Avrika double checked the contents of her briefcase as she got ready for her first outing in over a month. Even so, that month had been busy. She had been running around assisting Callie with accomplishing Octavia's projects as well as her own new ones. A lot of that involved organising meetings with the leaders of various branches, and sections within the Octarian logistical and infrastructure organisations. Fortunately, she was much more adept at dealing with her own kind.
"Everything is ready," Lilibett reported. She was once again wearing the winter clothing Callie and Marie had gifted her, her beloved word processor tucked securely under her arm.
She glanced over at Kalisha and Aishi who were just finishing their weapons checks. The weapons they were carrying were new models designed by Callie and Marie's supporters in Inkopolis. It looked almost identical to the standard octoshot but fired ink with enough force to injure most crab species with a face shot but it was heavier and less versatile than the standard weapon.
Avrika sealed her briefcase back up and donned her coat. "Alright then, let's get moving, quickly."
Marie's instructions upon giving them an exact date and time for their meeting with the Bellchoran ambassador also included instructions for something prior to that. She was to arrive at Cuttlefish Cabin no later than 11:15. There she would wait until someone drove her to her lunch meeting with Marie and the Bellchoran ambassador at 12:45. It was the first time they'd given her this kind of strict timetable and she wondered why.
The weather was, fortunately, more pleasant than she'd feared. The sun peeked out behind scattered clouds and the wind was light, making their journey from the domes to the cabin only mildly unpleasant. They still had numb fingers and toes by the time they reached the cabin and were grateful to go inside for a chance to warm up. Hani Scriber was waiting for them.
"Once the broadcast is over, I will be delivering you to the Vasilika, Ambassador."
Avrika held her hands up to the space heater and arched an eyebrow at her. "Broadcast?"
"Marie is making a public announcement over the internet. She wanted to make it before the meeting and she wanted to make sure you saw it."
She went over to the small display in the corner and turned it on. The screen showed the word "Standby" at the top with a rainbow of colours beneath it. Hani and the rest of the small garrison crowded around to see the screen. Avrika kept her head turned to the side while she warmed her hands and feet.
As the clock struck 11:15, the screen suddenly went black, and for a moment there was nothing, until the blackness gradually faded and a huge crowd of people came into focus within the confines of a large open building, not unlike the smaller domes, but stretched out. Inklings made up the majority but she also spotted many jellies, crabs, and other species among them all.
The view switched abruptly to show a large red curtain, and a moment later, Marie's magnificent visage came into view. They all held their collective breaths as Marie began to speak.
—-
"My fellow Calachorans, I'm sure none of you needs to be reminded that we are in serious trouble. If we weren't, those of you standing here before me wouldn't be here, nor would some of your kids be wearing the uniform of the Bastion Guard."
Foame swallowed another bubble of anxiety. Her stomach was full of butterflies. This past week had been a hurricane of emotions, dealing with her grandmother's resignation, blaming herself for being unable to support her, and then worrying along with the rest of her comrades about their future. The way things had been sounding it was as if they were going to end up being drafted into the very thing they had joined the Guard to prevent.
This morning they had been informed that their lesson before lunch would be moved to afterwards as Marie was going to make a public speech addressing the current situation and what she intended to do about it. Everyone eagerly went, though they all wondered how Marie could possibly change the situation. They'd entered only to find Building 9 already thoroughly crowded with a public audience. They'd had to move one rank at a time to reach their positions and form up between Marie and the public. She hoped they wouldn't have to be a shield.
"We formed the guard as a way of supporting Inkopolis Security and the National Security Force while also protecting the youth who were found to be at risk from the Consortium's forces. We were criticised for the idea of making such young soldiers, and while I understand the sentiment, desperate times require desperate measures, and if you scoff at what threat they could possibly be, I guarantee you that if you were to fight them, by the end of it you'd be complaining about how unfair the fight was for you."
Foame heard a few chuckles around her. Ferath had sent her plenty of emails and texts about the Militia and the kind of training they were doing (or not taking seriously). From the things he said, she wouldn't bet against the Guard if they faced the Militia either.
