(taps forehead) can't steal what already belongs to you [Midweek 3]

[okanetendo]

I don't know what you did or how you did it, you have to teach us that trick

But it's probably a good thing you did because hooboy is Erebus dirty



Okay backing up. Nabiki Tendou here... or Faith Maxwell. Or the Operator. I infiltrated as an office lady with ambitions of selling out The Company, like you do when The Company has a glass ceiling... until whatever stupid brain trick Naoki pulled got my head out of her ass.

Anyway if you heard from an Operator, that was her trying to set up a black market. For cheaper than the Company.

In the course of her social engineering for salable secrets she found some memos indicating something interesting. A good... wanna say dozen... of the cows were intended to be charity. Sent to Piratetown.

...RR. I meant Ridge Rock. It's Piratetown on the CB radio.

There's no way Faith or her career at least is gonna survive pointing this out unless she - we - make Erebus' blatant theft go public in a big, big way. And it'll help Piratetown survive stealing them back.

I think Sheriff Stick Up Her Ass is hidebound enough to be a Key to this little Lock. Give her evidence and let her make the biggest bust in Martian history. Given enough protection.

So. What are our options?

Comments

[reallymean]

Was their destination designated by higher-ups on their homeworld, or were the cattle sent by other concerns or private citizens?

[okanetendo]

Charities from Earthside, of course.

Does Erebus strike you as doing anything for free, your Majesty?

[reallymean]

For free? No. But I'd be a terrible ruler if I didn't understand the power publicity, both good and otherwise.

Can you get the names of the concerns that did send the cattle? If there's evidence of the intended diversion, they might be quite interested, both in it and in the resolution of current events - and if they're wealthy enough to send livestock to another planet so early in their people's forays into space travel, they're wealthy enough to cause problems for the de facto rulers of this colony.

[okanetendo]

You wound me. Of course we copied the memos. And signed for them.

And hey, you’re preaching to the choir. You can’t buy good customers, but you can damn sure sell them.

[reallymean]

Good. That's one line of defense for our friends and their cows.

The general public offworld might be another - I suspect Erebus doesn't have half so strong a powerbase on Earth as they do here - though they might be more interested if we could get some footage of the state of affairs in Ridge Rock, and of the abuses committed by Erebus security.

a little later

[okanetendo]

Gelus Vitae's spokewoman is one of ours, right?

[reallymean]

Felicia Wheeler? I don't believe she's a Traveler.