Chapter Ten: A Sudden, But Inevitable Betrayal
…
Staring into her mirror, Hanala exhaled a mouthful of cigarette smoke.
She knew better than to smoke, as unhealthy as it was with humans, it went double for quarians, whose body was unable to absorb the poison properly. It did not matter to her. She was all nerves at the moment and the poison she was inhaling had worked to settle her before.
Besides, it was just one cigarette. It was a habit she hadn't indulged in since January.
She was going to need a steady head. It had been decided by Louis Ferdinand that the next meeting of the Wehrmacht-Admiralty Council, it would be time to unveil the intentions shared between Hanala and the Prince. Unfortunately, that meant Hanala had three local days to prepare for the meeting
Although he held no tangible military or political power, Louis Ferdinand was the one man Halid needed to convince the German populace to accept the quarian arrival and welcome the new future they would help provide, converting the Third Reich, into the Fourth Reich that would closely resemble that of the Second. That made the future Kaiser a long-term investment, and a man as patient as Halid, taking a long term investment was likely more dangerous then he already was.
Halid'Zorah was not particularly upset about the double dealings she had attempted to break Joachim free from service. He was not upset when Gerd von Rundstedt ruined Halid's intention of sending Joachim out to take control of the Gestapo. To Halid, men like Joachim were at his disposal by the thousands. Joachim was simply a tool that could replace.
Louis however… Louis was one of a kind. Progressive Monarch was not a term commonly used, but having spent the past three days getting to know the Crown Prince, Hanala could definitely said that was who he was. Forgetting his title for a moment, Hanala could see that he was a good man, a loving husband, a doting Father to his many children. It was clear that his goals were not just for the country and the people, but it was to provide his family with a brighter future.
That was what made what was about to happen, all the more sweeter. Louis was irreplaceable. All this time she was looking for ways to hurt Halid for all the hell he inflicted onto Joachim. Now she had her answer. This was going to be a delight once she got over the innate sense of fear building up in her. Her Father would be there and she did not want to sour the relationship with him. Not when she was rebuilding her relationship with him. That was the only thing holding her back from simply marching up to the meeting and shoving Halid'Zorah's shit into his face.
As she thought about all the ways Zorah could explode and embarrass himself in front of everyone, her omni-tool gave off a small chime. Frowning, Hanala activated the screen. Its source was coming from Louis Ferdinand's omni-tool outside of East Berlin. It appeared that he was as glittery as her. Once it became clear she was online with him, he sent the first message.
LFH: Are all the pieces in place? More importantly, are you prepared?
Hanala stared at the message for a good, long moment. Yes, everything had been prepared for the coming shake up. She had privately approached the list of ship captain's that Wilhelm Canaris had gathered from his listening into the private correspondence of Halid'Zorah. She gained their support in pushing into the political circle that her Father, Zorah and Falan were in. She also approached Admiral Vaerhit, who after a careful explanation about the Prince's concerns decided he would throw her support behind the Prince and her.
She knew better than to assume he agreed with her, or found a new respectful position. He flat out told her that her appointment had been clear cut nepotism and she had no business being a Captain, let alone an Admiral working her way from a technical role to a policy changer. However as much as he disliked her, he disliked her Father and Zorah more and found the blatant apologist nature of Zorah disturbing. If Hanala wanted to lessen the hold Zorah had over the policies in relation with the humans, then that would be permissible in his eyes, so long as she kept him up to date. With his support in, Hanala would have the backing of the Civilian Fleet in its entirety.
Pursing her lips as she stared at the question, she tapped the cigarette out and laid it on the edge of the sink. It was time to answer his query.
HJ: Everything is in place. All of my fleet contacts have been contacted. They support the action for the most part.
There was a pause, long enough for Hanala to grab her cigarette and inhale once again. The digital screen on her omni-tool chat tool flashed once again.
LFH: You didn't answer the entire question.
Hanala chuckled slightly. He was not one to be danced around with. It was already clear with her that she would not have a whole lot of leniency. He was not willing to be turned into another quarian's pawn like the last time he dealt with her kind. That was good and bad, good because Hanala liked the spirit, bad because she was going to have to set up some sort of boundaries with him. The Prince would have to let her keep some of her privacy. She had to explore into matters that he may not have been ready to know about.
Sighing she responded.
HJ: I am prepared; or at least I think I am. Usurping a man from his position is never pretty, no matter how I'll say it.
Not getting a reply right away from Louis Ferdinand, Hanala looked to the chronometer in her omni-tool. Sighing again, Hanala pulled herself back from the bathroom sink, stumping the cigarette out and dropping it into the waste recycler unit. She buttoned her uniform back up and, giving herself a final inspection, she stepped out of her private bathroom and wandered down the corridors of the cruiser Bismarck. Her heeled, raised boots, meant to make her not look like a complete midget, clicked down the steel.
Pushing her hand into her hair, she turned the corridor and entered the recreational room, where Saleb and Mother were sitting together, Saleb practicing her reading. They looked up to the uniformed Hanala, who hesitated for a moment, before smiling and stepping forward to join them. Saleb appeared rather annoyed. It was understandable. Hanala's departure for work was contrary to her promise that she had some time off.
