Ravens of Eternity

311 The Council of Sovereigns, Pt The Ravens walked into the de Jardin Council Chambers, right in the heart of the palace. They were led to the center by Minister Mathilde and her assistant, where they all took seats at a number of tables.

And while they prepped themselves to speak, Eva took a good look at the space all around them.

The voluminous room was round and held a high domed ceiling, which naturally allowed voices to echo naturally and be heard, no matter who was speaking.

The Petitioning Tables sat in the very center of the room, and was surrounded by multiple rings of benches almost all the way around. Seated at those benches were dozens and dozens of the de Jardin, most of whom were attending remotely. Their holographic bodies shimmered in the light.

A number of the holographic projections flickered every now and then, which revealed just how far away they were. Or at least, how shielded their communications were.

Only a handful of seats were currently empty.

Max had told the Ravens that the Council of Sovereigns was where all matters of de Jardin security and prosperity were determined. This essentially meant that like the other councilors among the many floors inside of the palace, this was where the de Jardin elite argued and agreed.

“Nothing happens in the House without their knowledge,” Max had mentioned. “Or their approval. Everyone they deal with, whether it’s to trade, war against, or befriend them... the council gets to figure it all out.

“It’s filled with all the most powerful de Jardins. The Matriarch, of course. But all the other dukes and duchesses across the territories. Some represent the various industries, or of services, or of goods, and so on. Some, like my aunt and my father, represent more abstract notions, such as intelligence and might.

.....

“No matter who or what they represent, every single one of them gets a say.”

Max’s words tumbled around in Eva’s mind as she looked at the members of the council. Most were in rather formal attire, and were somewhat somber and serious. Many wore various pins on their lapels, perhaps two or three at most.

Their designs were varied in design, but were usually simple objects. There were pins that looked like craft hammers, utility knives, spears, shields, sandals, gauntlets, books, spectacles, and so on.

Eva realized that the pins were representative of every councilor’s passions, which they no doubt fought furiously for. She also saw that they were spread out among the councilors themselves, seemingly randomly.

She noted that many who wore spear pins didn’t always have shield pins, but instead had quill pen pins, for example. Some seemed disparate enough that she wondered why the councilors chose to represent what they did.

After all, she imagined that all military people would have pins that represented all things military. Spears and shields and gauntlets. Same with the agricultural members – crops and mills and livestock.

But what she saw instead seemed almost random.

It crossed her mind that they also signaled potential allegiances between councilors, and acted as a transparent means of seeing who was involved with what. Such as a military branch of the family that also owned an agricultural planet.

Perhaps there was more to it as well, and Eva couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities. As she thought about it all, her DI filled her in with popup facts drawn out of the Hegemony’s OpenMesh public network. They confirmed some of her suspicions that some were based on branch bloodlines and marriages.

Eva decided to take a page from Lucifer’s handbook and watch a few ‘Casts on it later. Do a little research, that sort of thing. For now, she needed to pay attention to the proceedings all around her, which had finally started.

Mathilde sat at the very center of the Petitioning Tables, and directly in front of her at the council benches, was the Matriarch herself. Despite the old woman’s physical position, it was the councilor next to her that officiated the proceedings.

“The next case for de Jardin consideration is a recommendation for the sponsorship of a nation-state with the classification of Omega-Tau,” said the officiator.

Some of the council members all around erupted in hushed murmurs. They quickly realized who was proposing the sponsorship, and the importance of any Omega-Tau nation-state. The murmurs rose slightly all around the room, which prompted the officiator to politely ask for silence. It took a few moments, but it all eventually died down.

At which point, the Matriarch spoke. Her voice boomed across the hall, which caused the Ravens to feel somewhat shaken on the inside. In a good way.

“As we all know,” she said, “nation-statehood is a benefit we rarely extend. After all, we strictly limit ourselves to a mere three sponsorships per year. As a Great House, we have a duty to ensure the prosperity and integrity of the Hegemony.

“It is in our best interest to sponsor only those who have the capacity to help the House and the Hegemony, and prompt them to flourish.

“Even though we pick the best, our candidates may not even pass the test. After all, it is up to the Hegemony as a whole to ratify nation-statehood. And as we all know, last year all three of our sponsorships were declined. That was an embarrassment for the House, and we cannot allow the same to happen this year. Doing so would only further erode our influence.

“And so, before we begin the vetting, I beg everyone to deepen your considerations in this regard. Thank you.”

