"Behind Closed Doors"
- Date: July 23, 3028
- Planet: Tharkad
- Location: (Classified)
The room was, appropriately enough, kept dimly light outside of a desk in the room's center. On the desk was situated with an audio pickup and a console, a simple interface for various portable data storage units, ranging from bulky models to the finger-sized ones which were increasingly expensive to find. A figure in a white suit walked to the desk and the lone chair, sitting down and squaring his shoulders back. A voice came from overhead, speaking in an almost-bored tone. "State your name and division for the record."
The dark-skinned man leaned forward, a golden tattoo under his eye catching the light and glinting. "Janus Templar." He paused a moment. "Norns, Director of the Third Division." A soft, deep voice. "Does the record stand satisfied?" He sounded exactly as bored as the speaker.
"Yes, Mister Templar." A pause. "As you are aware, this committee is convened to begin looking into the practicalities of merging the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth intelligence agencies. As such, we are inviting the Division leaders to speak about their current status and whether there is any information which is needed to be shared."
"How interesting." Janus said softly. "I understand this is a necessary step, but if we are discussing the practicalities then it must be noted we would be potentially placing a great many agents at risk in the field. The more people know of their existence and mission, the less secure they are."
There was a much longer pause, before a different voice chimed in. "The committee would like you to refrain from editorializing your report."
Janus bowed his head slightly. "The committee can like or dislike as they choose."
"Have the record rewound, strike that interaction from it." The voice was quieter, and there was a pause before it continued. "Mister Templar, we invited you here to discuss what projects you have in progress and whether it is important to tell the Department of Military Intelligence or the Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations about them."
"I have no knowledge of any such projects, gentlemen."
The first voice came back. "You are on record saying that, Mister Templar."
He vented a low sigh. "The record, as you have demonstrated, can be manipulated to have whatever it pleases on it. So shall we skip to the point?" He folded his hands before him on the desktop. "You undoubtedly have already downloaded copies from my consoles at home and in my office, and have more than likely... borrowed... my datapad from my pocket while I was waiting for this meeting. You have all the information on them, therefore you are after something you think is not in them. Am I wrong?"
"Mister Templar, please stick to responding to the questions in a succinct and complete fashion."
"So far you have not asked a question, only made statements."
"Is this how this whole thing is going to go? What a waste of time." There was a third voice, clearly unaware the audio was being picked up.
"It is a waste of time. My time, and your own. However, since I am here for the service of the Archon and the First Prince, as they see fit, I shall endeavor to answer any questions you see fit to ask me to the best of my abilities."
"Fine." That third voice snapped. "Is Janus Templar your real name?"
"Of course it is not."
"Would you like to tell us your real name, then?"
"I would not, no."
"Will you tell us?"
Janus' eyebrow twitched. "No, I will not."
The second voice cut in, sounding more upset now. "Please will you explain why? This is a direct order to do so."
"I do not disobey direct orders, but I will have to state for the record this line of inquiry is not pertinent to the reason for this committee-"
"Enough." The first voice now cut across, sounding exactly as bored as it began. "We have a limited amount of time, and this is getting us nothing we want. We do have your records and reports, Mister Templar, as you have correctly stated. But we find there is an inordinate amount of missives which have been made from your office and your person to a private individual in the Federated Suns. We believe his name is Anthony Aliandros, head of Aliandros Starscapes, and is responsible for a rather large amount of civilian shipping routes."
The second voice coughed, before speaking to someone else. "Bring up Document Thirty-Nine-Twenty-One please." A hologram came up, showing a map of the Inner Sphere with a highlighted tangle of Jump routes moving across it. Most of them were situated along well-known trade routes inside the Federated Commonwealth, but there were more which snaked into other territories. The enemy, as some might say, even though there was no war yet. "The Free Worlds League, the Capellan Confederation, and the Draconis Combine all benefit from what should be a primarily Federated Commonwealth company. Why is that?"
Janus tilted his head to one side, looking at the map. "I would presume it is common sense to sell to whomever is willing to pay and able to afford it." He lifted a finger. "I would add this map is incomplete. There is a route which travels through the Capellan Confederation to Coromodir, though it is a much less profitable run." He refrained from telling how he knew about the run, official documents from Aliandros Starscapes called it the 'Coromodir Run' but the pilots had another name for it. The Aurigan Trail.
"We don't have any records of that."
"Which, gentlemen, is but a piece of what you wanted out of me today." Janus blinked slowly. "I would also like to add Aliandros Starscapes steadfastly refuse requests to move military assets with their JumpShips. This includes even mercenary groups, and it also includes transport of weapons or ammunition. To this date every shipping manifest has listed only medical aid, and other non-perishable civilian-oriented offerings. My agents have repeatedly made efforts to verify this and have assured me with no doubts in my mind this information is genuine."
"Really?" The third voice was back, and sounded derisive. "They move BattleMechs, though."