Still smiling, she squished herself in between Mother and Saleb, who cried out in annoyance as Hanala wrapped her arm around the brooding child.
"Where are you going?" Saleb demanded from her Aunt, her eye narrowed at her aunt. Even Mother looked over her daughter curiously. Hanala rarely ever donned official admiralty regalia. Hanala could see Mother's mind deducing what was happening.
"Like I told you, I have to go to work for a few hours, I'll be right back," she assured the girl, her arm tightening around Saleb.
Mother arched her brow, her hands wrapping together as they fell to her lap.
"Whatever you intend, I'll suggest that you tread lightly…" Mother recommended to her.
About to reply with an assurance that nothing out of the ordinary was about to happen, Hanala's omni-tool chimed again. Louis had finally answered her. Hanala smiled coyly at her Mother before dropping her gaze to the chat.
LFH: That is a reasonable stance. Would you prefer it I join you as soon as you enter the meeting? I have been practicing what I shall say to him should I ever speak to him after you commit to this course of action. I could serve as reinforcement and it could sway a few more Prussians to support you. They may not like me, but they respect my position and family's history enough to at least listen.
Looking up to her Mother and Saleb, Hanala leaned in and planted a kiss on each other their cheeks. She stood up and fled the recreational room and moved down towards the interfleet transport bay, her focus on tapping out her response to the Prince.
As soon as she stepped into the ship elevator, she sent along her response.
HJ: Be prepared to join the conversation should he demand what I say to be verified, which he undoubtedly will demand. Please do not antagonize him; do not press your own agenda. Not today. The people gathered must have time to adjust to the new state of affairs. Any change we want to bring must be done a week or so from now. The presentation that it is business as usual must be kept or else the upheaval will spook them. Simply thank the Admiral for his services, express your point of view for why you need the change, and then leave. I will contact you when complete.
The elevator came to a stop in the docking bay. The doors opened and out stepped Hanala, finding herself amongst about two dozen of her ship's skeleton crew. They were assigned to bringing the cruiser back up to an active serviceable state for the first generation of Kreigsmarine sailors to train on. They were currently in the middle of a dinner.
That did not last too long however. Their supervisor looked up, caught sight of their usually casual looking Admiral in full uniform and flew out of his seat.
"Admiral on deck!"
Hanala rubbed the back of her neck as the crew followed suit. She was still extremely uncomfortable with getting this sort of reaction. Unlike Joachim, who seemed to be used to discipline of subordinates, she had never called for it on her service on the Devoas, nor did she demand it when she was utterly upset in the wake of Hoch's detention with the Gestapo. She used the fear she learned from him to get what she needed done. Mutually respectful discipline was new to her.
"I'll need a shuttle pilot," Hanala requested politely to the group. "You can return here as soon as I reach the Kareon."
The engineering crew looked to one another. One of them stepped forward, an older male. Hanala nodded and waved him along to follow her. Together they wandered down the docking bay until they reached the nearest shuttle. Once again, her omni-tool chimed to life, catching her attention enough to pause and allow her pilot to take the lead.
LFH: I agree, I shall adhere to you suggestion for the time being, but do not assume I will be as quiet with Zorah, as will be with you. I will be involved in every matter pertaining to our work.
The reminder was enough to make her grin slightly. It was good to find that he was willing to take such a strong stance now. He was done being spoon fed the same empty platitudes that the National Socialists spoon fed to his State. Perhaps there was some hope for him yet.
HJ: This may come to you as a surprise, but I am well aware of how partnerships work. Any further assumption that I shall operate like Zorah will not be welcomed with as much patience as I have now. Just be prepared, Your Majesty.
"Prepping the shuttle for take-off, Admiral," she heard over the intercom. "We'll be out in three minutes."
Hanala closed the link between her and the Prince and sat down in the cargo bay of the shuttle. Double checking herself, she looked up to the pilot standing there. She simply nodded to him and as he left to settle into his cockpit, she strapped herself into the seat. Hanala closed her eyes. It was time to prepare herself for what came next.
…
…
"The Ruhr is turning into a living hell. The loyalists and the SS have proven more formidable than our initial estimates. It is believed that the SS were broken up into companies and scattered into the Wehrmacht units as reinforcements. The RAF and the Americans have gotten involved. They are intent on turning our industrial capability in the region into rubble that neither side are able to use. Two hundred sorties by day, another hundred and twenty by night. It's almost clockwork. Kesselring, can you send any more units to intercept the attacks?"
Gerd von Rundstedt's inquiry made the commanding officer of the Luftwaffe, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring turn to face the older Prussian born. He was looking weary; the Luftwaffe was still in tatters. It would likely require the full efforts of the war industry once all matters were settled in the west before they could take an offensive role. For now the Allies seemingly unlimited reserves of planes were coming over the Atlantic.
Halid'Zorah and Alaan'Jarva remained perfectly silent. No one was aware that as they spoke, the medium and heavy fleets were training their guns all across North America. Lining their sights on nuclear research facilities, aircraft manufacturing plants, shipyards and arguably the most dangerous target of all: A huge pilot training program located in the flatlands of central Canada. It was there that the majority of British and Commonwealth pilots were being sent to for training. Should the Western Allies refuse the peace that the quarians would offer in three months' time, the attack would commence and forty seconds later, the majority of the war making ability would be crippled with minimal North American casualties.
