There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
Vandrad was focused on his work, trying not to think about most of the disturbing facts that had come to his attention in the past week.
Mercury’s reveal of her time with Maker had shaken a lot of foundations. His words, earnest and pained, seemed to rattle most if not all of the people that had once been committed to eliminating him entirely. Blade, who had spent his entire life preparing for a final engagement with his brother, seemed less inclined to jump to violence any longer. And Mercury, whom was always excited to undermine those that were cruel and contemptuous, wasn’t sure if she could pick a side when it came to a conclusive conflict.
Vandrad didn’t blame her; he would be blind if he didn’t see the comparisons between the Terran and the Xocili. But that, in addition to his own feelings, simply wouldn’t allow him to be swayed. He’d taken the time to consider if he was being too harsh; if perhaps it was better to simply attempt to reason with Maker. But what he felt inside wouldn’t allow even a moment of serious consideration against his conclusion. Was it blind rage and a thirst for revenge after the threat against his family? Perhaps but he believed himself right in wanting to hold the Terran responsible, especially when his deception had nearly cost him the family he grew up with and his father. Whether he was alone on that island of belief, that remained to be seen.
“Letter for you, Vandrad,” one of the fairies chirped up as he soared into his office and dropped off the parchment. His brow furrowed in confusion. Who sent letters anymore? Most of his information was passed through magical technology or the Xocili technology. Hell, he’d been attempting to redo the job board in Fairy Tail to something more modern rather than a posting board fit with paper. He picked up the letter, lacking any trace of marking save for his name written in really fancy lettering. There was no magic emanating off of it but still, he tossed it onto his scanning device to get a proper reading of it, just in case. Nothing of concern came up, save for some strange readings on the dust particles on it but they weren’t harmful.
He tore open the top and pulled out the parchment, a simple folded piece of paper. And he began to read;
To Vandrad du Wolff,
We have not been properly introduced, despite of my malicious attacks on you and yours. I have operated out of the shadows, working in tandem with the Dread Masters for my own benefit and that unfortunately brought me into conflict with you and your family. Despite the stance and words that I spoke to your mother, the former duchess, I wished to firstly offer my sincerest apologies for my actions. They were unjust and unwarranted save for selfish benefit and there are no material objects that I could ever offer, nor words of earnest regret that will ever make up for my actions.
But in spite of all that, I wish to meet with you. I understand that you are, more than likely, sworn to violence against me but I had hoped we might converse before any further battles may cause unneeded destruction and death. I believe that we may be able to strike an accord and, if you’re willing, be capable of burying the actions taken between one another and moving forward with our individual lives. There is a quadrant of the Silent Glaciers that is far beyond the scope of civilization. I will be there waiting, by myself, at fourteen hundred hours. The coordinates are posted at the bottom of this letter. I hope to see you there.
Kindly yours,
Maker.
Vandrad’s hand tightened on the parchment, crumpling the sides of the paper. So Maker wished to meet, did he? The future king’s eyes narrowed in a glare as he reread the letter. It was almost certainly a trap… but he highly doubted that Maker would be alone. Even if he planned on preparing some kind of trap, Mercury would be ready to dismantle it. As Vandrad saw it, this was an opportunity to catch Maker unaware and surprise him for once. Though he should have called in for backup, he was short on time.
"Send a message to the New Rhaegar alliance members. Maker has asked for a meeting. I’m sending my tracking information to Patricia to pass on. I will attempt to take him in, alive.” he spoke to his automated assistant, the computer generating his words and filing them before sending them out.
With that, he shoveled all of the work he had been doing into his desk and set off for his lab. Words of diplomacy sounded pretty but Vandrad wasn’t going without being prepared for war.
Patricia should have been paying attention to the communicator she had. But she was distracted.
“Maker made some interesting notes and hypotheses about how Energy Monarch can be altered through a pressure applied to ethernano. Luckily Vandrad has supplied me with plenty of data regarding his usage of Energy Monarch that I can manifest it in lab through my devices,” Patricia was going on, her recording device taking in every note and word she said.
Before her was a material manifestation of Energy Monarch, held in a singularity field of magic. It appeared as a glowing orb of magic, sparkling slightly as its energy levels wavered back and forth. Several screens displaying readings hovered just above it in front of Patricia as she read the analysis. “Holding steady. Now if mine and Maker’s calculations are correct, I can apply a bit of force in this region to create slight mutations. Applying pressure now.”
She pressed a button and a small laser beam struck the center of the glowing manifestation. It bubbled slightly from the impact but otherwise remained calm. Patricia watched it carefully, taking in the sight but… found her thoughts drifting elsewhere. She, too, had been thinking about Maker’s intentions and the story he had woven for Mercury. And she had also been surprised at how sympathetic she felt towards him. It was surprising because, for the longest time, Maker was someone she had focused most if not all her anger towards. He’d used her, taken advantage of her brilliance and mind for his own benefits and had threatened to destroy her should she step out of line. But Scourge had also been cruel, if only because of the standards he had to take part in per the unwritten guidelines of the Dread Masters.
And now she felt…pity for Maker. It felt wrong. In fact, she was surprised at how angry it made her in the moment. She should have been feeling better; after all, she had finally gotten laid for the first time in years and it had been a marathon session. Turns out she was, at the very least, bisexual. Not quite a surprise to her, after having spent time coming to grips with it. That should have relaxed her but instead she felt even more unease and frankly, a bit warm.
Warm? She blinked as she came back to reality and realized, much to her surprise, that she had been holding the button down for the laser the entire time. And the manifestation had been severely warped, growing out of shape and out of control within the confinement field. Its calm blue glow had mutated into an angry green, pulsing with distorted energy. She pulled her finger off the button and the laser died out but that didn’t keep the manifestation from growing rapidly out of shape. “Oh dear…” she was able to say, in utter shock, before the containment field shattered and she was swallowed up in an explosive green light
No doubt some things would be changing that day. But, if Maker had calculated correctly, it would be for the better.
He strode through the living ship until he came upon the lab that Mercury now worked in. They had moved all of her equipment and amenities over to the ship rather than the dreary bunker, having set her up in the same lab he worked in and her personal items in what had become a conjoined bedroom. He knew she would already know he was coming but that didn’t stop him from coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I know you have some things you need to finish up but I was hoping you would join me for a meeting. It’s rather important and, with any luck, it’ll change things moving forward.”
He gently encouraged her to turn around to him, taking her hands in his. “I gave some real thought to our talk when we first arrived here, about my path and what changes I could make to it. After some deep consideration, I believe… you were right. I can’t make up for what wrongs I have done but I can attempt to make amends to some of the people I’ve hurt. Namely Vandrad and his kin. I have sent him an invitation to join me in a meeting place far away from civilization, so as to not attract any unwanted attention. And, just to be safe, it’ll prevent any other innocents from getting hurt should Vandrad feel… compelled to violence. I hope he’ll consider conversation first and I’m hoping by you being there as well, that will encourage that feeling as well. With any luck, we’ll be able to reach a place where we can parlay and move forward on a better path.”
He gave her a genuinely warm if not sad smile. “You know him better than I do. What do you believe our chances are of being able to entreaty peace?”
marzia at shine & gs.
