LIGHTNOVELONLINE 216 Protector
While the Terrans had taken Titanyana away for the night with Len in tow, the rest of the entourage was left to handle the mess. Well, calling it a mess was a little bit of a misnomer, everything was being organized fairly well, but there was little doubt that the procedures were mess-y. The most troublesome part of it all was figuring out what to do with Petunia, she couldn't go along with the Terrans just yet.
There were some special measures that an outsider would need to go through in order to be permitted some level of residence in academy housing, somewhere they would effectively be cared for by Sanctum staff. Given that Petunia was here in the capacity of a maidservant this process would not be particularly difficult or strenuous, but she could not stay in the Barracks until it was done. It wasn't uncommon for a loyal servant to accompany their master at the academy, well trained and refined servants were a sign of status and could be trusted to perform duties and handle information deemed to be ill-suited for those in the Sanctum's employ.
Those responsible for the organization of academy staff and student housing were often more than happy to have such servants around. They could keep their staff from getting implicated in some nation's political situation that way. Unfortunately due to the hour at which they had arrived there was nobody available to authorize her. It wouldn't be impossible for her to temporarily stay somewhere else in the mean time though, only the academy had those restrictions.
"I'm terribly sorry about the delay Miss Petunia, there is nothing we can do about it." Montaug expressed his condolences as Cayzi and Gawan helped her to her feet. "We will make sure that your temporary quarters, particularly the bedding, are more comfortable than the standard. I am not particularly fond of sleeping on these vessels myself, so I would like to imagine I can understand your physical pain to some extent."
". . . thank you."
"Think nothing of it. Now, please, come this way."
"Who was that boy?" Petunia's tired eyes were still focused on the slowly disappearing carriage.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
"The boy, the . . . man, the one who carried Titanyana away. Who is he?"
Montaug turned to look at Petunia. He was, initially, more than just a little bit concerned, an attitude which changed once he remembered that Petunia had not received a proper introduction from the Terrans. She might have been able to guess who they were given how they interacted with the princess . . . the queen, but Petunia probably didn't want to make a mistaken assumption.
"His name is Donovan Strauss, one of the two remaining Terrans, the race that will be taking you under their wing." The Montaug didn't really want to take away their opportunity to introduce themselves in the way they felt most proper, so he kept his explanation on the short and simple side. Diana wouldn't mind if he revealed some of the more pertinent information though. "They have lost both their planet and their people."
"I see. . ." Petunia finally turned away from the carriage that could no longer be seen. "If I may be so bold, could I ask what their relationship is? I find it somewhat suspicious that those in such dire straits would be so eager to take on the burden of a dying people."
Montaug glanced sideways for a moment, locking eyes with Gawan. He shrugged, communicating that they hadn't spoken about this on the ship.
"Well, how do I put this?" The Montaug did not want to misrepresent Diana's position on the matter, they hadn't talked about this specific subject that much. "Given that they do not have a population of their own, they wish to acquire people who will carry out their directives and will, people who will help to protect what little they have while working tirelessly to expanding it."
"So . . . we are to be slaves after all?" Petunia obviously seemed saddened by this proposition, the Nekh were a proud race in spite of their disadvantages. Hollow, she laughed briefly before continuing. "I suppose it is to be expected. How else could we repay such a debt?"
The adult Holifanians composing of her escort all made brief eye contact with each other, a silent debate over who should tell her. They were all pretty good at predicting the emotional responses of others to certain actions, and they all were guessing that her reaction to the information they were about to reveal would not be a reserved one.
"Um, about that." Trebar took it upon himself to 'take the hit'. Of the people present he was best suited for it, he had spent the most time with the people in question. "From my conversations with them, they have made it abundantly clear that they do not wish to keep you in servitude as slave. They do not even wish for you to be subjects, though your social status under them may be that way while you get used to the way they operate. Donovan and Diana instead wish for the Nekh to be their citizens, free and independent persons granted various rights guaranteed by law."
". . . sorry? Did I hear that right?"
"They wish for you to be citizens of their nation, marginally below them but effectively equals."
"N-no, I don't - I can't believe you. You are lying." Petunia didn't take long to reject Trebar's claim. "I refuse to believe that someone would give up power and authority over another so easily! It simply isn't possible."
"Miss Petunia," Gawan gently put a hand on her shoulder, trying his best not to startle her, "I suggest you think about this from their perspective."
"What do you mean?"
"They have - very recently mind you - lost everyone and everything. What happened to them is the very same thing that is happening to you, or at the very least it is similar. They, Diana in particular, view you to be something of kindred spirits, and they will be damned if they allow another to suffer the same fate they did without doing anything about it. Now this is just my personal opinion, but I firmly believe that they want to rebuild together. They want to strengthen themselves by strengthening you."
