Thirty-Eight
“What’s going on, Benny?” Bob asked, all the light and vigor had been stripped from the big man. They had all clustered into the main meeting hall of the Puca, where just months ago it had been only Diur, Kon, and Benny. Now there was hardly standing room as all the cadets, Kon, Alice, Benny, Alexandros, and Bob all clustered together. That there were more people waiting for them and were sitting in orbit just added to the weight of the moment. Benny said nothing as he fiddled with his holopad and the projector built into the table sputtered to life a moment later.
Hard eyed Knights and naval officers slowly appeared as the meeting came to order. Kon didn’t recognize any of them aside from Jurgen who was one of the youngest people there. Voices immediately began to talk, running over each other until the room was lost into a mix of voices. Benny let it go for a minute before raising his hand and muting the mics. It took all the holograms a minute to understand, but eventually their virtual mouths stopped bobbing up and down.
“I am Benny Lorgairi. Most of you don’t know me. I will rectify that. Information packets were just sent to each of your ships with proper authentication. The summary is that I am the oldest, most experienced, Knight in all the fleets. Currently I am restricted from expressing my powers, but my influence, skill, and knowledge are all there. Review the documents now,” Benny ordered them, voice firm but lifeless as he stood still as a statue.
Whatever was in the documents he sent them had eyes bulging, turning to look at the mustachioed man with a widening mix of horror and awe. Kon made a note to take a peak at the documents himself, but for now he had to keep his head in the game and focus on the moment.
“I will be assuming command of this joint operation to secure the world-ship Oasis from terrorist forces. As of this moment, with the power vested in me, I declare the Order of the Lion excommunicated. All privileges, rights, honors, and wealth are forfeit. Any who wears the black Lion badge is to be killed on site. Is that understood?” Benny asked and Kon watched as lips were licked and heads slowly bobbed. Benny plowed on without slowing.
“Over a year ago the destruction of the Dragon’s Maw of the Titatan’s Resolve Chapterhouse began an investigation by both the Inquisitors and myself along with non-human allies. A Lupine battlepack with goblin pirates ambushed and destroyed the ship above a previously uncharted planet. It was thought to be a stroke of luck that the survivors met a clan of cultivators there who aided them in their escape.”
Kon frowned as he watched Benny twist what had happened. If anything it had been them that had helped Diur escape and drew eyes away from Daniur’s ascension. Whatever reason he had for telling the story this way, Kon would be a fool to step in now.
“Ulmna cultivators died in great numbers but managed to secure the exit of many survivors, including my current Squire, Kon Lorgairi, along with training Alice Roose. Who some of you may know.” All of the members of the meeting were paying rapt attention now, leaning forward with just a few quick twitches to look over Alice and Kon.
“I led the investigation on the goblin front while Alice and her ally, a B-grade cultivator, spearheaded the Lupine angle. All the while Head Inquisitor Lero Ran investigated the human angles. It was there that we began to find the leading edges of the conspiracy that has now claimed the life of Governor Dina Hathridge.” Benny paused and looked over at everyone. No one dared to move or speak as Benny continued on.
“The connection found at the goblin home system allowed us to firmly link a human ship with the Lupine battlepack that came and hired their services. I will send the readings we secured from that. Knight Jurgen and a squad of Dragon Knights along with the independent Chapterhouse the Wild Bunch aided in this assault. Alice and her ally found the Lupine headquarters and were able to secure better recordings of the human ship. I do no currently have those recordings.” Kon kept his face placid as he watched Benny slowly string everything together, noticing that the recording light was on.
“This isn’t just for the people here. He’ll send it everywhere. He’s coming all the way out of the shadows.” Kon’s internal conclusion sent a shiver down his spine as the his mentor turned waited for everyone to review the footage they had secured on the goblin homeworld.
“We rendezvoused on an uninhabited planet that was being used as a gathering place for localized rogue cultivator sects. There was a large-scale year long tournament going on that I had my Squire enter in disguise. At the same time Alice had arrived and already infiltrated the group. There we met with an Inquisitor who shall remain nameless. I have her reports here, they are sending now.” Another pause as everyone read it over.
