SotU2 Chpt 46

=Chapter 46=
==State of the Union - Book 2==
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Saunders, Saiph
Saiph Triumvirate, Chaos March
18th February, 3067
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It wasn’t the first time Sabine Steiner had met the Capellan officer sent to handle the exchange of prisoners taken by both sides during the fighting over the Triumvirate worlds. On the previous occasions he hadn’t been wearing the uniforms of a CCAF Sang-Shao. The St. Ives Compact had called the rank a Colonel (like any other sensible military, she thought with an amused recollection that for two decades her own service had called regimental commanders Lieutenant-Generals) and before that he’d actually worn the uniform of the AFFC.
“General Steiner.” Kai Allard-Liao had less of the calm resolve she’d seen in him on Tharkad during the First Whitting Conference, but also less of the hollow-eyed grief of the victory celebrations on that same world in 3052. His return from being caught behind the lines of the Clan Invasion presumed dead in fact had been much heralded, but Sabine had thought at the time that it had been a macabre juxtaposition with learning of his father’s assassination.
“Sang-Shao Allard-Liao.” She gestured for him to take a seat with her at a table set apart from the main conference room by a soundproof glass partition. “I’m sure our subordinates can handle the details of exchanging our respective captives.”
“So long as we make sure they don’t fall out.” He let the door close and noted the sudden lack of sound from outside. “Well, that won’t make my watch-dogs happy.”
“You have spies in your own staff?” Sabine asked, surprised less at the fact and more at how calmly the man was taking it. Then again, it was possible that LIC or MIIO had someone in her staff just to make sure that she didn’t get too ambitious. Her grandmother had been Kathrina Steiner-Davion’s strong right hand, after all.
Kai shrugged. “Three that I know of, and I don’t think two of them realize they’ve been made. It’s not how I’d like to handle things, but it would be naive to expect anything else. The question is who they work for.”
“Is me speaking to you privately going to make trouble for you?”
“Not really. Sun-Tzu has guards around my family so I doubt he’d do anything precipitous. We’re never going to be friends, but he’s my best guarantee against his sister and he’s mine against her too.”
Sabine considered that prospect. Kali Liao was clinically insane, but there was little doubt she still had the charisma and connections to be immensely dangerous and shuddered. “It shouldn’t surprise him that we want to know about the LCS Lucien Davion.”
The New Avalon-born Capellan officer spread his hands. “I’d like some answers myself, but he’s not showing me any cards he has hidden. My sister Cassandra was here -” She had a battalion command slot in the Second St Ives Lancers “- and there was nothing official or unofficial circulated to say that it was anything other than the Alexander Davion, sent here to co-operate on the pacification of the Chaos March under Star League authority. The selection of the Second Lancers was even explicitly said to be because it was felt they’d be less prone to friction with a FCN vessel. Not that there was much interaction.”
“Why the hell would we ever have agreed to work with the Capellans? No offense.”
He gave her a surprisingly dark look. “No personal offense taken, General. However, your liege’s interest in re-taking worlds of the Chaos March is hardly a secret. The scuttlebutt circulated from official sources but never actually endorsed was that the Chancellor had negotiated a free hand with Saiph, the League provinces and perhaps a few other worlds in exchange for agreeing not to contest the Archon-Prince over the rest of the Chaos March.”
Sabine gave him a perplexed look. “Who would believe that Peter Steiner-Davion would make deals with Chancellor Liao?”
“His sister did.”
There was a pause.
“Don’t take this personally, General Steiner, but whatever you call her, she gave Sun-Tzu Liao a free hand to reconquer my mother’s realm. If Victor was in charge then I could trust that such deals weren’t made again, but I don’t know Peter half as well.”
I didn’t exactly grow up with the man either, Sabine thought. “And we came to defend Saiph.”
“Yes.” He grimaced. “Objectively, that suggests to me that if he’d been in charge then he would have at a minimum have allowed George Hasek to support us fully. Subjectively… it stings a little.”
