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Chapter 53: A Debt Unrepaired

Ortal begun his day with a merry mood. He could feel it in the air and in his old bones that today would bring good tidings.

Ortal was pacing in his office, looking outside his windows, observing drifting warships through the window where that rogue leaped out and that madman with him. He had his engineers alter the whole structure, there was a balustrade now, and a sliding pane of glass, blown thick enough to refuse pounds of lead, the pressing of the wind and the sear of the sun. A sly smile slowly crept over his face.

A classified missive was forwarded to his office; one of his agents received a report from the Strahl: The pirates have the stone. The first rung of his ladder to power had been secured.

His confidants, who spied on Scipio's activities affirm the assembling of new ships in the Imperial yards. New weapons were being hammered out in the foundries. The factories had all been instructed by Scipio to produce military surplus at a hastened pace. Archadian soldiers took intensive training, surprisingly under the direct supervision of Scipio himself. The second rung of his ladder secured; his hammer was being tempered and should he land his strike it would be known to be the most fatal hammer-fall Archades has ever seen.

With Larsa on the run, the Dalmascans most likely harbouring him, he weighed very political strike before he executed any such action. Rozzaria remained as the strongest enemy of Archadia. The house of Margrace was odd and hard to predict. Ortal could not comfortably surmise whether they found Larsa's flight a ruse or as truth; he could not also know if the Rozzarian's expected the Archadians to be building up their military capabilities. Bhujerba, Dalmasca, Rozzaria, the Kiltia, if he was not mistaken, even the Viera, had war pavilions capable of resisting Archadia and maybe even defeating it. But no matter, his assassins would see the fall of those who fly banners which bear different colors from that of Archadian. So another rung, secured.

The double doors burst open, manic hands coercing them to explode from where they previously met and Ortal felt all the rungs splinter.

Scipio always brought unease to Ortal.

'What brings you here?' Ortal asked, containing his frustration. His day had begun to gray suddenly.

'This is a complete list of your new army.' Scipio replied slowly. He waved a small pamphlet around with his left hand. He then lazily dropped it on Ortal's desk and left without another word. He observed courtesy this time as he closed both doors behind him, carefully.

Ortal waited for the clanking of Scipio's armor and the thud of his footsteps to become inaudible before he reached out to examine the pamphlet.

Writ in Scipio's handwriting was a simple list divided into three sections:

Infantry: 150,000 Foot soldiers

25,000 Hoplites

15,000 Judges

10,000 Specialized troops

Total: 200,000 Infantry (recruits)

890,000 Infantry (current force)

Armor:

Before Ortal read on, he wondered what 'Armor' meant, then suddenly recalled what one of Scipio's engineers had related: 'It's an innovation of Scipio himself sir. Airships deprived of flight but capable of moving about land on wheels. It's basically a cart made of steel and clad in armor while mounted with heavy artillery, sir.' He sifted deeper into his memories. 'Tank' the engineer said, it was called a 'Tank'

4,000 Light armor (Cannon and Vulcan)

3,000 Heavy armor (Cannon and Vulcan)

1,000 Halcyon armor (Nethicite cannon)

1,000 Specialized armor (Castellanos and Insertion vehicles)

Total: 9,000 Armor vehicles

Castellanos, whenever Scipio used that word he meant those explosive cylinders which jettisoned from his beloved launcher.

Ortal further recalled the engineers explanations; an insertion vehicle carried Infantry throughout the field, basically a flightless Atomos.

The next section was most familiar:

Air:

100 Ifrit

50 Shiva

200 Carbuncle

8,000 Atomos

15 Leviathan

10 Alexander

10 Odin

20,000 Velfarre and Remora

Total: 28,335 Aircraft (New)

56,000 Current Aircraft

Ortal's eyes widened, his stomach slightly lurched. 28, 000 aircraft was an extremely expensive ordeal. In less than three months their Air force, the greatest source of their martial might, was doubled. Ortal, enraged, immediately called for a messenger to summon Scipio. The foundries were already hard at work, working for a greater army and with it a crushed economy. Scipio had a lot to answer for, or his head would be mounted above Ortal's fireplace.

