4/5 ain't bad, right?
Nov. 21st, 2004 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrWas supposed to write five chapters, but only managed four. I figure that's not *too* bad and if I can make myself write two tomorrow, I'll be back on schedule.
And! Only three days of work this week. Woo hoo! The plan is to eat yummy food and write a fuckload. And maybe call home. Because I should be a good daughter for once and actually do that.
Prepare for spam. Somewhat polished, and I've noticed my flist is none too shy about telling me when I've screwed up so by all means keep it up.
Chapter Seventeen
Planet 00000000 (Zero), Alexander private estate
Pyotr was unsurprised to see no sign of Jade as he was escorted down what was, to Sylvius' mind no doubt, a hallway unknown to Pyotr.
He wasn't that lazy a spy. Perhaps he was mostly just a politician now, but he hadn't climbed this high up the ladder by being lazy. Not too long ago he'd traveled these halls for reconnaissance, for just such an eventuality as this. Perhaps nothing would happen - but in his line of business coincidence was another word for trap.
"Just in here, Pyotr."
Silently Pyotr followed him inside a room lit only by a few candle-lights - small electric lights meant to resemble candles of old in appearance and the soft, orange glow they emanated. Seated around a large, round table were a few familiar faces. The last of the four Lower Chancellor's, the only woman of the four of them, and three leaders of various High Councils - those directly beneath the Lower Chancellors. None of these faces surprised him; he'd fished around them before but had decided in the end - and correctly it seemed - that Sylvius was his best bet.
But one figure did surprise him. A middle-aged woman with graying hair, thin, pinched features, and a tendency to always frown and never smile. She was Master Secretary to the High Chancellor, the man in charge of the four Lower Chancellor's, and one step below the highest man in the government - the Grand Chancellor. If his Master Secretary was here…he too was interested in magics and the Draconis, and that was something Winter had not expected.
Tampering with magics was universally a bad idea for humans. There had always been those who wanted magics capability, but most realized that humans were powerful because they lacked that capability. If the second highest man in government was interested in this strange meeting…
…Pyotr didn't like it. He really wished he better understood what was going on. Well, when in doubt…"So what's going on here?"
The fourth Chancellor, a friendly, boyish looking, red-skinned woman, chuckled warmly at him. "Ah, Petya. Always so direct. But surely it's obvious."
"The only thing obvious is that this is an awful lot of us who are interested in magics."
Laughter around the table, "If you're here, Pyotr, you must agree that we humans are a severe disadvantage for lacking them."
"I wouldn't say that necessarily."
One of the High Council flapped his hand impatiently, "Don't play around. This is not the place for it. I know all too well what it's like to throw non-magics soldiers into battle against magics capable. And isn't that what you're here for, my friend?"
"Yes," Pyotr said slowly. "But is this safe?"
"We're just talking," the female Lower Chancellor said. "Sit down, Petya. And talk."
"As you wish, Raquesha." Pyotr took a seat at the table, folding his hand neatly across the top in front of him. "So what exactly are we talking about?"
"Giving humans magics," Raquesha said.
"That's impossible. And foolish," Pyotr said. "If we have magics, we lose our authority."
"Ah," Sylvius spoke up, "But we don't mean to give humans magics directly."
"So you want to give us magics indirectly? How do you accomplish that?" Pyotr looked around the table, disbelieving.
"Surely you're not that oblivious to all the talks going on? As thorough as you are, Petya?"
Pyotr paused briefly, as if too stunned to immediately speak. "Surely you're not implying the Draconis?"
A gleeful, gloating silence was all the answer he needed.
"So the rumors of illegal experimentation are true then? I had not thought anyone was that foolish."
"But you hoped."
Pyotr nodded, "But I hoped."
"As I implied earlier, Pyotr," Sylvius smiled at him, "This is the key to what you want."
"Indeed."
"It is, I assure you." Sylvius leaned forward in his seat, face alight. "Our scientists have confirmed that we can engineer the Draconis to mate with Devastators -think how much of an advantage that would give us in battle. The Devastators would be unstoppable, even against non-magics."
Again, Pyotr only nodded. "So why am I here today?"
