Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 182: Report

"This is the third complaint about M-AI systems being hacked," Majordomo Tulley informed me. "Princess Wynne's attacks on the Olympus data systems have only gotten more brazen. It's almost as if she doesn't care if she gets caught."

I knew he was right. But I wouldn't stop her. I had promised her the chance to find and execute those who had killed her daughter before I was King, Aingeal Geamhraidh had been claimed, or the Sidhe had joined the Universal Senate.

It had been a long slog of infighting, politicking, and compromise. Twenty years spent fighting for the moment that I stood on that Colosseum floor to lay the sins of Olympus before the gathered crowd, and the cameras of the Universes journalists.

It was those recordings, along with the Senate session where I had stripped the illusions within those chambers, recordings that were still shared between planets, that had done more harm to Olympus than anything else they had faced. Ever.

The Asgardians had come out of the proceedings unscathed for the most part. There had been no hard evidence that they had been involved, but the alliance between Zeus and Odin was well known, so although they were not sanctioned or penalized, the other Pantheons distanced themselves. Commerce and travel became more regimented, as Gods who had ignored the dealings of Olympus and Asgard began to respond.

The restrictions to travel became almost Draconian compared to what they had been. There was no more open 'borders. Every person that assessed a Portal Authority had to have documents that proved who they were and included information about the length of stay.

It wouldn't completely confound people from using illusion to skirt around the new checkpoints, but when truth stones and illusion stripping arrays were installed, the chances of remaining undiscovered almost vanished. Only those people that were Powers and could add a layer of enchantment to the artifacts and hieroglyphs that were tattooed had any chance of remaining undetected.

"I will speak with the Princess," I promised, knowing as I did that it would make no difference.

"Your Majesty," Tulley began hoping to impress the seriousness of the situation with me.

"Enough," I said interrupting him before he could continue.

"The Princess has my full support in her endeavor. I will suggest she try harder not to be so blatant about her actions, but I refuse to have her stop."

"What's next on the agenda?" I asked moving the meeting forward.

"A consortium of Financial Brokers has demanded that we place the Silinium we use as surety for our money on a secured location off-planet. They contend it would be easier for audits to be done to prove that we have the stockpiles we have said have been gathered to standardize our monetary system," Tulley admitting to himself that the discussion about Princess Wynne would have to be shelved.

"They still treat us a provincial, barely able to do basic math," I said delightedly. "But even idiots know that System verifies our claims. There is no need for an audit, our claims have been System sanctioned, our stockpiles System audited.

"Have Lohne meet with them and refuse their kind offer. And have her do it in a way that leaves them thinking we are considering their kind offer.

"I want them to think it will take a judicious bribe of two before the Twelve will agree to their demands. Have her try to extort as much wealth from them as she can. Favored trading agreements would be even better if she can find a way to manage that," I suggested.

"The final item this morning concerns the Morrigu," Tulley began, "They report that the Unseelie faction is continuing to hemorrhage. Another 1.5 percent of their people have renounced the faction and joined the Tuatha de Danaan."

"They have gone past hints and stated that they were reaching an inflection point. If things did not change, they were coming to a point where the loss of their subjects would become untenable and they will wage war. If they are going to fade away into the pages of history, they would prefer their final chapter to be one of blood."

"Schedule a meeting with both Courts. I don't know how many times I have to explain that a tree grows strongest when its roots run deep. Maybe that has just been too subtle an analogy for them to understand.

"If the Seelie and Unseelie want to stop hemorrhaging, then prove it. Each faction has their fertility rights, rituals that have been ignored over the years because they are too primal. They either ignore the embarrassment of holding an old-fashioned rival with a sexual frenzied orgy to give their people the same buffs that the Tuatha de Danaan enjoy, or they wither away.

"The Morrigu could have solved the fertility issue long ago if they had been willing to conceive and produce a child of their body. Fairy yearns for a rebirth, and as crass as it may be, it will take a good fucking for that to happen," I warned.

"They are willing to fight and die as an epitaph for their final grave-marker. Are they willing to expend those same energies in creating life?

"It is true that blood makes the crops grow. But so, does semen.

"Never mind. I'll deal with it, just get a meeting scheduled with both Courts," I said realizing that Tulley had gone red with embarrassment. It amazed me that Sidhe could be such prudes at times. I much preferred the Volar-Fey's outlook on sex. If the potential partner was willing, full steam ahead.

"Of course, Your Majesty. If you will excuse me then?" Tulley said as he began gathering documents and notes hastily, readying himself to leave.

"Have a runner inform Princess Wynne and Aziza Lord Aesin to join me for brunch," I asked him, deciding to confront Wynne about her activities and offer a suggestion that might help her find those responsible for killing her daughter more efficiently and faster.

Although I wouldn't order her to give up her search, or her vendetta, I was willing to offer a suggestion that might direct her energies. I'd thought for a while that she needed to branch out. Hacking databases was not working, there were simply too many networks that might contain the information she needed.

I made a quick stop to change clothing. I wore the formal gear when I had too, but I much preferred baggy clothing that allowed me to lounge in comfort. It did little for my reputation, but I was in the rooms set aside for me, the individual not the King.

Lord Aesin was already waiting for me when I arrived at the room the Sithern had created for more intimate dining, or when I wanted to have impersonal discussions with friends, family, or retainers. Unless there was a State occasion or Court was in session, it was where I ate most of my meals. I wasn't alarmed that he had managed to be waiting as if he anticipated my request. I knew that the Aziza had infiltrated my office and meeting room, spying on my meetings daily.

I might have been angry about this invasion of my privacy and the snooping on what could be delicate negotiations or conversations, but the Aziza and I had sworn Benefice. Their fortunes and mine were linked. Plus, they did an amazing job of rooting out and finding other surveillance devices or spies that seemed to proliferate anytime I had a meeting with a rival Pantheon.

You would think they would give up since none of them have ever lasted more than a second or so. The devices were destroyed almost as quickly as they were released, and the spies were unmasked and exposed just as easily.

It had been a cause of embarrassment for more than one ambassador as I delighted in demanding they explain before having the guards arrest the spies as they had to stand by and watch helplessly.

As King, I found that the moments of real enjoyment are few and far between, and when they present themselves, you take the time to not only enjoy them but to relish and revel in them. Sticking it to the other Pantheons had become my primary form of entertainment.

Of course, I couldn't do much to those we unmasked, other than have them sent back, with strongly worded protests and a 'transportation' fee attached. For every spy we managed to catch and release, I demanded payment in Silinium. Not because we needed the funds, but because those Pantheons that hoped to harass or ferret out my secrets did.

And because I controlled the amount of Silinium that was distributed, I made sure to deduct those fines and fees from any outstanding shipments that were ordered and owed. It caused the Senate Plenipotentiary extra work, but his answer remained the same each time a faction raised the issue. Stop spying or attempting to send spies, and the fines and fees would no longer be an issue.