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“I am telling you, that woman is dangerous!”
“Come now, Terrik? How can you be so certain of this?”
Admiral Tirkan arose from his chair and began to pace. “Have you not seen how she has risen through the ranks at a pace unlike any others? Have you not noticed that more than once a superior died in her presence and she took his place?”
“Coincidence,” said Admiral Jorvan.
“I am not so sure,” interceded Admiral Vail. “It is a good point that she has been in a position to substitute one who died a couple of times now. That does seem a bit too...convenient.”
Admiral Jorvam blew out his lips. “Come now, Lira. That’s absurd. Her record is exemplary.”
“And what about the question of her parentage? Why are those records so spotty?” questioned Tirkan.
Jorvam shook his head. “You are grasping at straws, Terrik. She is from a smaller village. You know how poor record-keeping is in the outlying lands. There is no reason for you to be so suspicious of her.”
“She is insubordinate,” stated Admiral Tirkan.
“That’s enough, Terrik,” broke in Admiral Margrave. He had been observing the argument as soon as Knight’s name had come up, and he had allowed it to happen a while, to see where it might go. “You may take your seat, Admiral. Our discussion is not complete yet.”
Tirkan looked as though he would argue further. He looked to Vail, who responded with a barely perceptible shrug of her shoulders, then took his seat again without another word.
“Now then, as I was saying...our reports have shown that Commodore Knight’s small fleet has been wreaking havoc with Cromah Naval operations.”
“Against my orders,” interjected Admiral Tirkan once more.
“Not now, Terrik,” warned Admiral Jorvan calmly. “Let Kessler make his point before you interrupt again.”
“Thank you, Halm,” stated Admiral Margrave before continuing. “As I said, the Knight Fleet is sewing a lot of confusion among the Cromah forces, and she has effectively cut off their Ealantic supply lines.”
“We had them almost non-functional before she disobeyed my -”
“Terrik!” interrupted Margrave crossly. The admiral could not have missed the look on his superior’s face and stopped.
“As I was saying,” continued Admiral Margrave after a moment, “the Cromah are at a major disadvantage, and I believe we need to change the whole of our Ealantic tactics and take advantage of this.”
“But Admiral,” started Tirkan, “we are not prepared for the kinds of losses we might take if we engage them further.”
“While our shipbuilding efforts on the Wesific coast are progressing nicely, we have not moved so fast with expanding our Ealantic forces,” contributed Admiral Vail.
“So we’ve noticed,” stated Admiral Jorvan. “And why, exactly, has the process moved so slowly?”
“You know full well that most of the necessary craftsmen on this side of the continent have been engaged for the Army,” remarked Admiral Vail with contempt. “It is a manpower issue.”
“So you keep telling us,” finished Admiral Jorvan.
“I do not want to risk losing the status quo we already have,” continued Admiral Tirkan. “Acting Commodore Knight has made a serious nuisance of herself and continues to put the rest of our forces at risk.”
“Admiral, correct me if I am wrong...but do we not have these forces to take such risks?” queried Admiral Olang softly.
“And just what have your forces done to cut off the Cromah supply lines of the Wesific, Madden? Your strategy is not so different from mine.”
“Not true,” replied Admiral Olang. Margrave was impressed; Olang rarely spoke up, which had nothing to do with his competence. “It is a well-known fact that the Cromah Wesific Navy is about four times the size of their Ealantic fleets. Ever since we captured the Validian Islands, they have put most of their expenditures into expanding their Wesific fleets. Our threat is far closer to their eastern coast than to their western lands.”
“It’s important, too, to note that the Validian Islands have not been overrun during this conflict since we took them, either,” remarked Admiral Jorvan.
“We’ve turned them to a fortress,” remarked Tirkan. “No fool would dare attack such fortifications.”
“Be that as it may,” interrupted Admiral Margrave, “I want the rest of the Ealantic Commodores to take up similar hit-and-run tactics to those of Commodore Knight.”
“Acting-Commodore,” said Tirkan. “Sir, this is simply not advisable.”
“How can you make such a statement given Commodore Knight’s continued success?” queried Admiral Jorvan.
“The actions of Knight and the ships at her command are akin to throwing stones at a hornet’s nest,” stated Tirkan. “We had things perfectly well under control before these actions were undertaken. The situation on the Ealantic will turn dangerous, and we will not be able to contend with that thanks to these changed tactics.”
“What is going through your head, Terrik?” questioned Jorvan. “Have you lost your fighting will?”
“We hold our forces and continue to grow them, and we will be ready to overtake them when the time is right,” remarked Admiral Vail defensively. “There have been no real losses of our Ealantic forces in quite some time. Terrik is simply protecting what we have, Halm.”
“By allowing the Cromah to believe they can have sea superiority?”
“The rogue commodore is going to be the death of us all,” stated Admiral Tirkan with obvious frustration.
“Rogue?” questioned Admiral Margrave. “Whatever do you mean?
