Free Worlds League Military to adjust their border with the Lyran Commonwealth." Vesar's lip twitched. "Dangle Hesperus II in front of the old man—he might just decide to try for it if the Lyran Commonwealth is as disrupted by this operation as I believe they will be."
"In the meantime, we will wait. We will watch. And when the time is right, we will act and ensure that peace in the Inner Sphere will not happen—not unless and until we can make it happen."
"As the Primus commands," answered Charles, and one by one the Precentors of the First Circuit nodded their agreement.
"Then Blessed be Blake, this meeting is adjourned," Vesar finished.
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