Musings [Escher]

[Thexare]

"I'm surprised, Victor. Admitting error?"

"I did no such thing," the black-coated man said, looking directly into Kelly's eyes.

"I figured as much. It's always another scheme. Plots within plots," Marauder Combs replied, clearly exasperated.

"You give me far too much credit," Victor replied with a cold smile. "The condemnation was targeted at Kusari, to reveal how far Gallia will go to conquer Sirius. The guards... everything about that part is exactly as I said."

"And the... 'retraction', we'll call it?"

"It's known in corporate circles as a CYA maneuver - think about it for a moment, you'll figure it out. It functionally negates any legitimate claim the bulk of Royal forces would have to support an attack. The Punishers won't care - all the better, really. While I'm thinking about it, how do you feel about the Gallic Brigands?"

The sudden topic change threw Kelly off her guard, and she took a second to think about her response - and what Victor was plotting this time. "I don't really know enough about them."

"Then I believe it's time to correct that. That's your next assignment, agent. You see, the problem is that this is all reactive. I don't have any contacts in Gallia, which makes strategic planning considerably more difficult. The Brigands seem like the best route... room for us to profit, and a willingness to overlook some of our more objectionable tactics. Corse are too secretive, Council too 'honorable', Maquis too volatile."

"Understood. Any other topic changes?"

"Of course not. I already did what I needed to."

"Damn it, Victor..."