"I will do whatever I can do. I'm moving air units out of occupation zones in Poland, Norway and Denmark. Other than that, we're stretched out thin as it is," was Kesselring's strained response. "I could see if I could convince Rommel to part with his Luftflotte 3 elements, but I will need assurances from you that your forces will do whatever they can do to supplement my aerial defence. That includes redirecting your flak guns back to their intended purpose."
The holograph of the Prussian stared at the Luftwaffe man pointedly.
"I'll see that it happens the moment I see more planes in the sky," Von Rundstedt grumpily returned to the air marshal. "I've gotten reports from Hasso von Manteuffel that one of his subordinates is ordering the burning of everything he sees; from trees to bushes, forests and buildings in an attempt to cover his men from the air and artillery attack… three guesses who the pyromaniac Oberst is…"
Although Zorah groaned, Manstein and Alaan'Jarva chuckled appreciably at the barely veiled reference to Joachim Hoch. Of course the lunatic was torching everything he saw. However annoyed Halid might have been Kesselring appeared somewhat intrigued with the statement he heard from the Heer Generalfeldmarschall.
"It brilliant if it's applied in large scale; order enough controlled blazes in the cities and the smoke screen may convince enemy air commanders that its risks outweigh the benefits," Kesselring spoke to Rundstedt once again. "At least it might work on the Americans; they are still trying to abide to strategic bombardment theory. The British, of course, use area bombardment so they don't give a damn who they kill... Manstein would it be possible to convince your fellow Army Group Commanders to-"
"Don't even dare to finish that question, Kesselring. We need as much air support as we can get. We have beaten them back at Kharkov in March, but they inevitably won't stop there," Erich von Manstein shot down the Luftwaffe man. Sighing, he turned to Zorah, adding, "On that note Kluge, Bock and I are formally withdrawing our intentions to engage in a renewed offensive this year. We will make pushes in several vital areas, and we may end the siege of Leningrad, but this year must be dedicated to blunting the Soviet Army and their morale gain after Stalingrad. You must find someone to try to convince Mannerheim to commit more troops in the north. The Finns appear to be our only useful allies in the region. Whatever the case, a general offensive shall begin next spring."
Typing down the suggestion made by Erich von Manstein, Alaan'Jarva nodded and looked back up to the Army Group Don Commander.
"Do you have your figures from Kharkov?" Jarva inquired from Erich von Manstein. "I will send word to the lunar factories that you will need an armaments shipment."
"Please do. We took fifty thousand casualties on our side is the estimation," Von Manstein addressed the fellow militarist. "We don't have an exact number on the enemy, but we believe that the Soviets lost at least fifty divisions in the offensive. It appears likely that they will try this attack again, in Kharkov, or elsewhere. The Soviet general staff is growing tricky, but it appears Stalin's hands are holding the choke chains on his commanders as hard as Hitler had on us. Stalin may be our best ally at the moment..."
Erich von Manstein trailed off as two new men joined the circle, both men donning weary expressions and the markings of Waffen-SS affiliation. One was older than the other, although it was the younger one who was completely bald. Male pattern baldness was a terrible affliction that humans hadn't solved yet.
"Obergruppenführer Hausser, Gruppenführer Bittrich," Zorah greeted the new arrivals to their first meeting with the council. "It's a pleasure for you to join us at long last."
Although the kind words had been offered to Paul Hausser and Wilhelm Bittrich, it did little to sway the opinions instilled in the gathering. There was an ironic sense amongst the Wehrmacht men that the Waffen-SS were opportunists of the highest order. The three leading members of the Waffen-SS were keeping the huge and extremely battle hardened paramilitary group from making a final decision in where it stood in the war.
The first man was a realist in nature, but ultimately he was still a diehard National Socialist. He was Oberst-Gruppenführer Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich. Dietrich was a man was conflicted by his duties. As much as he wanted his men to serve their country, so long as Hitler lived, his service and the service of the 1st SS Panzer Division 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler' would always be ultimately dedicated to the service of the Führer. The LSSAH were Hitler's Praetorian Guard and not once would they waver until they saw Hitler's body lying before them.
Rommel reported frequently that Dietrich was growing more and more impatient. He was looking for ways to get out of Egypt as he believed less and less in the cover story of Hitler's death. Tactically speaking, he was not much of a challenge. He lacked a lot of strategic skill, but what he lacked in formal military education, he made up with having a keen eye for talent. His subordinates were utterly brilliant carrying out his goals.
The second man was by far the most pragmatic of the three. He was the man standing before them, Obergruppenführer Paul 'Papa' Hausser. Paul Hausser was the clear cut case of them all; it was his legacy being placed at stake with the recent Civil War breaking out. It had been him who approached Hitler and Himmler about taking the most skilful members of the SS, sending them to SS Junker training school and creating the first incantation of the Waffen-SS -the SS-VT, or SS-Verfügungstruppe. After the Civil War broke out, Paul Hausser had pulled himself out of an administrator role and was back in command of the 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich'. Of the three, Das Reich had the cleanest record in the Waffen-SS, and in some cases, some units in the Heer. This was thanks in large part to Hausser's Prussian ancestry demanding that he not sully his project for the whims of the Allgemeine-SS.
