Chapter 13

Gedric marched into Vortas' cabin and closed the door with a controlled slam. He paused, let out a single sharp breath, and spun towards the Lord Admiral's desk. He stood ramrod straight, hands at his sides, head held high. "I submit my formal apology for my conduct with the Urisi Ambassador earlier this morning, my Lord," he said in a tense voice.

Vortas regarded the young Fleet Captain as he leaned back, the creaking of his chair loud in the silence. "At ease."

Gedric folded his hands behind him and spread his feet slightly, but did little to relax his rigid stance.

"You are not here to be reprimanded," Vortas announced. "Now, at ease. Sit down."

Gedric frowned and glanced about, as if surprised that anything for his comfort would exist in this room. He found a chair on the other side and dragged it forward. He dropped into it, still holding himself straight, his shoulders barely touching the back of the chair.

Vortas let out a gusty sigh and wiped his face with his hand. "Yes, it is true you seemed to forget everything I had told you on the importance of being a diplomat."

"I offer no excuse for my behavior, my Lord."

"I don't want an excuse," said Vortas. "But I sure in blazing hellfire want an explanation."

Gedric frowned and gave Vortas a single confused shake of his head.

Vortas stood and selected a gourd from the shelf behind him. "I chose you for the position of Fleet Captain because I was under the impression you had a cooler head than that," said Vortas as he plucked a goblet from another shelf. "From your prowess in battle, I had assumed you knew how to keep calm under fire."

Gedric again said nothing, his eyes flicking towards the Lord Admiral's hands as they placed the goblet on the table and filled it with bright red wine from the gourd. He finally sighed and forced his eyes to meet those of Vortas. "And are you having second thoughts about that assignment, my Lord?"

The statement was spoken with great calm and aplomb, which made Vortas hesitate as he raised the goblet to his lips. He lowered it, giving Gedric a baleful gaze. "And is that what you would like me to do, Captain?" he declared.

A pause. "No, my Lord."

"And yet you hesitated." Vortas sat down and took a sip of his wine. He set the goblet down and folded his hands. "Why?"

Gedric let out a measured breath, not quite a sigh. "Is it not a moot point, my Lord?"

"Once more: why?"

"Because I have a duty, and that duty is the captaincy of this fleet," said Gedric in a sharp voice. "I will execute that duty faithfully for as long as I have it."

Vortas sat in silent contemplation for another moment before he swept the goblet into his hand. The contents sloshed against the rim, and a few drops trickled down the side. "For as long as you have it," the Lord Admiral said in a neutral voice.

Gedric bolted to his feet. "With all due respect, Lord Admiral, I fail to see why you insist on implying I will do anything less than what is expected of--"

"Enough!" declared Vortas. "I did not give you leave. Sit down."

Gedric paused, then fell with a heavy thump into his seat.

Vortas stared at Gedric, his eyes uncertain. He finally uttered a tired sigh and took a long drink of his wine. "Now it is I who must apologize to you."

"I beg your pardon, my Lord?"

"I did exactly what the insufferable Urisi Ambassador did to you earlier and has done to me on more occasions than I care to count. I baited you."

"I do not understand," said Gedric. His voice suggested genuine confusion, but his eyes blazed accusation for a moment.

"Oh, but you do. Captain V'riis, when you spoke with the Ambassador, you lived up to every expectation of your Noble heritage."

Gedric said nothing, but his body tensed, and one of his hands at his sides clenched into a fist.

"And I want to make it very clear, Captain: I do not intend that as a reprimand."

"Then why bring it up, my Lord?" Gedric snapped. "If not as a means to bring my perceived deficiencies to my attention."

Vortas frowned over the lip of his goblet and set it down without taking a drink. "I beg your pardon?"

"I have stated that I have formally cut all ties to the Nobility as demanded by the Charter. I have had no direct contact with the Nobility whatsoever."

"No contact at all, Captain?"

"I have obeyed the directives set forth in the Charter to the letter."

"That is not what I asked."

Gedric's eyes wavered, and he let out a sigh which betrayed both frustration and resignation.

