That Will Never Be Enough

November 796 U.C., Heinessen

Julian was the only person in Annerose’s house when Reinhard returned from his inquest hearing. Annerose was still off at her own duties, and Ingrid had gone grocery shopping. Julian reported this to Reinhard when he met him at the door, like he had appointed himself the XO of the household.

“When will Annerose be back?” Reinhard asked, hanging up his uniform jacket and beret on the hook and kicking off his shoes.

“She should be back in about forty minutes. I’ll start cooking dinner as soon as Ms. Ingrid brings the groceries.”

Reinhard ruffled his hair, then headed into the living room. Julian tagged at his heels, hands behind his back, nervous. “Did everything go alright?” Julian asked.

“I don’t know,” Reinhard said. He looked at Julian carefully. “Ms. Roscher told me you follow politics.”

Julian nodded. “I try to.” There was something in his voice, beyond the teenage eagerness, that caught Reinhard’s attention. “Rear Admiral Cazerne said that this was a political problem.”

“He mentioned that to you?” Reinhard loosened his scarf as he sat casually on the couch. Julian hovered in the doorway. “He must have a high opinion of your political acumen then.” He smiled.

“Well, not exactly to me,” Julian admitted. “I heard Lieutenant Commander Annerose say that to Captain Schenkopp.”

“Ah.” Reinhard drummed his fingers on his lip. “I love being gossiped about to Captain Schenkopp. What do you think about him, by the way?” He tried to keep his voice neutral.

“I like him,” Julian said.

Reinhard nodded. “And what do you think about the politics?”

“Lieutenant Commander Annerose didn’t mention what the politics were.”

“What do you think they are?” This wasn’t exactly fair to Julian, since Reinhard had been unprepared for the angle that was taken in the questioning, but Julian cast his gaze out the window, looking at the afternoon light streaming in through the blinds, and took only a short time to consider.

“I think the Secretary of Defense was looking for an excuse to invade Phezzan. After the Kaiser dies.”

Reinhard tried not to let his surprise show on his face. “And why do you say that? It’s an odd conclusion to draw.”

Julian seemed reluctant, but he shook his head. “It’s about Ms. Ingrid. I don’t know if I should--”

The front door squeaked open. “Julian?” Ingrid called. “Can you help me with the groceries?”

Julian gave Reinhard a nervous smile, then yelled, “Yeah, I’m coming,” and headed off into the kitchen. There was some thudding and rustling of bags and quiet conversation for a while as Julian and Ingrid put away the groceries; Reinhard let them do that until he heard the rush of water as Julian washed his hands to start making dinner. He wandered into the kitchen and leaned against the wall. Ingrid smiled at him from her seat at the table; she was shucking several ears of corn, leaving a stringy green mess in front of her.

“How was your trial?” she asked. “You look well.”

Perhaps he would have been scowling more if things had gone very badly. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I have a question for you.”

She tilted her head, and her eyes flicked to Julian, who was unwrapping some fish fillets to marinate. “What do you want to know?”

“Has Job Trunicht been talking to you?”

“No,” she said, and let out a breath. “Why do you ask?”

“You know I can understand you,” Julian said, in clumsy Imperial. He looked at Ingrid, then at Reinhard. “It was something I overheard, okay?”

“You do a lot of listening to things, don’t you?”

“Lieutenant Commander Annerose told me to!” Julian protested. Reinhard just laughed.

“What did you overhear?”

“The Secretary of Defense was talking to Bishop Martine,” Julian said. “He was saying that lots of things on Phezzan could be bought-- I didn’t really understand but…” He shook his head. “Am I right? Is that what he was looking for?”

“Yes,” Reinhard said. “Or something close to it.”

“What was he looking for?” Ingrid asked.

“Job Trunicht wants some excuse to pressure Phezzan,” Reinhard said. “I don’t know if he wants to invade, exactly-- but something.” He poured himself a glass of water. “You know anything about that?”

“Only as much as you,” Ingrid said. “I’m to be their tool. As is Erwin. As soon as the Kaiser dies. A tool doesn’t need to know anything.”

Reinhard nodded. “No one has threatened you, have they?”

“No,” Ingrid said. “Why would they have?”

Reinhard smiled, realizing consciously for the first time that Ingrid was likely to be very, very good at lying. He would let it go for now. “Just making sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to be tainted by association with me.”

“Are you that disgraced?”

