“Where the fuck is our ship?”

- Squadron Commander Jessie, fighter detachment of Imperial Carrier No Retreat. Five minutes after deployment. 

As the screams of Garner faded and the meeting came to an end, Count Frederick Lamb suddenly did something that surprised many. He returned to his seat at the head of the table...and sighed. 

“It’s a pity.” He said in a low voice that everyone in the room could still hear. “Garner was a competent person, and my opinion on individuals who hold value has always been simple. Prove your worth, and you will have everything you want. Money. Land. Power. Fame and glory. In fact, I can tolerate a certain level of corruption.” 

The Lord of Obsidian let out a sigh. “This wasn’t his first time stealing from me, but this time, he went too far. He made the fatal mistake of reaching his hand into and weakening in the process Battlefleet Obsidian, the very foundation of my rule, and that is why he had to die and no one could save him. What a pity…” 

Ok...that got Lily really confused. One second, Lamb was toying with Garner. He was slowly pushing the poor man, breaking him bit by bit with every small inquiry until he was finally crushed under all the pressure. Now, seconds after Garner was dragged away screaming and crying, her father suddenly felt bad for him? This was just weird!

“He deserved it, my Lord!” One of the Admirals raised his voice and reassured his Lord. “There is no need to feel sympathy for a scum like that!” 

“Hmmm...indeed.” The reaction from Lord Lamb was even odder. He didn't seem too relieved, and in fact, he didn't seem too down in the first place. If anything, he looked amused by the Admiral’s words. “You’re right. Thank you, Admiral.” 

This was a strange exchange, and what was even stranger to Lily was that as she took a glance across the room, she could tell that several of the attendees of the meeting suddenly turned very pale very quickly. They certainly weren’t angry or anything. If Lily had to guess, she would say they were scared. But...why? Perhaps they suddenly realized how dangerous Garner’s foolish endeavors were to the Battlefleet? But...that would be an awfully late realization. 

Either way, this meeting was finally over, and Lily was more than happy about it, especially when she just sat by and did nothing as a man was likely sentenced to death. A guilty man, but a man nonetheless. 

“Now, if no one has any more questions, this meeting is hereby dismissed.” The Count made a declaration that was music to Lily’s ears. However, just before Lily could stand up, Count Lamb added something. “Director Yasmin. Laurel. Lily. Stay with me please. Also, guards. Leave us.”  

The young heir of the Lamb family sighed and sat back into her seat. She watched as most of the attendees of the meeting saluted and left, along with all the Unbroken guards. Finally, as the last one leaving politely shut the door, Count Lamb turned to his daughter. 

“I hope you learned a lot from this meeting.” 

“Yes. Yes I did.” Lily nodded slowly. “Space combat is complicated. Don’t steal armor pieces off of warships for personal gains. So on, I guess.” 

Frederick’s lips curled up a little from her mocking tone. In a sense, he loved her sense of humor. At the same time, he knew humor and authority rarely went well together. Still, that was an issue for another day. 

“First thing first, I want you to know that you can trust everyone in this room.” Count Lamb gestured at Laurel. “Laurel and I, well...we are your family, and for all our sins, we don’t turn against our own. You can be certain of that.” 

Lily bit her lips and didn't say anything. 

That was when Count Lamb gestured at the only non-Lamb still in the room. Director Yasmin of the Obsidian Naval Intelligence. The young woman with bright red hair sat in her seat comfortably, completely unfazed by everything that happened in the meeting. Now that Lily got a chance to get a better look at her, she could tell the woman had bright red nail polish that matched her hair. She was also wearing leather pants, and there was some sort of gadget attached to her forearms. 

“My Lady, I am your father’s spymaster...or is it spymistress?” The young woman started explaining herself. “I may not be a Lamb, but my fate and my interest are as closely tied to the Lamb family as everyone else in this room. As such, it is in my best interest for the Lamb family to prosper...in other words, I will do everything in my power to aid you, my Lady.” 

“Really?” Lily raised her eyebrows, unconvinced. Anyone could say these words. “And what makes you more trustworthy to us than all the Admirals and Generals just sitting here minutes ago?”

“Good question. You are a smart woman.” Yasmin let out a grin at the challenge. She leaned forward in her chair before composing a reply. “Look...as I said before, I am a spymistress. I control an intelligence network that spans across every corner of this system, and the world knows it. This helps me know things about a lot of powerful people...things that these people don’t want anyone to know. In other words, I have many enemies, enemies that see me as a threat that must be terminated as soon as possible.” 

She turned and glanced at Count Lamb. 

“I am the head of ONI, but I am not an Admiral. I have no planet under my name, and I am certainly not a capable commander or a leader. I have no armies or fleets to protect me. ONI has its strike teams and attack crafts, but they are special forces, not actual armies. My survival and my prosperity depend on the will of my master. The will of Lord Lamb. If Lord Lamb prospers, I prosper. If Lord Lamb falls...I will not be far behind.”

“Sound argument, yet you betrayed Gerard Wolf.” Lily wasn’t ready to let this go just yet. Instead, the young woman pushed forward with a level of ferocity few would expect from a girl like her. “You, and most people at the meeting, are all traitors. You all betrayed the man you’ve sworn to defend once already, so how do I know you won’t do it again?”

Lord Lamb found himself smiling a little on the side. His daughter might not be as cruel as he hoped, but she certainly had the fighting spirit. 

Yasmin shrugged at the accusation. 

