Lateral contact

There was one last errand to take care of on my way back to Hale's Moon. A brief meeting with a potential ally, someone with whom I'd already established a working relationship in a quite different context. There was some risk involved in speaking to her directly like this, but the benefits certainly outweighed the risks.

I sent the message, encrypted, through several relays:

Fr: Director, Intel Section, Rembrandt District.
To: Commanding Officer, 1st Marine Raiders, IAV Sun Tzu.

Colonel,
I need to meet with you to discuss recent developments in your patrol sector. I believe it is in our mutual best interest to meet away from either of our offices. This is an informal, optional, meeting. Should you chose to accept this request, please see the encrypted attachment for the requested time and location and come alone.

DD:IS

I left it unsigned, aside from the District Director: Intel Section tag. But all the codes would check out. It was a legitimate request after all.

One of the early problems I'd encountered when I'd first been elected Mayor of Hale's Moon was trying to deal with the local Alliance presence. No one at the time knew about the Hardliner's warbot project, or how heavily they'd infiltrated the command structure aboard the Sun Tzu.

It had actually taken a mutiny for Colonel Silvermane to gain full control of the regiment under her command, and in the time since things had been much, much, more settled in the region. There was a long tradition of field commanders having a lot of lee way in how they dealt with their missions. Loyalists had used that to their advantage on Hale's previously, and on other worlds, like Shadow. Too gentle to be well loved by the Conservatives. Too much a soldier to be loved by the Liberals. Moderates like Silvermane restored some balance.

But she'd been bitten hard by a Loyalist Black Ops unit who'd nearly managed to kill her on Hale's. It was probably only luck that the local Militia hadn't killed her themselves as part of the attacking platoon, but they hadn't. They'd bolted into the desert and she'd taken off to try and get reinforcements to recapture the Sun Tzu from the Loyalist mutineers.

While we'd established a reasonable working relationship, it was as a small colonial Mayor and de facto governor with the local Military Commander. Someone with more people cleaning the decks than I had colonists. Gaining her trust in this new relationship might be more difficult.

I'd picked a sidewalk cafe in a suburb of New Kasmir's capital city. It was conveniently on my course outward from Surfer's New Paradise and easily within shuttle range of the Sun Tzu. Neutral territory, as far as this encounter went, in an appropriate setting. I only had to order coffee and wait.

While I wasn't even sure she would show, it turned out I didn't have to wait long. I'd never seen Colonel Silvermane out of some sort of uniform. Not a bad looking woman, actually. Blond, early forties, about x0x0's build, though a little shorter. I almost hadn't recognized her in civilian clothes, except that she carried herself like a soldier. Some traits are harder to conceal than others.

"Colonel Silvermane?" I said quietly, getting her attention. She turned, recognizing me quickly and smiling pleasantly, though dividing her gaze between me and the others in the cafe. "Have time to join me for some coffee?"

She hesitated just a moment, taking another quick glance around the crowd before answering. "Mayor Kawanishi. A pleasant surprise. Perhaps a little later? I'm, ah, meeting someone."

I smiled and motioned to the seat across from me. "Yes, Colonel. I know. Please, join me?"

I could see the sudden realization that I was the one she was supposed to meet with, and the further realization that the woman she'd known as the Mayor of a small mining town was actually the local District Director for Intel. An unintentional cover. But she sat, our previous relationship evidently conferring a modicum of trust.

She ordered coffee when the young waiter came over, then turned her attention back to me. Looking at me in silence for a long moment.

"Colonel," I started, deciding to break the ice as it was. "I understand that you have well earned a distrust of Intel. But I hope you realize that, like Parliament and the Alliance Military itself, Intel is not a monolithic entity. There are factions even within the Intel community, and sometimes they do bad things to good people."

She raised a brow as if to say "Really? No shit." but said nothing.

"When the Black Ops unit attacked you on Hale's Moon, you stood shoulder to shoulder with the Militia and helped drive them off. Then, when you could have gone to ground, you took off in an under-supplied lander you weren't even entirely qualified to fly in order to call for help. You ended up saving the Sun Tzu from the mutineers doing that."

The Colonel let out a wry chuckle. "Almost died out there doing it too," she said, reaching up to take the coffee as the waited delivered it.

I smiled faintly, taking a sip of my own latte. "Indeed. But someone came by and transferred enough fuel and atmo that you could survive until a rescue boat arrived."

"Yeah, saved my bacon. But . . . wait. . ." She paused, looking at me more intently. "That was you? But why? Intel Section wanted me alive?"

"No, Corrine. I wanted you alive. You put yourself in harm's way for the folks on Hale's Moon. Folks that'd likely have killed you as part of that squad. You earned a lot of respect that day. Even more when you tried to make amends for the Black Ops fiasco afterward. I was just the Mayor then, still on inactive reserve. I topped off your atmo and aux power because the Rim's better with you leading the 1st."

She took a long drink from her coffee, still looking at me intently. "I suppose I owe you my life then."

I shook my head faintly. "No. I would say even after that, the people of Hale's Moon are still in your debt. I was just partially repaying it. And, as for now, I asked you here to talk because we may find we need each other in the near future. I wanted to try and allay at least some of your feelings about Intel." I looked up, smiling "We're not all irredeemable bastards."

"So, what do you want?" She asked after a moment to ponder what I'd said.

"Nothing. At least not yet. I wanted to talk to you away from, well, everything, because I wanted you to know my position out here. You're a good soldier, Colonel. I've read your record. You do what's right, whether it's expedient or not. I respect that. A lot. Like you, I've got a lot of leeway in how I do my job. I'm hoping we'll find ourselves working toward the same ends."

She took another long drink of her coffee, considering. "I'll consider it . . . Mayor?" Her laugh was actually amused, not forced. "You've done right by your colonists, but you know my opinion of agents in general. You'll understand if I'm going to hold on an answer."

"Yes, of course. But, since we're here anyway, let's at least enjoy the afternoon, no?"

I knew full well it would take more than one meeting over coffee to convince the Colonel that we really were on the same side, but this was at least a start. She was at least pleasant company. The revelation of my role in Intel changed our professional relationship, but there was a time that we'd need each other. It was just the way of things.

Hopefully, the new relationship would be a productive one.