"The repairs to our reactors are almost complete - you said yourself that with the proper planning, we could reach peak performance in less than a month." Esari's faintly perplexed expression was quite a show; it might have been believable on any other noblewoman, but her reputation spoke more loudly than her actions, at times. "Yet you tell me that we will not be leaving the tower...? Forgive me if I don't quite understand."

Synclair's eyebrow rose a milimeter, as he considered the woman across his desk. He found this quite amusing, even gratifying; the head of the House of Moran was fairly groveling to him... a man from a House of lower rank. Yes, amusing indeed... She was good at bending her neck when she felt it was necessary. Although he did technically outrank her as a member of the Parliament's Ministry, he doubted she saw it that way.

That was what made his meetings with her so... interesting. "As I said, it was the Queen's decision. Because of the recent run-ins with Solarian forces, and the danger still presented by the forces that attacked Bledavik, we cannot risk leaving the security of Babel at this time."

"Reports have stated that the 'mysterious force' has remained out of sight since June... why are we still in hiding? Surely they must have been defeated by Gebler."

"That is a matter best left for the military, my lady." That was the most tactful way he could think of to say, 'keep your nose out of matters you don't understand;' Esari, however, was far from stupid. She caught his meaning, and gave him a saucy smile in return.

Was /that/ how she had charmed her way into the graces of the Landholders? Or was it something else that had caught their interest?

Ah well, it wasn't as if he had given her much credit in the first place - why start now?

"I appreciate your tact, Minister Synclair, but why not be frank? I know my membership with the Landholders inclines you to believe my interests are in domestic issues... But House Moran has a long military history as well. We've held our own in past wars with the outside." She folded her hands in her lap neatly, leaning back in her chair as if to relax. Her eyes, in contrast, were sharp as daggers. "I know a military plan when I see it, and I'm afraid this does not look like it fits."

'Membership' with the Landholders? That wasn't what he would call it. "Ah, I suppose I should give you more credit... please accept my apology, lady." Synclair molded his face into a polite smile, fingers tapping a few beats on the arm of his chair before he stilled them. "Even still, I cannot divulge any more information than what you ahve received in your weekly reports. I have express orders to maintain confidentiality and divulge information only to other members of the Ministry."

Cyrene would have liked this; he wished she could be present, although that would have defeated the purpose of this meeting to begin with. They had long suspected that Esari and her allies - few as they were - had connections within the cabinet of Ministers that advised her, but until now they'd had no way of confirming their suspicions without revealing their position.

With the appearance of Diabalos and the forces of Solaris, however, their golden chance had arrived. And though he knew Cyrene hated politicking of this sort, there was no other way to be certain of the loyalty of her Ministers.

Favorable to her or no, he refused to allow the mistakes of the past to be repeated. His queen wanted to maintain the illusion that she could trust her cabinet, and he intended to make it so; by the end of the year, he intended to have the traitors weeded out and discarded so she might be able to enjoy that dream.

It wouldn't hurt to rid her of House Moran in the process, either. And he had a feeling Esari's downfall would be closely intertwined with the fall of the traitorous Ministers.

"You cannot bend the rule even for a member of Parliament? Surely you can see that it would be in our best interest to know. How are we to explain to our subjects if we have no information ourselves?"

"The Queen will arrange an announcement when she feels the time is right. For now, it is up to us to wait and have patience." Synclair had to work hard to keep a grin from his face as he watched the expression in the young girl's eyes change. He /did/ have to give her credit - she managed to keep her face smooth and composed, but those periwinkle eyes spoke volumes. "I hope you'll forgive me, my lady... but I cannot disobey the order of my queen."

After a moment of silence, Esari rose from her chair and bent knee in a shallow curtsy. "Not at all, Minister Synclair. I can't say I'm happy with the outcome of this meeting, but I respect your reasons for keeping silent."

He nodded to her smoothly, rising from his chair to offer her a bow in return. Keeping the mask of congeniality on his face was a long, practiced skill of his, but the sight of Esari's back - and the door closing to block it - was an extreme relief. Keeping his irritation in check around that woman was one of the most difficult things he'd had to do in years... but the consequences of letting it go would be far worse.

With Esari's presence already at the back of his mind, Synclair gathered a sheaf of papers and stuffed them into a purple folder, eyeing the thing with a bit of distaste when he was done. So little information. He'd spent hours researching that violet-haired woman, hoping to find something to give to his queen... and he had almost nothing to show for it. Perhaps the state of the empire didn't hinge on finding out more about the spy, but nevertheless...

And then, the reports of forces amassing in the Aveh desert. Thankfully the documents were quite firm in the fact that these forces were human, and in no way related to the Diablos, but that still left the question of their intent, and their identity. He suspected Solaris, but there was nothing to back his claim up, just yet.

If it was Gebler out there, lurking in the sand dunes, their target was quite obvious. The Mother Country couldn't have been happy that they lost their foothold on Ignas to a group of 'Lambs'; if not now, they would take Aveh back eventually. And unfortunately, Shevat would have to let them.

So Cyrene said, in any case. And she was right... He did hate to admit it, but she was right - their forces were too weak to interfere with Solaris. Regardless of what they wanted, it would be impossible to help the surface dwellers until they could bring Shevat back to its feet.

Synclair took the folder with a grimace, and started for the door - it was time to make his weekly report to the queen. All he had was another folder full of nothing... but she insisted anyway. And what right did he have to complain? Her smile alone had the power to brighten the room - what harm did it do to take this extra time to see her?

Somehow, in the midst of Shevat's latest crises... she had warmed considerably. He wasn't sure if it was the appearance of the Sophia look-alikes, or the discovery of Kaminoshi's daughter, or something entirely different... but she was smiling again, and laughing... just like the old Cyrene. For the first time in several hundred years, he actually found himself going out of his way to see her.

That, if nothing else, was a sign that things would resolve themselves. If his queen was finding a way out of her self-imposed prison of guilt... perhaps everything else would follow suit.

It was a pleasant dream in any case, he reflected as he left his office and turned down the hallway to the north wing. Whether it would come true or not was a different story.

(Summary: Synclair hides information from a rival and prepares reports of Solaris's activities for Cyrene. ^.^)