A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Cliff Offices, Kaliburg, March 4, 5640, 3:20

Margaret stopped in to the Empress' Offices. This was an office she had been in a thousand times through her life. It felt so familiar to her, and yet despite the renovations which were currently still ongoing, it felt like it had been a million years since she had been here. She waited to be shown into her Sister's presence, and even though she was, for the most part exempt from the protocol, she still observed a soft version of the doctrine, in her capacity. She entered, bowed her head and waited for the Empress to speak.

"Have a seat, Meg," the Empress said. Margaret pulled the chair close to the desk and sat down in it.

"We're kind of in a tight spot, huh?" Margaret asked.

"Don't sweat that," said Mary. "How's your last semester going?"

Margaret wasn't prepared for the question. "Oh, it's going alright, I guess... I'll graduate..." She was wondering why Mary asked her about school when they usually talked about other, weighty things.

"That's good," said Mary. "I mean, we never really had a doubt, right... You were always the studious one." Margaret shrugged.

"Perhaps. Course, I didn't have a war to fight either," answered Margaret.

"Of Course. Look. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to stay on with IBSI? You may not have had time to keep up with the news, but that little thing you all did for me over there worked wonders. Looks like the communists will fall in Baltusia, and of course, that is very welcomed. Didn't cost us a cent either."

"Mary that was simple," said Margaret. "What we don't understand is why you had us leak that stuff? It didn't even make any sense. It was all a bunch of nonsense-- that map was just a photocopy of the physical map from my geo textbook from Highschool with some official looking lines drawn on it--You got really lucky that people outside this country didn't have that textbook or that could have very easily blown back on us. Why not leak stuff that is more believable?"

"Meg: it’s not important that people completely believe it. It's just important that they believe its possible. We needed those people in Baltusia to think of that government as completely incompetent. If they thought the Baltusian government wasn't going to protect them from some impending invasion, they were going to move against the government. They were gonna do that anyway— we just gave them a little push in the right direction. It's really that simple. Now, we sit back and let them do whatever they're going to do, and we can legitimately say we had nothing to do with it. Destabilization 101 says you overthrow governments by changing the relative balance of power between the governments and their main political opposition. You do that by either weakening the government or empowering the opposition. By getting the nationalists and the reformists in Baltusia spooked, we did the later.

"Whatever happens in Baltusia, it will be good for us. I have the Suldanoran Growers syndicate battering down my door begging to open trade with Baltusia--a normalized Baltusia opens trade. Under the SAUS, Kalistan is screwed in trade. Even if they have a free market there after all this is over, Kalistan becomes one of Baltusia's main trading partners by default. We literally have direct road, rail, air and sea links to Athosia from both Kalistan and Gaduridos. We offer them reconstruction assistance, we offer them assistance with stabilizing their government, we offer them investment, rinse repeat, and we have a friendly neighbor on our border rather than an enemy."

"But the map-- Did you consider how that would make the Defense Ministry, the IBSI, and the Chancellor look?" Margaret asked. She was more confused than upset.

"Ah, well: you do know that the IBSI was in on the planning right? I don’t just run intelligence operations out of my office here!” Mary smiled. “This whole thing was designed by Special Projects and run through Public Info. So IBSI will be fine. As for Koenig and Bonaventure, they’ll survive this. I have already told the Chancellor no more votes of no confidence for a while. We have much bigger fish to fry. I let the liberals have their little vote, but I need them to pass a new budget and get ready for the next elections. This will blow over. We'll send some of the Deputies to the border to report that there appears to be no mobilization by the Regulars which is totally true, lickity spit, problem solved. And people will forget about the Bureau even quicker than that. It's better when the story is complex but an inch deep and people can't make much sense of it, than when it is simple but it goes a mile deep and people can tell it over and over again and dig deeper and deeper."

"And what of Lodamun?" asked Margaret.

"Yeah, that will take some finessing, but that one is on me. I'm not really sure how upset they are on the whole matter, to be honest. But bringing in the President and key members of the legislature will probably go a long way to smooth that over. What is more important is that there is no comment from Egelion, Hutori, or Luthori. Those would be a bit harder to massage. But as that comes up, I'll also handle it."

"Well, Mary, I will say: if this works the way you think it is, you'll never get any of the credit for it. But if it goes wrong, you're probably going to get all the blame."

"That's expected... That's part of the burden of being Empress. Most people in this world want nothing to do with me anyway. Might as well do some good while I am at it."

After a short pause: "So you want to stay on at IBSI after you're done with school? You know the Bureau, and I need someone I can trust on the inside."

Margaret laughed. "You don't trust your own Intelligence Agency?"

Mary smiled and shook her head. "Should I?"

Margaret answered, "I am bound by my affirmation of office to say, I have no comment."

Mary nodded this time and said, "As I thought. So what about you?"

Margaret said, "Well, Matt and I want to stay in Kaliburg, so if we can do that then I can certainly consider it."

Mary's smile faded. "So you're going through with it, huh?" Margaret nodded. "And I suppose you want me to be part of the Party?" Margaret slowly smiled a knowing smile, and nodded once again. "I guess I can spare some time. When is it."

"August," said Margaret, as if she had told her sister a hundred times. "And you will be the person I want to stand up with me."

"Have you converted to the Brethrenists?"

"Mary, I am a birthright Brethrenist, as you know. And so are you."

"Meg, I am an atheist. I don't believe that God exists so how can he whisper in your ear?"

"Anyway," said Margaret, not wanting to get into this discussion with her sister again, "Yes, it will be at the Meeting here in Kaliburg, and I am really hoping that you will come and stand with me, even if it means you actually have to stand inside a meeting house. It won't kill you, and it will mean everything to me and Matt."

"For you, anyway," said Mary. "I'll do it because I like you."

"Mary, someday you'll get to know Matt too: and I think you'll like him too. Just because you hate people doesn't mean you get to ignore your own brother in law."

Mary laughed. "Ha! I don't hate people. I don't hate anyone. I am afraid of Artanians, but I love people. All people. So why should I treat your husband as different from anyone else?"

Meg stood up and decided to end the meeting. "Because he will be my husband. Mine, and if you love me at all, you should at least try to get to know him."

Mary's smile faded. "Meg... Umm, do you want to hang out some night, maybe get some pizza and watch some movies?"

Margaret walked around the desk, and bent over to hug her big sister. "I would love to," she said, and gave Mary a kiss on the forehead. "All you have to do is ask. And stop being such a jerk about my fiancé all the time."

Mary looked up. "Meg, um one more thing. I know you have to go. But... um. Maybe bring Mike..."

"Matt," Margaret corrected her.

"Matt," she said. "Maybe bring him over with you."

"Shall we do Saturday?" asked Margaret.

"Saturday is fine," said Mary. She sidehugged her sister back, and the Margaret made her courtesies to the Empress, and walked out of the office, leaving Mary alone again.