"I say these things, not to boast but as an acknowledgement of the hard work these kids and their instructors have put into making the Guard an organisation of soldiers, who can not only fight, but protect themselves and those they care about. This wasn't because the NSF and IS were incompetent or inept here in Inkopolis. They were just stretched too thin to do everything themselves.
"Perhaps a lot of you don't realise that while you have been sitting in your comfortable chairs at home, they have been working day and night to try and make Calachora safe for you, even as you call them incompetent idiots, sneer at them whenever they pass by, or demand that someone else, who isn't even qualified, be put in charge of their organisations. Your fingers weren't numb from the cold as you picked through bits of debris for clues, your whole body didn't ache from rooting in the underground for signs of Consortium activity. You've all lost sleep by worrying, but they've been losing sleep by working, so that you can sleep easy at night and not worry if you will wake up to disaster tomorrow!"
Foame's mantle and those of her fellow guards rippled with guilt. They had all made fun of both organisations plenty of times over the course of their training together, trained by those they thought had made the real difference, who had made the Liberation possible. Now, she felt like the lowest form of sea scum.
"We also can't forget the contributions of the Octarian refugees. They gave their lives during the Liberation and in other operations besides, all because they had come to love Inkopolis and because they wanted peace between their people and ours! The Liberation and the peaceful coexistence with Inklings and other species in Xapheerell Ward proves that it's very much possible." Marie's eyes narrowed and her mantle turned red. "And yet, despite all the work and sacrifice of our own national defenders and those Octarian refugees, our own Assembly of our greatest leaders seems willing to cast it all aside for the sake of a petty grudge.
"There is a line in The Wisdoms that says, 'before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.' That means that a journey of vengeance is inherently self-destructive. Everyone who's been saying the Octarians are the real enemy don't know what a real enemy is. Few if any of them have even met an Octarian or learned anything about them, yet they feel qualified to judge them, assume they can predict all their actions and know their hearts."
Marie's mantle turned tyrian, a challenge of authority. "So many in the Assembly and outside it who have known the Octarians, base all their assumptions on how they were a century ago instead of who they are now. A lot can change in a century. We know, because Callie and I learned about the Octarians of a century ago through the stories of our grandfather, Captain Craig Cuttlefish, who lived it, as well as the stories of other veterans, but we got to know the Octarians of the present day by fighting them in life and death combat since we were fourteen years old. We also observed their movements, learned their language and culture. When the first wave of refugees came, we got to know them individually as well, and we very quickly found out that we aren't so different.
"Like any inkling, an octoling has dreams, ambitions, fears, joys, likes, and dislikes. The octolings in this room here with you, dreamed of living in a place where they wouldn't have to live on bad rations for their entire lives, a place where they didn't have to constantly keep a look out for falling debris, a place where they would actually be able to see their mothers again. All the ones here now, almost none of them have seen their mothers since they were two years old."
Foame felt like she'd just been hit in the chest with a hammer. She had spent over a month around Octarians and she had never known that. Why would they not be able to see their mothers?
"Seeing what they had to live with every day, how they suffered, how little they had, how bleak their futures looked thanks to a century of Octavio's leadership, Callie wanted to do something to change things for the better and so did I. That's why we wanted to offer peace, we wanted to offer them a chance at redemption, to rejoin the international community, not as a pariah but as a friend, because friends are better than enemies any day. It's certainly done wonders for this ward."
Marie pulsed red. "And yet, in spite of everything, out of the entire Assembly, only our own Matriarch came to me and Callie to learn more about the Octarians. I've had a long time to think about why and I wonder if it's because they were worried that they'd realise their prejudices against them were wrong. Consciences can be an annoying thing.
"Well, my own conscience and those of everyone else in the Greater Bastion of Inkopolis have been extremely annoying lately. Our consciences won't allow us to simply sit back and let the Assembly ruin everything because of old grudges or abide by any decision to abandon Bellchora after all they've done to help us.
"Well that's just fine. We didn't need the Assembly to liberate Xapheerell, we don't need them to help IS and the NSF; and we definitely don't need them to figure out if peace is a worthwhile option! I have news for you, the members of Inkoplis Security and the National Security Force don't need the Assembly's permission to do their job!"