The third man could be best described with the words of the young Joachim Hoch: 'Human vermin that needed to be euthanized'. He was Obergruppenführer Theodor Eicke. After a political quarrel with a Gauleiter that ended with Eicke in a mental asylum for three months, he was released by Himmler's order and together, they built and ran the concentration camp system long before they had been converted by Heydrich and Eichmann into genocide slaughterhouses.
As the war started, Eicke decided that many of the men in the SS-Totenkopfverbände were both well trained, and extremely bored with guarding the various political prisoners and early undesirables that ended up in their hands. So he gathered volunteers and it wasn't long before he had formed the 3rd SS Panzer Division 'Totenkopf'. It did not take long for the Totenkopf men to gain a reputation as ferocious fighters that lacked restraint on whatever that stood in their way… or was in the wrong place at the wrong time. To Eicke, that was what the Waffen-SS had to become. They had to be an unstoppable force that terrified the enemy into cowed submission. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Erich von Manstein's victory at Kharkov would not have been possible without the herculean efforts of the Totenkopf and Eicke, who was nearly killed there as well.
Sepp Dietrich, Paul Hausser and Theodor Eicke…. loyalty, personal honour and ferocity; they were three men with three separate visions of the Waffen-SS's role in the Reich's war against the world. It was these three men whose elite Waffen-SS units were looked up to by the newcomer Waffen-SS units. The newcomer units would throw their support behind one of the three men to choose from, as though it was a popularity contest. Unfortunately it was in everyone's estimation that once it was clear that Hitler was alive, any difference between Sepp Dietrich and Theodor Eicke would be forgotten. They would suppress their differences and convince the majority of the Waffen-SS to move to Germany and join in on the side of the Loyalists. Hausser and Bittrich would be left in a minority and likely grouped together with the maniacs.
Speaking of Bittrich, there was a second reason why the 'Das Reich' Panzer Division had fought a relatively clean war up until this point. It was thanks to the Waffen-SS general standing before the Heer and quarian admiralty. Gruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich was the personal product of Paul Hausser, his mentor and teacher. He had taken command of the division shortly after Hausser was reassigned. It was not much different than that of Gerald Langer and Joachim Hoch before that fell apart. Bittrich was utterly loyal to Hausser and his new task of bringing about as many Waffen- SS commanders and men to see that Himmler and Heydrich viewed them with contempt, simple tools to be thrown at the Wehrmacht.
"I came from a rather strained meeting with Himmler, Heydrich, Müller, Jodl and Keitel. They have requested we be their voice to you," Hausser addressed the gathering, his tone displeased by the names he mentioned. "They have officially requested both sides to stand down and aid in the defence of the Ruhr Valley against the Allied bombing campaign. Should you assist them, they would be open to increasing their armaments shipments to the Eastern Front."
The deal made the gathering mutter amongst each other, Hausser and Bittrich remained silent for a good long moment.
"It's in our estimation that it would be wise to come to an agreement and end the battle," Wilhelm Bittrich finished on behalf of his mentor as the conversation died. "Losing more men and material that should be directed towards the Allies and the Soviets would be unwise. They are not being unreasonable in their demands."
Just as Zorah predicted, the oldest man in the room exploded first.
"Forget those damn Nazi apologists and scum; we have made quite enough deals with them since 1933. No more!" Gerd nearly screamed out at the two Waffen-SS men, making the collection of men turn directly to him. "We must conquer the region, drive them back or slay them, then defend the region ourselves. I will not back down when my task force is so close to a victory!"
Erich von Manstein stared at Gerd von Rundstedt, his expression almost amused by the explosive temper he had. It was little wonder why Gerd had a damaged heart considering his temper. That said, his anger was what kept him alive. Through sheer rage and willpower, he suffered through a heart attack without so much as stopping while he was on the verge of taking Rostov.
"While Gerd's anger is not wrong, nor misdirected, we must think about this with reality in mind," Erich pointed out to the gathering. "Every day the bombing goes undefended on the ground, it will only further smash our war making capabilities. The Ruhr is home to a good portion of our coal and steel industry. We simply do not have time in that region to clean it out when two hundred bombers a day are making it into the Ruhr. We must cease this battle, create a cooperative military zone and fend off these attacks until they cease their mission. It was likely Keitel and Jodl`s idea, and as subservient they may be to Hitler, they know something needs to be done and it will take both sides to do it..."
"Cooperative military zone?"
Halid and Alaan turned to the source of the familiar voice standing outside of the holoprojector. It was Alaan's Daughter, Hanala. She stood there in full Admiral Regalia, her hands in fists at side of her slender body. She was even wearing height enhancing boots to project her image of authority. Alaan smiled to his child, Halid did not. She had no business being here. Every time she got involved, it was usually in ways that dampened his goals. She was too young and too idealistic about the Germans she had all but adopted herself to.