Petunia made it clear that she did not quite believe him, but she did not interrupt him. She was listening.
"I understand it may be difficult to accept be ruled and directed by someone foreign, but I believe that they have the tools, knowledge, and talent to shepherd your people back to health. Donovan appears to be extremely confident in his belief that an invasion on his territory will be impossible, and I must say I believe him. From what few tools he has demonstrated to us up to this point, it isn't out of the question that he would be able to fend us off."
"You imply that he is capable of defeating the greatest galactic power behind the Sanctum itself in an open field of combat?"
"Yes. I would even wager he could hold off the Sanctum. However one thing remains true regardless of who his opponent is -"
"He can't do it alone." Trebar finished his friend's sentence. Military matters were his specialty. "It doesn't matter how powerful he is, it will be impossible for him to protect everything he loves by himself. He needs subordinates, people who can hold the line and handle smaller problems that may arise. Even now, I can guarantee he feels himself inadequate. He cannot perfectly protect Diana, the person who means everything to him. Pardon me if this comes off as an insult, but the same applies to the Nekh. Right now, if you want to survive, to protect what you treasure, you need their help."
Petunia's ears flattened, a change from their previous lifeless state. "And? How many of our people, the thing we treasure, can he protect? He doesn't have much time, does he? The ship we left on could only handle an additional 25 people or so. Even with the grand fleet of the Theocracy, I doubt you could manage much more than fifty thousand! That is not enough!"
"Once again, you underestimate their capabilities." The Montaug was the most familiar with what Donovan was scheming, though he wasn't particularly confident about how well he understood the math. "His least generous estimates, that being the worst scenario he sees as being possible, have the number of Nekh saved sitting between one and two million."
"One to two million?" Montaug nodded. "Is that even possible?"
"Given what I have seen thus far, I imagine the real number is going to be around ten to fifteen million. You must understand that the subjects evacuations and moving ships around the void do not fall under my expertise, but I feel confident that he is being far too conservative in his estimations of speed and production numbers."
"Ten million?!"
"Let's set this topic aside for now, I don't think you are in the proper state to fully grasp it, and I feel we have gotten side-tracked. I believe you wished to know what the relationship between Donovan and Titanyana is?" Petunia gave the Montaug an almost deadly pair of eyes, she was being denied incredibly important information. However she very quickly gave a silent signal of acquiescence, a curt nod. "A few minutes ago, I would have categorized their relationship as amicable yet professional."
"You no longer view that to be the case?"
"It's complicated. The few months I have known the Terrans have been hectic, to say the least, and Titanyana has been a key actor in more than a few of those events. To begin with, their meeting was not one I could consider organic. Donovan needed a sword instructor if he was to attend the academy, and so those in the Sanctum responsible for arranging such a service judged her to be a suitable candidate. For some reason or another she was unable to find an army to be a part of," Petunia's ear twitched, "so she joined Donovan's squad as his squire and tutor."
"I feel inclined to add that she is an exceptional instructor. Donovan's own talent may play a part, but he has definitely shown a disproportionate level of growth in the realm of swordplay. I hear he held his own fairly well during his first tournament despite being not using split." Another ear twitch in response to Trebar's explanation.
"That would be the same tournament Queen Titanyana received her title from."
"A title!?!?!"
"Please calm down, and yes, she received a title from the Arboreal Maiden. 'Tempest', I believe? Regardless, another event happened during that tournament that made me hesitant to believe that their relationship ended at the professional. Trebar?"
The Montaug had really only experienced the tournament second hand, and there was someone present who could more accurately describe the event.
"Shortening the story in the interests of time, one of my subordinates poisoned her during her match which resulted in her heart stopping shortly after their match completed." Another ear twitch accompanied by a darkening expression. "Donovan, who was nearby, kept her blood pumping for an extended period of time while the Great Csillacra removed the toxins from her body. He supported her for some time afterwards, making sure she didn't hurt herself, before carrying her home."
"Yes, that is more or less how I remember it being explained. Regardless, I feel that around that time their attitudes toward each other shifted, and his recent actions seem to justify it in my mind."
"So? What is their relationship?"
"I believe Donovan has, subconsciously or not, come to see Titanyana as someone who is in need of his protection and support. She may be able to fend for herself, but eventually she will need his assistance either physical or emotional. For what its worth, I believe Diana has assumed a similar role, though from what I've seen of their interaction they are more like sisters. As for Titanyana, I would argue she sees him as her savior. He has directly saved her life once after all, and he has made promises to protect her people. Considering the fact that she takes her role as the leader of the Nekh quite seriously, I imagine she thinks he has saved her life twice."
