(no subject)

[gabriel_tam]

It's evening, and Gabriel is sitting at the desk in his home office, studying the image that's paused on the Cortex terminal before him. A terrified young woman, desperately determined to spread the word of a disaster.

""I won't live to report this. People have to know."

It's a message that's been seen all over the system. The Miranda Plan is the topic on everyone's tongue, from Core to Rim, at business meetings and parties and even heard on the street.

"We meant it for the best. To make people safer."

Trust in the Alliance government hasn't been so shaken since the war. Parliament is scrambling to find balance in the wake of the constant newsfeeds and analysis. So far they're failing.

Gabriel Tam looks down at the letter in his hand. It's never very far from him these days-- a missive from one Kaywinnit Lee Frye, engineer for Bentley Aeronautics, expressing polite appreciation for their chance encounter not all that long ago.

It's the coded part that means more to him, however. River, simply and sweetly saying, "I love you. Watch your back." Simon, in his turn: "Encrypt anything else you send through Crowley, and do it well. We're not out of danger yet."

His children are not safe yet-- and if the news is to be believed, the entire universe is at risk from those in control. Gabriel believes it. In fact, he has rather a great deal of reason to believe that it's so, along with personal experience-- and more than that, he has faith. And perhaps, just perhaps, he now has one more thing.

A chance to take action, in a way that none of the rest of them can.

"What matters, I suppose, is what you do next."

Gabriel looks thoughtfully at the letter once more, then puts it away and clears the image from the terminal. He codes in a contact sequence, then activates it.

Comments

[aj_crawley]

Andronicus Ji Crowley has been busy.

The discoveries concerning Miranda were a blow to Alliance stability, a powerful one. And the aftermath is sending subtle hairline cracks all the way from the top of society to the bottom. Those in denial will tell one otherwise, of course - grown fat and complacent in the Alliance's playpen - but they're there. Just have to know how to watch out for them.

History repeats itself, after all.

That's why they call them 'revolutions'.

Bentley Aeronautics isn't just a company, anymore. Its CEO has always taken great care in having feelers and fingers everywhere you care to look; when one really stops to think about it, Bentley Aeronautics is an Entity.

And those feelers and fingers, right along the spiderwebbing fracture-lines, are coming in useful. There's a change a-comin', as they say, and Andronicus Crowley can smell it coming, in the rippling tides of gossip on the streets and the slim columns of numbers in the folder on his lap.

A holiday, he'd said to Kaylee, but no. Not quite yet.

Oh yes, he's been busy.

And when the Cortex terminal in his living-room wall starts beeping unobtrusively, he grins.





"Nĭ hăo, Mr. Tam."

[gabriel_tam]

"Nĭ hăo, Mr. Crowley," comes the response. The formalities must be observed, perhaps now more than ever.

Gabriel leans back in his chair and smiles cordially at the screen.

"I trust that you -- and your associates -- are well?"

[aj_crawley]

"Oh, yes, yes."

He studies a button on the sleeve of his jacket as he speaks, then polishes it idly on the opposite cuff.

"A little... rattled by the current headlines, but then, aren't we all?"

Perhaps, just barely visible over the top of Crowley's sunglasses as he raises his head, a flicker of one eyelid. Perhaps.

"And yourself?"

[gabriel_tam]

"Certainly," he agrees. "It's very disturbing-- I'm sure you've been monitoring the same newsfeeds and financial reports that I've seen."

"There are those, of course, who seem to think that it's all part of the zì rán guī lǜ, the accepted way of things, and that matters will settle out soon enough."

A delicate, precisely considered pause.

"And then there are those who are calling for change."

[aj_crawley]

"Well, settle out they well might."


No 'but'... but no 'after all', either. Crowley smiles like a snake.


"Nothing lasts forever."

[gabriel_tam]

"Tell that to Parliament." It's a cool rejoinder, but Gabriel's answering smile is sharp.

It's the look of a man who sees a challenge ahead of him, or perhaps a battle -- and who thrives on it.

"Several of its current members seem entirely too complacent about matters."

