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The Nature of Predators 2-85
🕑 Added 2024-11-07 12:00:08 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Elias Meier, Former UN Secretary-General
Date [standardized human time]: February 11, 2161
Sitting in Secretary-General Osmani’s office, ready for General Jones to waltz into her dismissal, I hoped that she wouldn’t weasel her way out of this. I liked to think that she was a patriot, in her own mind, and wouldn’t sabotage the interests of her planet over a personal matter. Any information she had to take out the Remnants had to be received before we dropped the hammer. I was never too comfortable at being the bad guy, even with someone of her shady character. However, I suspected from Hamza’s steely eyes that he could be objective and impassive when needed. His leadership was well-timed.
What baffled me was how bumbling and ineffectual the aged spymaster had been; perhaps she’d see on her own that it was well past time she was put to pasture. The attempt to blackmail Tassi had been so hamfisted, and potentially damaging to the United Nations’ relations with both the SC and the vulnerable Bissems. It could have the blowback of seeming like our first contact was to take advantage of the helpless carnivores, much like the Federation—especially after I learned that the actual first contact team were roped into this scheme. I feared what had been done to our own scientists to facilitate that.
If Jones was going after the Shield or the Remnants, I might understand; my continued attempts to win them over aren’t the most strategic move, and they are our adversaries on the basis of what we are. We must not become like the Federation or the Krev Consortium with our own people. Humanity has seen the dangers.
Osmani steepled his fingers. “Commanding allies after what happened at Grenelka is our top priority. We must hit the Ghost Farsul with multiple blitz attacks quick and hard, and prevent Jones from alienating an SC that is backing us full-throatedly. Your rebuke had something to do with that, I wager.”
“I spoke the words every human was thinking,” I responded. “That’s how we do our business: direct, not back-handed like her methodology. We can be fed up and still go about achieving our goals in a lofty way.”
“Sometimes, violence and fighting dirty is the only option; a bloodied nose demands an answer in kind, or you’ll continue to be kicked. I see the pragmatic value of covert operations, as I think you do. However, by any stretch of the imagination, the Bissems weren’t in this boat. They should be categorized as a species the UN has a duty to protect from the very same hatred that befell us.”
“Yes, we haven’t done them many favors. Getting rid of our Jones problem is the start of showing our sincerity. It’s necessary to clear the path to proper SC unity as well; we need trust.”
“You know what you believe, your will is strong, and you have clear-cut goals. I respect that, Elias.”
“Thank you, sir. I could say all of the same things about you.”
Our conversation fell quiet as we heard the clacking of shoes down the hallway, the measured, composed steps of someone who was never caught off-guard. I wondered if Jones had an inkling of what we were planning, but it didn’t show on the unphased smile when she opened the door. I knew Osmani had already run this by the actual nation which held Jones’ leash, to avoid an international incident. Who the US employed on Earth was their business, but who represented all of us to aliens was ours. I really wanted to see us be better; the greatest gift of digital immortality was that I could live long enough to witness it.
“I’d be a shitty spy if I couldn’t tell when I was about to be cut loose.” Jones spoke the words with little emotion, and settled down in the chair. “You don’t like to admit that I’m as much a part of humanity as you—perhaps without the glamor that Elias indulges in. The KC were and are a serious threat, and I did what was needed to ensure our success.”
Osmani arched an eyebrow. “Go on then. Explain yourself.”
“I fail to see how coercing Dr. Tassi has anything to do with the Krev Consortium,” I interjected.
Jones smiled. “Yes, well you never liked me. You’re still living in 2136 in many ways, Elias, but the rest of us moved on. I never actually wanted Tassi as an asset. Did I want her to spy on a few variables? Sure—and she did it while thinking she was playing me. I didn’t strongarm the one member of her team that she cared for most; and I could’ve, with something as simple as blackballing his Venlil artist brother from several Skalgan galleries. I knew it’d push her to him.”
“So that’s where Dustin vanished to?! He was working for you?”
“Unwittingly. I had agents swap out his holopad, and just like that: ears in the Bissems camp, on everything the Arxur and Sivkits might be plotting against us. Furthermore, and this is the important bit: the Arxur had escaped at this point, but I couldn’t directly ask them for help. That would’ve damaged the UN a hundredfold more than this coming to light. Do you understand?”
Osmani crossed his arms. “How that constitutes asking the Arxur for help? You’re going to have to elaborate.”