“She has disobeyed my orders when she was assigned as part of Commodore Rustic’s fleet.”
“And just what were those orders, Admiral?” questioned Margrave.
“She was to follow his lead and become a part of his operations. That is obviously not how it has gone. She must have taken those other craft and gone rogue. She was to remain a part of his forces, not to take on the title of ‘Commodore’ and command over a fleet of any size at all.”
His voice getting stronger, Admiral Tirkan continued, “Since we are getting reports on this from Rustic, I assume she has placed him under her spell in some way. This is just what I have been talking about. Aria Knight is dangerous, conniving, and will stop at nothing-”
“That’s quite enough,” interrupted Admiral Margrave with finality. “Now I think we can all see something here is amiss.”
Tirkan was caught short and froze. He looked to Vail, who did not look away from the surface of the table before her.
“Commodore Rustic took his orders directly from me,” said Admiral Margrave. “And I wanted to see what we could bring up from you over this.”
“Sir?”
“I think this ruse has gone on long enough,” stated a voice from the edge of the room. All around the table turned.
Admiral Margrave had known he was there.
Emperor Edvin Huscarn walked towards his navy’s high command staff. He looked as regal as ever in his robes. “Terrick Tirkan, for nearly a year now, you have found excuse after excuse to avoid engaging the Cromah Navy on the Ealantic. At first, your reasoning was sound. But our recent victories had given question to that.”
“Your Majesty,” remarked Tirkan, arising from his seat as did the others. All bowed, Tirkan remaining deeply bent at the waist a moment longer. “With all due respect, it is with the best interests of your sailors that I choose my tactics.”
“Which we have believed,” remarked the emperor. “But then this young captain begins to make waves and shows that we can do more. And yet you distrust her and continue to preach patience. You maintain that our forces are too valuable to be risked. But we see that the Cromah are being beaten. Thus far, it is more apparent that the Cromah are less strong than you would have us believe.”
Tirkan opened his mouth to speak, but the emperor held up a hand, and he was silenced.
Emperor Huscarn turned his gaze toward Admiral Vail. “Lira...how much coin has been devoted to improving the size of my Ealantic fleets?”
Admiral Vail faltered. “Th...there’s been...n...n...numerous funds allocated, Your m...Majesty. And yet...”
“And yet how many ships have joined my fleets off my eastern coasts?”
Admiral Vail swallowed hard. “F...four.”
“Four,” repeated the emperor softly. “How many months of funds have produced four vessels?”
Admiral Vail looked like she would speak, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came.
The emperor turned again to Admiral Tirkan. “And these four ships, Admiral. What class are they?”
“Corvettes, my liege.”
“The smallest craft on our seas,” stated Emperor Huscarn. He turned to Admiral Olang. “Admiral, how fast are corvettes normally produced for the Wesific fleet?”
“Two to three months, Your Majesty,” answered Admiral Olang without hesitation.
“And how many can be produced in that time?”
“Eight or so, Your Majesty.”
“Eight corvettes in two to three months,” repeated the emperor. “Admiral Jorvan, just how great a divide in our operations is there between the fleets?”
“My liege, our Wesific Naval forces outnumber our Ealantic fleets by a nearly three-to-one margin. The capabilities of our construction efforts on either coast reflect this, Your Majesty.”
“Is it fair to say, then, that we should have seen far more craft from our Ealantic efforts than four?”
“It would appear so, Your Majesty,” responded Admiral Jorvan.
The emperor stood a few inches before Admiral Vail. “Lira Vail?”
Admiral Vail looked up at the emperor, and her eyes welled up with tears. She hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. S...so very sorry.”
Soldiers appeared from the same side of the room as the emperor, and soon, they were flanking him. They took ahold of Admiral Vail as well as Admiral Tirkan.
“What’s the meaning of this?” questioned Tirkan, though his voice sounded far from certain.
“We are not surprised you would play the innocent, Terrik Tirkan,” remarked the emperor. “We are well aware Lira Vail has not acted alone.”
“This...this is an outrage!” barked Tirkan.
Admiral Margrave pointed an accusing finger at Admiral Tirkan. “Terrik, don’t play the innocent now. We’ve kept a close eye on you both these last few months, and you finally gave yourself away. It is over. Your embezzlement of Ealantic Naval funds is finished.”
Tirkan opened his mouth to speak, but the emperor turned his gaze towards the admiral.
“Terrik Tirkan, we are deeply disappointed. Our empire expands through conquest, not through actions such as yours. We do not know which is worse, your cowardice...or your treasonous behavior.”
“Guardians,” the emperor commanded. “Take them away.”
“No, wait! Aria Knight...my liege, Kessler, Halm...Don’t let her fool you! Her ambition knows no bounds! Stop! You must -” But he was removed from the room before anything more was heard.
“Admiral Margrave,” began the emperor. “Our High Command is now devoid of necessary officers. See to this immediately.”
“Of course, my liege.”
“While we are here...tell us more about this Commodore Aria Knight.”