Chapter Twenty Five - Conspiracy

General Gramont surveyed the scene around the south gate from the highest hill top near their base camp, "The bastards aren't even letting us in there to gather our dead!"

The General was fuming. His son Guiche watched him with a nervous expression. He'd never seen his father like this before and had absolutely no idea what he might say or do in the state he was in.

"Guiche! I want you to go lend a hand with the Engineers. I want those Trebuchets built yesterday!"

Apparently, that was what he would say next. Guiche nodded but had to ask a question first, "Respectfully father. Won't Aunt Karin have a problem with this? You've essentially usurped her command."

"Do I look like I give a damn?! If we don't keep everyone busy they're going to remain demoralized. We need to show our forces that we have the means and the determination to win this war or we're going to have desertions. Speaking of which, you're also to keep an eye out for signs of potential deserters and report them to me! Now get to it."

"Yes father," answered Guiche before briskly walking off to carry out his assignment.

Eleonore was quickly approaching the end of her rope. Not only did she have to oversee the construction of proper siege equipment, she also had to direct the resource gathering efforts, sort the medical resources, and reassure restless officers that their soldiers would indeed be getting paid.

"Do you not feel as though your talents are being wasted here?" asked Calista after suddenly appearing in front of Eleonore. She was leaning against a tree and looking up at the slightly taller woman.

"A pet will not judge my talents or waste my time with cheap tricks at a time like this? I'm busy. Go play with Louise or something!"

"Perhaps later. For now, I came to speak with you."

"Well I'm busy. So get lost," said a stern Eleonore while turning her attention back to the task at hand.

Suddenly Eleonore's pink scarf untied itself from her neck and floated away from her. She tried to catch it but it flew up higher out of her grip. Eleonore drew her wand to try and catch it with magic but when she aimed at it, she saw the scarf was in Calista's hand. She aimed the wand at the short snowy haired girl and narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. "Give it back. Or I'll take it back, along with your arm!"

Calista curled her lips into a pleasant sort of smile, "Had I know this was all it takes to get your undivided attention I would have simply started here."

"Give it back!" she furiously demanded.

Calista stepped forward and hand her left hand out to the blonde woman with the scarf still held firmly on it. Elenore reached out to take it and Calista released it to her.

The two women stared each other down, the tension in the air was palpable. Anyone watching would have felt it like a cold wind cutting to the bone.

"What do you want?" asked Eleonore in a tone as icy as the chill flowing through the air.

"All I ask is a minute of your time. Nothing more," replied Calista in a tone to match.

"What for?"

"Resource know how much has been lost. How much more will be lost if things continue as they are. It is not too late to salvage the situation if you are willing to step up."

"We lost close to two thousand people, and I haven't even finished tallying up how much more we lost. There's nothing else I can do except my job."

"What about how much more we are going to lose? You are not a fool. I have seen the work you put into your strategic assessments. How many more battles like today can we sustain?"

Eleonore sighed loudly in frustration. She didn't want to answer the question but couldn't hold back the answer regardless. "None. I can't even see how we'll sustain a proper siege at this point."

Calista nodded to the taller woman. "What if I could provide you with detailed information on the enemy defenses? Troops counts, deployments. Structural analysis of the walls?"

"I'd tell you that you are a traitor. If you could possible have access to this kind of information, your duty was to pass it supervising officer. And since you can't have it you can go shove it"

"That's exactly what I'm doing. The nature of this information is pure logistics. I didn't had them before the battle. I have them now. So will you find it in yourself to use all the possible data that comes into your hand? Even if the source is not of your liking? Maybe inside there lies the secret to turn the tide of this war. I can give you everything you need to do what we both know you do best."

"What do you even care? You're nothing more than a lowly familiar!"

"I care because sooner or later, your mother is going to start running out of people willing to follow her. When that happens what do you think she will do? How far would she go? Might she even send your sister into battle knowing that she is far from ready?"

"She'd never do that!"

"Do you say that because you really believe it? Or because your mind knows that would never be a valid option. But it still might be on the table?"

Eleonore froze up with her mouth slightly open. Calista held back the smile she felt creeping onto her face and nodded slowly. "I sense you have figured it out on your own. How long it would be before she becomes desperate and frustrated enough for revenge that she would forsake her maternal obligations?"

Eleonore groaned in frustration while rubbing her head. "I've got one hell of a migraine coming on now… Give me this information you've gathered and I'll go through it and tell you what I think. After that… I'll figure out what to do after that."

"Suddenly I'm not just a lowly familiar anymore…" she thought to herself before speaking her proper response. "Certainly. The data you need is with my droid. Come, let's find a quiet place to work."

Eleonore quickly nodded and then set out delegating her duties onto her staff to free up her time. Calista folded up her arms and finally allowed that smile onto her face when the blonde woman wasn't looking.

Kirche slowly sat up in her makeshift bedding in the triage area of the camp where the wounded and dead were flowing in and out around her like a river. Suddenly Kirche felt her head pounding and then a hand was gently placed on her shoulder gently pushing her back down.

"Don't get up. You're not well yet," said Tabitha.

"Uuugh… Not gonna argue there. My head hurts worse than it did the morning after the post-exam party," answered Kirche while laying back down.

"Rest."

"I see I'm in a hospital again… If this keeps up I might invest in a nurse uniform for Marlene. Maybe one for you too."

"Stop getting hurt."

Kirche sighed, even if it was an emotionless monotone, Kirche could feel the pain she didn't express. "It's not like I choose to get myself hurt."

"It hurts me when you're hurt."

"I suppose that would make you a pretty lousy dungeon mistress then. Well… That's one perfectly good fantasy dead and buried."

"Not funny."

Kirche smiled at Tabitha, "I can hear you laughing on the inside. Don't lie to me."

"Never."

"Why are you so cranky today Tabitha? Look, I'm alive. And my sense of humor is mostly intact."

"Look around," was all Tabitha said before turning her attention to the book resting in her lap.

Kirche turned her head and examined her surroundings a bit before propping herself up on her elbows to get a better look around. She saw the water mages working ceaselessly to heal the wounded. They were drenched in sweat and had bags under their eyes. First they were in battle, now they were still working magic. All of them clearly on the verge of total magical exhaustion and no end in sight to the train of incoming wounded. She also noticed Julio not too far from her working his own special healing art. Normally, Kirche's reaction to the sight of the Romalian Knight was to become hot and bothered. But there was nothing attractive about his tired face. His skin was going pale, he was drenched in sweat. His white clothing had turned gray, brown, and red from the stains he picked up in this field hospital. It was a not so subtle hint at just how bad things were.

"Well… Shit. Looks like we got our asses kicked."

"Understatement," replied Tabitha without looking up from her book.

"So what now? Any word from the higher ups?"

Tabitha shook her head. "Building catapults."

"That sounds pointless," said Kirche while laying back down.

