Admin2

==Chapter 2 - The Administrator==
Spider Moon Coast Guard Base
Kowloon System
Lyran Commonwealth
3142 CE
"Don't you think we should do something, your Grace?" Commodore Giao Pham asked. "The Commonwealth is being overrun."
"We are doing something." Sharon said, "We're keeping the quarantine up." she looked at her Coast Guard commander, "We're keeping the virus from killing the rest of humanity until a cure can be found."
"Do you believe in a cure?" Giao asked, "After decades, you still believe?"
"I have to." Sharon stated. "How bad are losses in the Guard?"
"This month? We're below recruiting levels. The psychological treatment programs are helping with force retention, suicide rates are about the lowest I've seen since the Jihad."
"That...that's good, that's real good. is the suspect on station yet?"
"Your mother's assassin is in custody and yes, he's here." Pham noted.
"..and his backup?" Sharon asked. "Tell me you caught his backup."
"Didn't catch. Killed himself before we could, but OCB has traced the communications line."
"Who commissioned it?" Sharon asked.
"Pretty sure the order originated somewhere in the Republic, Your Grace. The best our analysts can estimate, the Republic found out about the renewed building program at the yards here-we've caught a few saboteurs trying to infiltrate the construction yards with Metis Coalition passports."
"Dirtyfeet?" Sharon asked.
"Yeah, Dirtyfeet with Belter credentials that didn't tie to any of the Belt families, the cred slipped through Loki and Lohengrin pretty easily, but didn't check out when our people took a look." Pham told her, "What's the play?"
"Disappear the saboteurs, don't rock the boat." Sharon instructed, "The Republic turned turtle and any diplomatic flap's going to be a mess regardless, I'm going to wager that Stone was smarter than to give or leave that order, and same with Victor. WE don't know who in the Republic actually gave the order, and it was probably compartmentalized so well that whomever is in charge over there now, did not and does not know it was given, so can't countermand it, doubly so with their going armadillo and cutting off external contact."
"How do you want to...'disappear' the saboteurs?"
"I don't care. find somewhere to dump them where they can't phone home for instructions, kill 'em if you want, whatever." Sharon waved carelessly, "Just keep them out of our business and out of the way. we've got more important issues than starting or continuing a long-range war with people who've gone armadillo."
"The Assassin then?"
"find out everything he knows, and Commandant's discretion what you do with what's left, as long as he's not going to try again." Sharon stated, "I don't see any pressing national priority in escalating things while the Nation is getting its collective ass handed to it by the Clans. we have ONE war, and one front, and that front is spherical, with consequences for the entire human race. that in mind, I see no reason to start a series of additional, optional wars while we're in an existential war in the now."
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