Better to Beg Forgiveness…: Chapter Seven

    Alex actually didn't mind the morning conferences down the hall. They were practical, which might be a first. Of course, most of the attendees were military, and not high enough rank to wax poetic. He was close to start time, and nodded to Tech White, Major Weilhung and Mister deWitt. He grabbed a cup of real coffee, as opposed to the stuff that wasn't coffee but pretended to be that was served most places, and sat down. A moment later, Bishwanath arrived.

    They all stood to attention, and of course he asked them not to, and they'd both keep playing their manners. Rituals were comforting. They sat back down around the long table. Alex wondered why there was woodgrain to the artificial material. There were much nicer patterns possible by not pretending injection molded plastic was walnut.

    Bishwanath wore an odd expression, part elated, part disturbed.

    "Mister Marlow, I have changed my official bodyguard," he said, directly and without preamble.

    "Sir?"

    "The drunken rabble you've seen outside are gone. I have replaced them with more professional hires."

    "Oh, good." He looked at deWitt. There was obviously more going on here.

    "I'm going to be honest with you, Alex, Major, and so is the President," deWitt said. "The improvement comes with some strings."

    "Hit me," he said.

    "What are we facing?" Weilhung asked.

    Bishwanath's voice was so melodious and pleasant, even when he relayed bad news. The man was a natural politician. "The new hires are from three different clans. This was to promote the idea of cooperation. None of them are from my clan. This was to show that I trust other groups. However, I can not say that I am thrilled and comfortable with this, my press releases to the contrary."

    "Understood." Right. Reality took another bite as maneuvering took center stage.

    "Awkward, but good to know," Weilhung offered.

    "Also," deWitt said, "besides the obvious potential for interfactional violence, they still aren't up to the standards we'd like. They can be bought, and they lack the training of you or the Recon unit." He nodded to both men. "Hell, they aren't even up to the standards of regular infantry. You can't bet your life on them."

    "It is entirely possible," Bishwanath said, "that they will rout, accept a bribe, or prove unable to offer the protection they claim. That latter is most likely. They may also brawl amongst themselves. I don't expect them to do more than brawl, having given their words, but fighting is considered both manly and recreational. I don't trust them, but I must pretend that I do for diplomatic reasons."

    He paused for a moment, hesitating. Then he said, "To be fair, my own clan would not prove to be as well-trained." He seemed embarrassed.

    "Sir, I will not be under or overestimating anyone if I can help it," Alex replied. "I do appreciate the info, and will keep it under advisement."

    "There's another thing," deWitt said.

    "Yes?"

    "Officially, they are trusted. Therefore, they will be trusted to handle patrols and security. Including incoming vehicles."

    Weilhung started. "Oh, no! Hell no! Not a fu…dammit." He looked pissed again. "I'll deal with that as I have to," he said, sounding sheepish and offended.

    White said, "I have security issues with our intel equipment, sir. It can't be left unattended and can't be left accessible to people not cleared and clearanced by Aerospace Force." She looked as uncomfortable as the others. Despite her low rank, she spoke easily enough at high level. This was obviously a problem for her.

    "Right," Alex agreed. "I propose an authorized personnel list for access to different areas, and badges. We can discipline and boot them if they get into needed-for-duty areas."

    "Excellent idea, and I will endorse it," Bishwanath said.

    "Yeah," Weilhung said. "I'll have to limit some of my people, but they've been exploring. Can't blame them, and ordinarily a good thing, but this helps."

    "Good," Alex acknowledged. Yes, that was better. Not having even Recon skulking around meant he could better deal with security and Elke could wire more mines. He didn't have a problem with that at all.