"If there is anything you need to tell me, I insist you--"

"And why would I need to tell you?" Gedric said, his voice rising. "Have the Urisi demanded as such? Are you about to say they are targeting me?"

"Are they?"

Gedric blinked once. "What?"

Vortas leaned forward. "You tell me. We have speculated as to why the Urisi are so interested in the crew manifest, why this lout Norlan insisted on browbeating me within a finger-breadth of my tolerance to force me to reveal that which I do not have."

"And is that it, Lord Admiral? Are you looking to me to furnish a convenient tidbit to the Urisi to--"

Vortas suddenly slammed the flat of his hand upon the table, rattling the goblet and splashing more wine to the table. "Blazing hellfire, must you be so confrontational?!"

Gedric opened his mouth, his gaze hot, as if intending to live up to the Lord Admiral's assessment. Instead, he stood and turned, taking a few steps away from Vortas. When he spoke again, it was in a voice of forced calm. "I could say the same of you, my Lord."

"Perhaps I have a reason to be," said Vortas in a lower voice.

Gedric lowered his gaze. "Very well. I maintain contact with one Noble Lord." He paused and took a short, deep breath. "Quite possibly a former Noble Lord by now ... who mentored me before I had decided to join the Navy. I believe I mentioned him before."

Vortas nodded. "Tarras K'riis of Carolas."

Gedric turned to face him. "Yes. I have a great deal of respect for him, my Lord. Despite the fact I ultimately rejected the trappings of Nobility, much of what he taught me transcends that. I owe a great deal to him, and thus I maintain contact, but by letter only. No Farviews. I do not have a pearl bound to him, nor him to me."

Vortas folded his hands and considered for a moment. "And that is all?"

"That is all, my Lord. On my honor as a sailor if nothing else."

Vortas nodded and pulled the goblet towards him, though he did little more than give its contents a morose look.

Gedric took a step forward. "I feel I must ask, my Lord. Did you seriously believe I may have engineered this incident to relieve myself of the Fleet Captain position?"

Vortas shook his head. "No. And if I had, it would have been dispelled after this conversation. But the truth remains: you do not want the position."

"It is hardly worth the debate at this point," Gedric said in a dark voice. "This fleet will cease to be when the Urisi decide what to do with us."

"One would think one such as you would want the position."

Gedric said nothing, but simply maintained a level look with the Lord Admiral.

Vortas' voice softened, and the chair creaked as he leaned back. "You may no longer be of the Nobility, but as I understand it, old habits die hard. Noble clans are practically bred to lead."

Had the statement been made in anything less than a casual tone, Gedric may have tendered another sharp retort he would regret. He already wished this awkward conversation would come to an end. It would have been better had he been reprimanded after all. "Perhaps you should take my encounter with the Ambassador as an example of just the sort of leader I could be were I given the opportunity."

Vortas' brow knit in confusion as he regarded the Fleet Captain with a questioning gaze.

"Is that all you need from me at the moment, my Lord?"

For a moment Vortas appeared ready for a retort of his own. Instead, he forced his voice to an even tone as he said, "The Urisi plan to deliver slaves to us for our pleasure this evening. I wish for all the men to have fair opportunity to partake of what may be the last time they can enjoy such amenities."

"I will pass that along, my Lord."

"And that includes you."

Gedric leaned back, as if recoiling. "I beg your pardon?"

"You may avail yourself of the Urisi slaves."

Gedric drew himself straight and squared his shoulders, and for a moment he took on the same haughty look he had given the Ambassador. "I will pass, if it is all the same to you."

Vortas slowly nodded. "That is your prerogative, of course. I am curious as to why, but you need not answer."

One corner of Gedric's mouth twitched. "I personally find Urisi slaves to be ... somewhat lacking." He paused and continued in a flat voice. "Perhaps I have not shed as many of the trappings of Nobility as I would like to think."

The Lord Admiral's eyebrows rose, and his eyes reflected first revelation and then guilt. He quickly suppressed both and gave the Fleet Captain a curt nod. "Very well. Dismissed."

Gedric nodded respectfully in return and left.