"It is," answered Tabitha before lifting her head to look into Kirche's eye. "We should leave now."

"Leave? Why should we do that?"

Tabitha kept her gaze locked on Kirche's eye.

"I can't run away from this Tabitha.… No, don't look at me like that. I'm not making you stay… Well of course I would never leave you behind if you were in my place!"

"Don't ask me to," Tabitha finally spoke.

Kirche widened her eye in protest, "I didn't!"

"You would have."

Kirche grinned and stole a page from Tabitha's book for her response, "Never," she said in a stoic monotone.

"We should go."

"This again? What is it Tabitha? Why are you so worried now?"

"Too dangerous for you."

"Too dangerous for me? Tabitha! Have you forgotten who you're talking to here?"

Tabitha shook her head.

"Then why would you say that? When has danger ever done anything but excite me?"

"That's the problem."

"I don't see it as a problem. I see it as a solution."

Tabitha shook her head again.

Kirche narrowed her eye suspiciously at her friend, "There's something you aren't telling me… You know something. What is it?"

"If we stay. We will suffer."

"I need more to go on here Tabitha. This is vague, even for you… Wait. You're afraid. You're actually afraid!"

Tabitha nodded.

"That's bullshit… You aren't afraid of anything!"

Tabitha shook her head. "Only for you."

"I do appreciate that. But this is about more than my constant hospital visits now. What aren't you telling me?"

Kirche was already having a hard time comprehending her best friend, but when Tabitha reached out and took a hold of her hand and squeezed it Kirche almost thought she saw a flash of emotion across her stoic friend's face. She was silently pleading with her. That was so unlike Tabitha that it set off every alarm in Kirche's head.

"Whatever it is you can't seem to tell me…" started Kirche while squeezing her friend's hand back. "We'll face it together. Maybe I'm being selfish, but I'm not leaving. I'm sorry."

Tabitha shook her head and gave Kirche's hand one more squeeze to which Kirche nodded.

"Perhaps I should go out there and work with the healers to-"

Agnes quickly cut her off, "No your majesty! Things are tense out there. Our enemies could mount a reprisal attack at any time. I can't let you put yourself anywhere I couldn't have you evacuated from at a moment's notice."

Henrietta buried her face in her hands. It was so frustrating to her to be trapped as she was by her own security needs. She immediately started to wonder if it was ever this way for her mother and realized it wasn't. "Nobody ever tried to keep my mother in a secure area where she could be evacuated at a moment's notice..."

"I don't mean this to sound offensive your majesty. But you are not your mother."

"I'm keenly aware of that Agnes. At my age, mother was out saving the world."

Louise reached out and put a soothing hand on Henrietta's shoulder, "Right now, you're saving your own country. We'll save the world after we're done here."

Agnes shook her head, "I'm not even sure we'll manage the first part my lady. We haven't even finished counting the dead and wounded. But the numbers will be high. That attack did no significant damage to the enemy defense. The Duchess is meeting with all her officers. General Gramont is trying to keep the army too busy to think by building siege weapons. It's a mess out there."

"I'm sure the Duchess knows what she's doing Agnes. At a time like this, she needs our continued support," said Henrietta in a firm tone.

"I feel compelled to speak my conscious your majesty, but I'll bite my tongue except to say that I told you this would happen. I just pray that you eventually realize that if you want to win this war, you'll have to actually fulfill your role instead of letting the Duchess throw away the lives of your loyal subjects."

"Pray?"

"Yes. Praying. You know that thing that people do? When you hope that God or Bimir or whatever higher power that gives a damn, will appear on our mortal plane to change something incomprehensibly stupid!"

Henrietta locked eyes with her guard captain, "Is that all?"

"No your majesty. It wasn't. But it was enough I think," answered Agnes in a professional tone before giving the Queen a courtly bow, turning on her heel and walking out.

Louise watched Agnes leave with a neutral facial expression and finally spoke once she was sure the Musketeer was out of earshot, "I get the feeling she has a problem with my mother…"

"She has a problem with a lot of things. Agnes goes to bed and wakes up worried. One time she didn't, and it worried her. That's why she's so good at her job. Because she worries. I just worry that she's going to worry herself into going grey before her time."

Louise sighed, "So she thinks my mother won't be able to win this war."

"It doesn't matter what Agnes thinks. I know she can win. I know she will win."

"Thank you your majesty. It means a lot to hear that you're so confident in her."

"I remember when you used to call me Henrietta. Or a bunch of other things. What ever happened to that Louise?"

"You're the Queen! I couldn't possibly be so-"

"Informal? Familiar? I don't need you to be another loyal subject Louise. I need my friend! Look around. I'm trapped in here while everything is happening out there and around me and there's nothing I can do about it except wait and hope!"

Louise took a deep breath and placed her hands over her heart as she spoke, "I want to help them too… But I can't. I'm not strong enough. And you're just too important. If something happened to you, that would be the end of everything. So you can't. If something happened to you, all those deaths would have been for nothing."

"Are you feeling any better Louise? I saw you during the battle. This Force thing really affected you somehow. Didn't it?"

"I could feel everything that happened. All the death. I could feel their lives slipping away and I could feel the emptiness they left behind. It's so hard to describe it."

Henrietta looked down at the floor solemnly, "If more people could feel that. I think there'd be a lot less conflict in the world."

"I wish that were true your majesty. Where Calista comes from, where a lot of people can feel the Force. War seems to be the air they breath."

"Extwo showed me. He showed me things. Things that happened to them. Places they'd been. He told me a lot of things. I suppose that was really naive of me to say. I'm sorry."

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion. That's why people fight. It's just a fact of life."

"Very poetic. But I can't believe that's true. People long for peace and stability."

"Some people do. Others don't. That just makes even more conflict. Everyone has a different idea of what the world should be like. I believe yours is the right way to go, so here I am."

"I know you're right. But I can't stand the idea of perpetual conflict. That line of reasoning just makes me feel so hopeless. If we win, others who agree with Brinvilliers and will keep fighting. If we lose, others who agree with us will keep fighting. Or even worse things could happen with any outcome," the young Queen held her head in her hands and tried to violently shake the thought away.

"Just try to stay focused on what you have the power to do your majesty. Deal with each problem as it comes."

"I can't. Because it's the honest truth. If we want peace. We have to fight for it. If we want stability. We have to fight to maintain it. If I want my throne. I'll have to fight for that too. My mother used to say that freedom has price. Eternal vigilance she said. It's funny though. I'm talking about freedom. Something I want to give to everyone, but that I can never have for myself."

"You're the Queen. You can have anything you want!"

"The things I want… I can't have."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry. I know what you meant Louise. Let's change the subject shall we?"

"That Jedi once asked me why I have no desire to steal power over this land for myself. I told him it was because to me, a throne is no different from a prison," spoke a disembodied voice from the back of the tent which caused Louise and Henrietta to quickly stand up and look in the direction from which the sound emanated.