“General Naltor is predictable. He likes being…in charge and in control of situations, responding poorly to any attempt to bully him. The kind of Bissem that puffs out his chest to threats and tries to reverse them. If I threatened to reveal his ties to the Arxur, it was obvious he’d dig himself in deeper and turn the narrative. What’s the only thing the SC might appreciate? Helping defend Talsk. My plan saved the Farsul. It led to them taking refugees to win support.”
“You have no account for pushing a potential ally and symbolic victory into the waiting grip of the Yotul, who were just looking for proof that we should be banished from carrying out any uplifts?”
“White knights Meier and Dustin happily swooped in to help and prove that humanity at large wasn’t like that. You’ll win them back over. Let me add that the Arxur’s fleet would’ve saved Aafa, were it not for Meier’s unexpected interference to bring the Remnants to town. That doesn’t fall on me. My plans worked to perfection.”
“This bastardized scheming isn’t what I’d call perfection,” I spat. “You don’t care who you hurt, including good people. Our people.”
“The survival of a planet outweighs the mental state of one scientist, and you’re more naive than even I thought if you don’t see that.”
“You have no boundaries over how to accomplish an objective. I don’t abide by the school of Machiavelli, certainly not with public-facing civilians or prisoners of war!”
“Tsk tsk, simmer down. You’re not in charge here; Hamza Osmani is. Mr. Secretary-General, your advisor is angry that I didn’t handle Gress with kid gloves, and can’t square it away with his own morality that I am a necessity. I could say my actions are for humanity’s benefit, but it’s beyond that: it’s for our continued existence. Any liberties I take are with that knowledge.”
Osmani’s eyes shifted toward me, a shrewd glint in his pupils. If I was capable of sucking in an apprehensive breath, I would have. The way Jones dismissed me and claimed that I was stuck in the year 2136 filled me with anger. On the contrary, I had moved on, and wanted to make my own name from myself; to do that, I needed to literally have my own name. She still saw the same Elias Meier from those days, just like Kuemper, Syba, Virnt, Korajan, and everyone else. I wanted to renounce my claim that I had any connection to the dead Secretary-General, beyond being built from his memories. I sought my own life.
Hearing them call me his name and speak about “my” past life, as if any of that belonged to me, is incongruent with my view of myself; I don’t want to be referred to in such a way. It’s time I crafted a new name, to clearly separate myself from the Swiss, biological human who bled out on the Venlil streets without ever knowing humanity’s ultimate fate. The man who breathed, tasted, and dreamt at night.
I hoped Osmani wouldn’t be swayed by Elias’ past history with Jones, since his first concern was that this was a personal vendetta. He seemed to care about steering the Sapient Coalition in the right direction.
“You tied yourself to this, Jones. That was your mistake, and you know it,” the Secretary-General sighed. “The Bissems could say that we knew about your techniques and did nothing, if I let you stay on. You’re too hot to touch on a political level and you know it.”
Jones gave a shrug. “Yes, yes, I’ll disappear to the shadowland. I don’t need a title, and I’m happy to let them think I’m gone. I can give a show of tendering my resignation a month from today—time to point you where you need to go to hit the Remnants at the top. Those ears I have on the Sivkits—”
“What did you do to Dustin?” I blurted.
“Dustin was going to start blabbing to anyone with ears. An operative offered him a job at a xenobiology project to restore Ivrana’s ecosystem and document its lifeforms in case of planetary extinction: a legitimate venture, mind you, and one he couldn’t resist. He had to leave immediately and go off the grid for a few months, allegedly due to a need to avoid distractions with the planet about to go critical. He’s safe and working a dream job, and will be rather confused that you thought he disappeared for malevolent reasons. I needed time, so Tassi had to think it handled.”
“Time for what? How do you have ears on the Sivkits if he isn’t eavesdropping on Tassi?”
“You think he never messaged Tassi from that holopad? He became unnecessary that moment. The spyware infects any device it encounters, so it leapt onto Loxsel’s holopad from there. The Sivkits have a good idea where the ghost Farsul’s new base of operations are, after searching their cleaned-out old one for any clues. Right here.”
Osmani jotted down the stellar coordinates, eyes narrowed. “I’ll organize a strike force at once; that lead should curry enough favor with the Bissems to undo any harm done by an errant spymaster. They want the ones that attacked them, as we do we. I appreciate the help, General Jones. The information is vital, so I can acknowledge that your…plan paid dividends.”
