The South PacificBoard

Kamla Patelwill sat on the floor surrounded by files.

she had been up in her office for two days sorting and cross referencing the through the information with her assistant Geri. It was explosive.

"Why is the War Measures Act still active: this is just crazy! A massive domestic surveillance program, political opponents and suspected terrorists sent to work Marble mines deep in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, without even a trail. Look at this: apparently we have an archive of every internal government email message sent in Midand for the past year and a half! That lab explosion... I can't believe that was us! We have an off switch for their Alert Broadcast System, why the heck would we even do that: that is to protect civillians? And look at the Techganet piles here: double agents embedded in their military! for years! an all that election meddling, how would we ever explain that??? it's not just the corporate espionage, it's manipulating their people! so many files I still can't phantom it all! Look at this one: The Martigues agents that killed Forb trained with in our special forces, Nova Montron's rocket designs, a campaign to whip up anti-Techolandia sentiment in Deumontiverland, propping up the government support on social media in Hanguk-Nippon. Why didn't I tell Lina I wanted the Education Portfolio... my job is going to be a nightmare! I think I'm going to throw up, Geri. Bring me something quick"

"Yes, Minister" Geri rushes over with a waste basket while the Minister of External Affairs vomits again.

Kamla sat up, wiping the vomit off her lips with the Hanguk-Nippon Emperor's phone records. "If any of this gets out to the media or our allies, well I can't see the government surviving, everything is going to fall apart Geri!"

"I had to pull information from so many departments, I don't think anyone had ever pulled it all together like this. But no one knows about it Minister, just you and I, we don't need to... "

"Oh my goodness Geri! You can't be saying what I think you are saying?? We have to tell the people and let the chips fall where they may. That will be the least of our problems: Our allies are going to lose their minds!. I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! What a time for Lina to be sick. Can you check on her while I am in Marambio and Esperanza this week? I admitted her in Faraday, but they moved her to the military hospital at Orcadas. They keep telling me she's in recovery, but they won't let me talk to her. Will you go there while I'm out of town?"

"Of course Minister, I know how to dazzle those military types with bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. I'll get in the room with her privately and ask her about this."

"No Geri, her signatures on everything! She had to have known what was going on... just let me know how she is, something this sensitive has to come from me."

"Yes, Minister"

"And I need to bring this up with cabinet as soon as we are back in Rothera on Friday. I can only hope that this tomorrow's meetings with Menwen make this trip worth it. I think I should tell her before this leaks, she has to know that this was definitely not government policy - although I still have no idea something of this scale could be going on without anyone outside the Prime Minister's Office finding out. I will have to catch Alan after this morning wreath laying and see if he can start digging into this so we can come up with a plan on how we're going to deal with this. He is the Minister of the Interior, how Hovland could have pulled this off right under his nose... I know he'll be as mortified as I am. Can you arrange for him and I to have some time to talk before I have to catch the flight to Marambio?"

"Yes, Minister"