"Dammit," Vortas muttered. He frowned into the goblet and set it aside. He was not sure what upset him more, the browbeating he felt he was forced to give Gedric or the fact that it did not unravel the mystery of what the Urisi really wanted.

Or perhaps he had learned what the Urisi thought they wanted, but it was becoming clear they were on a fool's errand. How could they want someone for his ties to Nobility when that person was doing everything in his power to distance himself from it?

The carriage lurched into and then out of another rut in the road, the timbers straining as the wheels sank into pockets of mud left from the last drenching spring rain. The smell of lingering moisture clinging to the foliage wafted inside, and Amanda had to shake off another unwanted memory.

Amanda gasped as she swayed against the side of the carriage and her feet lifted off the floor, then grunted when the carriage righted itself and her feet slammed back down. She panted as her pussy throbbed and swelled, her jerky movements combining with a fresh dose of the arousal drug to generate a maddening tease in her nether regions. Behind her back, her hands clenched and unclenched within the confines of her shackles.

Amanda spread her legs in a vain attempt at relief. Her unsealed pussy lay open, helpless and glistening, the seat under her damp. She strained against the shackles, pulling the chain which linked them to her collar until it lay taut against her back. She groaned and relented, drawing in her knees and bracing herself as the carriage dipped again.

She heard a deep moan to her left and raised her eyes. One of the other slaves, the blonde one, quivered and panted as if she could not catch her breath. She rubbed her thighs together, moisture squishing and dripping from her sex. She threw her head back and whimpered, shivering hard against the edge of orgasm. Finally the girl's legs went limp, and she keened her distress, her pussy still swollen and unsatisfied.

Amanda tried to feel little sympathy for her fellow slave's predicament. The blonde had been looking directly at Amanda when Larra had faked being slapped, and she had said nothing! Amanda clenched her teeth and looked away. She could not work up even a decent hatred as a means to distract her. At first she had been happy Larra had been spared and left at the palace; now she regretted it.

Amanda's thoughts would not leave her alone. She could not stop thinking about Oceanus. She even entertained the wild notion that Jollis had arranged for the Oceanus fleet just to remind her of what she had lost.

No, not just any fleet. A rogue fleet. But just what did that mean? Was this something significant? Or was it customary for the Lord Ambassador to offer both his and another Lord's slaves to visiting Oceanus sailors?

What if I could offer you an opportunity to return to Oceanus?

Amanda squeezed her eyes shut. She had refused to think about Mandas' words, but now they would not leave her. Did this have something to do with it? If she behaved herself and acted like a good slave...

She shook her head and opened her eyes, biting her lip as her pussy strained again after a hard bump in the road. There was nothing in Oceanus to which to return. Yet anything had to be better than here.

"Is everyone all right?"

Amanda flinched and turned her head. At one end of the carriage, Marris' head poked through the curtains which separated the slave compartment from the rest of the carriage. Amanda had forgotten he was with them.

No one answered him. His eyes darted among the seven slaves in the coach, two of which were not Norlan's. His gaze fell on Amanda and lingered for a moment before she heard a quick sigh through his nose.

"You should fit right in with these men," Marris said.

Amanda stared. Marris' statement was quite unnecessary, and she had no reply.

The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he were trying to smile and failing. "I mean, they're from Oceanus, and you ... well ... you know how to please them well."

Amanda glanced at the other slaves. Two shot her dark looks, and a third turned away. She whipped her gaze back to Marris. "Any slave here could please them, Master," she said in as crisp a voice as her heightened arousal would allow.

"Well, I know that," said Marris with a slight tone of impatience. He paused, his eyes subdued, and spoke in a more contrite voice. "I mean ... well ... it's important you treat these particular men well. Um, all of you."

Amanda nodded. His gaze never left her.

"And that's coming not just from your Master, Lord Norlan, but from his peer, Lord Mandas."

Amanda's eyes widened. Her mouth opened, then snapped shut.

Marris forced his gaze away from Amanda. "Yes, that goes for all of you. Be on your very best behavior and be absolutely obedient. The Oceanus sailors and the Lord Ambassadors will expect nothing less of you. He will review all of you before he dares send any of you aboard the fleet."