“You’re right. We’re all traitors...technically. But here is the thing, my Lady.” She paused. “Gerard Wolf never wanted ONI to be formed. He despised the nature of our work and the way we did things despite all the results we provided him. He was arrogant enough to believe that he didn't need a unit of secret police to do the dirty work. It was Lord Lamb who secured our funding and argued for ONI’s survival, and when it was my time to make the choice, I chose a bright and prosperous future with Lord Lamb rather than a dark end with someone who was disgusted by us from the very moment we delivered the first bloodied confession to his desk. Gerard Wolf was never truly our Lord.”

Well...it’s good knowing there’s another thing common between Gerard Wolf and me. Neither of us like ONI. Lily sighed to herself, but even she was clever enough to know that part was better left unsaid. Instead, she turned to her father. 

“Ok. So I can trust everyone here. And then what?”

“And then...we think.” Count Lamb said slowly before raising his hand and pressing a finger to his chin thoughtfully. “Tell me, Lily. Why did I do what I did with Garner?”

“Uh...he stole from Battlefleet Obsidian? The Battlefleet is the base of your power, so you can’t tolerate any corruption within it. You found out, so you punished him?” The young heir frowned. What more was there to say? “I assume your spymistress here told you about him.” 

“You assume correctly.” The Count nodded. “However, another thing I can tell you is that Garner wasn’t the only one reaching his hand into Battlefleet Obsidian. Admiral Gallen recently appointed his son, a boy of age 19 that never had any experience with commanding a ship, as the Captain of one of the Dreadnoughts in the 9th Obsidian Fleet. Another General has been selling emergency supplies in his unit on the black market. The list goes on.”

“But...then why did you only deal with Garner? And not the others?” 

“The same reason you ignored his plea. You are better at this than you realize, my daughter.” Count Lamb tilted his head and drew in a deep breath. “Even the most insane tyrant needs some supporters. Supporters whose interests are aligned with the tyrant. Supporters who get treated relatively well by the tyrant. After all, without an army at his back, a tyrant is just a human, and human beings die ever so easily.” 

“In the modern age, power is derived from fleets. As Imperial Nobles, we can commit countless atrocities against the common people. We can even have officers execute the foot soldiers who refuse to obey our orders. And if those officers refuse the command, their superiors will do the work. But all of this is based on the support of the military, and the moment the military abandons us, we become nothing. That is why regardless of what we do, we need the support of the military leaders, even if that means making some concessions.”

“The only reason I was able to take over Battlefleet Obsidian and the Obsidian System so easily was because I had the support of most of the military leaders. I was able to get the Admirals and the Generals on my side or on the sideline with my influence, threats, and bribery, and once they’re compliant, the rest is easy. ONI doesn’t have enough ships to fight one of Battlefleet Obsidian’s 12 Fractional Fleets, and they didn't need to. The moment Gerard Wolf lost the support of his top commanders because of his selflessness was the moment he lost.” 

“So...Garner? He was meant to be an example?” Lily slowly realized. “He is in Battlefleet Obsidian, but he’s not an Admiral or a General. Oh wait...when you made fun of how little he knew about space combat, you were trying to…”

“I was alienating him from the rest of the veteran Admirals. Yes. I wanted to make sure this example that I use is not close to my major commanders. After all, executing someone important before a war is bad for morale, so I made sure I chose someone the Admirals would be glad to see gone.” Lamb grinned somewhat proudly as he watched the look of understanding on his daughter’s face. Her daughter had a quick mind, and he was proud of it. 

Lily was amazed. She never realized there was so much intention hidden behind a few brief sentences from her father. In fact, now that she thought about it, she finally realized why some of the attendees suddenly turned pale at one point.

“When you were showing pity over Garner's mistake, you were warning the others discreetly! You were trying to tell them to fix their mistakes before it's too late or else they will end up like Garner! I knew what you said sounded odd!” The young woman cried out. “But...why go through all the trouble? Why can’t you just tell them straight up?”

“These men and women are proud people.” Count Lamb repeated. “If I accuse them directly, they may feel like their pride is wounded and be inclined to defend their actions. They may even get disgruntled or threatened. That is why I warned them indirectly. If they’re smart, they will understand this example and stop their transgressions.”

“And...and if they’re not?”

“Well, if a young woman like you can understand the hidden meaning in my words, then so can they. Maybe not immediately, but give them a few days and they will realize what I am trying to say.” The Count replied confidently. “And if they don’t, well...then we will have some trouble.”

Lily nodded. The contrast between the treatment received by the powerful and the powerless was obvious. Garner might be rich, but he had no fleets and no armies, and taking care of him was a matter of giving the order. When two guards were dragging him away, there was nothing he could do. 

On the other hand, the Admirals who had fleets under their command were a lot safer. For similar crimes, they were given a warning while Garner was outright taken out. Even during times of conflict such as the coup three months ago, most of the Admirals survived and were rewarded by simply doing nothing. As long as they held their forces, they had value, and that meant everything in a world like this.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but raise another question. 

“So...when you told me that I will have the power to make any change I want when I become the Countess...was that a lie?”

This made the young woman feel a little betrayed. After all, the hope of making positive changes to this world was what made her join this meeting in the first place. 

To that, Lamb simply shook his head. 

“Not quite, Lily. You have power. You just need to know how to use that power effectively. Once you do that, you will truly have everything. For that, you will need knowledge and experience.” The Count tapped the table. “For example, I have another question for you. As you know, I have been mobilizing Battlefleet Obsidian to attack the Republic of Dorn. Do you know why?”

For a second, Lily wanted to make another snarky joke, but she ultimately thought against it. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, her father had made her more interested and motivated about this than ever before. She still despised her father for what she did to the Wolf family, but she had begun to relate to him a lot more.