Suppressing his annoyance, Halid stepped off the holopad and approached the short woman. His mouth forming into a smile for her, friendly enough for her to seem that it was safe enough for her to drop her guard. She did not bite. She remained solidly self-guarded. She was not the same woman she once was. Joachim Hoch taught her the art of self-control.
"Admiral Jarva, always a pleasure for you to be in our company," Halid greeted the Admiral-in-name-only, disabling his translation software so that they could speak in Khellish only. "I'm afraid however that you are interrupting a rather important meeting. If you have something you need to say…"
"I do, and I think you will want to hear it now," Hanala snapped back, her voice stern and unwilling to oblige any niceties he set up.
Halid dropped his smile. His eyes narrowed at the younger woman in a way that reminded her that he was not exactly the kindest man when treated rudely. Realizing that this confrontation wasn't going to go away, he did not reply. Hanala took it as a sign to continue.
"It appears as though Prince Louis Ferdinand no longer feels that the two of you have shared interests…" Hanala breathed, her lips curved into a smirk as she watched Halid's eyes widen slightly. "He feels that your efforts now put the liberty of German citizens at risk. He has since decided to part ways with you, but he needed to be represented. As such, he approached me about the position as his adviser. I have agreed to do so… if only to see you squirming in the way you're squirming right now."
Zorah blinked, his breathing became unsteady for a moment. He stepped back, his lip curled as he displayed his sharp teeth to Hanala. Canaris… that tricky son of a bitch… he had been presenting him with all sorts of notes on the Eastern Front that could have been given to the Eastern Front Commanders to decipher. It was all a ploy to give the Prince this chance to contact her of all people.
"Hanala… what are you doing?"
Alaan'Jarva had stepped off the holopad to confront his child. He had agreed with Halid that by no means was she ready to be in this room, making interspecies policy. Halid tried not to appear grateful for the older military man's injection into this terrible and sudden betrayal of trust inside the Admiralty. If there was one person here that could make this troublemaker pause, it would be Alaan.
Hanala did not look to her Father. She held her eyes hard on Halid.
"I'm doing the only thing that will go noticed by Falan and you. I want the two of you to turn away from blind support to Zorah," she spoke to her Father as she held her glare on Halid. "I realize that he has cleaned up much of the mess Grandmother left behind, but in doing so he treats Germany as some sort of feudal system where the military takes precedence over everything else. The Prince has seen it and has decided that enough was enough."
At least she understood the sheer amount of work that he had do in order to rectify Jalina'Calis's rash, presumptive choice that Germany was the nation to back. Alaan remained unmoved by what his daughter had said. He stepped forward until he was three steps behind Halid.
"It's war, Hanala. That is the usual reaction which occurs," he reminded her in a way not dissimilar to what a father would use on a petulant child. "The army has to come first for the sake of the nation. What good are the people's liberties if they are vanquished because their needs came before the country? Please daughter, just go… you still have much left to understand about how the council must operate."
For the first time, Hanala was distracted; she turned her angry eyes to Alaan.
"Father I will not be talked down to by you. Not now! Not when I know what I know!" she snapped, fuming furiously enough to make her Father take a step back. "Are you aware of the full extent of Halid's operation against Hitler?"
Halid felt as though he had been unexpectedly sacked in the gut. Much of what occurred there had been more or less kept from the eyes of the Admiralty who were assured that it would have been a clean grab, and that no real civilian presences would be harmed there. Hanala glanced briefly to him and glared at the man before turning back to her Father.
"Erich von Manstein himself can confirm that Guderian had been ordered to attack and kill everyone at the Kehlsteinhaus. He was so disgusted that he went there in person to warn Joachim about the impending attack," Hanala informed her staring Father, Minister Speer was allowed to evacuate his family… even that pig Ernst Kaltenbrunner got to leave alive with his family, but Magda Goebbels and four of her seven children were considered necessary sacrifice. You saw the children, you saw their Mother in the fleet and in my home. None of the children left behind were over ten and they were all supposed to die for his cover!"
Alaan's eyes widened significantly as he absorbed the news offered. Halid rubbed the bridge of their nose. Neither of them understood that the whole purpose was to convince the National Socialists just how serious the rebels were in their desire for a change. It was nothing personal. He didn't particularly care about the lives of a few when he had been given the chance to potentially keep the situation from spiralling into Civil War.
"The lives of four children and a morally dubious mother weighed against the chance of keeping the peace and sparing thousands of innocent men, women and children their lives was a sacrifice I was willing to make," Halid flat out admitted, forcing Hanala to look at him once again. "If your human had found his nerve, Hitler's death would all but assure peace in the Reich, there would have been no reason for my attack on the chalet, no reason to harm those children! There would have been no reason for the huge terrorist campaign in South Germany that killed tens of thousands. No, it all happened because instead of doing what was necessary, he found himself growing a conscious and finding mercy for the one man who deserved mercy least of all others on that miserable planet. Because of Hoch, we had to lie and not have the ability to produce the evidence back the lie! This war is because of him as much as it is because of the loyalist delusions!"
A sudden and resounding slap echoed through the communication centre. Hanala's hand had connected faster than the older quarian could have anticipated. Pain shot through his face but it was quickly suppressed by his years of pain management exercise. His cheek turning purple, he turned back to face Hanala who was glaring at him, her eyes wild, her teeth bared. Hanala was beyond furious. She wanted blood spilled across the floor.