"We wanted to ascertain your interest for ourselves. We hadn't expected the upstanding, hardworking Lord Kavalerov to be interested in something as…possibly damaging as this." Raquesha smiled at him, her looked questioning and inviting.
Pyotr shrugged his wide shoulders, "We all have our weaknesses. I am growing weary of being outmanned by the magics-capable in everything. It's true, what I said before - our power lies in our inability to use magics."
"But it impedes us in everything else," Sylvius finished for him. "Exactly. We've been watching you for some time. Our leader finally decided it was time to take this next step."
"And why is that?"
"Various reasons," Sylvius said. "Though for one, endeavors such as this are not cheap. And we can only play with our funds to a certain degree. The more, the merrier, as they used to say."
"Mmm…" Pyotr narrowed his eyes. "And just who is this leader? I don't like the idea of being lead by an unknown."
"You're actually about to meet him - if you want to come with me? This," Sylvius swept the room with his arm, "Was just an initial meeting. We'll get down to business at a different location, where we can more safely communicate with the research lab."
"Very well," Pyotr said calmly, though inside he was anything but. It all seemed…too easy. What was going on? In silence, he bid his farewells to the gathered officials and followed Sylvius from the room, reaching the end of the long, wide hallway and turning onto a smaller one. Sylvius stopped in front of a door and knocked, paused, then opened it and motioned Pyotr inside.
The door closed quietly behind him, as Pyotr took in the man sitting at a table in the far corner of the room, a light meal spread out and an empty chair waiting. "Jade."
"Oh, don't tell me you're surprised, Pyotr. I would be most disappointed in you."
Pyotr smiled, "Of course I'm not surprised. But I am confounded as to your reasons for all this pomp and circumstance secrecy stuff."
"Ah, but the matter of magics is no small one. Every human born with magics is killed, and those caught tampering with our genetics - or anything else even remotely related to humans and magics - is given not much better a fate. It might be a trifle ridiculous, Pyotr, but I am highly interested in staying alive and powerful."
"I guess it was rather a ridiculous question." Pyotr laughed, still hovering near the door.
Jade motioned him to sit with pink-tipped fingers. "Sit, eat. There is something I want to discuss with you."
"Which would be? I should think by this point I've passed any tests or whatnot."
"Indeed," Jade smiled, an eerie, smug smile. "They're prize idiots, are they not? Kids thinking they've managed to commit some mischief under the noses of their parents." He sipped at a cup of tea, "They think they know everything, when really they know nothing at all."
Pyotr looked amused, "I wondered where your contempt had gone. Good to see it's still there. And why am I exempt from it this time?"
"Because you're at least as devious and ambitious as I, dear Pyotr - you just use different methods."
"I am? How, pray tell, did you come by that belief?"
That eerie smile appeared again, "Why, because you work for Internal Affairs, dear Pyotr."
Only years of practice at remaining calm when surprised kept Pyotr from choking on his own tea. "What in the stars makes you think that?"
"Pyotr, Pyotr," Jade sighed and set his tea aside, fingers reflexively smoothing his dark pink and gold robes. "You are clever, and intelligent, and very good at what you do." He looked up, eyes hard. "But nothing gets by me. I wouldn't be where I am if things got past me. I know you are far more than you appear - far, far more. Like me, you've risen to far too fast to have done it via normal routes. The IG just doesn't work that way. Your questions of late? Your interests? The rest of them might be stupid, but I am not. You have no interest in magics or the Draconis - except to discern what our interest is. The only thing eluding me so far is whom exactly you're working for. But I'm almost perfectly convinced it's the Internal Affairs Office. I can't see you doing something so risky as freelance work."
"Don't think me the good Samaritan, eh Jade?"
"No."
"Then I guess it would have to be IA."
"So I am right?" Jade sat back in his seat, "Excellent. Now of course the conversation becomes tricky."
Pyotr resumed sipping his tea, "Simply lay all your cards on the table. If you worry I'll go running to my superiors, you are mistaken. I…have my own rules, you might say."
"That is what I was hoping to hear. You never struck me as a stupid man."
"Naturally not. I am where I am because I know when to talk, what to say, and to whom I should say it. Not because I play the good little soldier to everyone."
