“You’re presuming I can do that.”
“Maitre…I know you can do that.” I tried to keep my tone humorous and light.
She did laugh.
“We need to find Valeun, but I need to gather some materials.”
“I’ll have a coach waiting in a quint,” she said.
“I won’t be that long.”
She just nodded, then headed through the doors and upstairs to her study.
True to his word, Schorzat had gathered everything I’d requested, and I slipped all the documents into a leather folder.
“Might I ask where you’re headed?” Kahlasa asked, with a smile that bordered on impish.
“To visit-or attempt to visit-the Sea-Marshal in the Naval Command. I’m trusting that he’ll see reason. If not, he will anyway.”
Kahlasa nodded. Schorzat barely managed to keep from looking appalled.
I walked out swiftly.
Once we were in the Maitre’s coach and headed toward the Naval Command, Maitre Dyana turned and fixed her eyes on me. “What you have isn’t complete.”
“It doesn’t matter, not if Valeun wants to remain Sea-Marshal.”
“Do you intend to force change on Solidar?”
“No more than the pressures of change and time would have anyway. Seliora pointed out to me that she and her family already have the kind of card-directed lathes that will provide better and less expensive furniture than can the average cabinet-maker. The Ferrans are applying those techniques to everything, warfare as well. There’s no way that they could have built all those new land-cruisers without a similar approach. That’s what Glendyl was going to do with the turbines, and what Suyrien was trying to do with the fast frigates and battlecruisers.” I snorted. “All I’m trying to do is buy Solidar enough time so that we have a chance to make those changes. Suyrien understood the need. He wouldn’t have slipped in those reforms if he hadn’t.”
“Do you think his son is that wise?”
“No. But Frydryk isn’t a Councilor. Nor is he stupid. He’ll do what he must to retain what he has. All we have to do is to point out what that is.”
“You’ll have to do that. He’s more likely to listen to you.”
“That’s fine. The Council is more likely to listen to you.”
“More likely? Perhaps. They will listen to me because none of them will wish to deal with you any sooner than they have to.”
I didn’t argue. I was afraid matters would get to that point far sooner than I would have liked.
The building holding the Naval Command was a two-story, yellow-brick structure with gray granite cornerstones and window casements. It looked even higher than two levels. The covered coach portico was also of brick and granite. The two sailors in dress blues who stood guard did not blink an eye when we left the Maitre’s coach and went through the heavily varnished golden oak doors whose brasswork was polished so brightly that it outshone gold.
The senior ranker seated behind the desk at the main foyer to the Naval Command building glanced from Maitre Dyana to me and then back to me.
“This is Maitre Dyana. She’s the Maitre of the Collegium Imago. I’m Maitre Rhennthyl. I’m certain that Sea-Marshal Valeun will wish to see us.” I projected a sense that his life wouldn’t be worth much if he didn’t convey our presence to Sea-Marshal Valeun.
“Yes, sirs. I’ll have to let Commander Daecyn know, sirs.” He tugged on something, most likely a bell-pull.
We only waited a few moments before a Commander strode across the foyer. He was slight of build, ramrod straight, and bore an indifferent expression-until he was close enough to recognize the imager grays. Then, he assumed an solicitous expression.
“This is rather unexpected…”
“This is Maitre Dyana, the head of the Collegium. We have urgent news for the Sea-Marshal,” I said politely.
“I could convey that…” His words died away as he took in the expression on Maitre Dyana’s face.
I didn’t even have to project anything.
“I’ll need to escort you to his study. If you would accompany me…”
“Of course,” said Dyana.
We followed the Commander through the archway at the rear of the foyer, then up a set of marble steps almost as wide as those in the Council Chateau, and then to the double doors at the rear of the building, doors flanked by the Solidaran flag on the right and the Naval ensign on the left. He opened the doors, holding them for us.
The senior ranker at the desk stood immediately. “Sir, Maitres.”
“I’d like to tell the Marshal that the Maitres are here,” offered the Commander.
“Yes, sir.”
The Commander eased through the single oak door, closing it behind him. He reappeared shortly, looking slightly relieved, and held the door open. “Maitre Dyana…Maitre Rhennthyl.”
“Thank you,” Dyana said as she passed.
I also thanked him, and the door closed behind us.
The study of Sea-Marshal Valeun was a good ten yards by six, dominated by an enormous desk, with five chairs facing it. The wall to the right was essentially a small cartographic library, with a center rack on which was displayed a large map of Ferrum. The left wall consisted of bookcases, in the middle of which was a door that doubtless led to an adjoining conference room.
Valeun stood behind the desk, a man of middling height in dark dress blues, with the silver braid and insignia of a very senior Marshal. His blond-and-silver hair was cut short, and he was clean-shaven. He made no effort to step forward. “Maitre Dyana, Maitre Rhennthyl…I understand you are insistent on seeing me.”
“It is rather necessary,” said Dyana.
“Since you are accompanied by Maitre Rhennthyl, I would like to wait until I can summon Marshal Geuffryt,” Valeun said pleasantly.
“No…you really don’t,” I said, projecting absolute authority and power. “Not if you wish matters to go in your best interests. If you really wish to include him, it might be far better to hear what we have to say…first.”
Valeun glanced to Maitre Dyana. Her smile was pleasant, but her eyes were as hard and as cold as frozen granite. The Sea-Marshal smiled politely, but hardly warmly. “Then perhaps we should be seated, and you can convey what you have in mind.” He followed his own advice and seated himself in the large leather chair behind the desk.
“We thought we should be the ones to inform you of several matters.” After seating herself, Dyana nodded to me.
“First,” I began, “it appears likely that any swift action on the part of the Council in dealing with fleet modernization and the building of faster and more capable warships has been dealt a severe setback.”
“How so? I was not aware that any action was even being considered, given the current mood of the Council.” Valeun’s tone was close to smug.
I smiled. I shouldn’t have enjoyed what was coming, but I’d never cared for the politely superior attitude of those in positions of power and command. “Ferran saboteurs destroyed a good portion of Councilor Glendyl’s engine works this past weekend. The turbine facilities were totally annihilated.”
“You did nothing, Maitre Rhennthyl?”
“Oh…when it became apparent that such an attack was likely, I attempted to bring the matter up with the Councilor. That did not work out well, because he was shot just as we began to talk…as you may recall. So I traveled to Ferravyl myself, and as soon as I appeared, the saboteurs set off the charges they had already placed. They had not completed their work, and the locomotive works escaped major damage, as did a few other structures. The remaining structures did have partial explosives in place.” I paused. “That brings up several rather pointed questions. First, exactly how did all these saboteurs happen to reach Solidar? Second, why was the Naval Command unaware of just how many there were? Third, how did they manage to come up with Naval Command explosives? Did I mention that the undetonated explosives bore Navy markings?”
At my last words, Valeun stiffened. “That’s preposterous.”
“Is it? I had a meeting with one of your more junior subordinates several weeks ago, and he confirmed that several tonnes of Poudre B could not be accounted for. But that also brings up yet another matter.”