Before Henrietta could start reaching for her scepter Louise put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "Master? Where are you?" asked Louise.

Calista disengaged her stealth generator and appeared a few paces in front of the two young girls and then made a respectful bow to the Queen. "Your majesty,"

"Can't you use the entrance like normal people Master?"

"I did. But I wasn't in the mood to deal with Agnes' zealotry and I'm somewhat pressed for time."

"How long have you been there Lord Zarkot?"

"Respectfully your majesty. I need your help. There really isn't much time."

Henretta was surprised by the urgency in the Sith's normally very composed tone of voice, "Has something happened?"

"Not yet. Extwo and I have determined exactly what went wrong with the battle today. Eleonore is presently going through the data we collected and drawing up an analysis. You have to see her findings."

"Shouldn't she take that to her mother? She's the Commander in-"

"If the Commander in Chief were accepting such useful gifts you would be back inside your palace at this very moment. Eleonore is one of the best analysts I have ever seen. But she is not a military strategist. You are. If you look at what she has come up with, you can change the course of this war before it really is too late. There is only one person who can issue orders around here that will be obeyed and that is you. I am sorry, but it is time for you to be a Queen now and make use of your advisors."

"You too Lord Zarkot?"

Louise nodded at Henrietta before looking and speaking directly to Calista, "What's with everyone talking badly about my mother to the Queen today?"

"All I am asking you to do, is to have an open mind and examine every possibility that may or may not be presented to you. I do not think that is too much to ask from the ruler of a nation."

"No. Lord Zarkot. It is not. I'll hear it out."

"A wise decision... Louise, I need your help now as well."

"What is it Master? What can I do?"

"Come. I will explain on the way."

Calista and Louise emerged from the tent a few moment later and set the Musketeers outside on edge. Weapons were cocked while Agnes stormed up to the pair. "How did the hell did you get in there? Do you think you're funny? Do you think you're special?!" demanded Agnes with a furious tone.

"If I answer yes to both, will you get out of my way? I am terribly busy just now," answered Calista.

Agnes took a sharp breath and continued to yell at the shorter girl, "What the hell were you doing in there?"

"You are going to give yourself an ulcer Agnes. Do you know that?"

"You are getting on my nerves now Calista! Do you know that?"

Calista snickered to herself and smiled, "I do not care. That is why I do not have an ulcer. Because I do not care."

"Don't you know who I am? What my job is here? Tell me why I shouldn't just shoot you?" asked Agnes with narrowed eyes and clenched teeth.

Calista turned to Louise and spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone around them to hear her clearly, "Some say she shaves her legs with a rusty sword, and that her pistol shots sound like a male orgasm. All we know for sure though, is that her name is Agnes."

All around the Musketeers who heard that started snickering and fighting to avoid bursting into laughter. Agnes grew furious, "Get out of here you two, before I show you what my pistol really sounds like! And the rest of you mind your duties or I'll be shaving your legs with a rusty sword!"

When they were far enough away for comfort, Louise had to ask about it… "I can't believe you said that to Agnes. That was… So horrible!"

"If you think that was bad… I hope you never meet the person I stole the joke from."

"So what did you need me for?" asked Louise.

"I need you to find Guiche and bring him to me."

Louise stopped in her tracks and widened her eyes. "Did he do something wrong?"

"I am certain that list would be much too long to go into right now. But I do not intend to harm him, if that is your concern. I need to him to arrange for me to meet with his father."

"Should I even bother to ask why you don't just go see him yourself?"

"You may ask if you wish."

"Alright… I'll ask. Why don't you just go talk to the General yourself? Why do you need to go through Guiche? Unless… The General isn't on speaking terms with you for some reason! That's it! You need to go through Guiche because he can get his father to meet you."

"Your logic is impeccable."

"Now the real question... " wondered Louise while putting a hand on her chin to think. "Why do you need to see the General so badly. You went to my sister. You went to the Queen. Now you need the General. You're going behind my mother's back and planning something big. Aren't you?"

"I might have been impressed if you could have figured out exactly what my plan was based on all the available evidence. But I suppose I should not expect too much from you just yet. You are correct enough. I am going behind your mother's back, and I am planning something important."

"In the name of god… Why? How can you expect me to participate in something that I know my own mother will-"

"Do you know how many people are dead now because of her? She may be your mother, and after this is over she will still be your mother. But right now she is a loose cannon commanding an army and sending thousands people to their deaths because she is obsessed with vengeance. In the Sith Empire we assassinate such stupid leaders. So feel fortunate that I am only setting her up to be relieved of her command instead of her life!"

"Isn't that what you're doing?! She beat you up and now you're trying to undermine her! Who else knows about this? How did you get my own sister to…"

"Indeed. How did I accomplish that? Perhaps you can deduce it?"

"You lured her in with something she wanted. My sister obsess over two things and only two things… Her work, and…"

"Go on."

"Whatever you showed her, it brought her around to your way of thinking. That's why you said those things to the Queen, to make her amiable to hearing you out later. Whatever's in that analysis she's working on shows that my mother went into battle without any kind of serious plan, and that when she should have pulled back she pressed forward… You're trying to show the Queen that she's incompetent! Now you're trying to get the Queen and General Gramont to take command from her. But wait… That wouldn't work because the army is loyal to my family… So you need Eleonore to take command instead and have her work with the Queen and the General! Because they're certainly never going follow you..."

Calista began clapping her hands softly for Louise. "Well done. Sometimes I forget just how intelligent you really are. You figured it all out."

"There's just one problem with your plan Master. The Manticore Knights. They are loyal only to my mother and nobody else. They will not obey anyone but her. If you remove my mother from command… You've already thought of that."

Calista's smile widened.

"We can't remove my mother from the war. We need her to lead the Manticore Knights. So we need something to hold her back from getting reckless again… We need to put her on a leash we need…" Louise widened her eyes at Calista.

The snowy haired woman started laughing and pat Louise on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you. That was very impressive indeed. One day you will be a formidable Sith Lord."

"What makes you think I'm going to agree to any of this?!"

"You already said 'we need' not 'you need' which tells me that you already know this is the only way."

"That doesn't mean I like it…"

"Come now. Is it not exactly what you wanted?"

"I wanted to help. But this is just manipulation!"

"One of the most important tools of the trade for a Sith. Learn to use it well, and learn to love it. Now go get us Guiche."

"I'll handle it myself Master. I'll get you your meeting with the General."

Calista raised a curious eyebrow. "Truely?"

Louise's tone turned bitter and cold as she explained herself, "Just because I hate it doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do. I also know you wouldn't put me somewhere that'll get me killed because your life is on the line as well. So whatever you have in mind for me is close enough to danger to keep my mother's mind off revenge and on getting her job done properly. But far enough from harm to keep us both alive at the same time. Am I right?"