“What matters is knowing as much as possible about who we're up against, and finding the leverage for mankind to come out on top. I told you, I’m trying to win this war for us. I have ears in the Shield as well, and for any politicians I know are voting against siding with Earth, I have blackmail strategies in mind. We cannot always play nice and beg for friendship as Elias wishes.”
“You have no idea what my wishes are. If you did, you’d stop calling me that name,” I grumbled.
“Oh? That’s the first anyone is hearing of this. What exactly would you have me call you instead of Elias Meier—the name you introduced yourself by and had no problem hearing from friends?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not him; I’m the first of a new kind of a human.” The first. I guess I’m finally freeing myself of this burden. I should choose something…symbolic, that suits who I feel I am. Who’s the progenitor—the first human to walk the earth—in the world’s most prominent religion? “Adam seems suitable. Adam Meier has an odd ring to it, but I could get used to it. While this life was not what I chose, the name could be. Let Elias rest.”
Jones gave a mocking clap. “How original. Look, Adam, I hardly care what you call yourself. You’re good for symbolic gestures and grandiose speeches, but your idealism clouds your judgment.”
“Adam’s idealism brings an uncompromising clarity to both his judgment and his resolve. I embraced his aid because of his refusal to stop striving for a better future,” Osmani countered, giving me a slight nod. “I will not always heed his guidance, but I see the value of having someone of such character. Those views preserve the part of humanity that can be spoken of in decent company. He has every reason to take pride in his moral conviction and the tasks he’s undertaken.”
“That’s very kind of you.” The lack of saliva in my mouth became noticeable, as I tried to swallow; I was touched enough by the Secretary-General leaping to my defense at once, that I felt like I should be choked up. “Thank you, sir.”
“I don’t need your gratitude for heartfelt admiration. While you may feel that you were a copy, I think you stand as your own person—and I won’t hear you disparaged. Jones, see yourself out. That resignation letter should be on my desk, exactly as you proposed.”
The general stood with a curt frown. “As you wish, sir. So long as you know I’ve done nothing but my duty in the service of humanity.”
“Yes, yes. Leave us. I have planning to do for that raid on this ghost Farsul base, and I dare not waste a second. It’s time we take out their leadership, and dig up their deepest secrets. You’ll have your cozy pension and your good name, so I suggest you leave before those go up in smoke.”
I watched as Jones exited, and reflected on her explanations for her actions. It was devious enough to have borne fruit, but I could only see how broken Tassi was after having her hopes crushed. There’d been enough enthusiastic scientists who were chewed up and spit out by a heartless galaxy, just like Elias’ friend, Dr. Kuemper—reduced to a sorry, jaded state of giving up on the Orion Arm. Right and wrong should matter in a proper society, one that held itself to higher standards than its predecessor. I felt good to have affirmation from Osmani about who I was and what I believed in.
With the question of my sense of self resolved, I was freed to choose a new life beyond diplomatic confines. Adam Meier would take the mantle of paving a path for synthetic organics, and ensuring that moral protections were taken into consideration on both sides of the equation. He had his own friends, like Korajan, Syba, and Tassi, who knew him and formed connections in this existence. My contributions to a better future would be singular—and my own. That was enough to give me the peace and determination to continue down my current path.
A/N - 85! Jones explains her master plan for all of her scheming throughout the novel, including the clumsy Bissem blackmail; she planned for Tassi to run to Dustin and use him as an unwitting spy. This spyware has branched out to many devices, and was able to acquire the location of the current ghost Farsul base of operations from Loxsel. Meier is quite unforgiving of the lines she crossed, not helped by her scathing rebukes of him (though Osmani later defends him), and grows ever more frustrated with being called Elias. He snaps that he wants his name changed, and forced to choose on the spot, finds the symbolic “Adam.”