XOXOXOX

Scipio entered his office in a silent calm manner; he half-expected Hilaneya to jump him from above the jambs but she was sitting peacefully in his chair.

Hilaneya, seated primly on his chair, both legs and arms folded and with that smile on her face just gazed at Scipio as he entered and the Judge Majister glowered at her behind his mask.

Scipio massaged his wrists as he moved forward, muscles tensed, guard up. 'That time in Giruvegan," he spoke in a hard tone as he neared her and his desk. "You implied as if you knew I am not human.' Scipio pressed on the healing scars of his previous impalement, remembering all too well how he got those injuries in the first place and other memories besides.

Hilaneya, meanwhile, did not show any traces of regret at injuring him nor did she show she was going to apologize. She merely inclined her head to one side and with a toss of her head merely said simply: 'Similarity is requisite of detection, dear.' She emphasized it with a smile.

'Indeed.' Scipio replied blankly, knowing how much dealing with Hilaneya was like dealing with himself.

Hilaneya did not seem to notice his internal struggle for she stood up from the seat and leaned against his desk again. Still with that smile on her face she changed the subject.

'How did our Ortal find your list?' Hilaneya asked in a cruel tone. A smirk came from Scipio as he remembered entering the office and dropping the list.

'I'm sure he's up in stitches.'

Hilaneya chuckled quietly, her laugh coming out ethereal but still had an edge of cruelty on it. It seemed she found much pleasure in causing anarchy.

Ignoring her mischievous expressions, Scipio paced around his office, 'What have you for me?'

'A snake in your ranks.' Hilaneya replied easily, as if chastising Scipio for not noticing something like this himself.

'You don't say?' Scipio remarked sarcastically.

Hilaneya giggled, finding herself amused at this little game he and Scipio played. 'I'll tell you the snake's name later." She said dismissively with a wave of her hand. " Also, I would like to chat with you about my terms of service, as you well know, I have conditions. I want to assist you in your little ruse, but I want to be comfortable in doing so, I want fun from this too!' Hilaneya stared at Scipio's masked face, smiled and then continued, 'I think I'll indulge a clarification as to why I agreed to be yours, Scipio.'

'Why not now?" The Judge Majister found himself asking with surprise. Hilaneya was really something short of unpredictable. "Speak to me now; I have no time to indulge you in your little games. What is there that prevents you form speaking to me?' A smug smirk suddenly passed his lips. "Do not tell me you are suddenly shy when it comes to speaking to me,"

Hilaneya merely raised one eyebrow at him. "Hardly, sweet." She said smoothly. She gestured over to the door with another smirk. "A messenger comes, you entertain him first; and then I'll entertain you.' She winked at him and leaped off her perch on his desk.

Scipio opened his mouth to retort, but Hilaneya was quick and sprinted for the window, she leapt and vanished. Simultaneously, knocks on the door were heard.

XOXOXO

Ortal was only impatient now, a slight stab of frustration stung his side; how was it that he could not be as cunning?

Scipio had finished explaining such extravagance, he had just finished justifying a very radical decision. The army's construction would be continued and the country's economy would feel the slightest pinch.

How Scipio could architect such a charade was something of genius, Ortal was impressed though he did not admit it.

A blunder, perhaps? The madman must have read my thoughts through my face. Is his loyalty veritable? Or is this the pincer I was afraid of?

Ortal drowned himself in his thoughts. He was growing impatient for reasons he did not fully know.

Was it Scipio's secrecy? His failure to understand or keep up with such manoeuvres? He continued surrounding himself with such self-pity until he remembered he had been waiting to meet the two Pirates. Two hours had passed from the initially set time. He needed his plan to be a success. Waiting on the edge for some madman will not do. Standing up after a rough sigh, Ortal prepared to be that ruthless Senator again, unwilling to bow down to any man.

XOXOXO

Fran followed her partner as silent as ever, her heels making the same rhythmic sound as they disembarked from the Strahl and followed the random Imperial soldier. She cast a side-long glance towards Balthier, who had been unusually silent since they retrieved the Stone and left Henne Mines. It was very strange, and the only times she knew of this kind of behaviour was if Balthier was deeply troubled over something. It only happened once before during their acquaintance. When they first left Archadia, stealing the Strahl at the dead of the night. Balthier had grown silent because at that time, they needed to be, but Fran knew better. The prospect of leaving his home and identity behind for something he was not entirely sure of the outcome had deeply troubled him. Balthier had been troubled at leaving his father behind too, but he never spoke of it to Fran, though the Viera had guessed as much.