Sneering at Halid, Hanala turned back to her Father.
"So were you aware of this, Father?" She demanded. "Were you aware of any of this? If you weren't, then it might be time to seriously rethink the extent of your partnership with Zorah, if he's making all these unilateral decisions without your knowledge."
Alaan remained silent, his expression long since softened. All of this had been news to him. He was trying to digest it, and as he did, it became clearer and clearer to him. Hanala offered her Father a sad smile in return. Halid, on the other hand, wanted nothing better than to allow himself the pleasure of wrapping his hands around the short-sighted bitch's throat. She was doing more damage to him than she was realizing. This alone was enough to shake up the power structure in the Admiralty Board.
"I don't think you were..." Hanala spoke for him, her voice levelling out.
Alaan remained dead silent by the words offered by his child. He knew nothing he could possibly say in response. Instead Hanala sidestepped past Halid, her hands reaching out; she took a hold of his and smiled up at her significantly taller Father.
"Father, it is one thing to be involved in the war, and you are right, the military must come first," she added, emphasizing her point to the stunned man. "It's quite another thing to wage a dirty war to make our efforts look legitimate… and whether you like it or not, the needs of the people must be addressed from time to time."
Kissing her Father's cheek, she stepped onto the holopad and joined the Wehrmacht and SS men. Halid glanced to Alaan, and found the Admiral was staring at him brutally. As involved as Alaan was in the efforts to root out the more cancerous elements in Germany, he was not privy to the operational details of the mission Zorah had undertaken.
"We will be discussing this quicker than you'd like."
Huffing in personal disgust, Alaan joined his daughter on the holopad, leaving Halid alone once again.
Groaning he turned back around and joined with the other three. He was going to get to the bottom of this. He only looked at the Germans for a moment before he focused on his omni-tool.
"I should like you all to meet our newest and youngest Admiral on our board, Hanala'Jarva," he informed the staring Germans looking at the young woman, purposefully addressing her by name only. "She is the daughter of Alaan'Jarva and as such believes herself entitled to be here."
Alaan stared at Halid; Hanala remained still, smirking slightly as Halid sent his request for a summons to Louis Ferdinand.
"It's a pleasure, Admiral Jarva," Manstein was the first to greet the newcomer. "If you are as smart as your Father, you will support whatever I am suggesting."
The gathering chuckled at Manstein blatant display of consolidating a newcomer into his sphere of interests. Hanala merely smiled slightly. Gone was her vicious contempt for Zorah. She was already trying to win the Germans over to her. It was clear to him that he Admiralty Board should have forced Galina'Jarva to have that abortion, as per standard practice for illegal births.
The holographic communication device hummed as a new figure joined the gathering. It was Louis Ferdinand. He did not appear confused as to why he was so randomly called by Zorah. It was clear that Hanala and the Prince had been plotting more than on one occasion. Halid clear his throat. He had no time for games.
"Your Majesty, may I ask you if there has been some sort of issue between the two of us?" Halid inquired, his voice remaining as civil as he could hold it. "Have I not been a fair and open representation to you? My service has always been in the best interest of your country. I realize that I may be distracted with this war, but Germany as a whole does hold my attention."
Louis glanced to Hanala, who smiled slightly and inclined her head. It was a clear sign of reassurance that the Jarva bitch would make sure that she had his back against any possible flaring of anger.
"Admiral Zorah, you have worked hard to restore some dignity to the country, but I fear that in your rightful focus on cleaning Germany, you have forgotten that the people must have a voice in all matters pertaining to them, something I fear will not happen should this course of rampant militarism remain unguarded against," the Prince spoke to the Admiral respectfully. "I hold you with great esteem, but in the end you are a man who needs his attention focused on the Wehrmacht for your own long term goals."
Halid remained perfectly silent, his eyes veering off to look at Hanala. She appeared bothered, but only mildly so. It appeared that the Prince was veering off the agreed upon response to Halid. It appeared she wanted to keep the break up neutral so that it did not scare off the Wehrmacht…
Clever little bitch…
"Since I can respect your position, I was hoping to help alleviate your workload, which I why I sent word to meet with Admiral Hanala'Jarva here," Louis pressed on, gesturing to the young woman before him. "I feel that with her dedication focused on the fleet and her people, as well as a firm belief in a genuine friendship between our people's she would serve as a fine replacement to you."
Hanala turned to face Halid. She was smiling politely at Halid, but her posture screamed that she wanted nothing better than to slit his throat at the first chance she got. Halid held his stare at Hanala for a moment before turning back to the Prince, producing a friendly smile as well.
"With your permission, sir, might I suggest to you Admiral Habva'Vaerhit instead then?" he suggested in a soft tone, knowing that while he lost the support of the Prince, was aware he could soften the blow by choosing the bastard he knew to replace him. "He is just as focused on the civilians of my people as much as Hanala…More so, he is the longest serving Admiral and has more experience you can draw from. He has just as many problems against the rampant militarism you fear and as head of the civilian fleet, holds most sway over the common people of the Fleet."