Do you think that Jones was justified, especially given her relative success in achieving her goals? Do her motives make sense? What do you think of Meier’s new name, and his determination beyond all doubt that he’s not Elias?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
PhycoKrusk
Tassi is the only one we've _seen_ notice Dustin missing; she hasn't talked to anyone else about it aside Adam, but that's neither here nor there. Jones absolutely did not predict exactly what they would do; Naltor and Kaisal were clearly easy, but she very clearly did not predict that Tassi would go to Adam with this, which is why we have ended up where we ended up. As for a black site or assassination, Dustin has a family, including a brother who is of some level of fame. If she had him black bagged or killed, she would have to do the same to them, and unlike Dustin who is away from home and can be shuffled away with relative ease, their absence would be immediately noticed by neighbors and media, and questions would start to be asked, and that would cause problems. Doing things the way she did achieves functionally the same goal, except that nobody asks big questions. However, this _still_ produces the same effect on friends and family because they are left wondering where he is and worry about him, which impacts them negatively and affects their behavior and performance. As for Dustin, he reported what Tassi told him about Jones to the relevant authority (wherein it was immediately intercepted), and then dream job literally saving a planet comes along. He passed on his report, it was acknowledged as being received, and as Nulia noted previously, Dustin is an idiot (see the feast after first contact with the Bissems), so why would he do anything other than assume it would be taken care of and go galivanting off to Ivrana? Does that excuse him disappearing? Not really; it just explains why he did it.
Some Lvm
I honestly don't understand how you get all that from reading the main story? I mean, Tassi was the only one who noticed Dustin was missing, and she only confide in Meir about it after he prodded her to do so. She predicted exactly what Tassi, Naltor and Kisal will do, so I find it hard to believe she does not understand people. Also, Jones isn't out to be liked by anyone. She has a job to do that comes with a great personal cost, because most people out there don't like it, even when they understand it is absolutely necessary for their continued existence. And she is willing to pat that price. Keep in mind she could have Dustin thrown in to a black site, or even assassinated if she really though people were just replaceable cogs in the machine. Instead, she arranged a dream job for him to take him out of play just long enough for her plan to work, possibly without him ever finding out he was used. Incidentally - and I can't believe this didn't occur to me before: What kind of A hole is Dustin if while knowing his friend is in trouble, he just takes a job out of self interest and drops of the face of the earth? Didn't he made a promise to Tassi about uncovering Jones' misdeeds? Unless Jones is lying and Dustin somehow was forced or coerced, he has as much blame for Tassi's condition as Jones does!
Some Lvm
Jones is the man! Well, the woman! :P Carefully planned, almost flawlessly executed. The only thing I am surprised about is she didn't have a direct line in to Meir's brain, to know what he was doing with the remnants. There could be two explanations for this: 1. It would have been too hard to make the plot happen if she was too good at her job. 2. There may still be part of the plan she isn't revealing, and letting Meir trigger the inevitable war with the Remnants now, before they could solidify their plans and make a surprise attack, was her intention. Also, Virnt is now officially Frankenstein - he built a creature from parts of dead people and gave it life, but the creature is not a resurrected dead person, but instead an individual of its own. That, or the AI has reached its limits and is now hallucinating. And yeas, I think option B is a lot more likely.
Adam Myers
I did just reading the chapter, lol.
PhycoKrusk
“The survival of a planet outweighs the mental state of one scientist, and you’re more naive than even I thought if you don’t see that.” And there it is. For all she hypes _herself_ up as an expert in espionage, Jones shows here that she has an extremely critical flaw: She doesn't actually understand cause and effect with regards to people. She's sees a person as just the distillation of their specific skills and knowledge, and therefore any one person can be replaced by another with the same skills and knowledge. Relationships don't matter beyond their immediate impacts: Sequester Dustin away, and he no longer influences the larger galaxy. Him suddenly missing with no explanation and having no contact with friends or family, particularly those he worked with, has no impact on anything at all - including the performance of those friends and family as their own mental states degrade due to his sudden absence - as long as he gets replaced by someone with the same skills and knowledge. Jones is exactly the sort of person who manipulates the entire student body in order to be crowned homecoming queen, and then wonders why nobody wants to be around her.
Xilacnog
Given how *Adam* feels like he isn't Elias, that'd make him a sentient AI, not a restored biological person. Meaning the Synthetic Restoration project's main goal successfully failed as they were able to restore the experiences and memories of a person but not ***the*** person.
Xilacnog
If she hadn't pushed Tassi, Tassi wouldn't have gotten involved with the Arxur, Sivkits or Talsk's Farsul. Planting Spyware is pointless without social engineering.
smajo s
Am I missing something here? I don't really see the point of everything Jones did. It seems like all she had to do was switch out Dustin's Holopad and the viruses did all the hard work from there.
