Chapter 232

Robert studied him for a moment. “Because you did us a favor. Several, in fact. And we pay our debts.”

Alexander waited.

Robert snapped his fingers. One of the remaining uniforms stepped forward. A woman, younger than the others, with a small pin on her collar that Alexander caught and immediately compared to the one on Robert’s own uniform. Identical. Naval Intelligence.

She set a briefcase on the table, opened it, and withdrew two thick stacks of manila folders stuffed with paper. Each stack was heavy enough to thud against the surface when she placed them beside Robert.

Alexander stared at the folders. “What is it with everyone and paper lately? It’s the seventies. We have tablets. We have holotech. Some of us have technology wired directly into our brains.” He tapped his temple with a finger. “And yet every meeting I attend, someone pulls out a stack of dead trees like we’re living in the dark ages.”

Robert ignored him and rested a hand on the first stack. “These are composite profiles assembled by some of the best intelligence agencies on Earth, including AEGIS, on you and your guild. One of our junior analysts started a file on you the moment you first set foot on Astra Omnia.” He gestured to the woman who’d delivered the briefcase. “She flagged a number of discrepancies between AEGIS’s assessments and those of other agencies, including her own findings. Her commanding officer dismissed them initially.”

Robert smiled.

“But I promote a healthy amount of individual thinking among my people. She kept the profile open despite being told to shelve it.”

The analyst stood at attention, her expression carefully neutral, though Alexander thought he caught the faintest trace of satisfaction.

“You came to my personal attention,” Robert continued, “when Gabriel Santiago accused you of kidnapping a group of alien diplomats.”

Alexander snorted.

“Because ONI knew nothing about any alien diplomats.” Robert let that sit for a beat. “Which meant one of two things. Either my people had failed so utterly at their one job that it called into question everything we’d ever done, which in turn meant that I had failed. Or someone was trying to sell me a bucket of shit while calling it the holy grail.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“So our analyst here got a well-deserved promotion when I went digging and found a profile for the man who, a short time later, went on to announce himself as one of the future Divines.”

Alexander glanced at Maximilian. That meant they had a profile on the members of the Throne of Scales, too. And by the slight tightening of his eyes, he’d realized it.

“As for why we covered for you,” Robert said, shifting forward again. He ticked each point off on his fingers. “You rescued abducted aliens. Transported them back to the Nexus and had them returned home. Defended the Nexus and improved Earth’s standing with the Galactic Council at a critical moment. And only then, after all the groundwork was laid, did you announce that Santiago Systems was responsible for their abduction.”

Alexander elbowed Maximilian. “I’m getting all the credit for the Nexus.”

The Dragon Lord nodded. “Seems that way.”

“Of course, we recognize everyone who contributed,” Robert said. “Still, from our perspective, what Grimnir did was some of the finest intelligence work we’d ever seen performed by a civilian entity. You held sensitive information for months, leveraged it at the optimal time, crippling one of the most powerful corporations in Sol without firing a shot, and limited collateral damage in the process.” Robert spread his hands. “And from what I can deduce, you did it all mostly because it was the right thing to do.”

Alexander cut through the bullshit. “So you owed us one.”

“We owed you several.” Robert placed his hand on the second stack. “Which brings me to these.”

Alexander eyed the new pile of folders.

Robert pulled the first folder free and slid it across the table. “The locations of two Sol-based research stations belonging to Santiago Systems. First is their primary serum production facility. Second is their classified zero-g cybernetics research and development lab.”

Alexander’s eyes widened.

“And one more detail that I thought might be of personal interest.” Robert’s voice carried a careful lightness. “Gabriel Santiago is currently sheltering at one of those two stations. I couldn’t tell you which. And I’m certainly not suggesting that anyone in this room do anything with that information.”

“That would be an act of piracy, though…” Alexander said slowly. “If anyone were to do anything, I mean. Which Grimnir, as very law-abiding citizens, would never do, of course.”

“He might be the most manipulative person I’ve ever met, Alex,” Talia said from behind him. “And I’m comparing him to everyone I knew at AEGIS, too.”

Alexander turned. “How so?”

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“Santiago Systems is considered a Special Asset through its connection to the Assembly, because they produce the most cutting-edge cybernetics on Earth,” Talia said. “The Councilor just gave us Level 3 Clearance, which means the Compact is now technically a Special Asset as well.” She glanced at Marcus. “Am I interpreting that correctly?”

Marcus nodded. “You are.”

Maximilian frowned. “What does that mean in practical terms? I will permit no attempts to leverage us just because you provided access to secret intelligence.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Marcus said. “There are no contractual obligations involved, but Talia is correct that the Compact is now considered an entity with special privileges.”

“Exactly,” Robert said. “Which means, just as when Goliath and Santiago Systems occasionally… field test their latest weapons systems against each other, the Space Force looks the other way.”

“So long as no civilian or military infrastructure is involved,” Jody added, “we do not pick sides between any of the sovereign nations and their conflicts, which includes any designated assets.”

Alexander liked what he was hearing. “So… hypothetically speaking… if the Sleipnir were to go on a bit of a vacation cruise and happen to run into Santiago Systems…”

Robert shrugged. “Our hands are tied, I’m afraid.”