"Indeed. We do not have much time. If for some reason you are not fully convinced, I suggest you use the Force to sense the feelings of the soldiers around us. I will be with your sister in her tent while you do that. Come find me when you are finished."

"Yes, my master."

Calista turned and walked away from Louise with a smile on her face. She was truly pleased with her apprentice.

Meanwhile Louise walked away with a sour expression on her face. She was not at all happy about this even if she knew it was the only way. But the thought of willingly going around to undermine her own mother left a bitter taste in her mouth regardless of the righteousness of the intentions.

"Are we seriously building a trebuchet? We could just get some cannons from literally every other city, even sixteen pounders would do the job better this relic! Could someone please explain to me what the point is?" asked one of the engineers while assembling part of a large trebuchet.

"The point is that we've been ordered to do it," replied Guiche while levitating the counterweight box that was being attached. "Work faster because this isn't as easy as I am making it look!"

"I'm working as fast as I can kid. And don't drop it! The woodwork is not exactly easy. I don't want to do it again. I already have ten more to assemble after this…" said the Engineer with an irate expression on his face.

"More work less talk!" demanded Guiche.

The Engineer sighed while doing his utmost to get the job done at a pace the young mage would find acceptable. Meanwhile Louise wandered through the construction sites searching for the blonde boy. She'd searched everywhere, asked everyone she thought might have an idea of his whereabouts. The only thing she got was more frustration at the amount of time she was wasting looking for him. She let out a small sigh of relief when she eventually spotted him working on one of the siege engines. The tell tale glow in the tip of his wand indicating that he was holding up part of the machine that was being installed.

Slowly she walked over to him hoping that they'd be done by the time she arrived. All the while reaching out with her newly discovered senses as her Master had instructed. She sensed the despair and frustration everywhere, morale was at all time low and one didn't even need the Force to be able to sense just how bad things were.

"Guiche?" she called out to him softly when she was close enough to him.

"Busy now. Come back later," was his response without even looking at her.

Louise nodded, "I see that. I just need to talk to you. I'll wait until your done."

"You'll be waiting a long time. We have dozens more of these things to build and not much time to get it all done."

Louise took a quick breath and closed her eyes. She felt angry at how dismissive he was, even if she knew it was somewhat justified by the necessity of his work. She wondered briefly what her master would do in her place now and quickly disregarded the options that brought to the table, "I need your help. So if you could spare some time. I'd really appreciate it."

"I said I'm busy! If you have any treats leave them where you're standing. I'll come get a belly rub from you later!" snapped Guiche.

"Belly rub?! You'll be lucky if I don't smack you right now! You think I'd be giving you time of day if it wasn't actually important?!"

"Oh. So now you only come to me when it's important. Why should I have expected anything less? I'm just a servant to you now aren't I? Well I hope I don't live past this experience to be free of that stupid promise I never should hav-"

"HEY KID! MIND WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" screamed the engineer in a panic as he was on the verge of being crushed by the massive counterweight.

"Sorry! Sorry!" yelled Guiche while repositioning the counter weight to the Engineer's immense relief.

The Engineer jumped down off the Trebuchet and glared at Guiche. "Take a break. Deal with your girlfriend. I ain't getting killed like this. Everyone take a ten minute break!"

Guiche turned to Louise with an angry scowl on his face. "Now look what you've done!" he yelled at her.

"What I've done? What about what you've done? I'm trying to be nice, but you're yelling in my face and being a bastard!"

"Who asked you come here and be nice? I certainly never did! All I want is for you to get out of the way. Why don't you go gather up a bunch of people and send them off to die for no reason? That seems to be fashionable for the Valliere family these days!"

Louise widened her eyes at Guiche and felt the anger swelling in her. "I'm here exactly because of that! I need your help to stop it from happening again you idiot!"

"We both know what you do when presented with the opportunity to do anything useful. So pardon me if I'd rather use my time doing something productive!"

Louise raised her right hand and slapped Guiche across the face. As his hand came up and balled into a fist Louise stared him in the eyes as if daring him to follow through with the physical threat. "I'm not who I was the last time I fou-."

Louise was cut off by Guiche punching her back across the mouth hard enough to send her to the ground where she took a moment to spit some blood out. Checking with her tongue she realized her inner cheek had been cut on her teeth.

Derflinger popped out of his scabbard and began to yell furiously, "You son of a bitch! You hit her! Draw me Louise! I want his blood all over my blade!"

Louise meanwhile was wiping the blood dripping down her chin and shaking at her shoulders as the anger surged through her body. It took more than a few deep breaths to avoid giving her sword what he wanted.

Guiche extended a hand down to her to help her up, "I did tell you that this dog has a bite, did I not?"

Louise looked back down at the ground before getting up on her own.

"Don't be that way Louise. You did hit me first."

"And congratulations. You've proven that you haven't matured a bit since the last time this happened. I on the other hand am choosing not to draw Derflinger as he requested."

"Oh. So you slap me, but I'm immature?"

"Yes. You are," said Louise while rubbing the pain out of her cheek to no avail.

"Very well. I'm immature. Was there something else or can I go get back to work?"

Louise locked her eyes with Guiche's, "I want you to get your father to come meet my sister and master."

Guiche chuckled while his face contorted back to an angry scowl, "Oh, you don't ask for much do you? My father doesn't like your master and he's a very busy man. I also don't like your master very much incase you forgot! So why would we do anything for her? Especially right now while we have to clean up the mess your mother made!"

"Don't talk to me as if I'm responsible for what my mother did! And don't forget that Calista helped Montmorency save your life after that! She's not the heartless bitch you make her out to be!" replied Louise while leaning forward to yell in his face causing some blood to drip out of her lips and down her face.

Guiche sighed to himself at the sight of the blood he'd spilled from her and reached into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief while stepping in closer to Louise and bringing it up to her mouth. Louise flinched and stepped back but Guiche reached out and grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stay put while he wiped the blood from her face. "You're partially right. That's somewhat unfair of me. But you didn't live through what I endured. So don't try and tell me I should be grateful to her!"

Louise's eyebrows narrowed together. His words and tone were menacing, but his actions tender and kind. She couldn't understand his state of mind at all, even knowing what she learned while he was delirious.

Guiche then continued speaking, "She helped her for her own reasons. Don't confuse her actions for compassion when they're more like manipulation. I'm more than certain that she knew she'd one day need Montmorency to save her own life."

"That's a stretch. I happen to know that Calista considers Montmorency to be her best friend. She may have saved your life, but she did that for Montmorency's sake, not yours. So no, you don't need to thank her. But you should be thankful to be alive now because of her."

"It's the same difference! Stop talking about it now. This is my only handkerchief and the water mages are busy enough already! So why do you need to see my father so badly?"