Gumcel
"There'd been enough enthusiastic scientists who were chewed up and spit out by a heartless galaxy, just like Elias' friend, Dr. Kuemper--reduced to a sorry, jaded state of giving up on the Orion arm" talking about themes-wrong Using any opportunity to complain about Erin-correct Erin sucks
DemonVee
To be fair on Jones, it has been mentioned that the Yotul were spying on Humanity, and up until Aafa everyone in the SC were still iffy about their commitments and what's really at stake.
Heroman3003
Ahhh, I a 'I didn't want them to spy for me, I just wanted them to be pushed towards the choices by manipulating them into thinking they were spying for me' strategy. A layered, unnecesarily complex plan with 0 trust or reliance on others that worked out, in decent part, thanks to luck more than some genius manipulation. I feel like Jones didn't think this plot was worth that much attention, but decided to reap all the benefits it brought, while pointedly downplaying the risks involved. Though now she's gone from active command structure at least. I also like that both Cora and Hamza do not actually acknowledge Adam as the same person to begin with, but both associate him heavily to his past, to the point where him actually choosing a new name to move on, past his originator's life and trying to create his own is a surprise for both. Even if they didn't think of Elias as same Elias Meier, the idea that he WOULDN'T want to be Elias Meier, or wouldn't think of himself as Elias Meier, just seemed alien and I like that. Hello, Adam, your name is super corny and cheesy, but the man you were founded on was always one for metaphors full of grandeur so it fits you perfectly well. For grander politics, it sounds like we're doing another "Rush A(afa)" strat this time, which makes sense. We do not know if the fleet we met at Grenelka was all of Ghost Farsul forces, or just a portion, and if it's the latter, that'd be a complete disaster. Striking at the heart while you can is the best option. Remnants themselves are disorganized and inefficient, so even if fleets remain, cleaning them up will be much easier without the leadership. What fascinates me the most here is that Sivkits had that information and did nothing with it. This is like third time they refuse to share critical information cruicial to winning the war with the allies they themselves went to and asked for help, and last two times they had no reason NOT to do it. It makes me think that there is some agenda for Sivkits themselves that they're pursuing. Or maybe they are just still Fed-brained enough to both distrust predators entirely AND believe that the Ghost Farsul threat will just pass them by. Which would be oh-so sivkit-brained of them... One last thing I noted is the implication that Nulia and Haliska were strongarmed too. It's possible it's not the case with both of them, but with Nulia likely still holding love for Marcel, even after cutting strings, and Haliska having thafki family that likely need a lot of support... yeah, Jones had easy material to work with there if it was the case (is that where Marcel disappeared off to?). I hold out hope for a reunion, apologies, tears and reconciliations between the entire First Contact team and Tassi still, even if it might be hard for them all. Great chapter, some nice payoffs and we're still going strong right towards learning more about the Ghost threat... I am still so fascinated to learn more about what they are, because I still am sure that like, at least half of what Loxsel said were either his own far-reaching conclusions or ommitted information. Looking forward to it!
Sci-fi reader
Read my second paragraph. You want an illegal facility, staffed by people deployed illegally, to jail a person who had technically done nothing illegal. You are aiming to be Putin’s Russia.
TheDudeAbides
Am i the only one who likes Jones a lot more than Meirs?
DDDragoni
Ah, General Jones. As infutiatingly smarmy as ever. A name change is probably just what Adam needs- a way to seperate himself from Elias and force others to acknowledge it
EliasArt2Life
@Johnathan Cardosa Mota I always feel a little sorry for Machiavelli. His writing were meant to be satire, but the term Machiavellian refers to people who act like his writings were serious. Imagine being remembered primarily for satire, but most people assume you were serious.
EliasArt2Life
@Dookus Maximus Technically, you could argue that the failure was on Jones for not informing anyone about her plans. Think about it; if she had to the UN, “I’m manipulating the Bissem into getting the Arxur to help at Aafa”, Meier would have probably had second thoughts about asking the Remnants to come there.
EliasArt2Life
I just realized that with Meier’s name change, it’s going to match your name VERY CLOSELY. Down to the last name part. (Meier sounds a lot like Myers). My condolences for all the whiplash this might end up causing you. Or maybe you don’t get that with your name.