Petunia was receptive to this perspective, ears flared as she absorbed the information. She wanted to know how her Queen viewed the man who carried away, it would dictate how much reverence she treated him with in the future.
"So . . . have they slept together?"
"Excuse me?!" "Whoa!" Bishop Kayes and his previous student both made their shock audible.
"Hm? Is it that odd of a question to ask?" Petunia, on the other hand, seemed absolutely befuddled by the negative reaction she had received. "She is the last of our royal line, the last Strapper, and I cannot discount the possibility that she may pass away. You have even claimed that there was a situation where she could very well have died if it were not for him, and I cannot allow my people to be without a leader."
"Yeah, yeah, we get that. Your question was just so inappropriate for the situation!"
"How so? We were discussing their relationship, were we not? What is wrong with wanting to know if I should be treating him as the king? In addition, I think it would be a perfect way for him to be legitimized as the ruler of the Nekh, no?"
- - - - -
Diana watched Donovan in disguised amusement as his hand gently stroked what little of Titanyana's hair he could reach. He wasn't doing it intentionally, he was looking out the window at the massive Gondola-like thing they had come here on. It wasn't the exact same one that had ferried them around post-Oberlux, but it was very similar.
"Hey Donny?"
"Hm?"
"How do you think we should handle the Nekh?" Diana had decided that now was a decent enough time to start planting some seeds. "I know we can probably get by on the debt of being their saviors, but I don't feel confident not having a back-up plan."
". . . I don't know how to help you there."
"Yeah, probably not." Diana let the conversation die off a little. This wasn't a subject she could just bring up without 'foreplay'. "I can't think of anything though."
"Really? Have you gone over it with Arc?"
"A little bit, but we aren't really confident in anything yet." Push a little bit, and then back away for a minute or two. "Maybe I should just have you marry Titanyana after all."
"P-pardon me?"
"Yeah, that's the best way to go about it. Making her your bride would be an excellent way to secure the loyalty of the Nekh. She's the last of her people's royal line now, so there shouldn't be any worries about legitimate claimants."
"Diana! She's right here!"
"She's asleep, don't worry about it." Diana would actually have preferred Titanyana to be awake, but it didn't matter much either way. "Besides, it isn't like you would have to get her pregnant. I would like you to, of course, but it shouldn't be strictly necessary."
"You make this sound like its a done deal. . ."
"I don't think I'll be taking no for an answer this time around Donny. I don't think we can afford not to." Diana was certain that Donovan wouldn't raise a fuss about this for much longer. At her behest, Arc had been . . . making suggestions . . . to Donovan about the difficulties of controlling populations without a contingent of loyal subordinates, usually by way of showing examples of rulers who lost control of their militaries and the resulting fallout. "I won't let you be marrying her before me though. I won't let you get her pregnant before me either, so don't go falling in love too hard, okay?"
"Naturally." Donovan nodded his head, tired of how often Diana brought this up. "I won't do it if Titanyana doesn't want it though. If she finds someone else she wants to be with-"
"Then we will have her forfeit the crown to you." Diana did not for a second believe Titanyana was going to give up on her crush. If anything, it was only going to get worse. "Oh, by the way, are you and Arc going ahead with the, uh, what did you call it again?"
"The weapons systems demonstration?"
"Yes, that. Who are we showing off to?"
"Are you asking about who the audience will be?"
"Obviously."
"From the Sanctum, we have the Arboreal Maiden and the Grand Elders, as well as Kilm and a few of the officers he plans on bringing with him. The Captain and Scholar were, obviously, also invited. From the Theocracy, Montaug, Gawan, Trebar, Nemo, that Bishop dude, probably his little disciple, and I'm pretty sure that the Jakobi brothers are going to be performing a damage assessment on the target ships with a few people from their crew. Was there someone else you wanted to invite?"
"I was pondering the merits of inviting Prince Merndil. He strikes me as the type of person who can keep a secret, and I believe it would be beneficial for us if he understood our value."
"The succession crisis?"
"That wasn't the first thing that came to mind . . . but I must admit it would be nice to have the Emperor of one of the most powerful Empires in our pocket as thanks for helping him secure the throne. In the end, you are the one who gets to make the call."
". . . I think it should be fine if he comes, perhaps Hlapven as well. Arc and I are fairly interested in that Seahrdrin metal his territory produces. I know he isn't back yet, but the demonstration is in three days. It won't be a big deal if he doesn't see it."
