The Travels of Anadrasata Nearabhigan: Day 13 Aside
So, here we find out how the board member of the Northern Stars Line who unwisely commented to the press started his day.
I hope that you all enjoy it, and it runs to 1,576 words.
Index Page.
Thuwnday, 23 Ochd, 1893 C.E.
Mr Caitus dh'Lhong was in the Amnestri offices of the Northern Stars Line at the unhallowed hour of four of the morning. He was not sure why he was there, except that he had been woken by the Captain of the Empress Mhaihild and told that he had to be. His valet had been assisted by two stewards and then two burly members of the crew had escorted him to a waiting cab that already contained the First Officer. The cab had deposited them outside these offices where the local manager had been waiting and let the three of them in. The First Officer was now acquainting himself with the coffee pot in the outer office, while the manager and Mr dh'Lhong were in the inner office.
"What is all this about?" demanded dh'Lhong. "I'm a member of the Board of Directors of this company and you have no call or authority to be treating me like this."
"The Chairman telegraphed the Captain and I with his instructions," replied the manager calmly. dh'Lhong didn't know his name and hadn't caught a glimpse of the nameplate on the office door. "He felt that if he and the rest of the Board had to meet with the Head of the Imperial Aviation Authority you can be up and about in sympathy."
"But that's not till eight of the morning," protested dh'Lhong.
"Given the time difference, it's right now," replied the manager.
"Don't see what all the fuss is about anyway," grumped dh'Lhong. "That's how you deal with official inspections and such. Tell them what they're going to find, remind them of their place if you have to, and carry on with business as usual." He looked the manager up and down, "Well, that's probably easier for someone like me than someone like you."
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The Board of Directors of the Northern Stars Line, minus one, filed into the office of the Head of the Imperial Aviation Authority at five minutes past eight of the morning. The two that had arrived in port by airship thirty minutes earlier were grateful for that five minute delay.
The Head of the Authority, the Landgrave of Upper Saighurgh, was immaculately dressed and remained seated behind his desk. A secretary stood at his elbow, and a soberly dressed gentleman stood to the side, next to the fireplace. The Landgrave occupied the only chair in the room. He folded his hands together on the desk in front of him and waited for the Board to spread themselves in a single line across the room in front of him.
He began, "Gentlemen, you are probably wondering why I called this meeting, and in such a fashion. Let me begin by saying that I received a note from His Imperial Majesty yesterday afternoon."
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The manager turned his back on dh'Lhong, picked up a breeze stopper from a corner, and placed the long, stuffed tube along the crack at the bottom of the office door. Then he unhooked the storm blanket from where it hung at the back of the door, and spread it across so that both the door and frame were covered. The he turned around to face dh'Lhong again. His face was not calm and not particularly respectful.
Neither was his voice when he spoke, "Right, that's as soundproof as I can make this room. The other reason we're here at this hour is so that we can have this conversation when there's no-one here to hear us, not the office staff, not clients and passengers, and definitely not anyone from the Board of Inquiry, the Office of the Imperial Adjutant, or the Inspectorate. Never say anything like that again in front of witnesses. I don't care what provincial industrial hellscape you've crawled out of and what you did there, but you have to realise that you aren't dealing with provincial level officialdom here. The Imperial Aviation Authority doesn't include the provincial governors in its chains of administration - all their officers and offices answer to their head office, it answers to the Landgrave of Upper Saighurgh, and he answers to the Emperor - in person."
The manager took a breath and then carried on before dh'Lhong could say anything. "I know you're on the Board because you have enough shares to insist on a position, I know you're part of the nobility, but do you know anything about the military?"
dh'Lhong tried to say something but the manager ploughed on.
"More specifically, do you know anything about how senior military officers, over say, regimental command level are selected?" The man gave dh'Lhong a shrewd look.
dh'Lhong shook his head. He knew a few Colonels, active and retired, but he didn't deal much with anyone over that level. They might sign military contracts, but they didn't negotiate them in person, and dh'Lhong's manufactories and mines didn't make much that the military bought directly anyway.
"I didn't think so." The manager continued, "Well, to get to be either sort of Rear Admiral or Commodore, or a Brigadier for that matter, you have to be able and willing to become the Emperor's Sworn Man. That means that when you tried to tell the Board of Inquiry what their findings should be, you tried to tell three of the Emperor's direct liege men to violate their oaths and do what you wanted. On top of that, did you happen to notice that the junior technical officer on the Board is an Imperial kinsman?"
dh'Lhong blinked. "Why does that part matter? The extended Imperial kin are social butterflies, living off their connections and of no real substance. They don't matter in the greater scheme of thing."
"Has it never occurred to you that they might be the greatest internal intelligence gathering network the Emperor has?" It was probably a rhetorical question because the manager carried on. "What is really to the point with this whole matter is that these are the people, the Board of Inquiry and Imperial Aviation, who can ground our whole fleet. If they get wind of how you apparently regard officialdom and decide that you've infected the company with your thinking, then they might decide that our safety and maintenance records can't be trusted. If they do that, they will ground all of us - in the worst case, if they require a full fleet refit and overhaul, we won't be able to get a ship back in the air for four months and that will only be because the Empress Bhenairasta is already in the graving dock."
"Come, how likely is that?" dh'Lhong thought the man was overreacting, but he might have valid concerns - or lack the imagination to see a way around the problems.
"If you don't keep your mouth shut about the Inquiry, it'll become more likely with every statement you make," replied the manager. "If you keep opening your mouth, then the least injurious thing that could happen is that one of the senior Board members will call you out on behalf of the three of them. It’d probably be Commodore dh'Rhainair because he's the closest to you in social rank. The worst thing that could happen is that the Imperial Adjutant and the Inspectorate decide to investigate your holdings and dealings with officialdom in minute detail. You would know better than me what that might reveal, but if you have a cozy little network of allies and intimidated officials keeping you out of trouble then it will be blown to pieces by the time the Adjutant and Inspectorate are done with all of you."
dh'Lhong gave him a feral grin. "Belonging to the nobility has its privileges, not that you would know that."
The manager gave him a feral grin back, "Being a noble has certain privileges, but you're not a noble - just a member of a noble family. How much protection can your uncle, isn't it, offer if the Emperor has unleashed his hounds on you?"
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"So, gentlemen," said the Landgrave of Upper Saighurgh as he leaned back in his chair, hands grasped across his middle, "Now that you've explained how Caitus dh'Lhong came to have a seat on your Board, perhaps you can also enlighten me on the findings of your probity investigation into him?"
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Caitus dh'Lhong stormed out of the inner office, the splendour of his departure fouled by having to deal with the breeze blocker and the storm blanket, and ignored the First Officer as he went straight out the front door to look for a cab to take him back to the ship. The First Officer didn’t say anything, but poured a second mug of coffee, which he handed to the manager when that man emerged from the inner office, after putting the breeze blocker and the storm blanket back where they belonged.
The manager said, “Thank you,” and sipped cautiously to test the temperature. “You win our bet - he hit me. Mind you, he can’t punch for shit.”
“If it colours up, you could have him charged with assault,” pointed out the First Officer mildly. “In case we have to stop him storming off when things aren’t going his way.”
“By making things go less his way?” The manager drank some coffee and made a show of enjoying it on its way down.
“Works for me,” replied the First Officer raising his coffee mug in salute. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer fellow.”