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“As you are no doubt reading, there were human ships and independent Knights acting as security. What was going on in the background was a mass hiring of mercenaries. Thousands of cultivators were hired directly by agents linked to human nobles, specifically the Theiry family. A failed ambush to kill our cultivator ally led to the destruction of the planet and the majority of the organized sects who hadn’t taken the direct combat contracts offered. Our ally rallied what was left of the cultivators when we realized that the mercenaries hired here, along with fleets of goblins and pirates as auxiliary forces to a War Pack were headed toward the Ulmna Confederacy.”
There was no sound as Benny continued to send document after document of their investigation. Kon had to keep his shock at bay at the well built case that Benny had managed to construct from thin leads. It had seemed too thin to bring forth to the light at the time, but listening to Benny explain everything made it seem more than plausible.
“It helps the bastards tried to steal the Oasis. Gives credence to this plot.” Kon wouldn’t say that to anyone. Or that Benny had roped the Ulmna into their investigation when Daniur had been at best following a path of vengeance and had incidentally collected evidence.
“Humans had conspired to transport and hire an army for the express purpose of a large-scale invasion of an independent multi-system government. While not illegal, it is frowned upon. What is illegal are the plans we found for post war colonization of the Ulmna worlds by humans, specifically the faction of nobles who form a core portion of the Order of the Lion.” This brought a series of strained looks as people read documents that turned their stomachs.
“Inquistiors found forged documents that had been sent to the Dragon’s Maw, including navigation paths they were take when they investigated agents of the Lion Order. Buried under layers of wipes and scrubbed computers, they are fragments and lack the ability to stand in court. I present them to you now,” Benny said before continuing on.
“My Squire, Alice Roose, and myself came to the Oasis to continue our investigation and to see how deep the corruption had made it. All of our current evidence is at best circumstantial and we were hoping to find a smoking gun while rallying support for a battle group to be sent to the Ulmna worlds on a generous contract. We encountered Delano Sommers at a small gala. He knows who I am, or used to be, I should say. I strongly believe that he correctly assumed my presence was there for his elimination and he acted on his first chance while I was off ship.”
“The bastard killed or arrested half our Order in a single day,” a haggard looking naval officer said. The woman’s eyes were sunken, deep bags under them as she stood ramrod straight, rage poured off of her as she looked over the group.
“My wife was killed. I have confirmation of it. Heather Santiago. She was fifty-seven years old and was a Captain in the Internal Security corp in Sector Six of the Oasis. It’s where Governor Hathridge was killed. Before her murder, Heather sent me recordings of Lion forces seizing people in a sudden blitz. Before the bogus coup claims were made. Before the governor was killed.”
“My sincerest sympathies to your loss. Would you be willing to add the recordings to the group?” Benny asked, but his words were more command than request. The naval officer jerkily clicked something and Kon was a light turn on as the data was added to the report.
“High Inquisitor Lero Ran was able to interfere with the Oasis’s Survival Protocol and forced her random jumps through the lanes. We know where she will be arriving. Without the governor they’ll struggle to get through the locks that are emplaced after that protocol is activated. I plan on retaking the ship. I do not have the authority to order you to aid me, but I will remember anyone who doesn’t aid us,” Benny said and the room noticeably cooled at the threat.
“We’re pretty banged up. Bastards fired on the fleet, cut apart dozens of ships or murdered the officer corps of ships they had men aboard. There’s not much in the way that our ships can aid in this,” a different naval officer chimed in. He was older with gray hair and an impeccable uniform, steely-gray eyes that bored into anyone who tried to meet his gaze.
“There should be minimal amount of ships available to the traitors at the Oasis.There will be plenty of them aboard her though. We need Knights and security forces more than anything. If they fight, and they will, it’s going to get bad. I need full armor and combat experienced soldiers,” Benny said.
“I am Knight Commander Hurin,” a Knight said. Like most Knights he was a youthful looking man with olive skin and dark eyes.
“Commander Hurin. Are you the ranking Dragon left alive?” Benny asked.
“I am. And you have our blades. We have people still on that ship and I’d be boarding her regardless of an order or not.”
“We’ll begin discussion on that soon enough. I will send the coordinates needed to make the jumps. It’ll take at least a week to make it to the Oasis. In that time I suggest everyone rests and recuperates, affecting what repairs you can. I also want every single one of you to prepare message capsules with the information presented. We will be sending them to every known human relay. Let the word spread. Every Lion is to be hunted and exterminated.”