There were murmurs of agreement and the audience was starting to get more riled up.
"So, we of the Greater Bastion and the Guard are going to continue helping them; we're going to give them all the support they need to do their job and find the Consortium forces hiding in our midst. When we do find them, we will go after them together, and drive them away so that every household in Calachora, inkling, crab, or anyone else, will be able to rest easy. And we will continue to extend the olive branch to the Octarians, because we will not be constrained by the past, but move towards a brighter future, and we don't need permission to do what's right. After all, Callie is an Octarian too. The only difference between them and her, besides upbringing, is that she's an inkling and they're all octolings, and I am not going to fight my own family over someone else's prejudices."
Marie lifted her arms up. "I invite all of Calachora to join us. The Greater Bastion will be what stands between Calachora and ruin. Never mind what everyone else thinks, decide for yourself if you will work towards peace instead of war, if you will allow yourself to be a Consortium pawn or if you will help sweep them from the board. We will not cower and let the world fall apart around us without doing everything in our power to fix it. Even if it's hard we will still try to find a way to make it work. We are not abandoning Bellchora to its fate, we will find a way to protect it and all the people within its borders, because we are Calachorans and Calachorans do not forsake their friends, and we will wear the allegiance of our allies like a badge of honour and they ours!
"The Octarians are no longer in decline and we will not be so inept that we will be left behind. If we work together we can lift both our nations to heights neither have ever seen before. We will raise up this country from the well of despair even if it's by smallest string, because we are making a country worth fighting for, and from now on it will be the Consortium who fears us!" She thrust her fist in the air and cried out, "WE ARE ASCENDANT!"
Everyone let out a resounding cheer that shook the whole building. If everyone else watching on the internet felt the same way then Inkopolis had to be even louder than usual that morning.
—-
Avrika thought the Vasilika's dining hall every bit as grand and opulent as the royal quarters, so she felt a little embarrased when she learned that it was not the main dining hall but the queen's private dining room.
The enormous table was not unlike Callie's, approximately the same size but made of stone reinforced with a decorated steel frame. Marie sat on an enormous chair at the table's head while the normal-sized chairs were all on platforms attached to the table along the flanks. Avrika sat on the right side of the table and across from Avrika were two jellyfish.
One was Jellifer, the representative of the jellyfish population on the Greater Bastion Committee. They hadn't formally been introduced before now but she knew of him. Totally new to her, and the reason for her anxiety, was Jellison, the Bellchoran ambassador.
Jellison was a translucent yellow with white spots dotting his body. As far as Avrika could tell, he looked nervous, which he had every right to be, but he seemed to be controlling himself well. He was a professional Ambassador with decades of experience and Avrika didn't want to be considered wanting in her own abilities. Her biggest comfort was that Three was sitting to her right, garbed in the uniform of the Guard, though the faded injuries on her face raised questions.
"That was quite the declaration you made, Marie," Jellison said, hesitating on Marie's name just slightly. As far as Avrika was aware, Marie had no official title, despite living in a palace. Even Three had the title of Executrix.
"Thank you, Ambassador. I rather wished I didn't have to make it but we're not in a position to be fussy about legalities and protocol. Frankly, neither are you."
Avrika winced. That seemed a bit blunt, especially for a diplomatic situation, but if Jellison took offence he didn't show it. It certainly set the tone of the meeting.
"I suppose there is no point in denying it. Bellchora's situation is desperate."
"And I invited you here because I wanted to help. There is no one magic solution that will save Bellchora but there may be multiple less perfect solutions that might work well together. It's even possible we may be able to help each other."
Jellison placed his tentacles on the table, his look seemed melancholy. "You'll forgive me, I don't entirely see how."
Marie took a sip of her tea, her mantle shifting beneath the surface in curious patterns. Her larger size made such details easier for Avrika to notice.
"Well, first and foremost, the Consortium's presence in Calachora needs to be crushed. Once that's done, we'll have the freedom to respond more freely."
Jellison wriggled one of his long, thin tendrils. "You'll forgive me if I am sceptical of that possibility happening anytime soon."
