The Next Morning

The plain, rather unremarkable red telephone that sat upon Thatcher's desk would soon ring with a light blinking in the lower right-handed side. While the phone itself was a relic of an era long bygone the infrastructure behind it was decidedly most modern: it represented a fibre-optic link with end-to-end encryption between Pyrettania and Tsargrad that traced the floor of the Strait of Shaw, with a satellite back-up if that optic link were ever severed; a relic of the cold war between Rokkenjima and Tytor which had received a massive upgrade in the years that followed the conclusion of that war. Not even Imperial High Command could listen into the words spoke on that line, so once the robotic voice announced as it always did, "This line is secured only for those parties privy, please begin following the beep"....BEEP" Asuna began to speak.

"Good morning, Respected Minister," she said with a tone of reverence, "I understand certain events have caused quite a stir between our nations and I'm sorry for that. Ultimately, as Empress, the responsibility falls upon me and therefore I take full responsibility for the events of the past few days. I couldn't reach out before because we were under a blackout at the Imperial Palace but, with all immediate threats removed, I have the pleasure of speaking with you now. I understand that my Ambassador has successfully relayed my message to Thomas as, if she weren't, she'd not have met with you. I do owe her a fine dinner and some much deserved R&R, after all of this. You must understand it was so hard for me to sit here thinking that, after my account was taken over, the damage that message was doing, not only to Thomas but to everything else entailed, I'm truly sorry for that. I also recognize that information was withheld from your Government to the threats we were facing over here and have already undertaken measures to ensure that never transpires again."

"In the coming days I would like to visit with you personally to first of all apologize, and then work towards undoing the damage of this affair. Prior to that I've the United States primed and ready to test her top speed as I pay a visit to HTMS Agility because I've got someone who deserves the greatest apology that's ever been offered in history. I'll be trusting that you help me set the right course and ensure their countermeasures don't train their sights upon the United States as I test her classified top speed in the range of 45 knots. Naturally while I'm going there for Thomas I wouldn't be opposed to Agility's crew getting some R&R aboard her, nor would I mind the RBC/TBS being present for a long overdue reunion. Again I'm sorry," she paused, "let me know if there's anything here objectionable and I'll work with you to make it right as I should have from day one in being upfront with you and your Government. Please also relay my apologies to the Ambassador; she was hamstrung and this wasn't her fault," Asuna concluded before awaiting Thatcher's response.

"Get him out of my sight." Rion said, she waited until Rowe was hauled away before opening the door and finding Akira there "Good boy." she smiled, checkmate in two she thought.

---

The sun in Kusan was reasonably warm and the air humid, the go for Operation Mockingbird had come the previous evening, the twenty four Achkaerinese Special Forces soldiers had made their way quietly across the border. Under cover of darkness they'd made decent ground, leading the way through the hills was David Winters coming from the scouts regiment he was more than qualified to get the group across the difficult ground as fast as possible, he commanded Topaz troop and was ably backed up in this regard by Sapphire troop commanded by Craig Moores, as they crested a hill into a copse David held up his hand bringing the group to a halt. At that point the other two troop commanders Heather Rose and Charlotte I'Joula joined the two men.
"What have we got?" Heather asked
"Kaesong is about a forty kilometre straight shot from here but you can see the increasing number of small villages and urbanisation." David said pointing from the high ground vantage point they had "We'll stand out like a bit of a sore thumb trying to walk through there in the middle of the day. I'd say wait for night but we're on the clock."
"We need wheels." Charlotte said
"There's a truck in the village at two o'clock." Craig said looking through his binoculars "And there's an APC over towards nine o'clock."
"Charlotte get the APC, Craig get the truck." Heather said "Bring them to the road at the bottom of the hill."
"Disguise?" David asked as two of the troops moved off.
"Yep." Heather said "We need to be in Kaesong tonight and that doesn't happen by skirting around because we'll end up circling the whole city. Can your team hold this vantage point?"
"Yep." David said

About an hour later the two vehicles were sat at the bottom of the hill, the APC had been outright stolen of course, while the truck had been borrowed for a fair amount of cash and a promise of silence.
"Ok so here's the plan." Heather said "Topaz holds the high ground here, this is the RV point when the time comes we get out the way we came in. Craig you've got the truck, that's the getaway vehicle, you drop Charlotte's team at their point and come to the prison, you hold position there. Charlotte you do your job and make your way there. My team we've got a jailbreak to do so we're taking the APC. On the way out we drop the truck back at the village and make our way back here on foot and then we get across the border. On a helicopter by the morning, home for tea and medals at a reasonable time. Heads on swivels and stay alert. Ok let's do it." The drive to Kaesong was uneventful, this far from the border there were far less obstacles to go through, no checkpoints, no patrols, there were obviously fortified positions but nothing that was going to stop traffic into the city itself. The two vehicles parked up in separate areas, though they weren't that far from each other - the APC was about a mile from the prison and the truck was closer to the Chairman's residence.