Jade laughed delightedly, "I would be suspicious of such good news - except I've been keeping an eye on you for so long because I suspected just such a thing."
"So what is it you want from me, Jade?"
"Simply this - I don't give a damn about magics and the like. I have my own reasons for all of this, but I'll need help from someone of authority to help me bring them to a finish."
"Go on," Pyotr said.
"Tell me," Jade nibbled at a small bit of a purple-colored fruit. "Did you see anyone interesting at the table?"
"You mean the Master Secretary."
"Precisely. That, my friend, is the first nibble of the fish I want to catch on my hook."
"How am I supposed to help you ensnare the High Chancellor?"
"You're not. That is what Sylvius and his fellow idiots are for. That's what all of this is for. What I need from you is to make sure you will 'catch' them after the HC has finally been drawn in. And that I am left out of the raid."
"Jade…I hardly think you need me for that. Knowing you, you've already made well sure that your role in all of this is untraceable."
"Oh, I have. For the most part." Jade frowned at something only he could see, clearly disturbed by some memory. "But certain events have gone awry of late, and have forced me to take a more active, visible role. You I have invited in to make doubly sure that I am absolved of all of this when it's over."
"Angling to become Grand Chancellor some day?"
Jade grimaced, "Of course not. I have more power as a Lower Chancellor than I do as an officious figurehead. Perhaps High Chancellor, but that is not what this is about."
"Then what is it about?"
"That is my concern," Jade said firmly. "But never fear, dear Pyotr. You will be well compensated for assisting me."
Pyotr nodded, "I had better be. As you said, I don't generally waste my time on freelance stuff. I prefer my time be lucratively spent."
"Naturally," Jade murmured. "It is nice to see an intelligent face among the crowd. Now, let us move on to lighter things. Meals are meant to be enjoyed, and heavy talks prevent that. Afterwards, I will show you in more detail what the others are hoping to achieve."
"Sounds like an excellent plan."
And! Only three days of work this week. Woo hoo! The plan is to eat yummy food and write a fuckload. And maybe call home. Because I should be a good daughter for once and actually do that.
Prepare for spam. Somewhat polished, and I've noticed my flist is none too shy about telling me when I've screwed up so by all means keep it up.
Chapter Seventeen
Planet 00000000 (Zero), Alexander private estate
Pyotr was unsurprised to see no sign of Jade as he was escorted down what was, to Sylvius' mind no doubt, a hallway unknown to Pyotr.
He wasn't that lazy a spy. Perhaps he was mostly just a politician now, but he hadn't climbed this high up the ladder by being lazy. Not too long ago he'd traveled these halls for reconnaissance, for just such an eventuality as this. Perhaps nothing would happen - but in his line of business coincidence was another word for trap.
"Just in here, Pyotr."
Silently Pyotr followed him inside a room lit only by a few candle-lights - small electric lights meant to resemble candles of old in appearance and the soft, orange glow they emanated. Seated around a large, round table were a few familiar faces. The last of the four Lower Chancellor's, the only woman of the four of them, and three leaders of various High Councils - those directly beneath the Lower Chancellors. None of these faces surprised him; he'd fished around them before but had decided in the end - and correctly it seemed - that Sylvius was his best bet.
But one figure did surprise him. A middle-aged woman with graying hair, thin, pinched features, and a tendency to always frown and never smile. She was Master Secretary to the High Chancellor, the man in charge of the four Lower Chancellor's, and one step below the highest man in the government - the Grand Chancellor. If his Master Secretary was here…he too was interested in magics and the Draconis, and that was something Winter had not expected.
Tampering with magics was universally a bad idea for humans. There had always been those who wanted magics capability, but most realized that humans were powerful because they lacked that capability. If the second highest man in government was interested in this strange meeting…
…Pyotr didn't like it. He really wished he better understood what was going on. Well, when in doubt…"So what's going on here?"
The fourth Chancellor, a friendly, boyish looking, red-skinned woman, chuckled warmly at him. "Ah, Petya. Always so direct. But surely it's obvious."
"The only thing obvious is that this is an awful lot of us who are interested in magics."
