Djerb, Imperial Enclave, Empire of Tamora
At the request of the Head of Intelligence (HI), Emperor
Abbas has called a secret meeting with
Alya, his First Wife and also Head of Foreign Affairs, and his Head of Intelligence. The topic was the recent
manhunt going on in the
Second Imperial Chinese Republic for members of the Cult of Draves. After a brief presentation of the situation on the ground, an argument started over how to proceed:
HI: I believe we should initiate an operation in the Chinese Republic in order to extract as many members from this Cult of Draves. They could have valuable research that could help our biological weapons program. We need as much information on the subject as possible if we are to maintain an edge in this field. Our enemies have nuclear weapons, we don't.
Alya: I firmly disagree with this proposal. We have no business in the Chinese Republic, no interest there. We are engaging in an operation on their soil without their approval. All Mundus nations are watching us ready to slap another embargo on us. All they need is for them to hear that Tamora has engaged in covert operation in a foreign country, in relation to biological weapons, for them to remove any doubt that we need to be embargoed. What the Head of Intelligence forgets to mention is what happens if the operation goes wrong and we are discovered. It would be a diplomatic fallout that somehow the Foreign Office would have to fix.
HI: Allow me to point out that Tamora most likely isn't the only player interested in this. We assume that at least the terrorist groups: Borlanders and the Bene Gesserit would be interested in this research. We need to get our hands on them before the others.
Alya: With all due respect to our Intelligence Service, if the Borlanders are interested in this research then we can pretty much assume they will beat us to it. We have no intelligence network in the Chinese Republic, no connections, nothing. I can't even believe to imagine how the Intelligence Service hopes to achieve this operation.
HI: I agree with the Fist Wife that our resources and intelligence in the Chinese Republic is limited. The whole country is a bunker. It is a vast heterogeneous country with massive underground military infrastructure, very reclusive with a healthy distrust of foreigners. I doubt even the Borlanders have good infiltration there.
Alya: And we do?
HI: No, as I said we have limited intelligence. All he have is an embassy and the regular intelligence gathering our embassies do. But we do have one advantage over the Borlanders. The intelligence Service has a great deal of experience with various religious sects and cults in the Empire.
Alya: We have experience with religious cults of
Midaranye not Ardia. How many cults worshiping
mutants have you encountered so far?
HI: None with such specific... interests. But religious cults have quite a few things in common on how they operate, we believe we can use that experience to find the most probable locations where they are hiding.
Alya: I strongly disagree with the proposal, Abbas. The Intelligence Service is in over its head. This operation will fail and we would make at the very least the Chinese Republic our enemies for nothing.
HI: I do agree with the First Wife on one aspect, we need to consider the Chinese Republic when we deal with these cultists. Once we have them in custody, we extract whatever information we can from them and then we contact the Chinese Republic and return them to their custody.
Alya: And tell them what? That we kidnapped their citizens and extracted information from them?
HI: That is for the Foreign Office to decided how to spin this around. It is now our area of expertise.
Alya: This is going nowhere, the Foreign Office strongly recommends that this operation does not take place. Abbas?
Abbas: I give the green light, we need any advantage over our enemies. We have no standing on the international stage so there is little to lose there and our enemies will always find a reason to embargo us. However, the operation will not take place or will be aborted if it cannot be done quietly and without local victims. The main objective has to be to not ruin relations with the Chinese Republic.
Once the Emperor decided, the issue was settled.
Heisen-Duminjia Proninz of the Second Imperial Chinese RepublicHassan Malekmadan, an operative of the Tamoran Intelligence Service had been dispatched by Intelligence Service to get in touch with the fugitive cultists. An almost impossible task since they were on the run from the authorities and in hiding. Still, orders were orders, and he used the little information the Intelligence Service provided with the probable locations where they could be hiding. It was like searching a needle in haystack but he worked tirelessly nevertheless. He contacted various underground criminal elements and had left word that the cultists should contact him as he represented foreign interests. However, even contacting the criminal elements proved very difficult, the Chinese Republic had just engaged in a major
crackdown of the local Mafia, and criminal elements were disorganized themselves. And if that wasn't enough, he couldn't stay forever in his motel room in this small town in the countryside. People were extremely suspicious of foreigners and it wouldn't be long before they alerted the authorities if he stayed too long or did anything they considered suspicions. All that Hassan could do now was wait and hope that the cultists would contact him via the word he left with the criminal elements he generously rewarded.