Kirov was his own puzzle wrapped in an enigma, and that caused him no end to frustrations. The LIC and the DMI had both kept extensive files on him, and he was considered by most intelligence officers a brilliant historian and an occasional companion to the Archon. He had spent the last several years teaching at the Nagelring, after having helped the Dragoons establish their military academy. Julian was quite certain that he was a member of the clans, and Whisper had provided a tenuous confirmation of that fact.
His agent had been an unexpected resource when he’d shown up. Ghan, Julian wasn’t quite sure how it was pronounced, seemed to be a model operator for a culture that placed little importance on intelligence gathering. Ghan gave him a brain to pick when it came to figuring out just what the clans might do, and that had actually been a welcome change of pace. Ghan’s assistant...that’s what Julian thought she was, was an entirely different box of problems.
She was sitting on the interrogation table, in a skirt that was far too short swinging her legs like a kid. Something about her just felt...wrong. She was small, barely a meter and a half tall, and weighed next to nothing. Her head was shaped differently, and her eyes were twice the size of his. Her bright blue eyes seemed to be boring into him while she sipped the fizzy drink that one of the maintenance people had found for her.
She’d gotten here because she was doing something that Ghan had caught her doing and the fight between the two of them had escalated quickly. Julian was on his way to the mess hall when he saw the much smaller woman thrown across the cargo bay like a dart. Had the technical crew not been there, he suspected it would have escalated further. Whisper was on the other side of the interrogation room glass, and was feeding him details.
“I’m sorry, we haven’t been formally introduced. I am Julian Sanders of the Lyran Intelligence Corps. You are?”
She tilted her head to the side, batted her big blue eyes and with a smile said “I am Fins.” She added an over exaggerated wink.
"Fins?”
“It is my operational identity while i am travelling amongst the barbarian hordes of the Inner Sphere.” Her accent had changed and she was aping something.
“Oh jesus...ask her if she is from Space Russia.” Whisper asked him softly.
“Space Russian?” He asked slowly.
“Da, you have heard of my people before?”
“I have had experiences with a space Russian before. My suspicion is that she’s a Watch Officer. Given her name, and what i was able to get from Ghan before he went into the isolation cell, i imagine she’s a Diamond Shark.” Whisper said quietly.
“Are you sure you’re a Space Russian? You dialect slips a little.”
“I am very far from home, and have so few people to practice my language with.” She smiled.
“I have heard stories of mysterious humans in the deep periphery.” Julian started.
“Have you?”
“Indeed, though i am afraid i have never heard of anything as simple or as weak as a Diamond Shark.” He said slowly. Let’s see if she takes...Julian’s train of thought was interrupted as the small woman came flying off the desk at him
“Diamond Sharks are not weak! You take that back you Inner Sphere Surat!.” She was raining tiny punches on him. If he hadn’t been caught so offguard by her attack, he might find the situation comical. Whisper was through the door and it took her about a half a minute to drag the Diamond Shark back to the interrogation desk. This time she was shackled to it.
“We’re going to table this discussion, and get back to you soon, Fins.” Julian wiped the fizzy liquid off his jacket.
Later
Ghan was sitting cross legged in the isolation cell when Julian pulled the chair up in front of him.
“I would like to apologize to you, Julian Sanders. I lost my temper and struck another officer without thinking of my actions. I offer my sincere Surkai.”
“Noted, Ghan. What can you tell me about Fins?”
“She was a condition of heading back this way after my last report to my caseworker.”
“Explain?”
“Our peoples are not particularly close, so my superiors and her superiors thought it would be a good learning experience for her to see the Inner Sphere alongside an experienced agent.”
“To what end?”
“Familiarity on two key aspects. Getting used to being around the people of the Inner Sphere, and more practical tradecraft.”
“Is she a spy?”
"She’s a Warrior Merchant who has been assigned to the Watch.”
“That’s your community’s version of a spy agency, aff?”
“Neg, you almost said that correctly, Julian Sanders, you forgot the qui in front of the aff.”
“My apologies.”
“None needed, i am very pleased that you are taking the time to learn our linguistic idiosyncrasies.”
“Explain the Watch to me.”