"No, sir, I believe you will find they move IndustrialMechs. They specialize in those when it comes to Periphery worlds such as Coromodir and Panzyr. And yes, I am well aware you will find they are not on our current maps. However, Aliandros Starscapes has maps which are from local sources instead of ComStar archives." There was a shifting around the room, as Janus smiled thinly. "And I am sure that makes some of you nervous, but a large amount of my expenses in the last decade has been to ensure those maps were correct. That is why there is a file in the Lyran Intelligence Corps records about Coromodir, the Aurigan Reach, and the lovely mess which happened between Taurian and Canopian catspaws in the region. It is still far from being over, I should assure you, but I have agents in play there."
A new voice broke in, a woman sounding a little curious. "Why there? Why would you-"
"That is not in the scope of this committee's investigations." The first voice cut her off harshly. "And we have discussed these extraneous matters quite enough regarding Aliandros Starscapes' operating habits. We need to return to the question of why you have had extensive contact with them, and have eschewed formal communication through Hyperpulse Generator relays."
"Shall we discuss what we all are aware of regarding ComStar?" Janus looked around, even well aware he wouldn't be able to see beyond the center of the room with this layout. "There is an inherent security risk in using an external agency to deliver intelligence reports, which is why a great many of agents will hand-deliver sensitive data. Only non-essential mission data is sent through the HPG network, along with whatever smoke we need to cover other operations. There are incidents where data sent through ComStar has been acted on by other parties, even though the information was false." He wouldn't elaborate on how he also knew first-hand there was something going on with other information being sent. "Again, there is a not-insignificant amount of my expenses spent on cross-checking data we receive through ComStar communications before we act."
"You truly believe ComStar is a security risk?" The third person was speaking again, then there was a sound of someone slapping their desk. "I don't see what more we have to discuss if you hold such a belief! They are neutral in all conflicts, and they don't interfere-"
"Thank you, sir." The first voice cut across. "It is duly noted you have objections to using an external agency to handle LIC data, and this is not a concern this committee will address or condemn." The last was said strongly, and clearly to someone else, before a throat cleared. "But once the merge between the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth is completed, it will not be an external agency. You would be asked to cooperate with a related internal agency. Do you still hold the same opinion regarding operational security?"
Janus folded his fingers together and leaned forward on the desk for a few moments before speaking up again. "With all due respect to the committee, I am afraid I must hold this opinion. The security of any operation of mine is important, even those which would appear to be of no consequence to anyone other than myself and the agents involved. I do not expect the committee to understand how complicated this business truly is, and why my loyalties - while unquestionable - must also tie my hands regarding this matter."
The second speaker spoke into the room very quietly. "Will you please explain what your records call 'Houndstooth'?"
"No, sir, I will not. That operation is still underway and any scrutiny will jeopardize its security."
"Would you like to discuss meetings with known mercenary groups who are of interest to the Lyran Commonwealth?"
"All mercenary groups are of interest to the Lyran Intelligence Corps, sir. I have kept records of all such dealings, and you have those records yourself."
"I refer specifically-"
"To the 'Namida'?"
There was a little more of a murmur this time, and the first voice began to speak. "I would like to point out, again, we are outside-"
"You know damn well what I am asking about!" The second voice said, and there was a scrape of a chair pushing back. "There are mercenary outfits which operate with no apparent attempts to curtail their activities and this is despite a sudden interest in them being formed. We have records of eleven this year forming-"
"I am aware of these groups, and I am aware of their members. I am aware of a great many of them, including some which have vanished from the systems due to either having their units wiped out or being absorbed into militaries. For instance, the record for Mason's Marauders has gone missing and our backup data is woefully out of date. I also understand Angleton's Angels had a change in leadership again, but the report has yet to come to me. I am not sure what to think of that." Janus shook his head, and held up his hand as if to forestall the interruption he knew was coming. "Please, gentlemen?" A soft voice as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "You want to know, specifically, of eleven this year? I'll list the ones we found newly registered on Galatea as of this month’s dispatches." He took in a breath slowly. "The Dark Horse Company, rather infamous for their roster containing malcontents who were thrown out of other outfits. The Dead Rabbits, really weird crew who follow the challenge coin tradition but with switchblades. Fringe Division, who we have records of thanks to our new pipeline to the New Avalon Institute of Science; until now they were just a rumor we had yet to substantiate. There's Beira's Banshees, which we have a lot of people on because of their Free Skye involvement. Priam Company, which involves a lot of people from the Tamar March, so fresh we just got that dispatch at the same time they applied for land on Twycross." He coughed, and looked back down. "There's the Harbingers, and their charming disregard for safety by going all-in on a mission to Ozawa. Tamara's Toughs, who operate off Carnwell in some repurposed old airbase; I do recommend the committee review that document as well, I think there's some interesting things in there. Havoc's Hellfire, though they operate on the Taurian front as far as we can tell. Peter’s Paladins, which we know of largely because of what information we have thanks to an exchange of data with Aliandros Starscapes concerning the Aurigan Reach. And then there is Hammerfall Company, who are nobility inheriting or stealing their family BattleMechs to enjoy a tour of duty pretending to be real soldiers."
"That's ten."
