WoWS3 Chpt 23

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==Weapons of War Saga: The Final March- Chapter 23 - ==
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===Opening relations with the Commonwealth===
Council Hall
Gienah, Wolf Empire
24th January, 3144
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Alaric Ward was studying the maps and the reports.
“Nearly ninety clusters combined and their full navy. It will take some time to integrate all of this into our touman and trained in our ways.” Alaric smiled.
“What of this Eternal Princess? And the Lyrans?” Ramiel "Warbear" Bekker asked.
“The Eternal Princess has made her motivations clear. There is no doubt we will eventually clash and it will be glorious but she has a soft heart. She will spend much of this year helping the Lyrans roll up the former Falcon OZ. She will be no threat to us for some time. The Lyrans are similarly intent on doing the same and we now have the forces to secure our Empire against anything they can spare. As such we will not be completely idle ourselves.”
The holomap displayed a string of worlds from the current Empire to the border of the Fortress Wall.
“We will send our own message by splitting the Remnant under Redburn from the Galatean League.”
“They will be able to jump across such a narrow gap.”
“I know but the message will still be understood. We are coming and there is nothing they can do to stop us now.”
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===Escape Clause===
25th January, 3144
"You know what happens next, right?" The Prisoner lifted drugged eyes to meet her interrogators. "You have to know…you've got half-decent relations with the Snow Ravens."
"What interest does Kolossus have in the Galatean League?" her interrogator demanded.
"Can't say…don't know, Kolossus doesn't tell me everything. Kolossus just says 'go here' and I go."
"This can go much less painfully if you will cooperate." 
"Not in my nature, wow, these are some of the good drugs!! It almost doesn't hurt." Her breath hitched, as the medical monitors began sounding alarms. "Be seeing you again soon…"
It is a testimony to the commitment of Clan Wolf's Medical Technician caste, that they managed to restart her heart three times before too much damage accumulated to make a fourth try.
The Autopsy showed a human brain laced with synthetic nerve tissues and a chip that was burnt from the inside, along with 'cook lines' that gave a rough frequency range.
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"Explain it to me, use small words." The Wolf Clan's Loremaster demanded, "You were supposed to interrogate it, not kill it."
"ovkhan, we didn't kill it, it just…it died...and we think it died sending a burst transmission from the medical bay on Rogue."
"Data packet?"
"A very intense one. Sending that data probably is what killed her…it, ovKhan."
"Can it be intercepted or blocked?"
"Aff, it can...we can capture an Envoy, and it can not escape by…dying."
"Khan Alaric will be interested in this news, our Snow Raven allies may also be interested. The ability to corner and capture an Envoy's consciousness will level the stakes in our Clan's favor, Kolossus finally made a mistake…"
The Loremaster dismissed the techs, and set about drafting his report to Khan Alaric.
My Khan I may have found the leverage you were seeking to bring the Snow Ravens into your plan…
The rogue Artificial Intelligence had become something of a thorn in the side of the Raven Alliance, a threat that could not be adequately tracked or located, a meddling presence that had to be brought to heel or destroyed. It's 'Envoys' were, according to rumor, 'serially immortal', and this was now somewhat confirmed. WE know how they did it, now we can do something About it...
He paused, Where was that signal being sent? How would this work? Hmmm.
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===Matter of Trust===
Jonah Levin’s Office
Terra, Republic of the Sphere
4th February, 3144
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Jonah had to admit he was torn right now.
All his carefully laid plans were now rendered meaningless. But a lot of that was for a reason that should be causing him to celebrate.
So why wasn’t he?
“Helena Cameron.” Jonah said quietly to himself.
As Exarch he had all the documentation to prove that she really existed during the War of Plunder and had been a fair ally.
After nearly two decades she was back.
So why did he doubt her? No, it was more than doubt.
He realized that was it, he resented her. Redburn had been smart enough to leave the Exarch’s office. But him? By the time he had figured out exactly how spectacularly unqualified for the position he was and how much he didn’t want it there was no one else to give it to. If she had been around…
“I wonder… Her success against the Falcons has certainly made her popular. Maybe I could leverage that. But how to do it so that people don’t lose faith in the Republic and what it stands for? I must still preserve that. So I must find a way…” Jonah muttered to himself.