[aj_crawley]

"Oh, absolutely," he agrees, lightly. "But - and I'm sure you'll agree - incidents like this have a way of bringing out the, ah, fight in people."

[gabriel_tam]

"Without a doubt. Some might even say it's invigorating, after a fashion."

Gabriel studies his hands for a moment, then looks casually back at the screen.

"I admit I've found myself keenly interested in the possibilities."

[aj_crawley]

"Dāngrán, naturally," he concedes, with a nod of his head. "Nobody can deny - or leastways, not those of us who keep our ears closer to dirt-level - that the opportunity is there for something... entirely unexpected to appear from the wings, as it were."

He takes off his sunglasses now, not bothering with the illusion of anything besides penetrating gold, as he taps an earpiece deliberately against his chin.

"The question really is, Mr. Tam, whether anyone has the clout, or - if you'll excuse my language - the gāo to take it."

[gabriel_tam]

"I've heard worse epithets in company boardrooms, Mr. Crowley."

He sounds almost amused, but he doesn't flinch or hesitate as he meets those golden eyes.

"An interesting question, to be certain. I think you might find that there are those who would be willing to make the move, if certain of support."

A beat, and then he says candidly, "Perhaps even without it, but it would certainly help to smooth the path in such a case."

[aj_crawley]

"Without support? No. Romantic as the idea is, the status quo hasn't been shaken up quite enough to allow a genuine lone wolf to get very far."

An enigmatic little grin, then, as he tucks his sunglasses into his breast pocket.

"The idea, though. That's where the key might be. Show me a man striking out with backing big enough to make a difference, but still small enough to play at Leonidas and his Spartans against the Alliance behemoth... That would grab people's attention. Give them a fighting chance at changing the outcome of Thermopylae."

[gabriel_tam]

Gabriel is an educated man, enough so to catch the reference to one of the most famous battles from ancient times on Earth-that-Was-- and something of its significance, as well.

"Quite a vision, that."

The sharp smile is back.

"Inspiring, I'd think. Wouldn't you?"

[aj_crawley]

A gracious shrug.

"I draw from personal experience. And - " his grin flashes knife-edged and confiding, " - there were no Human Interest stories back then."

[gabriel_tam]

"No, I'd suppose not." Gabriel leans back in his chair, watching Crowley carefully. "Times change."

[aj_crawley]

A lengthy pause - though the thoughtful look on Crowley's face is as much for show as anything else.





"Okay," he says then, simply.

[gabriel_tam]

The flicker of relief on Gabriel Tam's face is very clear.

"Xièxie nĭ." The words are formally said, but the quiet sincerity behind them is evident -- as is the sudden, barely-contained energy about him.

This is something that he can do, and moreover, it's something he's skilled at, something he's been preparing for.

"Plans will have to be made, of course. There's a lot of work to be done."

It's a long road to a seat in Parliament. But it's a start.

[aj_crawley]

"I don't disagree."

But the first steps, at least, might be easier than Gabriel Tam thinks.

Oh yes, Andronicus Crowley has been very busy indeed.

"I'm a bit swept off my feet at the moment, but... if I were to suggest neutral ground for strategising some time in the near future, how would you feel about, say, Southdown Abbey, Persephone?"

He smirks a little, but not without genuine good humour.

"You never did get the guided tour last time, and the orchards are lovely, even this time of year. Very temperate climate."

A holiday, he'd said, after all.

[gabriel_tam]

"As I recall I was a little preoccupied with other matters on my last visit," he answers. Gabriel's tone is utterly dry.

"But as it happens, I believe my schedule would certainly allow for a return trip in fairly short order."

[aj_crawley]

"Well, then."

In the absence of being able to shake Gabriel Tam's hand, Crowley inclines his head.

"It appears we have an accord. Now, numbers're waiting - " he indicates the spread of papers and folders behind him, " - but I'll be in contact soon, shǒu lǐng."

[gabriel_tam]

"I look forward to hearing from you." He nods cordially in return, but his smile is warmer than before.

"Wăn ān."

With a deft motion of his hand, the signal is terminated.