Jack Crow stood at the front of the bridge staring out the large window as the station came into view. Invergordon. It was one of the newer additions to the bases of the Junkers. This was larger than most of the small outposts hidden among scrap fields. There was a thriving colony here beneath a great biodome, another first for Junkers.
From behind him, the ship's captain called to him. 'Jack, we've got clearance to dock. AJ is waiting for you inside.'
'Excellent, bring us in there then. It's been too long since I've been here.'
'It sounds like you are going to be spending a lot of time here then.'
'There are worse places to be Steven. For a Junker base, this place is almost a resort.'
'Ok, the docking will be complete in a few. You can head on down to the airlock.'
'I'm on my way. Don't be too far behind me, I want you there too.'
'I'll be there, don't worry.'
Jack stepped out of the airlock onto the deck of Invergordon Space Port. As he looked around the corridor, Congressman Andrew Beast, the station's administrator stepped up to greet him.
'Welcome to Invergordon Jack.'
'Thanks AJ, it's been too long since I've been here. Is everyone ready?'
'You don't mess around do you?'
'Later AJ, we've got work to do now. I saw the Crow's Nest docked outside. I guess Lije beat us here.'
'Yeah, they've been here since this morning. He's waiting for you with the others in the forum.'
'Ok, let's go.'
The two men walked down a series of corridors until they came to a set of large double doors. Two guards stood there waiting for them and opened the doors as they approached. They stepped into a large ornate hall where several men were seated around a great steel table. As Jack Crow moved to the head of the table several holograms activated above some of the empty seats at the table. One of the holograms was James Trenton, deputy arbiter of the Junker Congress. Several other Congressmen who could not be present at this meeting were also there in holographic form. This was standard procedure. As widespread as the Congress was it was impossible to have the entire assembly together at the same time. Even the two arbiters were almost never in the same place at the same time.
As Jack took his seat Steven Cruz the captain of the Rocinante entered and took his seat at the table. Then the room got quiet and everyone looked toward Jack as he started to speak. 'As you all know, I've been working closely with Doc Holiday over the past year. Doc believed that there was a great darkness coming. He approached me and asked for our help in gaining information about this new threat to Sirius. I willingly complied with his requests. This information was not very difficult for us to obtain. The reason for this is the connection we once had with the very group that now threatens Sirius. It's not secret to anyone here that the origin of our organization is Gallia. It's not very widely known in Sirius. It's a connection that has faded over time. In fact our founder Vladimir Tinkerbell was the last member of the Congress to be a part of one of the great Gallic families. Today, the Congress is made up of people who don't fit in to the houses of Sirius and have made their home with us.'
'What I'm about to tell you is not to be discussed outside of this room. We need to keep this close for now. Doc and I continued to watch Gallia. After traveling to Gallia, my assessment was that Gallia was a house divided by civil war and not a threat to anyone. Doc disagreed with me. He believed the Gallic crown was a dire threat to all the houses in Sirius. Doc has now retired. He's sitting on Gran Canaria and I'm sure he's no longer worried about this. I'm still hoping his assessment was wrong. I have to consider the possibility that he was right however. If Gallia does decide to invade Sirius it could drastically change the way we do things. We have already cut all ties with groups inside of Gallia except for the Junkers who manage to get out of Gallia. They will still be treated as family. Aside from that we must consider the rest of Gallia a threat to our organization. I believe that if there is a conflict with Gallia, Trafalgar will be the Junker base most at risk. We are working right now to fortify the base to withstand heavy assault. In addition, we have begun to organize a fleet here at Invergordon. Several ships have come here seeking refuge. We are allowing them to stay here discretely at the moment and asking that they join us is our preparations for war. A war I am hoping never happens. Some of the people taking refuge here are anxious to keep a low profile. That is why I'm asking all of you to keep the existence of this fleet a secret. Andrew Beast is organizing things here at Invergordon and is keeping track of all the ships here. He will continue to coordinate these efforts. I will be remaining here for a short time. There will be a war room set up here at Invergordon where the Congress will coordinate the work of our agents as they attempt to monitor the situation. We will keep everything we learn close to home for the time being, but eventually the other houses will want to know what we know. If other houses should find themselves facing a threat from Gallia we will share with them what we know. I know that many of you have friends and family living on planets that may be impacted by this. We will do everything we can to keep them safe. That's all I have for you now. Contact me if you have any specific questions. I ask you to report to the Congress message dump if you should learn anything new that is relevant to this new threat.'
Elijah Tallwood stepped through the steel doors out onto a wooden deck. There were several small trees growing around the deck and some larger ones in the distance. He could hear birds chirping and flying around him. About a quarter mile above is head was the reinforced glass of Invergordon's biodome. He walked across the deck and saw Jack Crow sitting in a chair on the edge of the deck. He had a glass of brown liquid in his hand and a book in his lap. 'Thought I'd find you out here," he said as he walked up to his boss. 'That was a hell of a pep talk you gave to everyone in there. What the hell's come over you?'
'Was it that much of a surprise Lije?'
'Not to the rest of them I guess, but then I've known you longer than most of them. Today I saw a hoodlum teenager, turned misfit naval officer who left the navy to become a small time captain of a smuggler ship, until he became some kind of crime boss, and now he's a crusader going to save the world.'
'I'm not saving anything but my own hind parts Lije, and maybe a few people that I care about if I'm lucky. Pull up a chair and chat a while.'