Jonah looked at the reports, the psychological workups, everything he could for Helena Cameron.
“How do I trick you into swallowing this poison pill that is the Republic that doesn’t shatter it? First though, I think we need to meet face to face.”
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===Preparing for a Visit===
Helena’s Office
New Lazarus System
11th February, 3144
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Helena Cameron looked at the invitation.
“You can’t seriously be thinking of accepting can you? What verification do we even have that this really came from Levin?” Reimu was clearly worried.
“Redburn certainly seems to think it is genuine.” Juanita offered.
“Reimu does have a point. Given what we know about the Fortress Wall this is a clear security risk as we cannot guarantee your safety if Levin decides to capture or kill you.” Olivia added.
“No. Levin’s not Kerensky. He has nothing to gain by throwing me in a cell or putting me in a grave. But still you are correct it would be foolish for me to go myself. Victoria?” Helena nodded.
“I have a candidate that is ready. Illiana Papageorgiou. A small contingent of CONTROL Operatives mixed in with her staff.” Victoria answered.
“Good. I believe you have some work to do along the Confederation border now. Go ahead and get to it. You are dismissed.”
“Most of the Falcon worlds in our immediate operational area never had a formal garrison and looks like Juanita’s reports of Falcon troops having already relocated to the Wolf Empire are bearing out. So we’re basically rolling them up as fast as we can get relief troops from the Lyrans. Some worlds were barely touched by the Falcons so we’re not always greeted as liberators. Others, well… Harry’s reports from the Third Division in particular are painting some pretty grim pictures.” The Advisor reported.
“Alaric’s going to be a problem. Because he helped cause the Falcons to implode, the Wolves are now starting to be viewed as saviors and liberators in their own right. Hell even if we weren’t nearly over extended right now I’m not sure we could hit them without causing a lot of backlash. I don’t think that will change until he launches his next offensive but that’s going to be a while.”
“Perhaps we should focus on other fronts for a while then?” Foster spoke up.
“True. Daoshen Liao seems more interested in the Davions than the Republic still. Juanita, you still think the Combine is poised to start their own spring offensive?”
“Without a doubt.” Juanita answered.
“So we’re in wait and watch mode. Which is not so bad because we have a lot of consolidating to do. As long as they don’t move towards the Republic we won’t start anything. But send word to our friends in the Alliance. Remind them they do have friends here in case they get caught up in this fighting. We’ll also help them if we can.”
Juanita cleared her throat, "There's maybe a problem for our allies." she said, "Kolossus in particular."
"What kind of problem?" Helena asked.
"The Wolves caught one of Kolossus' 'Envoys', Priss." she said, "And unlike the Ravens, they actually paid attention when she died. Their traffic shows they may have a means to keep one of Kolossus' girls from escaping via suicide…they're offering it to the Ravens."
“Shit. Okay. Could really use working HPGs right about now. Need a status update on the relations between Kolossus and the Ravens. Until we get a better picture, keep working the diplomatic angles that we haven’t forgotten about being their friends and allies. Maybe that can help. From our end Juanita I need your recruits to start taking over more of the work being done by the Envoys. We need far more agents out there feeding us information.”
“I am already on it.”
“Kolossus needs to know that someone’s figured out how to get at his Envoys. I trust that information has already been express couriered?”
"There might be a good reason not to." Juanita noted, "I know it's harsh, but there really might."
Foster glared, "What kind of 'reason'?"
Juanita sighed, "WE don't know what Kolossus is getting out of this, that AI's gotten a lot more interested in meddling, but we don't have a solid read on its reasons or reasoning."
"You're thinking about 'Atrocity' aren't you?"
Juanita nodded. "Atrocity, Famine…we don't know what Kolossus' endgame is, it doesn't think like a person, Helena, it doesn't even think like a normal AI."
“So we ask Kolossus. Kolossus is one of my most important allies. If there are concerns we should make them known, not hide them. We also thus should not keep this information from Kolossus any longer than we need to.” Helena stated.