He ducked out of sight.

Amanda stared at the curtain as it fluttered into place and realized Marris was no good at stealth. She had no idea if that had been a concealed message. She did not dare think Mandas' words had been anything more than a cruel joke.

Or did Marris let slip with a simple pronoun substitution -- he instead of they would review the slaves -- that she was about to find out what Mandas wanted of her?

She stamped her foot, not caring how childish the gesture appeared. She was too frustrated and had no other means to vent it.

"You should not have left that idiot Mandas tending to the disposition of your slaves alone!" High Lord Ardon declared as he vaulted out of his seat. "There is no telling what damage he could do."

"Please, my Lord, calm down," said Norlan, still in his seat in Ardon's parlor. He took a small sip of wine, set aside the goblet, and folded his hands in his lap. "I have a charged Portal ready to take me to the dock as soon as I am done here. I will arrive just as the slaves do. And you have already heard what I have said, so the point is moot."

"And I do not believe you."

Norlan paused. "You imply I would lie to the High Lords?"

"That is not what I meant. I meant you have not looked hard enough."

"I have found nothing because there is nothing to find, my Lord. Nothing at all we can leverage."

"You said Mandas thinks Oceanus is after one man. A man of some importance, a former member of what passed for royalty in the old Oceanus regime."

Norlan spread his hands. "Yes, but what are we to do if this is indeed the case? Bargain with Oceanus? Demand platinum for his extradition?"

"Blazing hellfire, why not?" demanded Ardon. "Technically, no extradition treaties exist between us and Oceanus. No formal treaties of any kind exist, for that matter."

"Oh, come now, my Lord. There are plenty of trade treaties, many of which I negotiated, which are just as good as--"

"No, hear me out! By your own words, we know there has been a spectacular conquest of Oceanus by a foreign power, thus that would repudiate any treaties which ever existed between our nations."

"Much of what I know of the Inonni invasion has never left this room, my Lord. Anyone who knows of the downfall of the Oceanus Nobility assumes it had been commanded by the Emperor, knowing how much acrimony existed between them and the Imperium under Z'haas."

"Perhaps that should change! Perhaps the truth should become more widely known!"

Norlan sighed. He dropped his gaze and folded his hands again as his host made a disgusted noise and turned away. Ardon snatched up his goblet and trudged to the window which looked out over the courtyard of his palace.

"With all due respect, you are not thinking this through," said Norlan.

"And what would you advocate?" asked Ardon in a lackluster tone as he contemplated the goblet. "What would be your solution?"

"We should consider acquiescing to Oceanus' demands. If they wish the officers of the ships, that is what we will give them. If they want the lot tried and convicted of some crime, we will do that as well. If they do want only one man--"

Ardon whirled around, wine splashing and running down the sides of the goblet. "As this fool Mandas thinks!"

"As it is becoming more likely the truth. I am coming around to the conclusion that their Fleet Captain, the one of Noble heritage, is the one they want. Perhaps his loyalties remain with the Nobility, and they fear he will sound a rallying cry for whatever other Noble Lords had escaped Inonni justice."

"And you would just give that away to them?"

Norlan gave the High Lord a level look. "All things being equal, and with no further revelations as to the importance of this man to the Inonni, yes, I would."

Ardon sneered. "Then you do work for the King."

Norlan bolted from his chair and was across the room in several long strides, startling the High Lord into spilling more of his wine. "As opposed to what, my Lord? Working for you? Working for the High Lord Council? I do not work for them, and I do not work for the King. Ultimately, I work for the Urisi Nation."

Ardon rolled his eyes and stepped past Norlan. "Spare me the false sentiment."

"I have indeed richified the High Lords," said Norlan to Ardon's back. "And I enjoy the favor it conveys upon me. But thoughts of lining the High Lords' pockets with platinum was not the only thing on my mind when I forged the treaty with the Overlords and the clandestine deal with Jollis. The point you and Mandas seem to miss is I care for what happens to the Urisi Nation."