Late evening
Whitecrest Enclave, The Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches
Private briefing with Champion Genshi
Officer and Sergeant Regaari (Dexter) of Clan Whitecrest
Regaari was still sore from the absolute beat-down he suffered at the hands of Righteous—no, Christian Firth. It was mildly depressing how quickly the giant had defeated him but then again, what was one to do? The massive Human was over seven times Regaari’s size and so much faster, stronger, tougher and better it was difficult to comprehend. The only salve to Regaari’s wounded pride was just how badly he’d managed to wound the enormous warrior; Firth was actually proud of Regaari for that score!
His mind was still on the training when Genshi entered the room. He looked…confident. Steely-eyed. Prepared to lead. And Regaari knew he would follow.
“I shall cut right to the point,” he said with admirable directness. “You were right to bring this to my attention. Well done. I see great things in your future.”
Regaari was inwardly elated but he maintained his outer calm. “Thank you, my Champion. How may I be of further service?”
Genshi settled into his chair. His bearing was one of command and control. “For you? I must ask a great favor. I need you to remain here with the Humans and learn everything they can teach you. And most importantly I need you to stay as far out of Clan politics as you possibly can.”
That last bit was a stunner. “But Champion—”
“But nothing, my Brother. You and I both know this will not be pleasant. What I may need more than anything is someone beyond reproach, and someone with access to massive capability. Right now, you are one of only two assets I have positioned that could possibly meet this need.”
Regaari knew not to ask, but still: “I can help my Champion! I can—”
“—I know.” Genshi raised a paw to forestall the argument. “But you can help me more right here in ways you won’t yet understand. Please trust me.”
“…you know I do, my Champion.”
“Yes. Now go back to the Humans, Regaari, and become the deadliest Whitecrest to ever live. Contact your allies. Be discreet. Be agreeable and quiet. Do not raise suspicion. And all of you, be ready for what comes.”
Now that was a call to arms Regaari could accept. “As you wish.” He duck-nodded and stood up to leave, and the Champion stood with him.
“I am so very proud of you, Regaari. You and all the Brothers. Train well.”
Regaari’s heart swelled with pride! “Light the Darkness, my Champion.”
He nodded gracefully, and turned his attention to other matters. Regaari turned around and left, his heart filled with pride in Clan and his soul with Motivation.
Champion Genshi of Clan Whitecrest
Genshi was so tired. He was up very late, drafting correspondence to allies all across Gao. None of it could actually voice his concerns, of course. Instead, each and every single message was carefully crafted to elicit a response along his most Vexing Question.
Framing his correspondence as a gentle sounding of the waters, what he asked was not directly related to the Question. They were designed to gather intelligence via the proxy of other topical discourse because actually voicing the matter, no matter how circumspectly, could give away the game. What he needed to know was whether, and how strongly, the Brothers and Fathers he wrote were in favor of either the Dominion or the Alliance, or whether they would have preferred for Gao to remain neutral until the conflict between those forces reached its conclusion.
The question was a good proxy for Hierarchy influence, because everything the Humans knew suggested a rather…depressing lack of guile. While it was now obvious that the conflict had been seeded and nourished by Hierarchy action, they seemed to take it for granted that every sophont in the galaxy fell on one side or the other of that artificial divide, and they seemed to have few if any agents among the independents.
That was such a tremendous oversight it was actually worrisome; could they really be that incompetent? Or were they confident? Why?
So many things to consider, more than any one being could handle all at once. Solution? Sleep. He needed it, badly. It was well past the Resting Hour and he had no desire to disturb the sleeping Brothers, so as quietly as he could, he snuck into the nest-room and curled up with his Naxas blanket, alone.
But not for long. As one, the Brothers stood up and surrounded Genshi. They went from little nest-piles of two, three, or four into a massive pile of dozens. No words were spoken. None were needed. Genshi struggled to express the feeling, to show, somehow, what the small gesture meant…but they knew.
Genshi slept like a newborn Cub.
Late the next morning
The Brothers were perceptive, of course. They knew their Champion was under some undefined worry and did what they could—quietly—to support him. For that, Genshi was immensely grateful, but he was not surprised. They were Whitecrest and they were the very best. That was why they were on Cimbrean, after all; developing sources and methods amongst a burgeoning ally was always an exquisitely sensitive and perilous task. They had to balance the needs of Gao with the decorum and trust inherent to any alliance, and that meant running an effective and reasonable collection program an ally would accept and understand.
All allies did this. Fathers knew that Daar was running a particularly effective one against Genshi through the simple mechanic of being a good friend. And that was more or less what Whitecrest was doing with the Humans. Friends share secrets, and friends learn each other.
And sometimes, maybe friends snoop in each other’s business, too. Just a little.
For Genshi that program had two aspects, one overt, the other covert. The overt collection was largely one of his doing: Regaari and the Whitecrest team. They were bound by new oaths of secrecy, of course, and now so was he, but that would not prevent any of them from working in Gao’s interests.
The second program was run by the internal Whitecrest Directorates. As Champion he was ostensibly aloof from such concerns. The Directorates were the domains of the Fathers and the Grandfather, and he was allowed no direct command or control over anything the Directorates may see fit to do.
A convenient little lie. As the embodiment of Whitecrest he had no trouble at all remaining well-informed, and it was a trivial matter to nudge here, suggest there, whisper into the right ears…and before anyone knew what happened, Whitecrest was solidly aligning with the Humans.
Now he must preserve that work against his enemy Fathers. Having found the local Whitecrest Enclave free from Hierarchy taint—well, as free as could be expected, as most of the Brothers had translation implants—his task would be twofold. Firstly he needed to convince the Brothers to remove their implants.
That was easy. He pointed to his own thin and fading scar and said, “The implants hamper understanding, because they breed a reliance on translation and reference. Are you not more effective when you know the language and remember the material at hand?”
Half the Brothers had quietly scheduled appointments by the end of the day. The rest, he was sure, would come through competitive peer pressure. He normally didn’t appreciate the near-adoration his Brothers paid his position, but sometimes…it had its benefits.
Secondly, he needed to launch the query he’d written the night before. He felt uncomfortably exposed awaiting Meereo’s response and found himself exploring and exercising while he awaited news. He finally got it in the late evening, and it was short.
Cousin,
Very interesting development. I will do as you ask as well as those other things you do not yet realize you need. I hope you find your rogues.
On a more social note, I will be visiting Cimbrean to oversee the install of a node cache for Gaoians. Should improve their infosphere experience! Would you like to meet? I’ve always wanted to try Human food.
—
Meereo, Champion, Longear
“Wisdom is the most exquisite curse.”—Father Fyu (apocryphal)
…interesting. Meereo put that quote in his signature with purpose. It was quite obviously misquoted, but importantly? It was Genshi who had originally corrected Meereo.
He was trying to prove he was himself.
What did Meereo suspect? Genshi had to know, and immediately.
He drafted a reply offering him Whitecrest hospitality, linked to the Cimbrean Consulate’s node on the Gaoian infosphere, gave stern warnings to follow their directions precisely, and made plans to stay a little longer. With luck, Genshi already had an ally. Or he was doomed from the outset; such was the nature of the Darkness. Genshi would light it, no matter the cost.