When night came the plan swung into action, first Charlotte and her team slipped out of the back of the truck and climbed a nearby fire escape making their way to the rooftops. Once there they took up their positions, Charlotte primed the weapon she was using and looked across the street and fair bit of greenery to the Chairman's residence "Ok let's see here." she said as she looked through her scope.
"Third floor window." Sgt Midgely said from next to her "That's his room."
"You got vantage on the second floor?" Charlotte asked
"Yep." Midgely said
"Ok Parkes." Charlotte said addressing one of the other members of the troop "You spot. Bridge you light." now it was a waiting game, it took another hour but eventually Ri Chŏng-jun stepped into Charlotte's crosshairs.
"That's him." Parkes said
"This is Midnight One I have the shot." Charlotte said
"All callsigns this is Shadowblade One." Heather's voice came over the radio "I have control, standby, standby, standby." she was undoubtedly looking at her watch's ticking second hand "Go."

"Midge." Charlotte said, right on cue trooper Bridge lit fire to the bolt that was loaded into the crossbow that Midgely was holding, then Midgely squeezed the trigger, the bolt flew straight and true right through the second floor window, the fire was set. Now Bridge lit the bolt on Charlotte's crossbow.
"Third floor window's ajar." Parkes said "He's probably in bed."
"Ok here we go." Charlotte said, she fired her bolt through the third floor window, it hit the back wall which would spread the fire.
"Reload." Midgely said, him and Charlotte reloaded before repeating the process and firing another bolt each.
"Ok let's rabbit." Charlotte said

Just up the road the APC with Shadowblade troop aboard was charging at full tilt down the road towards the prison, in the driving seat was Richard Duncan
"Right on the gate." Heather said
"Hold on tight." Richard said as he put his foot to the floor and as the guards outside the prison began to open fire realising what was about to happen the APC punched through the gate much like a battering ram.
"Go go go." Heather said as her team disembarked from the now ruined vehicle, leaving Richard and one of her other team members to hold the courtyard the other four proceeded inside, rifles up and ready. The Riley brothers Tim and Luke were clearing the administration area of the prison their target was the security  control room. With Luke holding position and delivering suppression fire down the corridor, Tim ducked inside and accessed the system, inserting a thumb drive he hit his radio.
"Shadowblade two, drive is inserted." he said, now he had to wait as the virus on the drive did its thing and wiped the entire system.

Heather meanwhile alongside the last member of her team Luna Knight was fighting her way through the cell blocks. It was a little on the slow going side but it was also clearly a set up, that much was obvious from the number of empty cells, rounding another corner they spotted a guard and Heather downed him with a quick pull of the trigger.
"Boss." Luna said as the lights on their rifles illuminated Sophia.
"That's one." Heather said as she pivoted and illuminated Sang-Hee in the cell across the hall "And that's two, go check the corridor."
"Boss." Luna said, heading down the corridor while Heather took the keys off of the dead guard and opened the cells, as she helped the two out of the cells she tapped her radio "Cottontail and Little Red Riding Hood secure."
"Goldilocks secure." Luna's voice came over the radio as she came back down the corridor with an older woman, just slightly older than Cecelia, this was Mieko Anselmo, Evanthe's mother and the mind behind this whole thing.
"Sapphire I want that exit now." Heather said as they started to make their way back through the prison.

Outside Sapphire troop had arrived with the truck and on foot so had Midnight troop, the firefight was raging on the street against the backdrop of the flames a little way away.
"Let's go, let's go." Tim yelled as one by one the former prisoners were helped into the back of the truck.
"Everyone rabbit." Heather said, that was the cue for an organised withdrawal, everyone got aboard the truck and it accelerated away, once they were away from the city centre and racing out of the outskirts it was at that point that everyone took their breath.
"Craig you made the drop right?" Charlotte asked
"Yep." Craig said "Whole letter from a group claiming responsibility for the nights havoc."
"Good." Heather said

---

At the Imperial Palace Kayleigh, having ensured Rowe was locked up in a secure facility walked into Asuna's room, with a smile on her face.
"We got them?" Gemma asked
"Yeah Sophia, Sang-Hee and the big bad wolf all on their way here, they'll be here by morning." Kayleigh said
"So what's the earliest Asuna can make a phone call to the Tytorians?" Gemma asked
"The morning." Kayleigh said "The moment they're in the grounds of the Imperial Palace we can lift the blackout because at that point all the pieces are within our control, we've weathered the storm, Rowe and Stanley are in custody, navigating the aftermath is going to be a whole different kettle of fish but don't worry about that yet, when the time comes we'll have that conversation and we don't need to have it for a couple of days or so. Meanwhile you get a good nights sleep, tomorrow's the Youth Diet, tomorrow we take their last piece off the board and by this time tomorrow the threat will have been dealt with."
"But you have to promise us something." Gemma said "When you talk to Thatcher you tell her everything that you are aware of, the last thing we need is to put the Tytorian Prime Minister in a situation where she ends up misleading their MP's."

"Poppycock," Rowe mustered with a measure of difficultly, "you'd best...damn it, get me my lawyer at once." As Rowe spoke he heard growls from a nearby door, "get...get me away from that mutt!"

