Mice And Men at it Again #2
“Please, sir, tell your men to stand down. Lyudmyla is my guest, and loyal to the Emperor. Although not a guardsman, she is still a capable fighter, and could provide much-needed strength for our cause,” Ingvar said in placating tones.
Lyudmyla raised her head. “I wish to fight for the Emperor, and I am not the only servant in the Crystal Palace who feels this way. The Emperor is a shining ruler, a clear path to a glorious future. Selnikov is a squabbling traditionalist who would have us wallow in the past, fighting each other for all time.”
“Fine words. Count Zukov said much the same,” I replied, my hands calmly clasped behind my back as I attempted to maintain a facade of calm control. I did not tell the Yezhidians to stand down.
Lyudmyla snarled. “Do not speak that assassin’s name in my presence. He deserves to be erased from history.”
This seemed more vehement than I was used to from Imperials. They enjoyed the thrill of battle and were dismissive of non-demons, but rarely did they hate their foes. “What did Zukov ever do to you?”
A moment of solemn softness passed across Lyudmyla’s face before she returned to her violent countenance. “He killed Ankhelina.”
I knew that. I was there when it happened.
My confusion must have shown on my face because Ingvar leaned in and stood on his toes to whisper, “Ankhelina was Lyudmyla’s older sister, sir.
She idolized the Champion. To see her slain in such an ignominious fashion is an insult to the Champion’s memory. ”
Understanding, I took a step forwards. Lyudmyla stiffened, but when she saw my offered hand, she met my gaze with a searching intensity, trying to decide if she could trust me.
“Care to help me take revenge on those who spit upon the Champion’s name?” I asked.
Lyudmyla’s fanged mouth broke into a wide grin, and she took my hand, her palm engulfing most of my forearm. “With pleasure.”
Wiktor was a more pleasant encounter. “It’s good to see you, Captain. I thought you might be needing these.”
I took the bundle of folded clothes he handed me. “That’s very thoughtful of you, but I don’t think I have the right to wear a sky captain’s uniform anymore.”
“You have earned that right in my eyes, Captain.” The royal valet’s words nearly brought tears to my eyes. “Besides, you need an outfit smart enough to match your effects.”
“I don’t have any effects. They were confiscated during the coup,” I blurted.
Wiktor gave me a self-satisfied smile. “I know, Captain. That’s why I took the liberty of bringing them to you.” He gestured behind him to Ingvar holding a bundled weapon harness, with my broadsword, dirk, and lancer pistol hanging off it. Gratefully, I took the weapons from the hordling.
“I also brought you these, just in case,” Wiktor said, handing me a pair of double-barreled cavalry pistols.
My eyes brimming with grateful tears, I turned away. “I should wash and dress.”
“Let me help you with that, Captain,” Wiktor said, and we walked to my temporary quarters on board the Yezhidian cruiser.
As Wiktor helped me out of my battered and soiled evening suit, he asked, “How are things looking? Are we confident of success?”
I stripped off my shirt and stepped into the steam shower to clean myself. “To be honest, not at all. I am pleasantly surprised at how many supporters we’ve managed to assemble, but even so, our numbers are upsettingly small.”
“If you feel our chances are so slim, then why bother, Captain?” Wiktor said as he laid out my new outfit.
I finished up in the shower and let the vents blow me dry. “Just because something is nearly impossible does not mean it is not worth attempting, Wiktor.”
“Very good show, Captain,” Wiktor replied, ready with powder and perfume as soon as I stepped from the shower booth. As I donned my shirt and tight riding breeches, Wiktor said, “In that case, might I recommend bringing Colonel Boleslaw into our confidence?”
I paused, halfway into my waistcoat. “Boleslaw? Are you sure that’s wise?”
“I am, sir. Boleslaw commands most of the Commonwealth’s military assets on this planet.
The other generals are here as diplomats.
Boleslaw is the ranking officer in charge of operations.
She can deliver the Royal Guards to us. Boleslaw may seem like the prince’s stooge, but she is fully dedicated to the good of the Commonwealth, and holds you in high regard.
” Wiktor held out my tunic, and I spun to let him help me shrug into it.
“Does she?” I asked dubiously as Wiktor settled the tunic about my shoulders. It was a perfect fit.
“Oh yes, sir. She’s argued your case before the Duke of Lynwyzc many a time. She supported your seduction of the Emperor, called it the ‘intelligence coup of the war.’ Her only regret was you were not a trained operative.”