Next to him a small laugh escaped Hanala.
"You can save your breath, Admiral Zorah," Hanala spoke brightly, a huge, murderous smile on her face for Zorah. "I have already been in contact with Admiral Vaerhit. He is firmly supporting my new position. I believe his exact words were 'I don't like you, Jarva, but I don't like that spy Halid'Zorah even more.' Sound familiar?"
Halid continued to stare at the smiling young woman. Yes… that certainly did sound like Habva'Vaerhit alright. Exhaling, he turned back to face the holographic Louis Ferdinand whose, hands were wrapped tightly in front of him. There was no other option left for him to take at the moment. Perhaps something would arise in the future, but for now Hanala'Jarva had effectively outmanoeuvred him.
Although Hanala might have been gleefully smug about what went down, at least Louis Ferdinand had the respect to remain somewhat solemn.
"Admiral, thank you again for your service," Louis spoke formally to the group. "I solemnly swear that I will do as you asked. I shall be the voice of the people. I will do so with all my efforts. They deserve as much. Hanala'Jarva, I shall be in contact with you soon; the best of luck to you to your endeavours."
Next to him, Hanala cleared her throat, catching Louis Ferdinand's attention once again. Hanala slightly bowed her head in a display of respect to her new partner and the only reason she would now have a chance to sit on this council.
"Thank you for this chance, Your Majesty," she spoke softly. "You will not regret this."
Smiling to her, Louis Ferdinand nodded and cut his connection to the group, leaving the Germans in stunned silence, Hanala smug in her victory over Halid, Alaan looking both furious with Halid and extremely proud of his child and Halid livid with the woman standing next to him.
Hanala turned around, the smile on her expression replaced with an expression of self-righteous disgust with him. Her lips curled up, revealing a row of her sharp teeth.
"You… on the other hand, Halid'Zorah, will…" she growled out her assurance to him. "I will make sure of it."
With that aid, Hanala stepped off the holopad and left the communication centre and the council gathering in a state of silence. Pushing his hand into his hair, Halid turned back and found Alaan standing there only centimetres away from the Admiral. The military man's eyes were narrowed dangerously at the former spy.
"Erich, I was wondering if you could confirm that you went to Joachim Hoch shortly before Hitler's abduction," Alaan spoke to the hologram of Erich von Manstein. "Halid, I think it would be wise if you left the rest of the meeting to me. Go home."
Halid did not move for a good long moment. Never before had he been ordered to leave. Not when it had been him who had single-handedly organized much of this group. As much as he wanted to stay and tell Alaan what he thought of his daughter and her actions today, Halid narrowed his eyes and moved to leave. He was beaten today… He would come back and contain the situation at the next gathering.
"My God…" Halid heard Wilhelm Bittrich whisper to Paul Hausser as he left. "Are all these meetings usually this dramatic?"
...
…
Organizing assassination operations, working with flat out war criminals, and then releasing them with little in the way of monitoring, permitting the killing of women and children for vague chances…
How in the hell had he not been paying attention to all of the extremely dirty and underhanded moves made in order to secure the Germans as their human assets for a battle fifty or sixty years away from now?
Alaan'Jarva slammed down his emptied glass and went to pour himself another one. It took hours, but Alaan had finally managed to make the Germans tell every dirty little act that they saw Halid commit in their interest and his own. It was now little wonder why his daughter held so much disgusted hatred for the spy. He and his first wife had presented the radical rethinking of uplifting a race, but in the act of completing this task for her, Halid'Zorah was breaking every moral code he swore to abide to when he took up his Admiralty commission. It was one thing to kill in the name of summary execution when the evidence was so stacked against the victim; it was quite another thing to murder men on behalf of other men.
Take Fritz Sauckel, for instance. He had been murdered on Halid's order at the behest of Albert Speer. The same Speer, who was likely as guilty of the slave labour procurement as Sauckel had been. But because Speer was significantly cleverer than Sauckel, and infinitely more useful, the assassination went off without as much as anyone questioning it.
And then there was Joachim Hoch.
It was becoming more and more clear that his murder campaign was being led along by Halid'Zorah. It was not much of a stretch to assume that Halid had a list of men and would feed the information to Hoch through a third party. Using Hoch's anger and hatred, he found himself the perfect and justifiable executioner of the men who would sully the image of Germany once the war ended and the truth came out about what crimes were committed by the party. Killing men like Oswald Pohl before they were permitted to testify before the world of all their most heinous crimes would take the human element out of it. It would just all be more paper evidence of man long since dead.
This was so wrong, so terribly wrong. It would be up to Alaan to rectify the mistakes. The first order of business would be to call for the resignation of Halid'Zorah from his offices.
The sliding of his door brought Alaan out of his alcohol induced brooding. Entering the room was his daughter; an odd smile was on her mouth. She was still high from her victory over Zorah. It was a victory that Hanala had been looking for, for some time now…. most likely since she had trusted Zorah enough to keep tabs on Joachim. Now the tables had been turned, Hanala had taken one of the most vital assets Zorah had.
"You wanted to see me, Father?" she inquired as she stood before him, watching Alaan as he slid his glass away from him.