“How unfortunate for our vacation plans,” Alexander said. He turned to Maximilian. “Would that cause issues between Grimnir and the rest of the Compact?”

Maximilian studied him for a long moment. Then he shook his head. “As long as your actions don’t take place in any of the designated territories.” He hesitated. “But I trust you’ll honor the spirit of the Compact as well, and make sure your actions don’t reflect poorly on us.”

Alexander nodded. Even meant it. Then he turned to Sindre.

The Northern Shield shrugged. “Just don’t expect any help from us.”

“That’s very fair.”

Robert slid a second folder across. “Current intelligence on the state of the Prophecy of Eight, which, I’m sure I don’t need to tell either of you, has gone to all hell with the death of the Lost Prophet. That’s why we needed confirmation from you personally. Some of our precognitives are still seeing the old future.”

Maximilian grunted. “That’s a good point. With his death, we shattered the Prophecy of Eight.”

“You said ‘some’,” Raelene said. “That means others are seeing something new.”

Robert nodded. “Yes, it does. I included what we have, but I’m sure you understand we can’t dedicate too much divination time to worrying about it. We’ll leave that up to the experts.”

Alexander wondered when they’d become the experts.

Robert slid a third folder across. “Complete dossiers on all known candidates for Divine Ascension based on everything we know.” He paused. “Including the one known as Flashpoint.”

Alexander’s eyes narrowed. “You’re being very generous for a stranger I just met. And I can’t help but notice you’re not offering my good friend Maximilian or my less good friend Sindre anything.” He glanced at Khalida. “Or even the ruler of Dubai.”

“That is correct,” Robert said. “Our profiles indicate that the Dragon Lord can’t be bribed, the Northern Shield needs nothing we might offer, and Sheikha Khalida Al-Hashara is far too politically savvy to be pulled into our plans.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alexander growled.

Robert smiled. “Our profile says you’re morally flexible under highly specific circumstances, respect honesty, and feel obligated to repay favors. That’s why I’m trying to bribe you directly.”

Julia laughed. It was the first thing she’d done since they arrived, and of course it was to laugh at him being insulted right to his face by a smiling admiral.

Worse, he couldn’t even disagree with the smug intelligence officer. It was a surprisingly accurate depiction, if a bit narrow-minded.

Alexander shifted, turning to glare at Julia, only to catch Talia and Raelene quickly looking away, trying to hide their grins, while Hjordis smirked right at him.

The only person not in on it was Khalida’s aide. And probably only because she was still busy tapping away at her tablet. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He sighed. Turned back. “I give up. What do you want?”

Robert nodded, as if he’d been waiting for exactly that question. “The shield emitters you obtained from the Nexus. We’re not asking for ownership, and we’ll support you in registering the intellectual property. What we want is access to the designs to begin testing and establish production lines for our fleet as soon as possible.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“That’s it. Our ships need better shields, and nobody among the Galactic Council races will trade them with us. Ever since they learned about our superhumans, nearly all technology sharing has halted, but especially anything with military applications.”

“Why not just requisition them from us using wartime powers?” Talia asked.

“Despite what you might think of us, Ms. Kim,” Jody said, “we want the best for our homeworld. Just as you do. If ONI had profiled Grimnir as being a net negative influence, I would have considered it regardless of the risks the Machine God presents on a starship. I’m glad that isn’t the case.” She turned her gaze on Alexander. “Instead, this Compact of yours has the potential to do what we believed AEGIS would. So we are picking a side, as much as we can. Now. Will you share the Nexus shield designs?”

Alexander leaned back. What he really wanted was to monopolize them. He’d planned not only to register them, but to sell them at highly inflated prices. To the United Earth Government, and the military in particular.

But there were genuine considerations to weigh against that now. The cataclysm’s timeline had finally narrowed to something people were predicting was only months away. The Lost Prophet’s attack had caused a lot more devastation than they realized, tucked away on Mars in the aftermath.

And the folders lying in the middle of the table were very tempting.

Even if they were paper.

Plus, as much as he wanted to deny it, he found the Admiral of the Fleet and the Head of the Office of Naval Intelligence surprisingly direct and honest. His read said they were being genuine.

Stupid profiling.

Alexander sighed. “Yes. With caveats. And I want my lawyer to handle the paperwork. I didn’t know I was walking into an ambush, so I left her behind.” He frowned. “You’re absolutely not allowed to sell or trade them. Only use them to kill our enemies. I’ll be very annoyed if you hand out my leverage to others.”

Robert dipped his head. “That’s all we ask.”

“And I want a spacesuit. One of the combat ones your rangers use for orbital entries.”

Jody and Robert shared a look. “Why?”

Alexander shrugged. “Who knows when you might need a vacuum-sealed, highly armored, combat spacesuit while going on a little space vacation?”

“The Orbital Assault Combat Suit might be rated for vacuum, and atmospheric entry in a pinch, but they normally go down in drop pods,” Robert said. “I’m surprised you don’t have something like that already, actually.”

“I hate the idea of armored suits. Personal reasons.”

Jody studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. And a suit.”