I did up my tunic buttons. “And you would know this, how, exactly?”
Wiktor helped me to wrap my officer’s sash about my waist. “Colonel Boleslaw is my commanding officer on station, Captain. I’m your valet, but I take her orders.”
I hadn’t realized Wiktor was a spy. “You are a man of many talents,” I mused as I shrugged into the leather shoulder harness, buckling the waistbelt.
Wiktor started handing me weapons, and I hung them from my belt.
“Well, if you have confidence in her, you might as well go fetch her. It’s not like she can do any worse than betray us. ”
“Very good, sir,” Wiktor said, and bowed his way out.
I stepped into the planning room a few minutes later, refreshed and re-energized.
Our allies were mostly assembled, the smattering of Commonwealth and League officers who we could trust intermingling with the Yezhidian officers.
Lyudmyla’s small cadre of demon servants clustered apart, suspicious of Allies and Yezhidians both.
When I walked in, the conversation paused, and everyone looked at me.
It was as though I were still the Consort – everyone wanted to know what I was doing, even though currently I was the lowest-ranking person in the room.
I gave the room a nod to carry on, and strode to where Archduke Darius and Princess Marie conversed.
“Are we ready to begin?” Marie asked.
I looked around. “Not quite. I’m waiting for one more ally. In the meantime, Princess, may I speak with you? Privately?”
Marie’s eyes flicked to Darius, then back to me. “Of course, Captain. What is it?”
I walked Marie to a corner and turned to her. “It’s about Tilly. I know you and she have bonded lately, and I cannot thank you enough for completing her upgrades. That she even let you perform such extensive, invasive procedures speaks highly of her trust in you.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I had to say next. “What we are about to do is miserably dangerous, and in all honesty, I don’t expect to survive.”
“Don’t say that, Captain. Of course you’ll survive—” Marie began.
I cut her off. “Listen, if the worst should happen, I want you to promise me you’ll take care of Tilly. Take her back to Stelsylvania, keep her safe. She’s a war steed, so she’ll need plenty of exercise. Space to zoom around. If you give her foes to fight, that would help. Just, let her be happy.”
Marie’s face was so downcast, it nearly made me cry, but she nodded.
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, one of the doors opened, and Colonel Boleslaw walked in, followed by Wiktor.
Wiktor gave me an uplifting smile, but Boleslaw looked anything but pleased.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her expression stony as she watched me.
“Here goes nothing.” I stepped forwards, cleared my throat, and spoke.
“We are assembled here due to the events of the past few days. The Imperial coup and subsequent Usurper-Federation alliance have put us all at risk. If we do nothing, we all shall inevitably be destroyed. Perhaps not today, not tomorrow, but eventually, the Empire or the Federation shall look with hungry eyes on our star systems and take them. To those of you from the Empire, you know your Empire will dissolve into a squabbling mess of petty backstabbing lords without the Emperor. To those allied with the Emperor, you have lost your diplomatic standing in a stroke. To those previously allied with the Federation, you have been betrayed. I intend to redress these wrongs and hope you will join me in this attempt.”
“And how do you intend to do that if the Empire and Federation are such bosom friends now?” a Yezhidian officer asked.
“A good question,” I answered. “We must break the Imperial-Federation alignment.”
“At the risk of sounding like a corrupted audio file, how do we do that?” the Yezhidian asked.
Princess Marie stepped forwards, and I moved aside to let her speak.
Raising her head, the princess said, “The Stelsylvanian Secret Service has uncovered incontrovertible proof that the Federation’s so-called intercepted transmission, wherein the Despotess supposedly ordered her forces to detonate a Fall device on New Melbourne, is a fake. ”
Boleslaw broke the silence which followed the princess’s declaration. “And how have you proven this? Royal Military Intelligence has scrutinized those communiques. The transmissions are perfect.”
Marie agreed. “And so they are. The transmissions themselves have no flaw. However, our spies in the Empire have uncovered additional Federation transmissions, in particular, a transmission containing the activation code for the Fall device which destroyed New Melbourne.”
“That’s not terribly incriminating,” Boleslaw began, but then her eyes went wide.
Marie nodded, the two of them sharing some secret realization. “The Federation communique was found on an Imperial commlink, with the proper send and receive codes. The activation codes were intentionally broadcast from a Federation source to an Imperial recipient.”
I jumped in. “Which means we have collusion and conspiracy.”
Darius shook his head. “It’s circumstantial at best—”
“It’s clear evidence the Federation is lying,” I shot back.