“I will add it to the dispatches.” Reimu said quietly.
There was a knock at the door.
“Enter.” Helena said.
"Sorry to interrupt, Highness." Joff was assigned to the headquarters staff by Foster, a young man too weak and sickly to make it through normal military training, but a good head for numbers and an almost supernatural ability to deflect in social situations. Administrative ablative armor wrapped in an undersized, sickly frame. "I wanted to delay this, but They insisted…"
"That's fine, what is it??"
"Peregrine's here and she insists on speaking with you."
"Shit, she's supposed to be working the Falcon front…" The Advisor muttered.
"I can speak for myself." Peregrine looked…kind of…like the others in the main line, except for a broken nose and a limp that wasn't an affectation. "Pestilence…Your Majesty, Admiral…" she dropped a stack of documents on the table.
"What's all this?"
"We can fix it, Kolossus sent me a 'get this to the Director-General right bloody now' message, I've been hopping freighters since Sudeten."
“Well that’s timing. We get the solution but now most of the problem is in someone else’s territory.”
"Uhm, we've been working on the solution to the Genetic pollution of the Falcon gene-banks for months, ma'am, is there a different problem that just came up?" Peregrine asked, "Because I tellya what, I had to burn an identity to get this here…"
“Most of the Falcon Touman have jumped to the Wolf Empire. So most of the people that need this fix are now out of our reach again.” Helena explained.
"Oh, joy…Priss has that front since she turned over the Free Stars evacuation to Persistence…what??"
"Priss got burned." The Advisor stated. "The Wolves caught her."
"SHIT!! So she's encoded and en-route home and we got nobody, ******!!" Peregrine scowled.
“It gets worse. We’re pretty sure the Wolves figured out how to catch the transmission. So who knows if she even actually got out, best case scenario is there are now two of them. One the Wolves got, one that got out. But I wouldn’t put money on that particular bet.” Helena shook her head.
"Mom's going to be freaking out more than normal." Peregrine asserted, 'Dammit, we just got Kolossus to stop her calving new copies…"
“I wonder if my letters helped at all in that, no I’d be a fool to think they did.”
"The problem is, the new stress might trip her to doing it anyway..." Peregrine sighed, and Pestilence shook her head.
"What?"
"Never been proven that Mom can do it without the Rig." Pestilence said it clearly, "Even Vendetta doesn't think so, and she knows more about it than the rest of us."
"More is not Omniscient…well, Madame Director General, I was gonna ask for some rest time, but I need to get home…any chance you've got a courier standing by I can hitch with?"
“Fortunately we have a growing pile of dispatches we were about to send out so we can make sure you have a billet.” Helena nodded.
"If we're really lucky, Priss will be waiting there and they didn't catch her entire matrix…" Peregrine muttered, then, "Thank you ma'am."
“Glad to help where I can. Maybe when you get back you can tell your mom that I’m sorry for failing her as I have but I still love her.”
"We're all sorry for that, ma'am." Peregrine said softly, "believe me on that one."
“I do. You’ve all been nothing less than extraordinary. I’m proud of all of you and I love you all too.”
“You’re going to make me cry…” Reimu said softly.
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===Discussion over Kolossus===
Sterling’s office
Dante, Raven Alliance
14th February, 3144
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The dispatch from Clan Wolf had been an interesting read.
“We finally have real leverage over Kolossus, but I find myself wondering if we really should use it?” Sterling said.
“I am not sure how we can not.” Iqbal countered. “All of us in this office know what is coming.”
“As much as it pains me, I must concur. The Combine is going to start attacking the Federated Suns and soon. Even the Davions suspect it, at least on some level. Which means we will need to choose a side.” Acton Howe had managed to hold on to his position as Loremaster by the narrowest of margins after the War of Plunder but it was clear he was no longer as influential as he had been in the past.
“Caleb Davion is making overtures. He thinks I am his pet. A notion I am willing to entertain as long as it allows me to pursue my own goals without interference.” Sterling chuckled.
“So you have already decided.” Iqbal observed.