Now the same kind of silence was evident in Balthier's mien as well as they walked through the Senate. No sarcastic remarks nor anything that would suggest Balthier was his usual self. There was a grim look on his face, and though Fran was walking behind him, the Viera could see he was stiff. The idea and the actuality of his betrayal to Vaan and the others must be weighing heavily on Balthier's mind. However, Fran was silent and would not approach the subject unless she saw that her partner was ready for that kind of talk.

Meanwhile, they had finally reached the office of the Senate and the random Imperial guard announced them. Balthier had looked over his shoulder towards Fran and gave a hint of a smirk.

"Soon Fran, we will get our just reward." The smirk did not reach his eyes. "Can you feel it permeating in the air?"

Fran just stared at Balthier with her usual steady ruby gaze. Balthier just smirked again and with a considerable force, opened the office doors.

"Senator!" Balthier spoke with his usual voice and air. Senator Vladimir Ortal looked up from whatever he was studying on his desk his face with more than an irritated look at Balthier and Fran's arrival. "We have returned." Balthier said with a rather exaggerated voice and stood in front of the Senator's ornate desk. Fran stood a few paces behind, almost like a bodyguard.

"So I have noticed." Ortal spoke and his voice was sarcastic, Balthier just grinned again and folded his arms in a characteristic pose. "Have you come with my treasure?"

"It is not much of a treasure than a rock, Senator." Balthier said with a quirk of his lips. Ortal merely raised his eyebrows surprised at the sky pirate's tone of voice. Balthier gave a quick shrug at Ortal's raised eyebrows. "Of course the technicalities do not really matter, do they?" he smirked again. "Well, we found the bloody thing; it really was rather more difficult to find compared to other stones we found eh Fran? It was rather a good thing we stumbled across the renegade Emperor and he helped us locate your little treasure."

Ortal looked up at those words, his interest peaked. "What's that about the Emperor?" he demanded in a rather panicked voice.

"If you were listening to me the then there would be no need for me to repeat anything would there?" Balthier calmly replied with a sardonic grin. Ortal felt a vain throb on his head.

"Do not test my patience, pirate." Ortal hissed and growled that it was Balthier's turn to raise his eyebrows. "I would know your journey as I am your employer."

This time Balthier frowned. "I never thought you to be the rude type Senator." He shrugged. "But if you must insist."

Balthier with a rather bored voice recounted their journey in retrieving the Stone. Though the sky pirate had reiterated the story in a dry and unattached air, the Senator detected something else behind the lack of eagerness in his voice. He however chose not to ask beyond what he deemed necessary; it was not his obligation to deal with the emotional tribulations of his employees, especially his more notorious ones.

"Where is this Nethicite?" Ortal demanded after Balthier finished his tale. "I trust you have retrieved it and in what I gather, our agreement was that you hand it over to my person."

"My, my, my" Balthier said shaking his head in amusement. "Aren't we the impatient one lately? We do have your precious Nethicite, Senator, but since we are already talking about our agreement, I think its best if we receiver our end of the agreement, do you not think?" the sky pirate's flashed his suggestion and Ortal once again cursed his lack of insight. And he once thought he was a cunning man.

"I forgot I was dealing with a pirate." Ortal spoke with a bitter tone. He opened one of his drawers and procured a small dark-colored ornate chest. "Your reward." He pushed the chest over to Balthier and the sky pirate drew closer to fetch it.

Balthier opened the chest and after a quick glance at the gold glinting inside the chest, closed it and looked at Ortal with a frown marring his lips.

"This is not the full payment, Senator." He said with a grim tone and Ortal was surprised the sky pirate had counted it quickly.

"That is because it is not the full payment Ffamran." Ortal said with a clipped tone. Balthier frowned deeper and folded his arms.

"What a wonderful way to state the obvious Senator." He drawled with a quirked eyebrow, "I suppose there's a reason as to why this is just half-payment?"