EliasArt2Life
If you feel that you already expressed this in your comment, don’t worry; I’m just trying to express my thoughts in my own words here. Something I realized halfway through Jone’s defense was that she was trying to manipulate them. She’s trying to keep the focus on morals and ethics, because she knows they get loose and messy during wartime. She’s constantly bringing up Meier and disparaging him because she wants to make it look like he has an old, outdated agenda against her. In reality, even if her actions were justified, and if Meier was doing this solely due to an agenda against her, she’d still have to be dismissed due to all the toes she stepped on. In what government can the Spymaster mess up diplomatic relations with a group of aliens that are important to the government, and NOT inform the head of the government beforehand? Even when she tries to downplay this by claiming that “white knights” would fix it, that doesn’t change the fact that she did it. She didn’t just step out of line; she ran 10 miles away from it and then blew it up with a tactical strike. She has to go, for those reasons alone. I agree; she should not be allowed to continue unofficially working for the UN. It would not be a punishment if that were the case; the spymaster whose crime was trying to gain too much control and dodging supervision would get a job with even LESS supervision.
EliasArt2Life
Oh! A name change! Does that mean I finally can stop getting whiplash from the comments? (Joking) “White knights Meier and Dustin happily swooped in to help and prove that humanity at large wasn’t like that. You’ll win them back over.” You’re saying THAT about someone you previously referred to as a relic and lining in the past? Make up your mind, Jones. Okay, in all seriousness, I’m not going to talk much about what Jones said, because I realized about halfway through that it’s all manipulation and misdirection. Jones wants to avoid punishment so she’s trying to turn this into a morals/ethics argument. She tries to claim that she was justified, that Meier is pursuing a personal vendetta against her, and that her plans resulted in victories for the SC. In reality, none of that matters; the biggest question isn’t if she was morally right or not, but rather if she’s gone too far, and she has. These actions were things that the Secretary General should have been made aware of beforehand (not to mention the Diplomatic corps). There are procedures and regulations that Jones ignored by going ahead with her plans without telling anyone. That ALONE should get her fired (if not tried for treason), and she knows it. She just hope that Meier and Osmani don’t realize it. She also bows out before Osmani fires her so she can slip in an offer to do secret work for them later. Overall, I’d say she got got, but not as much as she could have. She got off easy. I hope she doesn’t return. If she DOES get to do unofficial work for the UN, it would not be a punishment; the spymaster whose crime was trying to gain too much control and dodging supervision would get a job with even LESS supervision. Not a punishment, more like a reward. Will Meier tell Dustin and Tassi about what Jones did? That would crush Dustin. Maybe it would regain a little more trust from the Bissem, though. Especially if they help remove Jone’s spyware. Spyware tends to get discovered, eventually. Better let them know before a new antivirus picks it up. I suspect the raid on the Ghosts base will go off successfully; it sounds like they have many bases throughout the galaxy, so this probably won’t be their main base, but will serve to let us know what we’re up against.
Dookus Maximus
Jones wasn't wrong about the Aafa situation. Meier's intentions were noble but it cannot be denied that they *did* lead directly to the infighting and downfall of Aafa. If I recall correctly, it was the Remnants who fired at the Arxur first.
REDemon14
Spying on your own allies or hopeful allies tends to not be a good foundation for building a good relationship. No matter Jones’ reasons, she did hurt the UN’s standing or at the very least left a mark that could be used against the UN in the future. Jones *immediately* going for the position that Meier is a relic of a previous era is misplaced. If there is one thing that is consistent about humans, it’s that the majority don’t like all the back alley cloak and dagger stuff. I don’t see how 2136 humans would differ from 2160 humans in that regard. Yes, intel gathering has a place in the modern era, but *how* you did it? Pitting people against each other, such as Haliska and Nulia against Tassi? That didn’t need to happen and could have negative consequences in the future with the Thafki and the Gojid. You could have *threatened* Tassi with revealing the Bissem working with the Arxur to her friends instead of jumping the gun and doing it anyways. That, to me, was the first sign that Jones was starting to make small mistakes that could boil over. To even think about getting to Dustin by threatening Jimek’s career. That’s low. Glad to know that she didn’t go through with *that* strat and instead went with the “We have a unique opportunity for you, Dustin. It’s rather secluded, but it’s right up your alley” bit. That would explain why he couldn’t tell Tassi why he didn’t file a report. He was off the grid. “White knights Meier and Dustin” helped