Marie flashed. "You have every right to be, frankly, but I'll simply say that it won't take until spring for us to find them. Unfortunately, until they're dealt with, we don't have the resources to help Bellchora much." She glanced at Avrika. "Or, I guess, it would be Perlugen to the Octarians."
Avrika had only very recently learned the Octarian name for the jellyfish country. Their two nations had never had better than amicable relations, and they had been sour for the past 200 years. She hoped this meeting would be more positive.
"I have never met an Octarian," Jellison admitted, giving Avrika a cursory look. "Though Jellifer has spoken about the ones in Xapheerell at length. Sadly, I've had more pressing priorities."
"I'm sure. I'm not going to demand too many details from you, Ambassador, but I'm going to be blunt. It's going to take something drastic to save Bellchora from the Consortium, as I'm sure I don't need to tell you. I know that vassalizing yourselves to Calachora was one drastic measure, but it seems we made promises we couldn't keep and we let you down." Marie bowed her head, her mantle turning white. "I am sorry."
Flinching Three suddenly did likewise. Honestly, Avrika sympathised with them. Even though they were the ones who exposed their own country's inability to fulfil any promises they did or might have made to Bellchora, she could understand the shame they felt for their nation's actions.
Jellison's whole body seemed to wriggle for a second then he waved one of his tendrils in a dismissive manner. "I would be lying if I did not feel any sense of betrayal, yes. Your earnestness to help us despite personal risk is closer to the attitude we originally expected, yes. I must be honest, I am not certain how you can help our situation. What resources can you provide that Calachora cannot?"
His gaze, if Avrika was reading the jelly's shallow eyes correctly, was pointed roughly in her direction.
"Contacts, Ambassador, as well as ambition, talents and skills that Calachora was unwilling to utilise. They may not have been front-line troops, but we have fought the Consortium outnumbered, and won. We also have people who have been fighting the crabs for decades. They understand their mentality, some of their quirks. We also know plenty of immigrants from the Grand Consortium, and they have given us some insights we might be able to use to break the Grand Consortium."
Jellison stared at her, and just for an eyeblink, his body seemed to liquify before her eyes. "Break it? Are you saying that you can not only defend Bellchora but also take offensive action against the Grand Consortium on its own land?"
Marie grinned. "You must think I've lost my mind."
Jellifer made a strange, rapid, squishing sound which Avrika supposed was the equivalent of a chuckle. "You, an inkling, asked an army of Octarians to defend Inkopolis, you even got some of them to train the Guard, yes? You began peace talks with the Octarian government, set it up for them to quite easily pick up where you left off, and Callie was even appointed as an Octarian noble." His tendrils wriggled like earthworms. "At this point, I would believe you capable of almost anything, yes."
Marie managed a rueful smile. "Please, I'm just using the resources I have available. Besides, I didn't do any of that on my own. That should give you an idea of the sorts of people we're working with. Ambassador Betanuss here made that Octarian Army's contribution possible and she helped the peace talks move forward as much as they have. It was even her actions that forced the Calachoran government to release Callie in the first place."
"So you have a powerful cadre of skilled and talented people, yes. How do you intend to use them to save Bellchora?"
Marie's expression turned serious. "It will take the cooperation of all three of our groups. Attacking the Consortium out in the open won't work. They knew that about us too which is why they tried this sneakier method."
"Even with your population in such a state?"
Marie's expression faltered, showing a brief glimpse of rosey pink.
"It isn't so bad that we are totally crippled; although, that would probably be the case when it's all said and done, but so would the Grand Consortium by then. Besides, I'm not worried about it. The forces the Consortium is hiding here are to sow terror, not conquer."
"They appear to be succeeding."
"Which is why the Guard exists. It's exactly the reaction they feared. Our generation may be considered lazy and hedonistic but it is no more cowardly than any other generation, and I believe the Octarians have already proven their own valour."
Avrika forced herself to remain relaxed and adopted her officer persona. It helped her to focus and get a tighter rein on her anxiety. "So, you believe the Octarian Empire can help the jellyfish?"
"Where we cannot, yes; as they can help you. You see, Ambassador, Bellchora has huge iron ore deposits, as well as deposits of copper, tin, and nickel, among others, the resources you would need to help you rebuild." She grinned. "Exactly as it helped Calachora rebuild after the war."