Elijah grabbed another chair and sat down next to Crow. 'It was still pretty impressive. That was not the same guy I met so many years ago speaking in there today. What's that you're reading there?'
Crow flipped the book over and showed him the cover, City of God.
'So you're still clinging to that old religion even now. I wonder what your dear St. Augustine would say about the leader of an organization that dabbles in cardamine traffic.'
'Uh, Lord give me sobriety, but not yet?'
'HA! At least you haven't lost your sense of humor.'
'You want a drink? This is some really fine rum. I don't think I've ever tasted anything quite like it.'
'What'd you do raid AJ's private stash on the station?'
'No, this actually came off my ship. Doc gave me a case of it a while back after one of the jobs we did for him.'
'In that case I will have a glass, 'Elijah answered as he reached for the bottle and turned over an empty glass next to it 'Speaking of Doc, have you heard from him lately?'
'Not a word, but that doesn't surprise me all that much. I imagine he's still holed up somewhere on Gran Canaria.'
'What the hell got into him to do something like that?'
'Well, I wish he hadn't done it, but I certainly understand his reasons for doing it. I hope I never have to deal with what he did.'
'It's a little different for us, we're used to people hunting us down. It's just part of being a Junker.'
'True enough. So, what are your thoughts on everything that's going on now?'
'I'm just wondering what you're trying to do. You've been playing it smart for the longest time trying to keep the Congress from becoming over militarized. I think that was a smart idea. Now it looks like you're getting ready for a war.'
'I'm still hoping there's not going to be a war. I'm hoping Doc was wrong. Anyway we're not going to fight a war, just stay alive.'
'You think it will work?'
'I have no idea. Worse comes to worst, I'll just go into hiding like Doc. I can certainly afford to do that and live out my life comfortably.'
'What's stopping you from doing that now?'
'Like I said, I'm hoping it won't come to that. Besides, if there is a Gallic invasion, there's a chance they will go into Kusari as well, if they do that it could put Liberty's northern born on the front line.'
'Since when have you ever cared about Liberty?'
'Since my home planet is located on the northern border of Liberty. I still have family on Planet Denver. What will happen to them if that area becomes a war zone?'
'What will you do if it does?'
'Well, we definitely won't be able to fight off the invaders. Hopefully Hale can. We'll offer whatever logistic support we can of course to help him do that.'
'You and Hale aren't exactly on the best of terms, and he certainly doesn't like me.'
'My love for Denver trumps my feelings about Hale, and if he gets in a bind he certainly won't turn down help from us.'
'What do you think the Xenos will do about that?'
'The Xenos will protect Denver too. They'll probably hate invaders from Gallia worse than any of us. They'll hate working along side us, but I hop that won't cloud their judgment for doing the right thing. Who knows?'
'You really think it will come to that?'
'Damn I hope not. Like I said earlier, I don't think Gallia is going to invade. However, if they do they can maybe hit Bretonia and Kusari. I can't image they can go farther than that right away without stretching themselves too thin.'
Elijah took a sip of his rum, 'I hope your right. I've seen enough insanity already. Can't we just have a normal peaceful life?'
'Lije, if you wanted that you'd still be in the Liberty Navy.'
Max Tyrone was under siege. The disappearance of Director Amy Carmichael had left an easy route to power for the formerly insignificant Congressman, but only after stepping into the role did he realise exactly what that power had entailed. The Rogues were gaining power, the LPI had been bought out, Kusari was throwing its weight around and nobody knew what the hell the Lane Hackers were up to. And then there was the Gallic Problem.
Ever since the Council had revealed the Junkers to have originally been Gallic spies, the eye of suspicion had been turned on the Congress - and things were getting tense. The Liberty Junkers needed a strong leader to assure their friends, allies and business partners that they were not agents of the Gallic Crown. Unfortunately, they had Maxwell Tyrone, poster boy for ineffectuality, who had been doing precisely nine tenths of bugger all.
"Look, look, if you would just.... The Gallic situation is under control!" Tyrone protested to the disbelief of the crowd in Rochester's main auditorium.
"Under control! Under whose control?!" one voice called out, and the crowd roared its agreement. "You've been doing nothing, nothing about Gallia since you took office! People are looking at us funny! More than usual!"
"Calm down! The Gallic spies in the Congress have been-"
"Running Liberty since I left."
The hall fell silent. They knew that voice.
Amy Carmichael waved from the door she was leaning in. "Miss me?"
Max Tyrone paled. "Y-you! Where the hell have you been?"
Amy stood up straight. "Gallia. On deep cover in the Royalist Junkers, under the name Jacqueline Depardieu. I wanted to find out just what they knew and how they were finding it. And guess what I uncovered?" She waved a file in the air. "This dossier, which bears the Royal Seal of King Louis himself, contains every Gallic spy in the Liberty Junkers, and you, Mister Tyrone, are at the top of the list."
The already resentful crowd turned on Tyrone, screaming accusations and expletives. True or not, they hated Tyrone and were looking for an excuse to take him down. He was dragged off the stage kicking and screaming amidst accusations of libel and conspiracy.
Amy took the podium. "If there are any objections to my reassuming the role of Director of Liberty Operations, let me hear them now."
Nobody spoke.
"Very well. All Junkers in this dossier are Gallic spies, and are hereby expelled from the Congress. Now, I'll be in my office."
As she walked down the corridor to the Director's office, her bodyguard ran up to her. "Um. Madam Director... was what you said true?"
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