“Aff. Caleb is insane. But for now we will play along, keep our borders safe and our forces out of this war for as long as possible. The Combine is clearly in a better position thanks to Daoshen’s distraction on the Suns’ other border. But you are right, at the very least we need to use this new found leverage to negotiate a better trade deal with Kolossus.”
“Which brings up the matter of the Privateers. I know you are fond of their current arrangement but with the Republic no longer a factor, we can use the ships.” Acton had clearly wanted to keep the old arrangement, but knew that was unlikely to happen now.
“Indeed. Once the resources from Kolossus start coming in we shall begin re-activating the fleet and then incorporate the Privateers more formally.” Sterling stood looking out her window.
The Director-General will not like this but it is the only real option.
"Allow me a moment, my Khan?" Acton said, "I will give you a very good reason not to use this lever…at least, not right away."
Sterling stretched, cat-like, and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk, chin in her palm.
"Go ahead."
"We do not need to use this lever, because we do not need it yet." Acton explained, "Kolossus opened relations, freely. I have a team ON the Kolossus station, and the AI is willing to negotiate. Which uses less resources for us, than a military solution that would inevitably be needed if we try blackmail before we try other means…and…"
"And if we use it too soon, the machine may find a workaround." Sterling inserted.
"Aff." Acton nodded. "The thing's mind weighs over a million and a half tons, my Khan."
"Did you bring the Envoy to Dante?" she asked.
"I…permitted one of them to come, Aff."
"She is waiting outside?" she inquired.
"Aff, under guard."
"Bring her in. Let us test this."
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===New Assignment===
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"You are familiar with the situation between the Federated Suns and the Draconis Combine, Quiaff?" Khan Sterling McKenna asked.
"Kolossus believes that Caleb Davion is about to start a war that will be self-destructive with the Draconis Combine, Kolossus noted to me in my instructions to caution you against deeper involvement with the Davions, as they have been stripping key garrisons in preparation for what amounts to a blind charge into an armed camp." Persephone recited, "Yes. Kolossus is aware, which is why I was sent to meet you-the loss of the Raven fleet would follow in 91.5% of simulated scenarios should Clan Snow Raven become entangled in the Davion/Kurita feud, as such an entanglement would leave your borders unsecure."
"Why would Kolossus be concerned?" Sterling asked.
"Because Kolossus has reopened relations, Kolossus would be a poor trading partner indeed if Kolossus allowed the Raven Alliance to be savaged as collateral damage in what amounts to a foreign war they will not profit from…and we don't have the necessary manpower or ships to cover such a risky investment on your behalf."
“Both nations supported us during the War of Plunder. Both will call in such a marker. So our involvement is inevitable. I do not disagree that we should delay as long as possible though.”
"The method of your involvement is not pre-set." Persephone stated, "The best projections are that the Raven Alliance can, by making both sides aware of the others' invitation, hold a neutral course and position, and benefit significantly in terms of international prestige. Alternatively, if the Raven Alliance sides with the Draconis Combine, instead of House Davion, Raven influence can reduce the level of…horror for civilians along the perimeter of the conflict. The Combine's warlords would focus on Davion warlords, rather than expanding toward the Alliance. There is no situation where House Davion can win, based on what Kolossus knows of the general state of the Federated Suns, their government, and especially their military posture and condition."
"What about 'honor'?" Sterling asked.
"You did not promise anything, did you?" Persephone asked,
“I have been careful to let him believe I have promised more than I actually have. I can read the same intel reports and the maps as well as anyone else. I will do as you suggest and attempt to invite them to broker a pre-emptive peace but if that fails I have no illusions that I must side with the Combine when I can no longer stall.”
"If Caleb Davion thinks his magical sex organs are a replacement for a solid treaty, that is his mistake." Persephone observed, "The odds were that this conflict would be inevitable sooner or later, Kolossus sees no situation where Kolossus has a vested interest in interference in your policy regarding the Davion/Kurita border situation."
“My policy currently stands at delay, as long as possible. We need time one way or the other. For diplomacy, or for readying for war.” Sterling told the Envoy.