Ortal frowned again at his shrewdness. "You are your father's son."

Balthier frowned deeper. "I would like it if you refrain from mentioning the man, Senator. You would not want a spirit of Cid to materialize in this room and haunt you now would you? I am accustomed to his ghost, so it matters not to me. But you however, I am sure you would join him soon if he were to appear to you from the dead. Best not be too hasty of your own death if I have yet to receive full payment."

"And again, so very different." Ortal continued his statement as if Balthier had not spoken. He reached again inside his drawer and retrieved a leather bound diary.

"Cid's diary." Ortal said with a flourish. He thrust towards Balthier. "I trust you know how significant this is."

"Let me guess," Balthier interrupted him. "You leafed through it and found out that this Stone we found is not the only one."

Ortal nodded. "There are two pieces to make the Shadow Nethicite. The first one, you found in Henne Mines, the other is still out there." There was no room to suggest Ortal was making a request. Balthier frowned at the Senator's tone.

"I suppose you could not let your more insignificant lackeys to do the looking for this other nethicite as well." Balthier said with a dry tone.

Ortal said nothing, but instead continued as if Balthier had not spoken again. "You will find the coordinates in that journal. I suppose I could give you this one, as I have already my own copy, a gift from me to you if you will."

"Charming." Balthier said with a drawl. Ortal ignored him. "If you get this other nethicite for me, I will give you your full payment as well as other rewards."

Balthier made a scoffing noise though he grabbed the journal with a jerked movement. "I do so love it when I don't get my way." He frowned at Ortal and gave a mock-bow to the Senator and left the office, Fran quickly following.

XOXOXO

Balthier said nothing when the two sky pirates left the Senator's office. His hand clutched the weathered leather-bound journal tightly and the frown that had been on his face gave to a full-blown scowl. He was familiar with this journal. It was the second volume of the one he had in the Strahl. When they had infiltrated the Draklor Laboratories three years ago, he had pilfered the first volume of Demented Cid's journal. The office had been ransacked previously, so whatever theft he made would be blamed on the previous intruder. He had searched the Laboratories again under the permission of Emperor Larsa when he stepped into office and before the Laboratories were shut down by the command of said emperor. The second volume had disappeared and Balthier had not been able to locate it. Until now.

The sky pirate glowered at the little book in his hands as if it harboured all the evil in the world. Though for all intents and purposes, this little book perhaps held the thoughts and plans of the late Doctor Cid and therefore provided a lot of useful information. Not to mention secrets that Balthier's father would not tell anybody. But knowing Cid, he would have still kept them as secrets despite being written in a private journal.

Balthier knew why Ortal had given it to him. There were no more secrets in this journal that Ortal hadn't deduced, or none more that the Senator could interpret. That vile Senator had given it Balthier for one purpose: for the sky pirate to do his own interpreting and therefore solve the mystery on his own.

"Where to Balthier?" Fran's accented voice interrupted his thoughts. Balthier looked up from his father's journal to look at his Viera partner. They had reached the hangar where the Strahl was kept and now Fran was looking at him expectantly. Her ruby eyes asked the next question: Are we staying here for a while?

Balthier shook his head. "It seems we have yet another job to do." He looked at the small chest tucked under his other arm. "At least we have these little beauties to keep us a bit occupied before we get full payment." His lips quirked.

Fran stayed silent but moved past him to go up the gangplank of the Strahl. When she was level with him, she turned her eyes to meet his own hazel, her snow white hair following her movements.

"You have betrayed your friends for material gain." Her voice held no censure but she might as well have shouted for the words sliced Balthier more than he would admit. "For that I deem you see it worthy of betraying their trust."

Balthier was silent but his eyes narrowed, as if he was about to say something, but Fran cut him off. "You are troubled by your betrayal."

Balthier managed to let out a sound that resembled close to a snort but Fran paid him no mind. Instead she threw her head back and let a small smile grace her lips. "Sometimes you forget that you are a hume." With those words, she gave him a look with her garnet colored eyes and entered the Strahl, leaving Balthier looking incredulously after her.


A/N: Here you go...the chapter about Balthier...though we really didn't give anything away did we?? Hahaha...tune in for the next one... Cheers!