Alone in the commander's quarters aboard Lodos, Mei and I were finalizing the plans for her special mission.
"So, to recap..." she said. "I take a shuttle to the surface, and use one dose of antidote when I'm just about to arrive. Then I land, go right through the security checkpoint, enter the council room, release the substance towards the end of the meeting, and get back the same way I came from. Is that it?"
"Yes." I said. "Simple enough, right?"
"It is not a problem of complexity I'm worried about." she said. "How do I release the substance secretly, in front of 7 councillors and 2 or more guards, all of which will be watching me?"
"It is engineered to be transparent and mostly odorless." I said. "Hide it in your clothing, wherever you think is most suitable."
"And the security checkpoint? Will they not detect it?"
"They will not." I said. "If someone tries to forcefully make a detailed scan, remember you are an admiral of the Confederation. You can order soldiers around."
"Okay, I get it." she said. "Just one more problem, though."
I sighed. "What is it?"
"What do I say to The Council? What reason will I provide to ask for a meeting?"
"You are a smart girl, you can figure that one out yourself." I said. "Just make sure it is long or important enough to have all councillors in the room. Especially that Kukulkan guy."
"Alright..." she said. "Where is the substance?"
"I asked Yamamari to get it from the medical bay. He should report back in a moment."
"How many people know about this plan?" she asked.
"Just the three of us." I answered. "You, me, and the friendly professor."
The door to my quarters were knocked.
"Who is it?"
"Delivery."
"Come in."
Professor Yamamari stepped into the quarters and locked the door.
"Professor, did you bring the- ah."
He took a small tube from his pocket to show us.
"There it is." he said. "No need to thank me."
"Thanks a lot." I said, taking the tube from him.
"Try not to drop it." the professor warned me. "And here are... three doses, three hypodermic needles, one syringe."
"I need to carry all of these around and not get caught?" asked Mei.
"You won't." I said. "Even if you do, you are a navy top-ranker. Just make up some medical conditions. The guards won't dare holding you back if you play your cards right."
"This sounds all good but... what if I can't play my cards right, or The Council somehow figures that something odd is going on? They are almost as smart as us, you know..." Mei said.
"Well, in that case, just get the hell out of there." I said. "If that happens, we will have to use a more conventional method."
"Such as?" asked the professor.
"The classical method of dropping marines on precise locations for some explosive action." I said.
"If we murder a civilian government, the people can turn against us." said the professor.
"Not even the best propaganda can justify The Council's actions." I said. "Besides, we don't have to murder anyone; I'm sure they would be fine with getting arrested."
"I'm not sure..." said the professor.
"Once we promise democracy and the abolition of inhumane practices such as labor camps, no one will-"
"I thought we needed those labor camps to get things done." said the professor.
I went silent.
"We do, don't we?" the professor asked.
"Look." I said. "We let The Council continue what they are doing only as long as they were being helpful to us. Now, they are just a threat. This is not a political debate, this is about the future of humanity. What good do you think will happen if these people are 'led to salvation' by those self-claimed prophets?"
It was the professor's turn to go silent.
"Mei." I said. "Forget about our small discussion here, I want you to fully focus on the mission. Don't think on whether this is the right thing to do or not, because you know it is. If we don't win, they will. Just perform your tasks and come back."
"Don't worry." she said. "I can do that much."
"Excellent." I said.
"While I'm on the mission, will you-"
"Not this again..." I said. "Don't worry, I promise I won't crash your ship."
"Good." she said. "I'm on my way."
Admiral Mei boarded a shuttle to fly down to the underground city on Makemake. She was accompanied by two of our marines, just in case something went very wrong.
The professor and I went to the bridge and watched her shuttle on our sensors for a while. Only a few moments later, we got a communications request from The Council.
"Maybe they figured out that we figured things out." said the professor.
"Let's see." I said. "The Core Council is now speaking to the president."
"Mr. President, we have just learned that a terrible incident has occurred at the space station. We are deeply sorry about it, and we send our condolences to all that lost their lives. But also, we are glad that you and your crew are safe."
I decided to play along for a while. This way, perhaps I could make Mei's actions less suspicious.
"Thank you a lot, councillors." I said. "I deeply regret what we had to do to stop the attack."
"The attack..." said The Council. "It might not be the right word to use, at least right now. We know that the station crew took all the responsibility for the incident, however, we also know that you acc... I mean, you think the station crew has caused the incident on purpose."
"You don't cause incidents on purpose, sir." I said. "That would be a deliberate attempt."
"Either way..." said The Council. "We are also aware that your marines have... taken over the station, following the incident. We would like to request you to refrain from actions that could cause misunderstandings between our two friendly and cooperating states."
"I also wish this friendship and cooperation to last an eternity." I said. "Our actions about the station has been fueled by panic, but we can come to an understanding. Actually, Admiral Mei was just about to arrive there, in order to discuss the investigation process. Please take this official visit as a sign of our willingness to cooperate and remain friendly, despite everything we went through."
"We are glad you think that way." said The Council. "We will ensure that Miss Admiral gets a warm welcome. But for now, let us get ready for the meeting."
"Have a nice day." I said, then turned to the professor. "Tell Admiral Mei that we've already figured out the main subject for her meeting."