"Someone was counting?" Janus said, putting a note of wry amusement into his tone. "Then I believe I should address one of the remaining ones who have certification which mysteriously keeps being left off my division's radar." He lifted his finger. "Permission to display a document?"
"We will allow this."
He plugged in his datapad, and called up an image to the room display. "The Crescent Hawks. I am still chasing down their history, but we do have some of their records-"
The first speaker coughed, and spoke up quickly to interrupt. "That will not be necessary. The committee will disregard mention of this last group. This is outside the scope of our investigations."
"But we have not yet talked about what brought that digression on us, sir." The second speaker spoke up now, a slow drawl. "You have not listed one group which is of interest to this committee."
"Given by the outburst earlier at my prompting, I am going to assume-" He drawled the word with a small smirk. "You refer to Hatchy's Helpers, an outfit in good standing with the Mercenary Review Board for over a decade, and have been quite a stir on media of late with reports of their daring escapades being made into a weekend trivid series?" There was murmuring again. "Among all the ones I listed, it is them who have you riled up?" He sighed softly, shaking his head.
"It's not the point!" The third speaker snorted. "What is the point is how many of these outfits boast at least one lance of BattleMechs in their operational tables, and those are from your records! There are easily one hundred and sixty BattleMechs operating in Lyran Commonwealth space which thus are not under the direct command of the Armed Forces, and you have concerns with the Federated Suns?"
"Then kindly ask the MIIO for information they have on a group known as Team Banzai, who are far more secretive. I only have their name and a list of small tales which cannot possibly be all true. I also would note we are not discussing the Kell Hounds or the Wolf's Dragoons, but that might be because the first isn't a danger to Commonwealth interests and the latter is currently under contract to House Davion?" There was more of a murmur and he placed his hands palm-down on the desk. "Mercenaries are a necessary component of the Inner Sphere, and make for a wonderful opportunity for operations." His voice hardened, and cracked like a whip as he directed it off to one side at where he was sure that third speaker was. "And to return to the topic stated when I arrived, I would gladly exchange data on mercenary outfits with the MIIO or DMI. Especially those who have been of some use to us and shown an interest in discretion and tact."
The second voice spoke up softly. "What about the outfit known as 'The Black Ghosts'?"
Janus blinked slowly. This had taken a turn he was not expecting, but he was prepared to talk of it. "Since they showed neither discretion, nor tact, I exercised my own discretion to be sure they were no longer a threat to LIC operations."
"You're talking about Operation Truant?"
"I am."
"I would beg the committee's indulgence." The second speaker said. "Bring up Document Forty-One-Fifteen?" A document came into view, detailing in writing exactly what the operation had been. "You sanctioned the Black Ghosts to hit Csesztreg last year and, from what this committee can tell from the records brought up here, purposefully allowed the ISF to discover it was sanctioned by a Lyran agent."
"Said agent had also leaked operational intelligence, and could no longer be trusted." Janus shook his head. "Lora Therin, cover name of 'Elaura Dross', out of the Loki branch, took matters into her own hands trying to set up the First Lyran Regulars to take Chateau and inadvertently convinced them to push to Csesztreg. The Black Ghosts were contracted by her to perform a reconnaissance mission and mark targets for the Regulars, but went off-mission and tried to destabilize the planet in advance of the Regulars." His voice hardened. "Unfortunately, this caused the planet to be on alert and when the First Regulars arrived the defenses were still ready. So I contacted the Black Ghosts personally, as they were still in the system waiting for contact from Agent Therin under her cover identity. I wanted them to attempt to rescue prisoners of war, which I was well aware were executed. I subsequently identified Elaura Dross as a Loki agent to a counterpart in the ISF, and explained the Black Ghosts were her idea and not our own."
There was a pause. "And then?"
"And then, I understand the special teams from the ISF took care of the issue."
"You show no remorse for outing one of your agents?"
"Agent Therin was not my agent." Janus frowned. "If she had been, then that invasion would have been prepared properly and we would still hold Romulus at the current time instead of having a counterattack prepared to take it. Agent Therin took her orders from someone other than me, which identified her as one of the Loki operatives who I recently discovered and had to deal with in my Division."
"Yet you seem to have issues letting other allied agencies review your work?" The slow drawl for the second speaker was dripping with satisfaction. "This is disconcerting, Mister Templar."
"Do not move the boundaries on this one, sir." Janus sighed and shook his head. "For the sake of operational security. When an unsanctioned operation is started within my Division, that is a whole different matter. And one for which I am responsible, if not required, to take action on."
"Gentlemen." The first voice spoke up, as the projector was shut off. "We have had a long discussion, and no real progress." A muttered voice added its own comment just barely off the audio and this prompted a longer pause than necessary. "Mister Templar, we will reconvene in one hour and you will comply with this committee's directions and answer its questions regarding your operations and whether you will reveal the information to our new allies."
Janus leaned forward to the audio pickup, speaking slowly. "I must preemptively state, on the record, they are our allies now but may not always be our allies."
"Thank you, Mister Templar, and we will await your return in one hour."
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