It was a mere coincidence that the successor of LC/M Lodos was also stolen. It was also a coincidence that the masterminds of the theft were the same people. But perhaps the most fascinating coincidence was the fact that Lodos was being stolen by the people in her command, for a second time.
The difference was, unlike the last time, it was extremely silent and almost completely unnoticed. Sirens didn't go off, observatories and the Naval Command didn't go crazy, people didn't watch a heavy warship in horror, departing the station completely out of schedule.
Lodos undocked without notice, slipped out of it's allocated port and engaged it's stealth system as it ventured off into the endless void. And now, even I didn't have a clue where it was...
The most troublesome part was the first part of it's flight. Despite having it's stealth system activated, it's propulsion systems still had to push out some matter outside in order to generate thrust, which could be detected (although not too easily). In order to help the ship run away, I had assigned a non-stealth civilian ship to accompany Lodos until it was well out of the risk zone. After a certain point, the civilian ship would break formation and go somewhere else. At large ranges, the emissions from Lodos' engines would very easily be mistaken for a random instrument fluctuation which only appeared at highest precision settings.
It would be a while until I heard anything from Mei, so I let go of my useless worries.
"Talossa..." I said to myself. "It might be the right time to review our agreement again. Though I have to say... They are right about a few things. This whole Federation business hit our relationship badly."
I looked outside.
"But, for now, maybe I should just go to sleep. I can think with a clear mind tomorrow morning."
Just when I was preparing to tidy up my office, my secretary barged in.
"Mr. President! Mr. President!"
"Here, I'm here, calm down." I said. "No need to shout, it is just you and-"
"Mr. President, a disaster!"
"What happened?" I asked, still trying to stay calm. My secretary, however, was looking like he had seen a ghost in the hallways.
"The Talossans!" he said.
"What happened to them?"
"Nothing. But... but they-"
"What did they do?"
"They've done it again!" he yelled. "Messed up the whole festival! That's how the Federation will remember our Martian culture now!"
"Stop overreacting." I said.
"Feds are furious!" he said, waving his arms around like crazy. "They won't be able to trust us! Our privileges will be ripped ap-"
"Enough." I said, stopping him with my hand. "Go take a bath, maybe make yourself some coffee. I will handle it."
He looked at me sadly as I left the office. But my destination had changed, I was going to find Nuan.
"Talossa, Talossa!.." I angrily murmured. "What is your problem?"
It didn't took me long to get to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I would usually call the ministers to my own office for business, but this time, I really wanted to get out of there and try to relax a bit on the way, watching some Martian scenery. Unfortunately, I really couldn't.
I had not notified anyone of my visit. I just walked in and knocked on Nuan's door.
"You may come in."
And I did.
"Kagan? What a surprise." she said. There was no cheerful 'Mr. President!' in her sentence, and her voice was not as lively as usual.
"Surprise, eh? Wish I could come here for something other than either the Federation or Alliance, or something like that."
"You are always welcome to do so." she said.
"No, I am not." I said. "No, I am not. Unfortunately, the nation -and therefore I- always have some problem or another. If someone in my position slacks off and goes around sightseeing, what would the others think?"
"It is not human to be like so." she said. "People need to see that we are just one of them, that's a better image for a democracy. You are not a god-king, you don't need to try to look like one."
That was some interesting point of view, and a good insight at a very unexpected time and situation. It made me forget my immediate concerns for a while.
"Sit down." said Nuan. I sat down on one of the armchairs in front of her desk. She got up and sat across me.
"I assume you know about the news." I said.
"I know." she said. She was unusually calm about the situation.
"So?"
"So what?" she replied.
"Aren't you planning something?" I asked.
"Why don't you discuss this with your Mr. Internal Matters?"
"You know the Foreign Affairs takes care of Talossa, even if it is an autonomous region." I said.
"Yes, I never quite got that." she said. "Why do we?"
"It is... just the way Republic flirts with Talossa. We are giving them a better sense of independence that way, and they like it."
"Maybe that was our mistake." she said.
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe it is time to tighten our rule, instead of giving them more room to stretch their authorities. It will also please the Feds."
"I don't care about the Feds." I said. "But there is something going on at Talossa, something worrying."
"Yes, I can see that pretty well." she said.
"So why are we not doing anything, Nuan?!" I got up and shouted at her. She didn't even flinch.
"Sit. Down." she said with a displeased face, pointing at the armchair behind me. I got embarrassed, and went back to my armchair. Her displeased expression disappeared shortly.
"You are stressing too much. If you are to continue doing this for four more years, you won't live for long." she said.
"But- but-"
"No 'but'." she said and sighed. "I know what we will do."
"Will we arrange a meeting with the governor?" I asked.
"No." she answered. "I will now get us both a cup of tea, and you will just relax."