---

"I see," Asuna replied, "though I would like to speak with Thatcher the moment Rowe is dealt with; we've the hardened line that dates back to the Cold War that I understand <0 and Lucinda saw upgraded to an end-to-end encrypted fibre optic connection between Pyrettania and Tsargrad to replace the previous system in place since the Cold War between Tytor and the Federal Republic. I know nothing can be done on the public front right now," she sighed, "but I think coordination and transparency with such a close friend would ultimately be beneficial, and I can't imagine Mikina Hayata has had the best of times with the Prime Minister. She deserves some pressure being relieved from her shoulders so with your go-ahead," she motioned toward the door, "once the all-clear is relayed to us I likely should make a phone call across the Strait."

---

Kado had one additional promise to live up to and, as the SIS agents were rounded up on various transports, he allowed Lucinda an opportunity to speak with a restrained Lucius Stanley before his departure to the next Imperial Prison. Lucius sat silent for the most part, not once mustering the courage to make eye contact. "So," she finally said, "this is how it ends, not anywhere near how we envisioned our future but with a man looking at the ground instead of having even the conviction to look me in the eyes. Very well," she said as she stood and turned her back to him, "if you were expecting Kado to hand you off to me, to reactivate a site or two to extract vengeance, you'll find yourself disappointed. The only thing in your future is trials, associating with general population, and fading into obscurity as time and the very world moves beyond you. You gave it all up," she said turning toward him and drawing closer, "only to lose it all. No method at my disposal that I could think of could do a better job than the one karma has crafted for you, so," she booped his nose, "enjoy what is before you and use your remaining time on Mundus to think upon everything you've done. Goodbye, and good riddance, Lucius."

As she walked out of the room Kado placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm proud of you," he said which prompted Lucinda to present a raised eyebrow. "He facilitated an attempt on your life and here, knowing I'd cover for anything you might of had in mind, you spoke the words you needed to and walked away. I guarantee those words will haunt him for the rest of his life, especially if he's transferred to an Achkaerinese facility, which will result in many years for him to ruminate on them. You're finally free," he said as he looked her in the eyes, "embrace that and live your life to the fullest. As for the Anselmos, your watch is over and you stand relieved, let me do my job in taking up your steed?" Lucinda paused before giving Kado a tight hug, "You know I'll always watch over them in my own way but, I trust you'll see I don't need to so, I best not see any slack from you and yours." With a chuckle Kado responded, "I learned from the best, so, if there are any failings on my part I'll be asking you why you allowed them to persist through my training under you. Now then, may I transport the prisoners to their next home?" which Lucinda responded with a nod.

"Very well, High Commander," he said with a respectful bow before turning to his subordinate, "see that these wastes of space reach their next destination, preferably unharmed of course. Though if they offer resistance," he said training his eyes on Stanley, "well, you know what's within your rights to exercise legal force if necessary."

The Dauntless Factor

Months... months of sailing around the Kyne, months of sonar and underwater drone searching, months of hypothetical mapping and all on a hunch to begin with. Still here the Discovery was sailing around, navigating the various small islands of the Kyne that lay roughly in the path of a journey from the Ardian Empire to Royal Seleucid, as that was the most likely destination based on their current thinking and no luck.
"It's a large haystack." Rosalie McLean said as she looked over the map of the Kyne on the computer
"I know but we've been at this for months and we're no nearer." Melanie Bell said "And we've been over this route with a fine toothcomb."
"It's not in the Shaw." Rosalie said "So it's got to be in the Kyne, there aren't any Ardian allies anywhere else."
"Maybe we're asking the wrong question." Melanie said
"Meaning?" Rosalie asked
"We're trying to figure out where the Wayfarer was going but it never got wherever that was right?" Melanie said
"Right." Rosalie said
"So why didn't it get there?" Melanie said
"Weather maybe but that's not normally deviation from heading." Rosalie said thoughtfully.
"But the Wayfarer would have had to get into the Kyne first and there are only two paths for that." Melanie said "And you don't go through the Austrana at that point in time, you go the other way. What if they were spotted? You've got four very anti Ardian Empire navies in the Rokkenjiman Sea at the same time so what are the odds that you get away and clear without one of them spotting the Wayfarer?"
"Astronomical." Rosalie said
"Let's talk to the Admiralty archive." Melanie said "They keep reports and such so if anything was spotted by the Achkaerinese navy it'll be there. And if not by them then we talk to the others."
"Ok." Rosalie said

The phone call was a quick one, the wait was about six hours but then they had it "Ros!" Melanie said "We got something."
"What?" Rosalie asked
"It's a ships log entry from the INS Dauntless." Melanie said "According to this the Dauntless spotted an Ardian flagged Galleon on the 17th of May 1862, they gave chase into the Kyne, they caught the Ardian vessel on the 4th of June and sank her."
"Does it say where?" Rosalie asked, Melanie tapped the screen.
"Right there." Melanie said "The Dauntless was an ironclad, faster, better armed, completely outclasses the Wayfarer. Now while we don't know whether they sank the Wayfarer, a lone Ardian vessel in the Kyne... sounds promising and is our best lead."
"I'll tell Natasha where we're going." Rosalie said