"Because they're working on a new battle plan and they need his help to make it feasible. That's all I really know. My mother would never hear them out. She'll just order another attack tomorrow like she did today and that'll be the end of it all unless we show the Queen that our plan is better. And show her that my mother can't be trusted to lead the army."

"Why the hell should we trust anything your Master has to suggest? She's plotting something. And now she's trying use you and your sister and all of us to get it!"

"Stop being paranoid! If you and your father want to prove any of that come meet us and see their plan for yourselves. If it's as transparent as you say you shouldn't have a problem figuring it out and calling her out on it should you?!"

"Fine! I will! But when I'm proven right you're getting more than just a big 'I told you so' from me Louise! So make sure you can do more than just let that sword talk!"

"It's on!" yelled Louise at the top of her lungs.

On her way to her sister's tent, Louise found herself standing atop one of the many hills surrounding Lutece. From here she could observe the many preparations being made for the continued war. On the horizon the sun had started to set. The sky as partly cloudy leaving the orange sky to seem as if it were on fire. She continued to rub her sore cheek and jaw as well.

"You need to stay away from that boy Louise. He might be useful to you now. But in his state of mind, there's no tellin' what he might do next." said Derflinger.

Louise turned her head slightly to look over her right shoulder, "What do you mean? I know he's on edge after all he's been through but-"

"But nothin' Louise. Listen to me please! I've seen what happens to people like him. So please. Promise me you'll avoid him. And if ya can't avoid him, don't be alone with him!"

"I can't just leave him like that Derf. There has to be something I can do?"

"Ya can't Louise. Once people get like that, there ain't no goin' back. Honestly my biggest fear right now is the thought of you ending up like him."

"That won't happen Derf. I promise you."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep Louise. I've seen a lot stronger people lose their minds in war."

"I have to do something for him…"

"You can't. And you don't owe him anything. He owes you. Remember? Just stay away from him, alright?"

"I can't… I have to help him. He's gotten what he deserves for what he did to me before. Leaving him like that and never even trying to help him… That's just not in me Derf. I wouldn't be any better if I did."

"I warned ya. Just be very careful. Promise me that at least?"

"I promise."

Eleonore furiously worked her quill while transcribing details of the sensor readings taken by X2-C3 of the city and its defenses. Along with all of that was a wealth of scientific information about everything recorded. Of particular interest to her was the system of notation which she was desperate to learn. Each new detail brought currency emblems to her eyes as she considered the value of such a system and what it could mean for the scientific world to have access to it. The money people would pay for the rights to use it was almost incalculable to her.

She knew if she played this right, she could milk her little sister's familiar for enough scientific information and mathematical knowledge to keep their family business at the forefront of the world for the next hundred generations!

"What does this symbol mean?" asked Eleonore as soon as she hit a stump in her understanding of what she was seeing.

The Sith leaned in to examine the holographic display her Astromech was projecting onto the table which Eleonore was pointing to. "It's a chemical composition. It's how we scientifically describe chemicals. In this instance that says Peth Herf Three. Phosphine Gas."

"How do the notations work exactly?" asked Eleonore.

"We describe them by the numbers of atoms in the composition. In this case a single phosphorus atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms. This might be a little bit beyond your people's level of science though."

"It isn't. We have different names and descriptions for things but we've known for a long time about the many elements and the ratios of which various things are made up. And I don't mean elements in the same context as magic here. One day when we have time, I'd very much like to sit down and learn your systems of scientific notation. They're so much more efficient than what we use."

"It would be my pleasure. I'm rather impressed with your level of general knowledge."

"I have to say the alphabet your people use is starting to give me a headache. It just doesn't work with our language at all. Like what does this say here? I know the letters, but I can't figure out the sounds. Aurek, resh, cresh, herf… Auurechhreshher?"

Calista snickered to herself slightly. "It says Archer unit seventeen. The phonetics are very simple once you get used to it. Galactic Basic is called that because the phonetics can be sounded by out the widest possible types of speech organs. If the race is humanoid, insectoid, or reptilian. Not all mind you, but most. If they can't speak it, you can be certain they comprehend it."

"That sounds useful. If what you are saying is true, such a vast number of civilizations would logically need a common language they can all use to conduct business."

"Exactly. It has one of the shortest alphabets and can express a great many concepts in very simple sentences. Which makes it ideal for writing laws and contracts. Hence how it became the galactic standard."

" I'm starting to understand it all now. I'm still mostly in the dark about the scientific notations but I think I get all the labels on the enemy troops now."

"You're a quick study. If I stopped using the Force to make you hear me speaking in your own language you'd probably be able to understand me well enough."

Eleonore shrugged, but kept to the matter at stopped what she was doing and turned her head to Calista while adjusting her glasses with a smile on her face, "Give me a good insult to use in your language. Just incase this is all smoke and mirrors."

Calista started laughing heartily. "I could. But Basic is the worst language to curse in. For instance 'Kriff' is a common curse word. Krill, Isk, and a double Forn. As was explained to me by Kirche once, the equivalent used in your language is fuck. Another expression we use when things are going bad, like our current situation, we'd say we're 'borked' if you have the equivalent, it means we're... fucked. Did it translate a second time there?"

"Yes it did. That's a pretty useful power you have there."

"One of my favorites. But, really do not ever say it to anyone unless you want to start a fight is 'Echuta' which is Huteese for… Echuta."

"Echuta? It didn't translate that time."

"That is probably a very good thing. I am not sure if you have something like that in your language, where the mere utterance of it can get someone killed."

"Nothing readily comes to short doesn't mean better. So what does it mean?"

"It means a lot of things… Umm…" Calista leaned in to whisper in Eleonore's ear.

"Yes. I can see why that might provoke someone to violence."

A moment later Louise entered the tent and greeted everyone.

"Now I see why you had to whisper that. Did you know she was coming just now?" asked Eleonore to which Calista simply nodded. "Incredible. Passive precognition, linguistic comprehension. Very interesting application of magic. Even if the 'how' eludes me for now."

"All that does not even begin to encompass the depth of our powers. But I am pleased that you are starting to appreciate it," said Calista.

"So what are you two working on?" asked Louise.

"We just finished assessing the tactical situation," said Eleonore in a defeated tone while leaning back in her chair, taking off her glasses and rubbing her swollen eye.

Louise went up to her sister and started giving her a shoulder rub, "You shouldn't be touching that sister. Just try to relax. I take it by the way you sound, you don't think our situation is good?"

"No Louise. I don't. We have no supply lines, no resources and no reserves. I did know all of that. Now i know much more of how bad is it. The good news is that with town reserves he can last only six to seven bad one is, that we have supplies only for two...three if rationalise it, and that's only because of the fact, that we don't have as much mouths to feed that we had just a day ago"

Calista stepped forward and put her right hand on Louise's chin and turned her head to face her, "What happened to you Louise?"