"Oh?"
"Calachora is not rich in minerals, Ambassador. Our economy relies on technology, and manufacturing, all of which is currently in decline, even if entertainment and tourism are doing well. Recovery would have been an even bigger struggle were our allies in Bellchora not so willing to stick their figurative necks out and help us."
Avrika nodded, but her tentacles curled angrily. "Expecting to be so treated in kind, I'm sure."
Marie flashed green. "The Monarch did try, in her own way, but the Grand Consortium is a tougher nut to crack than that. They're primarily a continental power while Calachora has always been a maritime one." She looked at Three who began to speak for the first time.
"Calachora's best estimates for the Grand Consortium's professional army numbers 50,000, along with 150,000 reserves and they could draw upon, maybe as many as 400,000 conscripts, if they were desperate."
Avrika felt her blood drain. An army of 50,000 regulars was as big as the Octarian Army had been at its height. The numbers Three was desicribing exceeded the total population of the domes. Marie was willing to take on such a force?
"And how many on the Bellchoran border?" Marie asked.
"About 15,000. It's a mix from all member states."
Marie smiled and nodded. "And there lies the key." She looked at Avrika. "The Grand Consortium is so called because it's actually made of many, smaller nations that have been fighting each other since… well, since the dawn of the mollusc age, as far as we know. But it's basically controlled by three states that each control various other smaller and weaker states. Each state still trains, pays, and equips its own troops, and because they don't trust each other, most of those troops stay in their home state. What's more, they're constantly dealing with an increasingly unruly populace, so they can't risk sending their reserves either, and their conscripts would be highly unreliable."
Avrika nodded, absorbing and processing the information. She glanced at Lillibet, seated a few chairs away to make sure she was taking this down, then looked back at Marie.
"So what you're saying is that if this army of 15,000 could be defeated, the rest would not attack."
"Not unless they invaded, but that's not my plan. Even with Bellchora's highly defensible terrain, blocking that army over the whole border would be very difficult and some would inevitably end up getting around us. No, I plan on hitting them at home, creating discord amongst the population and hurting their ability to suppress it."
Jellison twisted his tendrils around each other. "So when you said 'break' you meant the alliance of the Grand Consortium. But your monarch tried that."
Marie flashed red. "I would hardly call that trying. She wasn't willing to push as far as she needed to, but I'm afraid such details are not for this room at this time. I would be more than happy to speak to your military leaders, if the Consensus would be willing to partner up with us."
Jellison pressed two of his tendrils together, and he watched Marie carefully. "So, this plan will involve some of the Octarians and your people actively making trouble for the Consortium on their own soil, yes? In return, you want us to give resources to the Octarians as payment for their involvement."
"Correct. Anything they need that you can provide. Once there's no more immediate risk of invasion, I was hoping your two nations could come together and make peace with each other. I was also hoping that Bellchora could help the Octarians get their land back. It seems there's a little technicality in the wording of the treaty and in international law that basically means Calachora has forfeit any claim to that land and it now falls back to the Octarians. They would just need your help to make it official."
Jellifer slapped the table top. "If you could save Bellchora from the Consortium, I'm sure the Consensus would happily support any motion you wish."
"I'll save that for when it actually happens, but it'll be the Octarians doing most of the saving. While some members of the Guard would certainly help, it was formed primarily as a defensive force for Calachora under its charter, meant to augment Calachora's own forces." She was speaking to Jellison as she said this. "It will be the Octarians that will save Bellchora, not us."
Avrika tapped her finger on the tabletop. "What do you mean when you say, 'us'?"
Marie frowned. "I mean Calachora. If any of the Octarians here want to help they're more than free to. I'm sure some of the inklings in the guard will want to help too, but they're all too young and I highly doubt they would be allowed to go."
Jellifer curled the ends of his two forward tendrils. "I think they would go where you told them." He was speaking to Marie but Avrika noticed he was looking at her instead. "In fact, I would say the whole of the Greater Bastion looks to you more than it does Calachora's government for guidance, yes."