“Our culture relies on the values of honesty and truthfulness in all aspects of our lives. This does not mean we’re not capable of subterfuge, but we are out of practice at it. Most of our intelligence gathering efforts are focused on taking the information we are given and analyzing it for falsehoods, half truths, and concealment.”
“So you are all analysts?”
“Aff.”
“Where do you get your raw information?”
“Clan Society expects you to answer honestly and truthfully when questioned. We simply ask for the information we desire and then the Watch pores over the data and parses out the truth from the data.”
“How do you handle being lied to?”
“Poorly. The first time it happened to me i was purchasing dinner for a friend.”
“The first time you were lied to?”
“Aff. But i was young and new to the Inner Sphere.”
“We’re veering off topic. What about Fins?”
“As i understand it, she’s a trueborn aerospace pilot who was assigned to the Watch due to anger management issues. She took to the job with glee and spent months studying various representations of how to be a spy in the popular culture of various eras.”
“What?”
“There are a lot of our people who have no idea how to interact with yours. Some of them make poor decisions.”
“Why did you spike her into the bulkhead like a lawn dart?”
“I am not familiar with the lawn dart?”
“What was she doing that triggered your physical attack?”
“Oh, she was attempting to hook up the Hyperpulse Generator to set up a link with the Chatterweb.”
“The Chatterweb?”
“A social media platform that allows communication between various clans and castes in semi real time.”
“Wait, what?”
“I imagine she was attempting to connect with her superiors, relay the progress of her mission, and attempt to find a way to position herself in a way to make herself more useful to you and this mission.”
“How would she do that?”
“DIamond Sharks are merchants, and they are one of most powerful mercantile presences in the homeworlds. Several of their merchant fleets were contracted, along with the Snow Ravens, to provide transportation to and from the homeworlds. Theoretically, with the authorization of her superiors she could offer you anything.”
“What kind of anything?”
“Samples of advanced technology, mercantile contracts, navigation routes, details on clan troop movements.”
“And what would she want in exchange?”
“Something you probably aren’t willing to give up.”
“Why do i attract the weird ones?”
“I suspect the level of mental acuity needed to take a swing at Comstar is sufficient that it would only attract others of similar acuity. That acuity is known to travel in the same constellations as idiosyncrasies and quirkiness.”
“Why are you helping us?”
“Ivan doesn’t trust Comstar. That’s good enough for me.”
Julian nodded as he slid the key into the isolation cell door. “Come on, we need to figure out what to do with Fins.”
“We’re veering off topic. What about Fins?”
“As i understand it, she’s a trueborn aerospace pilot who was assigned to the Watch due to anger management issues. She took to the job with glee and spent months studying various representations of how to be a spy in the popular culture of various eras.”
“What?”
“There are a lot of our people who have no idea how to interact with yours. Some of them make poor decisions.”
“Why did you spike her into the bulkhead like a lawn dart?”
“I am not familiar with the lawn dart?”
“What was she doing that triggered your physical attack?”
“Oh, she was attempting to hook up the Hyperpulse Generator to set up a link with the Chatterweb.”
“The Chatterweb?”
“A social media platform that allows communication between various clans and castes in semi real time.”
“Wait, what?”
“I imagine she was attempting to connect with her superiors, relay the progress of her mission, and attempt to find a way to position herself in a way to make herself more useful to you and this mission.”
“How would she do that?”
“DIamond Sharks are merchants, and they are one of most powerful mercantile presences in the homeworlds. Several of their merchant fleets were contracted, along with the Snow Ravens, to provide transportation to and from the homeworlds. Theoretically, with the authorization of her superiors she could offer you anything.”
“What kind of anything?”
“Samples of advanced technology, mercantile contracts, navigation routes, details on clan troop movements.”
“And what would she want in exchange?”
“Something you probably aren’t willing to give up.”
“Why do i attract the weird ones?”
“I suspect the level of mental acuity needed to take a swing at Comstar is sufficient that it would only attract others of similar acuity. That acuity is known to travel in the same constellations as idiosyncrasies and quirkiness.”
“Why are you helping us?”
“Ivan doesn’t trust Comstar. That’s good enough for me.”
Julian nodded as he slid the key into the isolation cell door. “Come on, we need to figure out what to do with Fins.”
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