Alaan leaned back into his seat. He looked up, finally able to meet his daughter in her eyes. He was unbelievably proud of her at this moment. She had the moral fortitude that he no longer possessed. She saw the potential for misuse of power and was not about to shy away from doing something, anything about it. Halid was would be an intelligence agent of great talent and the possessed the most talented tongue he had ever seen in his life. He had the ability to get everything and anything done if left to his own devices. But when overused he was capable of great horrendous acts in the name of furthering the cause. It was simply the ways of a spy. The ends always justified the means.
But that had to stop now. Halid was going to be restrained by any means possible.
"I wanted to apologize for treating you like a child," the Father spoke to his daughter softly. "Despite your tone and language, you brought up several good points about my blind faith in him to get things done. I will be informing Falan about this, Zorah will not be able to slip out of this one."
Hanala did not reply to his threat against Zorah right away. She turned her attention to pulling tie out of her hair and kicking off the height enhancing boots she wore. Sighing in relief as she shrunk back down by three or so inches, Hanala took off her jacket, leaving her in a white blouse. She turned back to her Father. She did not seem happy.
"Please… don't destroy him Father," she requested finally. "As nice as it may be, he's still useful."
Alaan tilted his head as Hanala turned away once again, walking over to the portside observation window overlooking Luna. Not two hours ago had Hanala appeared moments away from challenging the fellow Admiral to a fight. Now here she stood, denying the one thing that would satisfy her anger against Halid'Zorah.
"Halid'Zorah is one of those necessary evils I keep hearing about," she sighed, her back still turned, her hand buried into her pockets. "I mean, I understand why he does what he does. I do not always agree with it, but I understand his reasons. I just feel that he needs to be watched closer by you and Falan. He needs you both breathing down his neck so that he doesn't act with impunity anymore. His actions must be agreed upon first."
Alaan could not help himself; he smiled slightly at the statement she made. He stood from his seat and followed Hanala's path, joining her by the observation port, his hand wrapping around her shoulder. She smiled slightly before turning back to her pensive expression, her head leaning over to him and resting on his bicep.
"You are right, Hanala. It would be better he stay at our side for the time being… which is why I want you to join in on all other meetings on an official capacity. Not just as a voice to the future Kaiser, but as a policy maker, as an equal voice. After today, I think you are ready," Alaan admitted to his child, who glanced up at him curiously.
"I still have my doubts," he amended swiftly. "But only in the way of a Father looking out for his child. The Admiral side would be more than proud to have you out there; because I know that being your Father will not ever influence your opinions."
Hanala remained silent. She stared up in to her Father's eyes curiously, as though she doubted what he was saying to her. He could blame her being distrustful, but it was no deception. Tomorrow he would go to Vaerhit and Falan and stand with him to give her a position beyond a technical one.
"You will not regret this…" Hanala finally assured her Father as she did for Louis Ferdinand. She paused, however, and smiled ruefully as she added, "Although to be fair, you might regret it…"
She smiled awfully at him. Alaan huffed and bumped hard against the girl, making her stumble in place.
"I probably will," he agreed with her, his voice faking a strained tone. "You have your Mother's stubbornness in you as well as Hoch's ability to stand ground. It's a dangerous combination."
Alaan watched as Hanala's expression lit up briefly at the mention of Joachim Hoch. It was a far cry from the miserable expression she usually had whenever Joachim was mentioned. Alaan turned slightly and touched Hanala's chin. He could not help but smile slightly. He might have had his problems with Hoch, but to see her smile…
"You went to Joachim, didn't you?" he inquired coyly. "Even after I suggested you should wait. You look a little… positive."
Hanala's small smile widened slightly as she nodded causally.
"I did see him… we sorted out some big things, not everything, but it was enough progress for us both," Hanala addressed the matter. She glanced to her Father, noticing he seemed somewhat worried, she added. "Do not worry, I drew a line and made him understand that Saleb was not safe around him until he got help… but he seemed to take that well. Once things settle down a bit, I'm going to do whatever is possible to get him the help he needs."
Hanala turned away, her chin lowering slightly as she held her eyes on the moon in the observation port. Halid remained silent. He would not address his concerns about Zorah guiding Joachim down the path of personal assassin just yet. For now he would gather more evidence before he told Hanala his concerns.
"That's if he survives the war, of course," he instead said to Hanala, making her turn to him. "I've gotten no word of him leading the attack on the Ruhr."
Looking at her Father carefully for a moment, Hanala turned away, her arm wrapping around his waist.
"He will survive," Hanala replied confidently, her tone light and causal. "I think he considers dying to be a good break for him and me… it ends everything for him and keeps Saleb and me safe from potential retaliation. But fortunately for me, Joachim rarely gets a good break, so he'll be still standing when everything settles..."
Hanala trailed off for a moment, she shook her head and huffed rather undignified.
"I mean he better survive," she added, her tone tougher. "He knows better than to give me a reason to be mad at him."
Alaan squinted at the girl and turned away. As much as he didn't like Joachim, he could not help but feel sorry for him for ending up as a source of affection for the apparent clone of his wife.
He could think of no worse a fate then that.
…
…
Changes: Clean up and melodrama removal.
we are almost at the halfway point.