Archivist note: This post is from an older recovered archive.
==Initial Post==
((Posted by Zachary Somerset on May 11, 2010))
Jedburgh Dagger had accepted my offer to escort her back to the Salon from my wife’s Cafe in Wheatstone. As we walked, I chatted about mostly inconsequential things for the first several minutes, as our wandering led us through the Babbage Canal district and then veered northward towards Babbage Square. Beside me, I could sense Jed’s mind questioning why I had asked to accompany her, although she made no comment about my request.
As we drew closer to our destination, I gave my pocket watch a brief glance. It was half an hour before noon–enough of an interval to fill Miss Dagger in on my observations about House Mureaux and still allow her sufficient time to get back to the Salon for her appointment.
Keeping my voice low, I asked her, “Miss Dagger, would you object to a short detour close by Churchill Industries? Perhaps to that small lot just south of it? There is a matter I wish to speak with you about, but I would feel more comfortable doing so there.”
An eyebrow rose slightly as she considered my unusual request. “Why?” she asked. I’d suspected she would. I’d have done so also, under similar circumstances.
“Because we’re being watched. Or at least I know for certain I am, and chances are likely that you quite often are being shadowed also. If I’m going to be sharing certain…shall we say, sensitive matters with you, I’d at least like to have a clear view of whoever’s around on all sides.” Not to mention that the loud industrial noise should help to muffle the sounds of a private conversation from the ears that I knew were always around, listening in and reporting back to their Lord.
The eyebrow crept another millimeter higher as she studied me, no doubt wondering if my information was valid or if she was dealing with a man several suits short of a full deck. What exactly she was thinking at that moment, I couldn’t say. Her thoughts were closed to me–not that I would attempt to read them, given that we didn’t share a relationship that personal–and as for her emotions…well, let’s just say I was very glad my livelihood didn’t depend on having to play poker with this woman.
Curiosity, or at least tolerance, won. Jed nodded and gestured towards the open space. “After you.” I walked to the center of the empty lot and stopped. Hopefully this would be out of earshot of my Arcanian watchers. Mureaux had said they wouldn’t venture close enough to overhear whispers, but given what I’d recently discovered about his activities, I didn’t want to trust in his word alone. I knew word was likely to get back to him regardless that I’d arranged for a private meeting with Commodore Dagger. No need to have news brought back to him within minutes of our departure from this place exactly what that meeting had been about.
“All right, you have your privacy, Zac. What’s this about?”
I knew I only had a few minutes to present my case, so I took a deep breath and launched into the topic.
“Jed, I don’t know if you’re already aware of this, or if anyone has brought the matter to Mr. Tenk’s attention yet, but do you know just how extensive Moses Mureaux’s household actually is, and the nature of some of their more covert activities here in New Babbage?”
She tilted her head, her expression studiedly neutral. “Go on.”
“Mureaux has special watchers–I don’t know what his name for them would be, but that’s essentially what they are–whose job it is to collect information from all over New Babbage. Possibly even from beyond here. Not necessarily classified information, or at least if they’ve accessed that sort of thing, I’m not aware of it. Wouldn’t surprise me, though.” I waved my hand to indicate our surroundings. “But they have their eyes and ears open to pretty much everything else that goes on in this town. All day long, all night long. They’re very hard to spot, but not impossible. If you know just where and when to look, you’ll find them. I have no idea what he does with all that information, or why he feels a need to collect it, but rest assured he does collect it. Obsessively. And while I’d like to think he has some benevolent, or at least benign, purpose for doing so, I think the possibility that this could become a major security threat to New Babbage has to be at least considered.”
Jed nodded, though whether this was in agreement or merely in acknowledgement of my statement was hard to say. “Anything else?”
“Well…there’s also the fact that he’s got an extensive private fleet. Enough to go up against a significant portion of the Forsythe fleet that tried to invade our aetherspace recently….” My voice trailed as I belatedly recalled that the full details of our recent attempt to return home to Gwynedd weren’t public knowledge, although Nell and I had told bits of the story to our closest friends to explain why we were in mourning. “I’m assuming Nell’s mentioned something to you about that besides what you might have picked up from the Babbage rumor mill?”
To my relief, she nodded. “Might have been nice to have been informed about the possibility of invasion beforehand,” she stated, that eyebrow rising again. I nodded, acknowledging the understated reprimand.
“Well, the Mureaux fleet. I don’t know how extensive it is, but I can tell you it’s pretty f–pretty darn huge for a privately-owned fleet, especially one that’s combat-capable. But in addition to that, are you aware that Mureaux owns a shipyard? I don’t mean just the hangar where he produces his commercial vehicles. I’m talking about a yard large enough to provide an entire aether-fleet to Emperor SteelCobra of Steeltopia.”
“Huh.” Utterly unreadable blue eyes stared back up at me. Again, I was glad I wasn’t gambling against this woman; I was certain I’d lose my shirt.
“And to cap it all off, there’s the Great Eye. An aether-space capable vessel…an orb…that serves as a battle-station. Its power core is some sort of Arcanian technology capable of leveling New Babbage in one shot, not to mention the surrounding region. Again, I’ve seen no evidence to show that Moses has anything but the most benign intent for having a battle-station of that magnitude in orbit. But I hope you can appreciate my concern!”
“Sounds pretty incredible.”
I had to wonder if she meant that word ‘incredible’ as literally as I feared she might.
“You also assume I trust that you don’t have an agenda as well….”