Laughter around the table, "If you're here, Pyotr, you must agree that we humans are a severe disadvantage for lacking them."
"I wouldn't say that necessarily."
One of the High Council flapped his hand impatiently, "Don't play around. This is not the place for it. I know all too well what it's like to throw non-magics soldiers into battle against magics capable. And isn't that what you're here for, my friend?"
"Yes," Pyotr said slowly. "But is this safe?"
"We're just talking," the female Lower Chancellor said. "Sit down, Petya. And talk."
"As you wish, Raquesha." Pyotr took a seat at the table, folding his hand neatly across the top in front of him. "So what exactly are we talking about?"
"Giving humans magics," Raquesha said.
"That's impossible. And foolish," Pyotr said. "If we have magics, we lose our authority."
"Ah," Sylvius spoke up, "But we don't mean to give humans magics directly."
"So you want to give us magics indirectly? How do you accomplish that?" Pyotr looked around the table, disbelieving.
"Surely you're not that oblivious to all the talks going on? As thorough as you are, Petya?"
Pyotr paused briefly, as if too stunned to immediately speak. "Surely you're not implying the Draconis?"
A gleeful, gloating silence was all the answer he needed.
"So the rumors of illegal experimentation are true then? I had not thought anyone was that foolish."
"But you hoped."
Pyotr nodded, "But I hoped."
"As I implied earlier, Pyotr," Sylvius smiled at him, "This is the key to what you want."
"Indeed."
"It is, I assure you." Sylvius leaned forward in his seat, face alight. "Our scientists have confirmed that we can engineer the Draconis to mate with Devastators -think how much of an advantage that would give us in battle. The Devastators would be unstoppable, even against non-magics."
Again, Pyotr only nodded. "So why am I here today?"
"We wanted to ascertain your interest for ourselves. We hadn't expected the upstanding, hardworking Lord Kavalerov to be interested in something as…possibly damaging as this." Raquesha smiled at him, her looked questioning and inviting.
Pyotr shrugged his wide shoulders, "We all have our weaknesses. I am growing weary of being outmanned by the magics-capable in everything. It's true, what I said before - our power lies in our inability to use magics."
"But it impedes us in everything else," Sylvius finished for him. "Exactly. We've been watching you for some time. Our leader finally decided it was time to take this next step."
"And why is that?"
"Various reasons," Sylvius said. "Though for one, endeavors such as this are not cheap. And we can only play with our funds to a certain degree. The more, the merrier, as they used to say."
"Mmm…" Pyotr narrowed his eyes. "And just who is this leader? I don't like the idea of being lead by an unknown."
"You're actually about to meet him - if you want to come with me? This," Sylvius swept the room with his arm, "Was just an initial meeting. We'll get down to business at a different location, where we can more safely communicate with the research lab."
"Very well," Pyotr said calmly, though inside he was anything but. It all seemed…too easy. What was going on? In silence, he bid his farewells to the gathered officials and followed Sylvius from the room, reaching the end of the long, wide hallway and turning onto a smaller one. Sylvius stopped in front of a door and knocked, paused, then opened it and motioned Pyotr inside.
The door closed quietly behind him, as Pyotr took in the man sitting at a table in the far corner of the room, a light meal spread out and an empty chair waiting. "Jade."
"Oh, don't tell me you're surprised, Pyotr. I would be most disappointed in you."
Pyotr smiled, "Of course I'm not surprised. But I am confounded as to your reasons for all this pomp and circumstance secrecy stuff."
"Ah, but the matter of magics is no small one. Every human born with magics is killed, and those caught tampering with our genetics - or anything else even remotely related to humans and magics - is given not much better a fate. It might be a trifle ridiculous, Pyotr, but I am highly interested in staying alive and powerful."
"I guess it was rather a ridiculous question." Pyotr laughed, still hovering near the door.
Jade motioned him to sit with pink-tipped fingers. "Sit, eat. There is something I want to discuss with you."
"Which would be? I should think by this point I've passed any tests or whatnot."
"Indeed," Jade smiled, an eerie, smug smile. "They're prize idiots, are they not? Kids thinking they've managed to commit some mischief under the noses of their parents." He sipped at a cup of tea, "They think they know everything, when really they know nothing at all."