“In practical terms.” Sabine told him, picking her words carefully, “Saiph’s situation means that the Federated Commonwealth will retake most of the remaining independent worlds. Pro-Liao factions on the contested worlds pushed hard when it looked like Saiph would be a springboard for a new Capellan presence but without that support…”
“And Peter’s moved five regiments of ‘Mechs and more infantry and armor than I can readily recall the numbers for in, backing the pro-Davion factions on those worlds.” Kai smiled slightly, “It’s predictable what’ll happen without significant support being sent from the Liao Commonality. No one would confide in me if that was to happen but I doubt it.”
She agreed. There was every likelihood that the only independent worlds left in the region by the end of the year would be Outreach and Northwind, whatever Sun-Tzu Liao did. He was probably not going to double-down when he’d already pulled back from Saiph. It would taint his victory over Ohrenson and Zion. “The Chancellor could hardly have been unaware that there was no secret treaty.”
“If, that is, he was aware that that was the story being circulated.” Kai sighed. “The Word of Blake has the contract to handle HPG communications in the Capellan Confederation and their central control is considerably weaker than a lot of people believe. It’s not impossible that one of their factions tampered with correspondence.”
Sabine straightened. “Surely that would be easy to prove!”
“If they co-operated. And if my cousin was willing to push them hard on the matter. His sister is on cordial terms with a senior member of one of the more extreme Toyamaist factions. If they wanted to manufacture a civil war with her in the lead… you need to understand that only a comparatively tiny number of people actually know that she was exonerated of war crimes against St. Ives because she wasn’t mentally fit rather than out of any doubt about her actions. The public just knows that the court didn’t convict her.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to take your family and visit Victor on Tharkad for a little while - like forever?” She was only half-joking.
“Thats would be why I have watch-dogs.” Kai told her. His eyes narrowed and he sat a little more squarely. “Since we’re asking personal questions, General, I know from my uncle’s contacts on Tharkad that you were made an offer back after Kathrina dropped out of sight.”
Sabine stiffened. That wasn’t something that was widely known. Then again, this was Justin Xiang Allard’s son. Intelligence work was something of a family trait - his brother was high in Peter’s councils and there was probably a conduit there as well as to Tormano Liao’s myriad of connections. “Yes.” she admitted, seeing no likelihood that lying would be worthwhile.
“Why did you turn them down?” he asked. “Kathrina was out of the picture, Nondi was bleeding public support and Victor’s position was far from strong enough to make a difference. The chances are pretty good that you could have been Archon now.”
She sighed. “What’s clear now wasn’t so much then… although if I’d known then what I know now then I’d probably have taken them up on it just long enough to hand it over to Peter. He’s done right by the Federated Commonwealth so far. Maybe third time's the charm with Hanse and aunt Melissa’s children.”
“Maybe. But back then…?” Kai asked
“I’d have had to make a choice between doing so at a cost of jumping into bed with some of Kathrina’s supporters, who were hardly savory, or of basically opening the door to Victor. Peter wasn’t even a factor, just about everything I heard suggested that he was like his brother and it was Ardan Sortek that had carried him to victory on New Avalon. And Victor coming back… the smartest thing he ever did was decide not to try to rule again.”
Kai nodded. “So you did nothing.”
“So I advocated keeping out of things until matters became clearer. Kathrina could have made another appearance, I still have no idea why she didn’t. Whether she’s a fraud or not, she could have rallied far more support. But by the time it was clear Peter could stand on his own, Esteban’s task forces was headed in towards Tharkad and the window of opportunity had closed.” Sabine spread her hands. “If I’d been more ambitious than I was cautious, maybe I could have sat on the Archon’s throne. But I’m not prepared to say that I did the wrong thing, looking back.”
Her guest nodded. “That’s why I’ll be keeping my family on St. Ives for now.”
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