"I'm just the person most aware of the current situation. Once the Consortium is dealt with and we stop Keeper from making pointless war against the Octarians, it won't be needed, and we can go back to normal. I've been assured by the Ecclesiarchy that they'll deal with the Assembly once the crisis is over."
Avrika looked her in the eyes. "Ma-Marie, I do not know if I have ever told you this, but the Ravalda and the Octarian people see you separately from Calachora, almost as much as we now do Lady Cuttlefish. You who initially fought against us for the sake of your nation, you helped set the minds of the Octarian people free, you started peace between our peoples, and even now you're working to help us recover our nation in defiance of the orders of your own country."
Jellison's bell undulated. "Hmmm, I see the Ambassador's perspective. You are also helping us, actions which could be considered treasonous, based on the attitudes I have seen flying around The Pinnacle."
Marie gave him a frosty smile. "I have not yet begun to be treasonous, Ambassador, because I have a little favour to ask of the Consensus."
"Yes? And what would that be?"
Marie placed her hands on the table, folded together, her eyes hard as glass. "I want you to halt all exports to Calachora."
Jellison's bell undulated so violently it nearly turned inside-out. "What? At such a crucial time, you would deny your own nation resources?"
"They'll be denied us anyway if Bellchora gets conquered by the Consortium. It's time people realised that. And Calachora can't use our treaties against you because we've violated some of them already by leaving you for dead. Keeper needs to learn that his actions and tunnel vision have consequences."
Three leaned forward. "But, wouldn't he know that we'd lose a lot of our access to minerals?"
"Of course he does. Either he thinks the Consortium will still trade with us, which I don't believe, or he thinks it's worth it to focus on fighting the Octarians. We'd have to get those resources from other markets, which would drive prices up and strain our already faltering economy. Not to mention what the ceasing of trade would do to our merchant fleet, import and export companies, etcetera.
"If people feel the sting now, before he's in charge, things might turn around and we can fix things, make people realise how wrong they were. Then maybe we might actually deserve peace with the Octarians, and we can be friends with Bellchora again. But if you ask me, Calachora ought to be vassalized to you two."
Avrika was surprised. "You would accept such a thing?"
Marie made an offhand gesture. "The way things are going now, Bellchora and the Octarian Empire could probably rule the country better, especially with Callie there."
Avrika could certainly understand that sentiment. Callie had been doing well helping to improve things in the domes. Whether that counted as examples of rulership or not was up for debate, but it was apparently better than the current Calachoran government was doing.
"So… you would like for us to discuss a deal?"
"I'm sure both sides will have to work out the details but the sooner the better. None of us have time to waste. The Octarians can't fight a war for you but that doesn't mean they can't make your enemies crack."
Jellion rubbed his tentacles together. "I should need only a day to hear from the Consensus. In the meantime, Ambassador, perhaps we can get to know each other and our peoples better, yes?"
Avrika smiled and bowed her head. "I would be happy to, Ambassador."
Marie nodded. "Good. How about we talk over lunch first and then I can see that you two get a private room." She raised her tea cup. "Let's hope this leads to a prosperous and safe future for us all."
—-
"Have a nice talk."
Marie gave a small wave until the bronze doors shut behind the leaving party. Once the jellies, Three and the Octolings were gone from view, she let out a tired sigh. She was exhausted.
Normally, Marie would have to go for a nap to sleep off her inevitably huge meals, but Jellison had desperately wanted to see the throne room, which had been off limits for the past 10 years due to the renovations, forcing Marie to get up and lead the party there, feeling every kilogram of added weight.
The cooks had been experimenting lately with her food, adding things to it to make it either more palatable or more filling. They'd overdone it on the filling part this time. Her stomach felt like it was filled with lead mush. By the time they'd finished, Marie had just about used up her energy reserves and now she was worried she wasn't going to make it back to the Queen's quarters, and she didn't have any guards or attendants to help her at the moment either.
Yawning, she started to sway as she neared the back of the throne room, and started losing awareness. She kept having to shake her head to keep her wits but it was quickly losing its effect.
