Election Meddling, Counter-intelligence, and How I Fell Into the NMLA Web of Lies: Part I
06 Apr 2021KZ Kawasaki
Everyday was a beautiful day in Bisley Landing and today was no different: Bisley is the only Tourism Starport in the Colonia area and I was paying extra for an office overlooking the well-lit parks and fountains of the docking bay. It was worth every credit to watch the traffic and happy passengers mill about the terminal, even if I didn’t really need the counter space along the promenade.I was a couple weeks in to this new business - call it a sabbatical from the politics of the bubble. I felt like I had earned it after the last major expansions for the faction. Now I was helping pilots with their ship configurations and mission planning, for a nominal %, and doing surprising well at it. Most of the time, though, I felt free exploring the outdoor tourist areas of the station and taking the occasional trip to a nearby Earth-like world.
With no real posted office hours, it was quite the coincidence that two obvious government special agents appeared at the front desk this day. Their dress, demeanour, and stature gave them away. It did not matter which faction or superpower they were from, people who wore classic suits, short hair, and travelled in pairs were always special investigators.
They stared at me for a few moments and I looked up from watching them on the security feed, turned around and stated at them too. I was teleported back to my corporate days when factions would send a similar looking pair of agents to our offices to either verify the security of our projects for their faction, or attempt to reveal any projects for competing factions, though often both. I quickly resolved to not speak to them immediately - I would need time to prepare for their questioning.
The slightly taller of the two, a sharp-looking, middle-aged woman, spoke first, "Commander Kawasaki, I presume?"
"Yes, what can I do for you two? Ship designs and mission planning here. Apex is across the way.", I replied, pointing behind them.
Now the short, stocky man spoke, "We are from the A.C.T., we'd like to ask you a few questions. It won't take long."
Playing dumb was always a favourite negotiating tactic of mine, "I never heard of that faction. It would be my pleasure to help, but I'm booked up the rest of today. Can you come back tomorrow morning? And is it a ship or a mission consultation you are looking for? Fee is 0.5% and 10% respectively."
The man was expectedly irritated by my ignorance, "No Commander, we're from the Affiliated Counter-Terrorism unit and we'd like your cooperation to help save lives in the bubble. We can wait for you to finish what you are doing."
"Ah, Sorry, my friends, I'm out here trying to avoid the news and The Bubble. If you’re some joint task force then you must have checked my past rescue work - I will help you,” I took a pause to gauge them, then seeing them relax a bit, continued, “Listen, I need to finish this Corvette design for Commander Snedex - he's not someone I like to let down. Come back in two hours - I'll be heading down to the shipyards, but I will be back. Just in case you are following me."
That answer seemed to satisfy them. These were experienced agents, but giving them a bit of a win and a lead seemed to work. Now to figure out what they were going to “interview” me about.
Future link to Part II