Eleonore quickly sat up and looked at the bruising setting in on her younger sister's face. "Who did this to you?!" she demanded.

"Well… Now you know how I felt!" said Louise in a harsh tone to her big sister.

"Don't play games Louise tell me who did this to you!"

"It was just a stupid accident. I went to talk to Guiche and someone wasn't pay attention to what he was doing and I got smacked in the face with a plank of wood. It's not a big deal."

"Don't lie to me Louise. You don't have the talent for it. Tell me who did this!"

"You tell me who hit you first then!" demanded Louise.

"It doesn't matter who hit me! It's my problem. Not yours."

"Why does it have to be your problem? You're my big sister, what happens to you happens to me!"

"Because I'm the eldest Louise, and it's my responsibility look after you!"

"Master? A little help here?"

Calista put up her hands and walked away. "It's between you and your sister. Don't involve me."

"Exactly. Don't involve her. Now answer the question Louise. Who hit you and why?" demanded Eleonore while putting her glasses back on to more carefully inspect her sister's injury.

"Stop treating me like I'm a baby! It doesn't even hurt all that bad! Can't you just leave it alone?"

"No I can't! Don't ask me to just leave it alone."

"Why not? You did when I asked about your eye!"

"It's different Louise! I'm the oldest. I'm a grown woman and I can handle my own problems. I'm not your responsibility, you're mine! Why can't you understand that for once in your life?"

"Because I'm not eight years old anymore! I don't need you to shelter me! I don't need you to protect me!"

"You don't even know what you're saying Louise! You don't want to have this argument with me, you are going to lose very badly!"

"Well that's too bad because we're going to have it!"

Eleonore took a deep breath and turned to the snowy haired Sith, "Calista could you please excuse us? This is about to get very personal."

Calista was infact already on her way out. "I realize that. I will go meditate or something," said Calista and then quickly added, "Thank the goddess I was an only child. If there were two or more of me I might have gone insane."

Once the younger woman was gone Eleonore turned back to face her little sister with an angry scowl. "Let's see how rebellious you are when you aren't showing off for your familiar now!"

"I wasn't showing off! You're the one who's making a big deal out of this! Oh and now she's my familiar, not Calista? You flip back to your true colors pretty damn fast!"

"I'd hit you for that if someone didn't already beat me to it. Is that what happened to you? Did you just not know when to back down?"

Louise glared into her sister's black eye, "Why? Is that what happened to you?"

"That doesn't matter! Why are you being so stubborn?!"

"I don't know, maybe I just follow your example?! Why is it so damn important? Why can't it just be my problem? Why do you have to make it yours?"

"For the last time. Because I'm the eldest and it's my responsibility to look after you! How could I ever face Cattleya again if something bad happened to you? Answer me that then! Do you know how sick she is right now? How do you think she'd take it if we lost you here?"

Louise looked away from her eldest sister while tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to overflow. The mention of their sickly sister was just too much for her. "That was low Eleonore… Even from you."

"It's the truth. Stop thinking only about yourself! Think about us too. And if you don't give a damn about me, then think of her. You know how much she loves and treasures you. If you got hurt or worse out there…" Eleonore couldn't help herself from tearing up at the thought of what she was saying.

After a short pause to breath and control her emotions she continued talking to her little sister, "I love Cattleya just as much as she loves you. And I love you just as much as she does. You've never been able to accept that everything we do is because we love you so much. You'll never be able to understand how much I've been through for the two of you. I don't need your gratitude. But I don't think your respect is too much to ask is it?"

"Have you ever considered that I don't know these things because you never open up to me? Maybe you do to Cattleya, I don't know. But you never talk to me about anything. I always worry about you,

You know what my earliest memory of you is Eleonore? Peeking into your room and watching you cry at night. And I never knew why. All I knew was that my big sister was always hurting. And I remember it made me angry! I remember that much. Being angry a lot... I remember thinking that if I could make everyone angry at me instead of you, that you wouldn't cry anymore!"

Eleonore fell back into her chair while throwing her glasses off her face and buried her head in her hands. "So it was all my fault…"

Louise knelt down infront of her sister and gave her an awkward hug by putting her head on her big sister's lap, "Nothing was your fault Eleonore..."

"Yes it was… I'm not ready to talk about it right now Louise. But it was. It's my burden to carry. Not yours. So please… Just tell me who hurt you. I have to know!" Eleonore spoke through her sobs.

"It was Guiche de Gramont. He hit me. I slapped him first, and he hit me back."

"Guiche de Gramont did this to you? That little bastard! I'm going to make a rug out of his hide!"

"Forget him right now, it's not important! Tell me what's wrong with you Eleonore? Please… I have to know too. I can feel your pain as if it were my own right now. Please… Let me in."

"I can't Louise… I actually want to. But I can't yet," she answered while pulling her sister up into a tight embrace. "But when this is all over. We'll talk about it. I'll tell you everything. But right now. I just can't."

Sometime later after Louise and Eleonore had calmed down, and Calista had returned. The three turned their full attention to the tactical plan they had been busy constructing.

"I still wonder why our enemies aren't coming out to fight us. With what they have at their disposal they could easily wipe us out. So what's holding them back?" asked Calista.

"It would just be a waste of resources for them. Every attack is our loss and their gain," explained Eleonore.

"I'm not a strategist. But the only option I see is that we have to get our forces inside the city. We can't take on two armies. Especially not in a siege situation."

"Actually… Theoretically. We could. Marseille army is not half as powerful as ours. If we can intercept them before being clinched between the walls and them we would stand a very good chance. They would be just off march, and we could attack their supply lines..They could not do the same, cause right now we have none! But it all has no meaning if we take Air fleet into consideration.

Calista nodded along to show she was paying attention and then spoke up once Eleonore had finished, "Tell me about those ships. Are they all like the Dignity?"

"Four of them are exactly the same. Tristain got them all from Albion. They're refurbished ships that were decommissioned. The battleship on the other hand is something very different. It's one of their newest ships. Large enough to carry all the Dragon Knights you encountered, and it has a lot more guns and crew. Storming it would be suicide."

"That wasn't what I was asking about. Your ships and weapons use an explosive powder to propel some kind of ordinance at their targets. Which means they have a limit to how many shots they can fire, and how quickly."

"I follow your reasoning. That's the most probable reason they didn't deploy them against us yet. Resupplying the airships from the ground isn't a simple undertaking. So they won't engage us unless they have to."

"If only I had time to repair my fighter. I could obliterate that fleet all on my own… What about the Air Defense system? Do you know much about how it works?" asked Calista.

"Yes I do. Our company designed and built them. They're large devices built from the ground up with magical enchantments. A mage channels a spell into the device and it'll contain that spell until directed to fire at a target by the operator. It takes thirty seconds for a properly trained mage to prepare a new spell to be fired after each shot though. The system amplifies the spell to increase its range, thus making it effective even against airships," explained Eleonore.

