9: Breech Of Dawn
by Chaoseternus

Trust is broken and the rules rewritten when traitors are revealed and secrets released.

Chapter 10: Counter Attack

Thompson woke bright and early, eagerly and swiftly dressing and preparing for the day ahead.

Today, he wanted to be early. Today, he wanted to catch the morning news as soon as it was relayed up to Thundersdawn through an illegal tap on the civilian Television satellites.

They may have been breeched, they may have had a lot of their laundry aired, they may have been forced out of their primary command facility by successive damaging reports but today their counterattack should start to become visible.

The reporters who had so eagerly reacted to the information they had been handed on a platter so nicely marked 'suckers!' would find their sources suddenly disappearing, arrested and jailed off world for treason and conspiring with the enemy.

And worse, they would find their reputations in jeopardy.

A slight grin in his eyes, Thompson arrived at his office, smiling as he found Joan Williams waiting for him, her manner nervous.

They may not have planned this counter attack, but they two had Okayed it. If it failed, it would be their heads on the block.

"So" Joan asked, all too innocent and nonchalant, "any ideas about what 'Murielle' was able to find and use?"

Thompson chuckled, not fooled for an instant, "Like me, you will just have to watch and find out"

Thompson pretended not to hear the muttered 'damn' from his subordinate.

Fiddling with the remote, Thompson brought the TFT monitor on, switching rapidly through the news channels, watching anxiously for any mention of 'Murielle's' promised news.

Finally, he found it.

Sky News 24

"…and in other news, scandal rocks the BBC today as several reporters are suspended pending investigation of charges that they conspired to fake reports and create false evidence in several investigations.

This follows an official visit by a committee of reporters including several from Sky News to RAF St Athan and several other supposed 'RSS' facilities in which the reporters were allowed to inspect all areas, including those normally restricted to search fro evidence of a British spaceforce.

No such evidence was found"

Joan chuckled, and then broke down laughing, "Oh that's rich! I knew she wanted to talk to Thor about something but that is rich"

Wiping her eyes, she turned to the Admiral and explained, "What's the betting we get a message from Thor asking if we have finished with the holoprojectors yet?"

Thompson's widened in shock and truth be told, a little awe, "She didn't?"

He shook his head, "She probably did, okay that's half the reporters who have been bugging us tarnished, their reputations pretty much gone, what about the guys who got the Prometheus pictures?"

Joan shook her head, "You didn't hear?"

Thompson's eyebrows rose, "hear what?"

"The NID screwed up on the pics, one of the astronomers who was supposed to have taken the pictures was on telly standing next to the President right when he was supposed to be taking the pictures, a reporter from the American NBC figured it out before we did and started investigating.

They have discredited at least three of the photos so far, several we know are genuine but with doubt being cast, no one but the cranks are going to believe it anymore" Joan smiled, "So long as we don't get anymore breeches, we're clear"

"Unfortunately" Thompson said, bringing the happy mood to a shuddering halt "we haven't contained the breech yet, we have another lot of agents, both NID and Goa'uld to question but we know there are more, both in the RSS and the SGC, we could still be blown wide open"

Joan shrugged, "Gotta happen soon, the amount of money and personnel that is being diverted is starting to become a little obvious even with help from Canada and Australia, the selling of excess materials we've mined, not Naquadah of course, and money from several projects such as the Fade Out Paladin variants and several advanced patents we've licensed.

You've read the report as well as I have, what do they give us, four years maximum?"

Thompson nodded, "four years max, three years most likely then we're blown and everybody will know"

"And then, we'll all be living in interesting times"