"There is a 99.98675% probability that readying for war now, will serve your interests, and by extension, the Interests of Kolossus, in the next five to ten years." Persephone noted. "The Republic's situation is likely to ignite further powderkegs in the neighboring states, the collapse of Clan Jade Falcon, and their integration into Clan Wolf, suggests over ninety percent probability that that situation will become dangerously unstable, given the lack of balancing influences on Alaric's regime."
“Aff, we have received Helena’s dispatches as well. Clan Wolf hopes to leverage us into siding with them. But for now we have no reason to, and even if we did the simple matter of distance would make that folly.”
Persephone nodded, "I concur, Kolossus places an eighty percent chance that when Alaric moves on the Republic for real, he will need to call on allies, including Clan Snow Raven, to maintain order on a long-range peacekeeping effort to stabilize Prefecture X, Kolossus has given me no instruction beyond the directive to give you those numbers, my specific orders were that I can make no moves overtly or covertly to influence your choices there, as the outcome is in doubt, and in the end, it must be your choice made freely."
“You have only confirmed what we already know to be true. We are Clan, we are not adverse to war but we are Snow Raven, we know that we must play the game carefully. Which means leveraging for time as much as possible so that when war does come we will be ready.”
Persephone reached into her jacket, and laid a sheaf of document displays on the desk. "Kolossus has an offer for Clan Snow Raven. These are transport jumpships Kolossus can supply and the rate at which they can be supplied, to bulk up the Snow Raven merchant marine and support fleets. Similar vessels are being provided to Murakami's SLN in Exile and to Helena Cameron. The only question is pricing and terms, this may help you in preparing for the war that is coming."
“We will take any advantage we can get. Kolossus is one of our few large scale reliable trading partners right now after all.”
"Kolossus expects you to take every advantage, this is not charity for you, it is work for the growing population in the Kolossus system, and stability with your Clan and Nation."
“It is good when parties understand one another. Makes negotiation so much easier.”
"Speaking freely, Khan Sterling McKenna?" Persephone inquired.
"Yes, of course."
"Kolossus does not understand you…or me, or humans. That's why I'm here, because my principle, my…'employer' has great difficulty understanding the motives and motivations of my fellow human beings."
“Heh. Even we humans do not always fully understand ourselves or one another. But sometimes we do, often at the level of specific individuals when those rare cases do happen.”
"Then let me be clear for you. You're going to face a choice between Helena Cameron, and Alaric Ward." Persephone stated, "because Alaric can't tolerate Helena's existence once he takes Terra and declares himself ilKhan, of the ilClan. Speaking as a human being and not as The Envoy, because I must be neutral as the Envoy? You should pick Helena, she won't make you a servant, Alaric can't allow you to be anything else."
“And that alone does make the choice easy, now. But the future is still in flux and Alaric still cannot tolerate Helena’s existence even without being ilKhan. She is a reminder of our shameful past. How we turned our back on the Terran Hegemony when it needed us most. We foolishly believed in Kerensky’s vision and plan. But now look at all it has brought.”
The girl sighed, "I have a…sister. She infiltrated the Jade Falcon repository, she found evidence of malicious tampering in their genome, you know this, or the Watch has not been paying attention…as a human being, I brought Vendetta's report on that tampering, and recommended repairs, as a human being, I know that Clan Snow Raven also had conflicts with the Scientist Caste group known as 'The Society' during the Reaving…" she placed a data chit on the table. "You have Scientists now, have them look at this, and do a survey, check for tampering, please?"
“Of course. Though I dare say we may well have dodged that particular issue. No forced labor camps, no mass executions, nor any of the Falcons other grave crimes.”
"Alaric didn't." Persephone said, "The forces that defected to his side, included a majority of the questionable genetic legacies-whole generations set up with a genetic time-bomb to render them irrational and psychopathic."
“Which he will gladly use as the tip of his spear. Thrusting straight to the heart of the Republic. The only good news for them and Helena is it will take a great deal of time to properly integrate such a large number of troops even for such a simple task.”
"Well…I think I've done my duty for the moment." Persephone noted, "If there is nothing else?"
“No, I think our business is concluded.” McKenna agreed. 
But Helena’s own shameful past means we may not be able to resist Alaric either when the time comes., Sterling thought.
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