Pyotr looked amused, "I wondered where your contempt had gone. Good to see it's still there. And why am I exempt from it this time?"
"Because you're at least as devious and ambitious as I, dear Pyotr - you just use different methods."
"I am? How, pray tell, did you come by that belief?"
That eerie smile appeared again, "Why, because you work for Internal Affairs, dear Pyotr."
Only years of practice at remaining calm when surprised kept Pyotr from choking on his own tea. "What in the stars makes you think that?"
"Pyotr, Pyotr," Jade sighed and set his tea aside, fingers reflexively smoothing his dark pink and gold robes. "You are clever, and intelligent, and very good at what you do." He looked up, eyes hard. "But nothing gets by me. I wouldn't be where I am if things got past me. I know you are far more than you appear - far, far more. Like me, you've risen to far too fast to have done it via normal routes. The IG just doesn't work that way. Your questions of late? Your interests? The rest of them might be stupid, but I am not. You have no interest in magics or the Draconis - except to discern what our interest is. The only thing eluding me so far is whom exactly you're working for. But I'm almost perfectly convinced it's the Internal Affairs Office. I can't see you doing something so risky as freelance work."
"Don't think me the good Samaritan, eh Jade?"
"No."
"Then I guess it would have to be IA."
"So I am right?" Jade sat back in his seat, "Excellent. Now of course the conversation becomes tricky."
Pyotr resumed sipping his tea, "Simply lay all your cards on the table. If you worry I'll go running to my superiors, you are mistaken. I…have my own rules, you might say."
"That is what I was hoping to hear. You never struck me as a stupid man."
"Naturally not. I am where I am because I know when to talk, what to say, and to whom I should say it. Not because I play the good little soldier to everyone."
Jade laughed delightedly, "I would be suspicious of such good news - except I've been keeping an eye on you for so long because I suspected just such a thing."
"So what is it you want from me, Jade?"
"Simply this - I don't give a damn about magics and the like. I have my own reasons for all of this, but I'll need help from someone of authority to help me bring them to a finish."
"Go on," Pyotr said.
"Tell me," Jade nibbled at a small bit of a purple-colored fruit. "Did you see anyone interesting at the table?"
"You mean the Master Secretary."
"Precisely. That, my friend, is the first nibble of the fish I want to catch on my hook."
"How am I supposed to help you ensnare the High Chancellor?"
"You're not. That is what Sylvius and his fellow idiots are for. That's what all of this is for. What I need from you is to make sure you will 'catch' them after the HC has finally been drawn in. And that I am left out of the raid."
"Jade…I hardly think you need me for that. Knowing you, you've already made well sure that your role in all of this is untraceable."
"Oh, I have. For the most part." Jade frowned at something only he could see, clearly disturbed by some memory. "But certain events have gone awry of late, and have forced me to take a more active, visible role. You I have invited in to make doubly sure that I am absolved of all of this when it's over."
"Angling to become Grand Chancellor some day?"
Jade grimaced, "Of course not. I have more power as a Lower Chancellor than I do as an officious figurehead. Perhaps High Chancellor, but that is not what this is about."
"Then what is it about?"
"That is my concern," Jade said firmly. "But never fear, dear Pyotr. You will be well compensated for assisting me."
Pyotr nodded, "I had better be. As you said, I don't generally waste my time on freelance stuff. I prefer my time be lucratively spent."
"Naturally," Jade murmured. "It is nice to see an intelligent face among the crowd. Now, let us move on to lighter things. Meals are meant to be enjoyed, and heavy talks prevent that. Afterwards, I will show you in more detail what the others are hoping to achieve."
"Sounds like an excellent plan."
no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 04:54 am (UTC)...Or at least, I only spotted a few.
"Mmm…" Pyotr narrowed his eyes. "And just who is this leader? I don't like the idea of being lead by an unknown."
"led", not "lead".
Pyotr nodded, "I had better be. As you said, I don't generally waste my time on freelance stuff. I prefer my time [to]be lucratively spent."
The bolded "to" was missing?
*adoration*