An approving murmur spread out among the councilors. When they quieted down, Mathilde stood up to speak. She bowed her head slightly, then addressed the room. The authority in her voice boomed, though it wasn’t quite as strong as the Matriarch’s.

“Greetings fellow dukes and duchesses,” she began. “I agree with the Matriarch – we must present only the best to the Hegemony. It is imperative that our influence grows, and sponsoring only the best will further this.

“This year, we have already sponsored two nation-states. One is a merchant fleet capable of extranational commerce. The second is a mining colony in heavily contested space. None of us can deny their potential. However, none of us can also deny their inherent risk. A single skirmish with Federation forces or privateers would lead to wholesale loss of those investments.

“My proposal is to use the third sponsorship to present an operator-class nation-state. They too have a fair amount of risk attached to them, but they also represent a means to directly, and immediately strengthen internal security.”

She turned to the side and waved an arm at the Ravens.

“Here are the leaders of the group known as the Conspiracy of Ravens,” she continued. “They are the representatives for my recommendation of said nation-state. I will begin by expanding on their strengths and weaknesses for us to consider.

“I’ll start with the negatives. The most prominent one being that they are a small nation. Incredibly small, in fact. When they came to us, they numbered only these seven before you. Though they’ve certainly grown in the past two months, to 113 specifically, many of them are unskilled. Or at least, not as skilled as the leadership.

“This certainly poses the greatest risk and challenge to the House. At their current stage, it could be years before they will make a significant impact on the de Jardin’s prosperity. Possibly even decades. Which means the only recourse would be to actively foster growth through direct investments.”

Loud murmurs spread around the council. Direct investments now also meant immediate losses, but also represented a higher potential for faster maturity. And a greater return.

“That said,” continued the Minister, “the Ravens have a great many strengths that greatly overshadow their weaknesses. First and foremost, they are defectors from the Sol Federation. There, they earned some measure of influence through their Omnicast.

“Which my analysts tell me is incredibly popular among the rank-and-file inside of the Federal Navy. That may not mean much to many of you, but to me it means the ability to potentially erode Naval morale directly. They might even influence more defectors in their wake. The Federation’s loss is very clearly our gain.

“Just as critically, their Omnicast also has a viewership inside of the Drogar Empire. And their presence in the Hegemony’s Omnicast network is also growing.

“The point is that the Ravens have some measure of galactic influence already. We would be fools not to have them on our side.”

Lucifer watched as Mathilde spoke to the rest of the council chamber. She seemed incredibly eloquent, passionate, and practiced. More than her tone of speech, she made sure to turn around and directly address as many as she could with her arguments.

It occurred to hir that Mathilde had likely been in this very spot many, many times in the past. Perhaps not to recommend nations for sponsorship, but certainly to recommend clandestine actions. Or, at the very least, explain them.

Ze watched as many listened to her with rapt attention, and it became clear that Mathilde was highly influential within the council.

“Equally as important is their growth, which I alluded to earlier,” Mathilde continued her speech. “Their upward velocity is directly attributable to their actions, which explains the potential of their growth.

“Even though they aren’t an operator nation yet, and despite their low numbers, they have already greatly contributed to our House. Their recent actions have significantly bolstered our influence with some of our allied houses.

“Take House Felrahn for example. Some of you are aware that they’ve recently opened a few more lines of trade with us. Few of you know that it was thanks for doing them a great favor, even if you don’t know the details.

“Well, now all of you know who it was that performed that favor.”

Mathilde glanced over at the Ravens, and allowed the rest of the council to make the connection themselves.

“Bolstering our bonds between our allies isn’t the only thing they’ve accomplished in the past two months,” Mathilde continued.

“They have also weakened a few of our opponents. You’ve no doubt seen House Grevatia’s statement regarding a tragic accident at a family farm. In fact, it wasn’t a farm at all. It was an internment camp filled with political prisoners, refugees, and dissenters.

“I only say ‘was’ simply because that accident led to those prisoners and refugees and dissenters being freed. And they’ve since been returned to their original Houses, or otherwise kept safe diplomatically. I’m sure many of you have seen the motions of gratitude that some of these Houses have already sent us.

“If a mere seven Ravens could cause such shifts in influence in just a few months, imagine what a hundred could accomplish. Or a thousand... Or more.

“In any case, those are my primary points, please consider them carefully. I’m now opening the floor to rebuttal.”