Calista put a hand on her chin and began to contemplate deeply, "How many of these things are there?"

"The contract was for fifteen. But don't ask me where. I wasn't involved in their installation."

Louise cleared her throat to get their attention, "If we don't have anyone out here who knows. I think I know someone inside the city who knows for sure."

"Very good Louise. I'll keep that in mind. My plan is to infiltrate the city a destroy them. Back home, were I in this situation, I would lead a squad of special forces into the city and open one of the gates from the inside. In addition to taking out targets of opportunity as presented."

"What are 'Special Forces' exactly?" asked Eleonore.

"Highly trained elite soldiers who undertake difficult missions. Usually the kind of missions which would be suicide for anyone else."

"I think I know where you could get some people like that!" piped Louise drawing the attention of both the older women.

"What are you thinking Louise?" asked Calista.

"Like I was trying to tell you before you patronized me… When I was in the city, a friend of Kirche's took us down into this sort of hidden bar where a lot-"

Eleonore quickly stood up and chastised her sister by yelling in her face, "You idiot! You incomprehensibly stupid idiot! How could you?! You actually went there? How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time? What the hell were you thinking?! Do you know what could have happened to you?!"

Calista rolled her eyes, "Would someone please fill me in?"

Eleonore gritted her teeth and almost growled her answer. Though her fury was directed entirely at Louise, "It's a place where criminals, rogue mages, and other undesirables congregate and do business."

"Why would you go to such a place Louise?" asked Calista.

"I was just getting to that! There's a man there named Iron Felix. If you can get his help. He's the man for the job. He has the connections and the skills you'll need for this Master."

Eleonore sighed audibly, "She's right about that at least. Felix Dziar...Dzir.. well, Iron Felix IS the Marshall of Tristain."

"I'm sure Brinvilliers would remove him from his kill him"

"He could have tried"

"But getting him to help won't be easy. Kirche and I tried to get him to help us rescue my mother from the prison. But he refused. Said it was because his soup got cold."

"His soup got cold?" asked Calista and Eleonore to which Louise shrugged.

"Don't ask me. I couldn't figure him out. But I'm willing to bet you could get him to help you Master."

Calista sighed, "I doubt I will like it. But it might be worth a try. I shall consider it."

Guiche didn't feel like he had a right to complain, all he did was use magic to help get a few trebuchets built. Other men had to work their hands to the bone to assemble the machines. Not to mention the men who had to actually gather and prepare the raw materials from the forests. But magic was exerting beyond what the commoners could comprehend. It was potentially lethal to over use magic. From where he now stood, Guiche could see the Water Mages still working tirelessly to mend the wounded. Some them had even collapsed from magic exhaustion. The sight of one of the mages passing out and having people rush to and carry him away removed any temptation to openly complain about his work load.

He took a deep breath and then walked on with only his task in mind. He had to convince his father to meet with Louise's Familiar and had no illusions about how that discussion would go. But it still had to be done. When he finally found his father, he found him in the middle of giving a speech to a group of his own soldiers.

"...an Army sleeps, works and fights as one. As a family. What happened today makes no damn bit of difference. Yes we lost a lot of good people today. Yes we're all tired. Yes we're all frustrated. No there is no relief. No there are no guarantees. And yes we all expected to do our jobs! We all want revenge, but taking matters into our own hands and getting ourselves killed in the process would be an even bigger waste. Because if we don't win this war than the people who died here today, and all the people we lost at Lagdorian Lake will have all died for less than nothing! So get your heads on straight and maintain your self respect. You're soldiers of House Gramont. You're the best. Act like it and set a good example for the rest!"

Guiche listened carefully to his father and knew he was right. Guiche too had to maintain a good example. Not only was he part of this army, but he was that man's son and it was his duty to follow and uphold his father's example.

"Father?"

"Yes Guiche?"

"The work on the trebuchets should be finished before morning."

"I'm pleased to hear that. You did well today. Marched, fought, and worked. You'll become a fine man soon enough. You'll be ready to take my place in a few years if you keep this up."

"I have something I need to discuss with you father. It's important."

The General turned to face his son and nodded at him. "There's a lot yet to be done, but I can give you a few minutes. What's on your mind son?"

"I have been requested to pass on an invitation to you to attend Lady Eleonore Valliere in her tent, along with Louise Valliere and her familiar where they intend to request your council regarding information they've obtained on the city's defenses."

The General sighed and then shook his head in disappointment.

"IIf only I were twenty years younger and hadn't enough Valliere appointments already planned... But today, I'm afraid it's far too improper for me to be attending meetings with young ladies in their private tents while on a military campaign. In all seriousness, did you hear yourself just now Guiche?"

"I do realize that part of what I said, if taken out of context could be misconstrued..."

"A gentleman should never say anything that can be taken out of context like that Guiche. Always choose your words wisely. That being said. I'm afraid I'm going to be busy. I promised to have words with the Commander in Chief earlier, and I intend to be true to my word."

"But father, if what they have is useful to you, they could help you in whatever you intend to discuss with the Duchess and-"

"Son! The words coming out of your mouth right now are dangerously close to what we call 'inciting mutiny' and the punishment for just speaking such things is the same as it is for actually attempting it. Do you understand what I mean when I say a gentlemen should always choose his words wisely now?"

"Yes father. I will take it to heart. But I am still compelled to suggest you attend this meeting. If for no reason other than to take this opportunity to potentially block Louise's familiar from gaining much more influence over things. She's dangerous!"

The General raised his voice to his son and yelled down at him, "Do you think I don't already know that better than you do?!"

Guiche was seeing red while his father's words burned in his ears. In response he quickly took off his cloak, and then pulled off his white shirt to reveal the extent of the scarring on his body. "When it comes to that bitch father, you know exactly shit! This is how dangerous she is! Look what she did to me with that power of hers! I was mostly dead! I was begging to die! I even asked Montmorency to kill me! Whatever you've been through in your life old man you have no idea what pain is until you've endured one tenth of this!"

"Guiche..."

"Shut up! I'm showing you this because I do know better than you how dangerous she is! You can not allow her to bring any of her plans to fruition father! If you do that'll be the end of us all. She is pure evil… I need you to wake up to that fact because she has everyone else wrapped around her finger!"

"Guiche. I'm sorry for what happened. You should have told me earlier. But you need to calm down."

"Like hell I will!"

"Yes you will. Because drama is not going to undo anything. Nor will it help your case. And also because I say so!" he said firmly to his son. The silent threat in general's voice broke Guiche's angry rant and stopped him cold.

"Now son, I'm not… We are not going let her do anything that would put anything, or anyone at risk. When the time comes. I will put her in her place. Even if that means Louise will have to live without a Familiar."

Guiche forced himself to take some deep breaths to calm himself before speaking again in a proper tone of voice, "With your permission father, I would like be the one to deliver the message and make sure they understand."

