TBntG-3 Chpt 54

=The Bull and the Genie=
==Chapter 54 - Book III - The Clan Invasion==
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==Aftershocks: 3==
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===Interview with a Widow===
"Heard you almost gave a housewife a heart attack, Colonel." Jake was grinning. 
 
Major Katherine Steiner-Davion glared at him. "Yes, you can tell me I was an idiot. Knocking on someone's door after dark is not smart after the Black Dragons." She sighed. "On the other hand, your guy seems to be working out." 
 
"Takashi Sato, retired prefectural cop—cleared by JAG." He shook his head. "We found his name on a list of suspected dissidents." 
 
Which probably explains why the Kuritan version of a retired police chief was living in the slums. Katherine remembered the panicked wife and equally panicked daughter when she'd come to get him. 
 
Sato was interviewing a woman who had been accused of being a "whore of the dragon" and whose house had burned down. Her husband had died with Theodore and right now her two children were in base housing. After this, they'd be transferred to another world, HQ still looking for a place with relatives. Second option was refugee status and transfer to another nation.
 
Katherine didn't care, because she sure as hell didn't have enough troops to guard her 24-7 and it wasn't like the family had anything to go back to. 
 
The big display showed the woman, a middle aged lady who had probably been beautiful as a teen, and Sato, a grandfatherly type. 
 
"Your husband served the Dragon well," he said. "Fighting against the Clans…"
 
"He was granted his swords by Theodore-sama himself," the woman said, dabbing her eyes. "I… I give thanks that he died before the treason. My only regret is that he could not save the Coordinator." 
 
"Here. Take some tea, Milady," he said. "It is poor, the troops here have little appreciation for the better things in life."
 
"I—thank you," she said. "It has been difficult, the food supplies are…" she glanced around. "I am grateful, of course."
 
"Please," the man who knew about the hidden cameras said. "We are alone, and you may speak honestly. How is it that such an upright woman came to face such a foolish accusation?"
 
"I was… told…" She licked her lips and took a drink of tea. "That there were easier ways to make money. Not the Yakuza, not after the Black Dragons… but a man. He had relief packages, but after the first he wanted more money, he asked for my… children to work for him. When I refused he said I could part with some of my heirlooms…"
 
"And you did not, for a full belly with no honor is starvation." 
 
"No. I know none of my neighbors would but…" She licked her lips. "May, I saw her and her grandmother's bracelet, she wore it always but not that day."
 
"Ah, possibly she feared criminals. It is a dark time."
 
"Yes, but she said they were… safe. And we should be. Then the man asked again and I said no. And I heard whispers that I had worked with the Black Dragons. I did not! I was loyal to Theodore, but… I did not speak up." She bowed her head. 
 
"Filial piety would demand that you protect your children, that they might remember and honor their grandparents." He said. "Such terrible times. I have a book of faces. Could you help me? I would like it if we could find this man… did he give you a name?"
 
"No." 
 
"Ah. Well, My book has many faces and names in it. Maybe you can help me."
 
Jake nodded. "Guy earned his retirement. He's good." 
 
"If he gets a name, tell me. You've got an additional job."
 
"Yes?"
 
"Get together with JAG. Someone's playing games with relief packages and I want to confirm it isn't on our side. Don't arrest this guy if she can ID him. I want to see who he's working with, because I don't think he's just trading family heirlooms to someone else in the city."
 
"Not our first rodeo, Ma'am." 
 
"Right." Katherine glanced at him. "Sorry. Let me rephrase. I'll get out of your way while you and Sato get this out of our way."
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===Sorting out the Combine, while shadow the Invasion's renewal looms===
"There is no precedent for a constitutional government. None." The man was speaking, gesturing wildly. "Everything flows from the Coordinator. I mean, everything. Nobody has any official rights that the coordinator is required to respect and that flows downward. Piss off a Warlord, and if the Coordinator's okay with it, you're dead. The entire system was designed to not work without that central power." 
 
Why am I here? Mary thought for a moment, then shrugged. Because if they didn't get this fixed and fixed soon, the people of the former Combine would come out of their stupor and be pissed at a never-ending occupation, which meant she'd never be able to retire. 
 
"And Chandrasekhar Kurita?" She asked. 
 
"He's been cleared of war crimes, but General, he's also the closest thing to the heir to the Coordinator's throne." 
 
"Fine. He doesn't get to run things, but he can help with trying to unscrew their economic system." The Combine had always been known for prioritizing guns over bread and now half their military factories were holes in the ground, with lots of unemployed workers. Mary shook her head. "We need employment. We need it fast."
 
"We won't get that without government and we can't…" 
 
Mary cut him off. "I know. So here's what we can do. Build from the bottom up. Get your people talking to local community leaders on individual worlds. We start with local constitutions. Explain that every world needs a constitution in place before they can send delegates to Luthien to decide on a framework for the new government—presuming they want to join."
 
"Ma'am?"
 
"We can't just impose a constitution from the top. They're too big to occupy for ever and that didn't work out so well with the Periphery. But we can stack the deck by making certain the individual worlds have the right kind of constitutions, ones that provide for the kind of self-government that won't be friendly to the next guy who declares himself Shogun or whatever the hell he demands."
 
And I'm working on this because it doesn't take a genius to know what the Combine's loyalists would say about a constitution that was in screaming distance of input by any other major state. 
 
"What about the Clans, Ma'am?" the political scientist asked. "I know it's not my place, but if there's renewed conflict…"
 
"We're prepared," Mary said. And we are. We've been tracking their jump movements and there's no move to start the invasion again. The Ghost Bears and Wolves, along with the Snow Ravens and Diamond Sharks were still deeply involved in relief operations for the worlds the Black Dragons had hit, while the Nova Cats and the main body of the Diamond Sharks were settling into their new holdings. If anything, the Clans had fewer forces now than they did previously, at least in terms of offensive units. 
 
Not even Frederick could do the loaves and fishes stunt with mechs. 
 
She hoped.
 
Now if Will would only let us know what he's negotiating. The old man had been very coy, but he'd hinted at an arrangement that could get everyone what they wanted, and Mary had no idea how he planned to do that.
 
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Book 3 - 54