"Just a little ways, just a little ways," she mumbled to herself. Her vision blacked and she teetered suddenly and just managed to catch herself on the arm of a chair. She groaned and gave up, sitting down in the chair and decided that even though she would probably wake up sore, it was better than collapsing onto the floor.
—-
Avrika took a moment to admire the view of the bay through the small diamond-shaped gaps in the framed glass window. She was sharing an immaculate room, not dissimilar from Callie's parlour, with Lillibet, Jellifer, and Ambassador Jellison. Kalisha and Aishi waited outside.
The furnishings all looked fresh and new thanks to the renovations, but she didn't know how to tell which was new and what had been retained.
"The bay looks much nicer in the summer," Jellifer said. "The seas always seem rougher in winter, and if it's especially cold for a while, ice starts building up along the shore and clogging the port, yes."
Avrika nodded absently. She wasn't able to imagine what that looked like. She'd hardly seen snow before this year.
Forcing herself away from the view, she sat in her chair across from Jellison and took one of the small snack cakes one of Marie's caretakers had provided.
"It is easy to forget Marie is technically a prisoner here," she said.
Jellison's bell wobbled. "I wonder about that. True, she didn't have much choice but I wonder if there isn't more to it, yes."
Jellifer swivelled in his own chair to face him. "You think so? It's a little unusual but I don't think this was Marie's idea. She is not the type that is content with being restricted."
Jellison stretched out one of his tendrils to grab a snack cake and placed another tendril on the arm of his chair, staring up at the chandelier dangling above the table. "Hmmm well, she's been keeping busy. As it happens, before this meeting, I was informed that Marie had made significant purchases in Bellchoran securities. In fact, she now owns Bell Air, our third largest airline, and she was already a large stakeholder in the other two."
Jellifer made a long warbling noise. He seemed impressed. "I knew she was wealthy but… that is impressive, yes."
"She didn't get rich just by selling concert tickets and t-shirts, no. She's quite the business type. I don't know all the details but you don't get that rich that fast without a lot of luck and a lot of good sense to back it up. But I suppose that sort of person is what we need right now, yes"
Avrika nodded her agreement. "In times of crisis, as now, our nation elects a dictator to enable quick and fast decision making without costly debate. Though it has proven to be… not entirely successful, our current Dictatrix is making huge strides thanks to Callie's help."
Jellison nodded, rubbing the side of his bell. "I wonder… Callie is just as big as Marie is, isn't she?"
Avrika thought about it for a moment. "I believe Marie is slightly larger, perhaps due to her better environment."
"No other inklings as big as them either, no. Even giant and colossal inklings don't get that big. The only other inkling I know of as big as that, was Queen Immelina."
"The last inkling queen?" Jellifer asked. "Well, after… what, 300 years, it was bound to happen again, yes?"
Jellison seemed unconvinced. "Too big a coincidence. Callie and Marie, even when they are just cousins? Were they twins it would make more sense, but no." He swallowed his cake and patted the arm of the chair. "I suspected something, but I confirmed it when we went to the throne room. The throne is just Marie's size, she has shown outstanding leadership qualities for someone her age, and most telling is that the Ecclesiarchy, as far as anyone can tell, has not tried to stop her from doing what she needs to do, yes."
Avrika frowned and tried to discern the meaning behind the Ambassador's words. Marie certainly seemed to enjoy more freedom here than she had in her own home, despite being watched more closely.
"The Ecclesiarchy even provided her with caretakers and cooking staff from their own ranks." She murmured.
"But what does it mean?" Jellifer asked. "The Ecclesiarchy has never been one to seek power."
"I'm not saying it is, no. But that doesn't mean they don't have an agenda."
Avrika hesitated. This was treading dangerous, perhaps blasphemous grounds. Even the inkling's spiritual leaders had to be chosen by the gods as much as the Octarian ones were. She had to remind herself that not every agenda was inherently nefarious. She wondered if Bellchora's own spiritual leaders knew something and had involved the ambassador.
"What do you think it could be? Are you saying they are trying to get Marie installed as the new monarch?"
"It's obvious, yes? But not to make Marie the monarch, at least not in the way you are thinking, no. Marie is to be the new queen."
Avrika's eyes went wide. "A queen?"