"And I would be happy to see it. But this puts the proposal that you brought into a new light. We have to be carefull. We can't allow ourselves to have an unchecked variable in our midst. So we will go to the meeting."

"We?"

"Yes son. We. I need to know how she'll act in your presence. As I always say. Knowing your enemy is crucial and her reaction to you being there could offer valuable insights."

A short time later Fernand de Gramont and his son stood outside the tent of Eleonore de la Valliere and announced themselves before they heard someone inside give them permission to enter. The three young women were standing around a table with X2-C3 beside Calista.

Fernand immediately noticed the black eye on Eleonore and the swelling on Louise's face. His first reaction was to glare at Calista and ask, "Did you do that to them?"

Calista narrowed her white eyes at the general while Eleonore and Louise were quickly defending the Echani woman. "No way! She would never! This was just a stupid accident," said Louise while Eleonore shook her head.

"No Uncle Fernand. She didn't. And we have much more important things to discuss than our faces."

"I have quite a few things I'd like to discuss with all of you. But why don't we begin with the reason you asked me here?" said the general while walking up to the table to see what they were working on.

"Then let us get straight to the point. We need your help General. At this point you are our only hope," said Calista in a respectful monotone.

"Explain yourself," demanded the general.

Calista slowly nodded once, "I do not believe I have to explain our current situation to you general, so I shall skip over that part. But first, could you have your son wait outside? It is perhaps best to limit his involvement."

"No. He stays," the general answered forcefully.

"Very well. Thanks to my droid and the invaluable work of Eleonore here, we have compiled a complete tactical assessment of the situation in and around the city. I shall allow her to explain the details."

Eleonore nodded to Calista while turning the map on her table so that the general could look at it right side up from his point of view.

"Thanks to Calista, we've been able to determine the source of the disease currently infecting our soldiers. It is also responsible for the abrupt firestorms which incinerated so many of our soldiers. It's called Phosphine Gas and it's very toxic. We've determined that the enemy hid glass capsules under the ground all around the south gate. We don't know if there are more of them so we'll need to be very cautious advancing on any other point."

The general looked at them all with a critical eye, "How is that possible? Where's your proof of this? It could have just been enemy fire mages?"

Calista cleared her throat and interjected herself, "Respectfully General, if you want proof, send some troops into that noman's land and have them dig around, if they survive they will find you proof. Otherwise, you will have to take our word for it. Making up something like this doesn't serve anyone."

"Lady Zarkot. I hope you'll understand my skepticism. And I hope you'll understand why I can't just take everything you say at face value."

Eleonore quickly spoke up to keep everyone on topic, "Perhaps it would be best to hold off on skepticism until after I've finished explaining everything we have here."

The general nodded to Eleonore, "Yes. Go on then."

"What we have been able to determine is how many were activated. But that's not going to help us figure out how many there might be out there. My point is the amount of strain it put on our Water Mages. By now our medical capabilities are crippled until they recover their energy. We have also confirmed that the fleet from La Rochelle is currently sitting just north of the city. There is also and Albion battleship with them."

The General seemed to be taking this information in and considering it. Eleonore took a moment to asses the way he was looking at her map and felt that what he was taking in was not contradicting whatever he already knew about the battle and then proceeded on with her presentation.

Elenore pointed to charts and graphs displayed on her papers, as usual covered with elaborate a messy mathematical equations. "We've been able to get a very accurate estimate of the size and composition of the enemy forces. Including their deployments. Even their mages."

"This is indeed useful. Provided I can get confirmation of it all. Right now I don't see actionable information. I see supposition and guesswork."

Calista sighed while rubbing the bridge of her nose, "No, these are facts. I assure you. But were I in your place I would probably think the same way. I could bring you up to speed with the process, how we drew these conclusions and all that... But I'm afraid we just do not have time for that. Using all the information we've gained, Eleonore is convinced that Brinvilliers is using stalling tactics. We believe he's called up his troops from one of the nearby cities to attack us from behind while we are focused on trying to get through the walls of this city."

"I gathered as much too. They could have come pouring out of the city by now to engage us in battle. A few things make sense in light of this information so I'm willing to accept it for the moment and hear you out. So what is your plan then?"

"None of us here are just brought the data together. But turning this information into a battle plan is a bit beyond us. Especially considering the level of cunning our enemy has demonstrated in past engagements. So we need you, to take this information and devise a strategy," explained Calista.

The general chuckled a bit before looking directly at the snowy haired woman, "Come now my lady. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. You don't think I see what you're trying to achieve here? What your endgame is? You're trying to get me to undermine their mother. How you got them to go along with this though, is what I'm actually curious about."

Eleonore shook her head, "As much as we love our mother, the simple truth is that there's just too much at stake here. Our personal feelings are irrelevant."

"So you're planning a not only a mutiny but a family betrayal as well."

"That is such an ugly term General. And quite far from the truth. As the Queen's advisors, we are simply doing our duty to give her majesty the best information possible with which to make good decisions for her kingdom," said Calista in their defense.

"So you've already discussed this with the Queen?" asked the general.

"Indeed. She's waiting to hear what we come up with," answered Calista.

"Do you expect me to believe that the Queen herself asked Karin's own daughter to ask my son to talk me into coming to this little meeting instead of calling us all into a proper council session?"

"No. That was my doing. We intend to convince the Queen that the Duchess isn't fit for command. That won't happen unless we present a united front with good evidence and a sound strategy. At that point she would ask her to relinquish her station as Commander in Chief and yield it to you. Command of the Valliere army would pass to Eleonore while Karin would retain command of her Knights. Meanwhile you will take overall command of this campaign and make proper use of all the information we can provide you with. Extwo can continue to scan and give you real time information on the enemy troops. Do not worry about the language barrier. The Queen is perfectly fluent in it and can interpret Extwo's information for you."

"Do you realize I can be hanged for simply listening to this?" asked the general incredulously.

"You are one of the Queen's advisors as well. This is your duty. The question is, will you perform it to the best of your abilities? Or will you go running off to Karin now to complain about the big bad Sith Lord trying to turn you against her?"

"My lady. I would respectfully ask you to refrain from telling me about my duties. I know them well. They do not include conspiring to mutiny. The way this looks to me is that you have a grudge. Sir Julio speaks highly of your manipulative nature, and I see now that he was correct. What I can't see at the moment is what you hope to gain from all this. What's in it for you?"

"Any goal I might have that you would find believable requires winning this conflict."

"That might be. But you are still avoiding the question."

"General. To be blunt. Right now I want a nice calm place to drink orange juice and figure out how this world works. I'm stuck here, and prejudice isn't something that phases me in the slightest, the things I have endured are beyond your comprehension. Now, if you have a better way of ending this war so I can get my drink I would very much like to hear it. Bottom line, make a decision. That is what we asked you here for."