Thalcedon, 5 Arrumonth 1451 Eleven men and one woman sat in a meeting room around a long rectangular table. This particular room was 20 feet underground, carved out of the rock of Palace Mount. The floor, walls, and ceiling were lined with lead covered by rowan-wood panelling. The walls of the room were covered in maps of the MidSea area. The two shafts providing ventilation were covered by gridworks of lead screened behind silk. It was the most secure room in all of Cedonia. The man at the head of the table was the Count of Rochlyn, the First Councilor. He had aske the man at the end of the table, Minister for Special Projects Raden Ghere, to give a report on the current state of the Secret Services to the Inner Council. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Minister," the Count said. "Let us not stand on ceremony here. What progress do you have to report?" Ghere stood, and walked to the large map on the wall behind him. Gesturing broadly, he said, "We now have agents attached to every Cedonian embassy in the civilized nations. These agents all have unimpeachable diplomatic credentials, so if worse comes to worse, they face nothing worse than deportation. In addition to our agents in Mirabalpur and Kaeir, we've also put agents into our consulates in Talishara and Port Tirmar, given our strategic concerns in the region." Turning to face the Council, Ghere continued. "However, these agents are all limited in that they are largely passive gatherers. We do not yet have the budget to begin active gathering of intelligence. Convincing someone to betray his country's secrets is always an expensive proposition." The Duke of Tirroth, the Minister of the Exchequer, spoke up, "That will change soon, Raden. My ministry estimates that the economy has finally fully recovered from the Sinari Invasion and Civil War. Tax revenues next year should meet or surpass pre-war levels." "But much of that revenue still needs to go to infrastructure," said Dr. Vellin, the Interior Minister. "And I believe the Legions and the Navy also would like a large share of those revenues." The Count of Rochlyn raised a hand. "Enough cross-talk, please. I think you can assume, Raden, that your budget will go up next year. Please continue." Ghere nodded, and said, "Besides the civilized nations, we are also working on the tribal nations. We have established trading posts in Kajir; from there, our agents can maintain at least minimal contact with the Hansari and Olozog tribes. Similar trading stations in the ruins of Wyr and Hadrair allow us to do the same thing with the Morvali." "I would recommend that we give serious consideration to establishing a permanent military presence in both cities, perhaps even annex them. From reports, both areas are suffering terribly from a breakdown in law & order following the Sinari Invasion and the death of King Agrigax of Taltheran. Stabilizing the Upper Tal and Wyr River Valleys would reopen the old overland caravan routes with Hria, Hisaria, and Bel'Adne." "So noted," said the Count. "Continue, please." "As far as monitoring the Shanari, we've placed agents in existing Cedonian merchant-venturer offices in Jabaur, Elanbur, Atlabar, and Shein-Avaer. Our agents in Kaeir are also in a position to provide some information as well, given the adoption of Shanari religion by the Kaeiran elites and military," said Minister Ghere. "That covers our agents currently in place. We are still trying to emplace deep cover operatives, but we don't really have the budget, yet. We are also still having trouble attracting agents with . . . 'special' skills." At those words, every person's eyes turned to look at Prince Arden, the Council President, and the cloaked figure who stood behind his right shoulder. Ghere said, "Of course, our new trainers may help in that regard." The Prince smiled slightly. "I think that is quite likely, Minister Ghere." "As you say, your Highness. That concludes my summary report. Now, as to specifics, if you will examine the second page of the packets in front of you . . . " ******* Andrew ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
