Chapter 114: Broderskap (3) (Patreon)

“I know this is worth your time.” I toyed with the communications device on the table. “You have a lot of it, considering you can divide your consciousness. And you’re here, disproving your point. All I ask is that you hear me out.”

“Hear you out?” Duke Jewls tapped his fingers on the table, smiling and chuckling. “I’d ask if there’s something in your ears, but if I really wanted, I could just check. You couldn’t do anything to stop me. Fortunately, I am of the opinion that consent matters. It’s why I’ve maintained a successful business.”

“I know that there’s a war coming. As do you. As do the vast majority of people in the Archduchy. The issue is, when it comes, people don’t know the answer as to which side they’ll choose. A mercenary group and its allies fighting against an entire empire? Laughable. People would abandon the sinking ship en masse.”

Jewls shook his head. “Ships don’t sink in space, Mr. Zajac. We’ve built the Archduchy very, very sturdy. If a war is soon to happen—something I’ll neither confirm nor deny—plainly put, those who live in the Archduchy have a far better time within than without.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” I shook my head. “We’d be up against an army of people that inject themselves with Amaritti’s Blood to turn into regenerative superhumans. No one wants to fight that, least of all me. Where I came from, rebellions were brutal things that shattered people’s morale. No one enjoys fighting against those they once lived with.”

Jewls had nothing to say in response to that. I knew that was a good sign, so I pressed on.

“If we can remove the problematic aspects of the Archduchy before it begins—well, I daresay that’d be a net positive. I can give you that and more, if you give me an opportunity.”

“You’re contradicting yourself,” Jewls said. “You said people dislike fighting those they live with. If ‘removing the problematic aspects of the Archduchy’ is not that, then what else is?”

“It’s true.” I held my hand off to the side. “Surgery hurts the body. Sometimes, though, it’s necessary. If traitors are a cancer… well, I’d like to remove the tumor before it grows out of hand.”

“That doesn’t hold enough merit to even be worthy of consideration,” dismissed Duke Jewls, though without finality. 

“I’m not done, though.” I held out a finger. “Hold your horses. Or your little Shashen Servants, if that’s what you prefer to ride.”

“I can’t say I haven’t tried it.” Jewls wound his fingers together. 

“I… ahah,” I laughed, a little caught off guard. “Choice of ride aside, there’s something I’ve been coming to learn the last year or so I’ve been in the galaxy. Information is very, very important. You must know this well, given your role. There’s also the matter of which information to trust. I am a very trustworthy guy. Really.

“At least, in the eyes of the Richt Empire’s Daggers. That’s good enough for me. I had my suspicions before, but it was more or less confirmed in my brief conversation with some of the Richt Empire’s Daggers. In regards to Doliny and the Archduke personally, the Daggers have a severe lack of information. It’s partially because of Richt’s idea of obfuscating history, I suppose, but such questions are beyond my pay-grade.”

“You suggest to, what, give them that information through your lips? Oh, I’m starting to see the genius,” he said, dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. They need someone to trust. I don’t see why it’s important if the Richt Empire knows for certain that a war is coming, or that the Archduke is a little miffed that his sister’s locked in a lifesuck-chamber. They already know these things, or their liege Richt does. Giving them precise details isn’t important, and it establishes me, someone with no loyalty towards the Richt Empire, as a trusted source of information.”

No need to mention that I intend to milk them for resources. They’ll try to help me advance in the Archduchy so that they can get better information. It’s only natural. 

“As a trusted source with more knowledge than he should have, I can manipulate the information network of the Richt Empire to your whims.”

“You seriously think I haven’t tried exactly that before?” Jewls grinned and let his question hang for a moment. “I’ve been alive far longer than you. I’m a grandfather with at least thirty ‘greats’ in front of it. The Richt Empire is very good at discovering the false informants. The Pikes that you were deployed with are not a good example of the empire’s best. The Daggers are genuine spies—very skilled at what they do. Their grasp on the Richt Empire bests even mine.”

“Yet you haven’t worked with me before.” I leaned back in the chair and smiled. “Some people I used to know might call me a bastard with the devil’s heart, but to me, that’s just a long-winded way of saying ‘good actor.’ My personality is 499 for a reason.”

“You expect me to take such a big risk because you think you’re really good at what you do? I’ve never worked with you before.” Jewls waved his hand as though dismissing me. “You’re much less… obedient, shall we way, than my servants.”

“Let me ask you a question. Is manipulating the Daggers’ movements more important to you than gaining a single servant?” I leaned far forward on the table, using my hand to balance myself. “You could get another one of the weirdo’s outside that talk about how great it is here while they hold back tears, or you could get a very valuable employee that changes the landscape of the war. The neat thing about words, as I’m sure you know, is that they all have the same power. It’s quite lovely, in that manner.”

Jewls shook his head. “It’s all an act, anyway. That whole thing with the Shashen Servants.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just make them do that to unnerve people. Works very well. People make many mistakes when they’re a little bit terrified. They don’t have the emotion to feel sadness or happiness. It’s all the same to them.”

I tilted my head in thought. “Somehow, that’s even more sad and bleak.”

“I suppose… tell me, then. What will you do to make them trust you?”

“You most assuredly have information you can feed me. It’s in your job description. More than that, though, I’ve got a backstory.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to role-play as a different person.” He ground his teeth together. “Disgusting.”

“No, I’m not going to prance about LARPing. I’ve got legitimate issues. What’s the first thing you notice about me other than my stunning good looks? Naturally, I’ve got quite a card in my arsenal. I’m armed with no arms.”

I came to my feet and walked around the room. I acted as though I was talking to someone that wasn’t there. “What reason do I have to hate the Archduchy? True, the living there’s nice. A hell of a lot better than the other places I’ve visited, Mr. Dagger. But the bastards have just been standing around watching. I lost my hand there. Later, an arm. They refused to replace it. Mr. Dagger, I’ve been wronged. I want some retribution.”

Jewls smiled pleasantly and watched me. “Is that all that you have to offer me?”

“I dunno. Maybe a one-armed hug? You don’t seem the sort to like that type of thing, though.”

He nodded and tilted his head. “I can see why my son didn’t like you that much.”

My brain whirled trying to place who exactly his son was, but I didn’t have the time to come to a concrete answer before he carried on.