keep the allies together. Maybe don’t insult or disparage the people who make your schemes work? They are the only reason your plan bared any fruit. Also, saying that the Arxur would have most definitely saved Aafa if not for the *Meier* requesting aid from the Shield and possibly Remnant, that’s just wrong. First, the KC were a still largely unknown variable in the battle. We knew some of their tactics and the design of the drones, but that was it. Second, thinking that the Arxur themselves would have been the factor to save Aafa. Did she know that just about *all* of the SC backed out of the battle? I think that was a pretty big wrench in the defense plan. “Meier’s unexpected interference”? I’m sorry, wasn’t that the whole reason he was revived? To try to bring the Shield and potential Fed Remnants into a truce to defend the Orion Arm from this unknown threat? Did Ms. Spy Master not know what the plans for her own people were? If so, she is clearly losing her edge. That *one scientist*, is the one chosen by the Bissem! If it was many years later and they were a random Joe, that'd be one thing. Tassi ain't that, Jones! She's high profile. The first. They tend to get a bit of special consideration! You could have organically convinced the Sivkit to tell you where the Farsul bases might be, Jones. The Sivkits probably don't want their cripples roaming free making ships. This could also be an opportunity to smooth things over with them further. You could still spy, but only to confirm, but she seems to be going over a lot of the leadership with her decisions. While I understand that her plans *did work* and even gave the UN a place to target, there are too many places where it *could* have gone wrong so I do expect a resignation. Not a “Oh this is public, but I'll still be working in the background” shot like she was smuggly thinking. No, a full resignation. Adam Meier does have a ring to it. I think it'll help him make an image for himself and to better accept himself. Looking forward to more!
Adam Myers
I enjoyed this chapter and appreciate her getting a good send off.
Byron Ritchie
glad to finally see jones get called out and essentially fired And man all of tassi’s first contact friends have been shitbags
Jonathan Cardoso Mota
"Ends justify the means" is honestly a very wrong read on Machiavel as well His research had shown that you will not be judged either by your intents nor by the actions themselves, but by the outcomes of your actions. And that doesn't mean what you *tried* to do, it means *everything* you accomplished. Not just the final goal you achieved, but *everything* that came from your actions, that includes the collateral. Which Mrs. Spy here failed to account for. Hell, I am very certain half of what she wanted to achieve she could have had those people do for her *eagerly* if she had just asked.
John Benjamin Cate
Poor Tassi. Dustin just left her without even really trying to get that report out. And Jones is such a bastard who can’t admit wrong. Even blaming Meier for the Aafa situation. Dang, great chapter
StormTheSquid
Hence blacksite. No need for a trial. She committed the crime of espionage, and was incredibly bad at it. Blackmail, harassment, stalking, various cybercrimes. The list goes on.
StormTheSquid
No. She's a cruel, ineffectual spook who's gone senile in her old age and started harassing an innocent penguin when she easily could've *gotten with the times* (as she claimed she had) and just hacked the holopad externally and planted her spyware that way without bothering Tassi or the others at all. But no, she's stuck in a mindset that's old and outdated even by irl modern standards. And before anyone brings up the satellite wars and how E-war is frowned upon in the NoP universe, I'll ask why she even decided to use spyware in the first place then. Either she's incompetent, sadistic, or senile and outdated. Regardless of which of those three it is, she doesn't belong anywhere near the field of spycraft.
Sci-fi reader
For what illegal act exactly? You can’t jail people just because you don’t like them. None of the blackmail happened in UN jurisdiction and even if they did, no one would want any of that to come out in a trial. As to use of a black site to jail Jone. Just think about that. You want an illegal institution to jail a human who may committed no crimes against humanity, who done her perhaps distasteful acts for the benefit of humanity‘a survival. What do you think your intelligence agents will do when they know the government does not have their backs and will potentially jail them. Basically you get Russia. The intelligence agencies will take over for their own survival.
Sci-fi reader
All hail General, I mean Ms Jones, director of NOP SHIELD ( which doesn’t officially exist).
StormTheSquid
The justice of a prison cell maybe. Or a nice dark hole in some gulag or blacksite.
Alekss Žukovskis
is there a term in this story, by when all military secrets get publicized?
Roscuro
Adam is cheesy, but expected from him. Just because Jones' plans worked doesn't mean what she did was justified. Ends can justify the means but that doesn't mean better alternatives shouldn't be preferable. I can think of several ways she could have bugged Tassi's pad without emotionally torturing her.
Daniel Guillon
Justice for Jones
Mark Baculna
Oooh
Jhon Bustamante
jones i a necessary evil