I nodded with a wry smile. “I realize it’s a lot to accept, and you probably won’t want to just take my word for it. That’s fair. I could….” A sudden thought occurred to me. “If you would allow me to show you the things I’ve seen, mind-to-mind, I’d be willing to do that. But if not…well, that’s perfectly understandable.” There were a lot of reasons why a military commander might not want to allow a man she had only a slight acquaintance with direct access to her mind–I’d have been leery myself, in her shoes–but at least the offer had been made. And hopefully considered at face value and not dismissed as yet more ravings from a lunatic. “But at least investigate my claims for yourself.”
Jed looked at me, inscrutable as ever, and said something that was as confusing as anything else that had happened. “You can try to show me.”
Try?
I looked into her eyes, touching her arm lightly, and began to reach out to her mind with mine. Oddly, I felt a push, a resistance as our minds began to get closer. Then it happened. The smallest of grins began to creep out of one corner of her mouth. I concentrated, pushed harder to get into her mind, and the smile began to spread just a touch further. Just as that eyebrow began to raise, I was in, and I was very shocked at what I saw. Not the normal memories or thoughts, but there was a meadow, in which sat a small white house surrounded by a large wrought iron fence. I moved towards the fence, and saw three figures seated on the porch. Three small girls, one dressed in black, one dressed in blue, one dressed in white. The black clad girl was spattered with bloodstains, and held a large fighting knife. The girl in blue wore spectacles, and was quietly reading a book. The girl in white seemed a bit older than the other two, and she sat watching me. I walked closer, and as I did the girl in black ran at the fence, screaming. She struck the fence with the blade, sparks flying. “You do not belong here! Aaarrrrggg!!”
The girl in blue looked up from her book, tsking. “He wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t allowed him to be. Brute.” With that she returned to her book. The girl in black stood there, staring…and I could feel the anger and rage emanating from her.
The girl in white walked to the fence, and cast a smile towards her companion. This seemed to quiet her somewhat, but she remained, eyes fixed on me, kukri at the ready.
“I need to show Jed…er, you, something. Let me….”
“The fence can’t be opened, dear. We must stay within its walls. Step closer….”
She reached through the bars with one slender arm, and I touched her hand, communicating my concerns to her in bursts of thought, as much in mental pictures as in word.
The girl in white smiled and nodded. “Quite enough, Zac dear. You need to go now.”
I looked at her, the thought welling up in my mind as to what I was seeing. The smile faded just a little, and she looked back into my eyes….
“Yes Zac, the fence is not as much to keep you out as it is to keep us in. Goodbye.”
With that, the link broke, leaving me looking back into the steel blue eyes of the Commodore.
She nodded. “All right. Anything else?”
I sighed inwardly, wondering if I’d succeeded or failed in making my case. “No, that’s all for the moment.”
“OK, then. You’ve certainly given me lots to ponder.” She tilted her head towards the narrow sidewalk leading back to Babbage Palisade. “Shall we?”
I studied Jed for a long moment. “Oh, I assure you, dear lady, you have given me much to ponder as well.” I offered this lady of mysteries my arm, for once distracted from my worries about Mureaux, musing upon the odd mental encounter as I escorted her back to the Aether-Salon.
==Comments==
*Comment by Bookworm Hienrichs on May 11, 2010 at 11:00am
Hmmm. Very interesting…
*Comment by Tepic Harlequin on May 11, 2010 at 12:25pm
strange ain’t it, that Mr Somerset with all his training, don’t consider that some people can read lips? it’s very useful, cus you can get wind of if someone means to do something nasty, and you can nip of handy like before they know! … course, if you can, you shouldn’t use it ter snoop on people, an anything you do kinda pick up don’t go no further.
*Comment by Mr. W—— on May 11, 2010 at 12:49pm
Somerset was right to feel he was being watched and not by the usual suspects alone. Practiced eyes noted the meeting’s full participants; the crows and their box held for the duration of the exchange between the Commodore and the Captain. And when at last they parted, the box broke…the silent observer knew full well that there would be only the smallest moment to intercept Sommerset before the “watchers” met his movements at the next block.
Timing…distance…frequency…tick-tock…this had to happen at just the right…
“Hhhrmph,” a sudden shadow stepped full bodied into the Captain as he passed.
The Captain’s nose detected scotch, single malt; most probably a good vintage. A familiar voice uttered the faintest apology and then pressed passed Sommerset. By the time he had recovered his defensive stance, he found himself alone again. Straining his ears, he could only survey the sound of his “watchers” as they began slip back onto his tail…and the din of distant activities, the living city. Suspecting he had just been dipped, he quickly swept his hands over his belongings. Reaching into his waistcoat, Sommerset discovered he had actually gained something in the odd, albeit brief run-in. He fingered the round of metal sharing the space kept by his pocket watch and removed it. Within his palm was a small deaner, unusually thick, but light in weight…a weathered “W” engraved on one side.
*Comment by Zachary Somerset on May 11, 2010 at 1:22pm
Yes, Tepic, the thought occurred. But Jed was already looking at me rather askance when I made my request to detour by Churchill Industries. Had I asked her to wait until we both covered our mouths with kerchiefs as well before I shared more, I might have ended up talking to the empty air. *wry smile*
eyes the item in my palm, studying the engraved ‘W’ on it briefly and raising a brow Well, Nell will find this interesting, at any rate…. slips it back into pocket and continues walking