"You said it yourself that sometimes a dictator is needed in times of crisis, yes?"
"Yes, but a dictator is a temporary position meant to be dissolved once the crisis is over to prevent them from acquiring personal power. Being queen is a permanent position, is it not?"
"It is, yes. And if I'm right, this is good for all of us. Calachora's current government may have disappointed us, but I believe the Consensus would gladly choose to vassalize Bellchora to her and she would ensure the strength of our defence. I firmly believe that."
"And we would not have to fear war with Calachora." Avrika rubbed her chin with one of her tentacles, thoughtfully. "It's strange, but I get the impression that she does not seem to hold her own country in higher regard than ours."
Jellison warbled with what she guessed was amusement. "She hides it well but I'm sure she does. It's just that her own integrity won't allow it to affect her decisions. Besides, Callie is Octarian now as well. And family usually means more than country, especially to inklings."
Avrika nodded, lightly rubbing her pendant beneath her clothes. "Then what about Callie?"
Jellison made a shrugging motion with his front tendrils. "I don't know. Perhaps she is already fulfilling her role."
"She did not have to grow to over four metres to accomplish that," Avrika argued. "There is more to it. Is it necessary for Marie to be queen?"
"The throne is too big for anyone else. And it would be difficult for any normal-sized inkling, even the big ones, to lay enough eggs to help boost the population any significant amount. It wouldn't be enough on its own but it would set the example and it would help, yes."
Avrika was struck with an epiphany. The recent degradation of the Octarian breeding program! Pushing genetic manipulation beyond its breaking point was already leading to a decline in new healthy eggs. Callie was an inkling though, so even if she did mate with an octoling, most of her children would be inklings… wouldn't they? Whatever the case, why would the gods give them an inkling and not have a similarly gifted octoling?
"I will make some… discreet inquiries," she said.
"Good. Let us move onto the topic at hand now, yes. Let us start with what your most in-demand resources are."
—-
Marie let out a weary groan as her mind gradually regained awareness. She realised she was sitting rather than resting on her far more comfortable pool-bottom bed, manifesting in aching body parts. The pain forced her into a greater state of awareness, making her slowly sit up.
"Awake finally?"
Floa's familiar voice gently pulled her into full consciousness and she let out a yawn, eyes blinking awake. She saw two hallar standing guard by the door at the end of the room, but the room was not the queen's quarters.
"I'm still in the throne room?" She rubbed one of her eyes. How long had she been asleep?
"You are. Guess your tour went a little longer than you expected. Did you just sit in whatever chair you could find?"
Marie shook herself to rid the last vestiges of sleep away, then looked down at Floa. "At my size, there are hardly any chairs that can –." Her voice died in her throat. Floa was standing next to her leg, which meant she had to look down, which meant she could see the highly polished silver sheen of the chair she was sitting in, and she became aware of the smooth, flowing lines beneath her hands.
Marie tried to launch herself off but her legs stiffened and forced her to fall back down with a grunt of pain.
Floa watched this with amusement and displayed reassuring patterns in her mantle. "I'd say the throne still works, don't you?"
Marie hesitated. She looked around the room, at the guards. None of them seemed offended or distressed; if anything, they looked content with the situation.
With some reluctance, she relaxed, settling into her seat and letting the chair back support her, drumming her fingers on the arms.
"Comfy for a three-century-old chair, hm?"
Marie sighed. "I guess, but if anyone's going to sit in this thing, it should be fitted with proper support. Ergonomics have come a long way in that time."
Floa let out a little laugh. "Sounds like a plan."
Author's Notes:
A lot happened in this chapter. Lots of drama, theatre, and barriers being broken, and even more conspiracies and agendas being thrown around. Such fun. Marie knows how to put on a show, though speeches might not be her strong suit. Hard to be concise when you have to cover a lot of bases sometimes though. Yeah, I know some of you have been worried about the jellyfish. Their nation of Bellchora (Literally Jellyfish Country in inklish) [Or Perlugen to use the Octese name] has been in a pretty tight spot. Marie hasn't forgotten and she's showing it here, giving her some moral high ground to stand on, and we all know what the internet says about the high ground. She's found a comfortable chair too ;)