24

Remembering that the Perdition Massacre should be around this time, I contacted 'Mr. Smith' from TMI. Obviously, I couldn't give him too much detail but I informed him that one of my contacts had heard about a terrorist cell planning an attack on Perdition. When asked about details, I answered vaguely about business contacts of one of the companies I was dealing with.

Unfortunately a month later Victoria succeeded and not only did she successfully executed the chemical attack, she also managed to escape without a trace.

To make matters worse, the 'evidence' that Santiago Espinosa presented against the Federated Suns was quite convincing but that had to be expected as the special effects / movie tricks team used was very competent.

And that brought a lot of problems to me and VMI. The trade agreement with the Federated Suns was broken by the Taurians, which caused us to lose our largest foreign market and a huge setback in the detente policy that Edward sponsored. Because the Magistracy supported Kamea, something that the TMI had quickly discovered, it created a tense situation between the two nations when Thomas decided to openly support Santiago.

However, by not accepting a contract offered by Espinosa for mercenaries to support his forces, I was able to prevent my Revenants from getting involved.

With great efforts, I was able to very discreetly contact Anne-Marie Centrella, saying her that Kamea should pay special attention to the 'Madeira files'.Having done all I could, I could only hope that she would find the evidence that would clear the Federated Suns while implicating Santiago at the same time.

This whole situation caused a great deal of economic damage to the actual and future plans I had made for VMI and took much of my time, forcing me to postpone for a long time any expedition to Niops, which was my next objective. I couldn't get away for so long at this point and this was the kind of mission I couldn't delegate.

This whole situation was problematic inside the unit too. One day, Vasseur came into my office clearly annoyed.

'Boss, why did you turn down the contract by House Espinosa against the terrorists on the Aurigan Protectorate?'

'Vasseur, do you think Hanse Davion is stupid or incompetent?'

'I never heard anyone accusing him of that,' replied Vasseur with a surprised look on his face.

'So think a bit, this deal with the Concordat is clearly good for him. It lowers the tension on one of his borders and creates a new source of trade and money.'

'So far I'm following you, Boss. But what does this have to do with the Protectorate? '

'If it is good for him, why would Hanse, who in your words is not incompetent, kill it shortly after it was signed?' I asked quietly.

'If you put it that way I see no reason,' replied Vasseur, who had obviously not yet reached the conclusion I wanted him to reach.

'On top of that, chemical weapons are not Davion style, they use assassinations or military raids.' I explained 'On the other hand, Santiago Espinosa came to power through a rather bloody coup and clearly needs our support to stay in place.'

'Are you suggesting that Perdition was a false flag operation performed by House Espinosa?' asked Vasseur with a startled air.

'Cui Bono. Of the two, Hanse does not benefit at all from the attack, while Santiago needs our help. It is very convenient for him that House Davion decides to perform this type of operation when it is most needed, don't you think? And the only 'evidence' there is was provided by Santiago.'

'Maybe, but about some Davion patriots operating independently?' asked Vasseur.

''Possible,' I answered calmly 'but usually they act against Kurita first, Liao second, and the last raid against us was how long ago? Not in the last century if I remember correctly.'

Vasseur was silent for a few minutes, analyzing the implications. 'Do you have any proof?'

'If I had, I would already have submitted it to the Lord Protector. But this smells a lot like shit, and I don't want to get involved.' I answered.

Visibly calmer 'You're right, Boss. It was really better not to accept this contract.'

Not helping at all, Hanse Davion launched Operation Galahad a few weeks later, greatly increasing the tension in the border, even if it only moved troops to the Capellan and Draconis borders. But Grover Shraplen was quick to use the fear of a possible invasion … not the best time I had in this universe.