“I ought to be,” Reinhard said. “But I think all I’m likely to get is a slap on the wrist and sent to the front.”

“Calling you back from Phezzan should be punishment enough,” Julian said with a scowl.

“They won’t send me back there, in any event. As long as I’m not sent somewhere boring, I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe you’ll be assigned somewhere in the capital.” Julian’s tone was optimistic.

“I’d rather be sent to the front.” Reinhard finished his glass of water and dropped the cup in the sink, where it clattered and signalled an end to the conversation. “I’m going to go work on that book review I was writing for my blog. Call me when dinner’s ready, or if you need any help with it.”

“I think we can handle some vegetables just fine,” Ingrid said, gathering the empty corn husks to toss them into the garbage.

Reinhard made his way upstairs to his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. The room was still cluttered with boxes, as it was being mostly used for storage, and he resolved to clean it up if he did end up assigned somewhere in the capital. He stared up at the ceiling, and he pulled his locket out from under his shirt, twisting the chain around his index finger and rubbing his thumb on the embossed metal medallion.

If Fork hadn’t been lying, which Reinhard didn’t think he was, and if Trunicht intended to do as Fork had said and improve Reinhard’s career, there was a good chance that he could angle his way into a position on Heinessen. Some more political job. He didn’t entirely hate the idea, though he figured that he soon would. His job on Phezzan had been more interesting than he expected, but he wasn’t sure that he would be able to tolerate being some low ranked aide to Trunicht for long.

He thumbed the locket open and stared at the lock of red hair. It was almost the exact shade of Ingrid’s, and that recognition discomfited him. It would have been very easy for someone to instruct Ingrid to tell Reinhard what to say, with either threats or cajoling. Either she really hadn’t been threatened, or she had kept quiet. Why?

His thoughts went to Kircheis as they often did, but they were vague and unformed. He closed the locket and twisted it around in his hands for a moment longer. He pulled out his computer to begin working on his review of Leigh’s book. He couldn’t help but think that Muller would be amused by it.

Before he could get deeply into the writing, he checked his messages, and was not surprised to find one from Job Trunicht himself. Reinhard had figured that there would be one, though he had wondered if it would come through Fork, or some other intermediary. If he had been in Trunicht’s position, Reinhard didn’t think he would have wanted such a long paper trail connecting the two of them.

Lieutenant Commander von Müsel,

I would like to personally apologize for the proceedings earlier today. It should have been below my esteemed colleagues in the Committee for Public Defense to interrogate you as they did. It is clear to anyone watching that if there is blame for what happened in the Phezzan Corridor, it is not yours.

Still, it seems unlikely that you will be able to return to your post on Phezzan. It is a shame, since I had thought you well suited for it after how the media took to you during the Condor Base affair.

If you are available, please come to my office tomorrow at two thirty, and we can discuss a posting suitable to your rank, talents, and loyalty.

Respectfully,

Job Trunicht

Secretary of Defense

The letter annoyed Reinhard. Trunicht’s thinly veiled feeling of superiority oozed out of every line. The attention drawn to finding a posting suitable to his rank-- it frustrated him. That was surely just an excuse to get Reinhard shuffled out of Trunicht’s hair.

And his loyalty! If Trunicht had thought that Reinhard was loyal to him… Reinhard ground his teeth.

Not that he had much of a choice. He would go meet with Trunicht, even if everything about him was unpleasant. As much as this had been half a threat, it was also an opportunity, if Reinhard played his cards right.

He wrote out a quick confirmation email and sent it back, then settled down to actually work on his book review, as promised.

After dinner, during which Reinhard had carefully turned the conversation topics away from the events of the day, and after he had helped Julian clear the dishes, Reinhard sought out Annerose. He leaned in the doorway of her bedroom, watching as she inspected the frayed hem of the leg of one of her uniform pants. She didn’t look up at him, but she said, “Are you going to haunt my doorway forever, or are you going to come in?”

“Want to take a walk with me?”

“I had figured you didn’t want to talk about your punishment.”

“Is that a yes?”

She sighed and folded the pants, laying them neatly on the top of her dresser. “Of course.”

They headed outside together, the warm summer air dancing around them, the clouds the pale pink of sunset above the trees. They walked arm in arm down the wide street, and Annerose leaned her head on Reinhard’s shoulder. “Was it really that bad?” she asked. Her loose hair tickled his neck.

“No,” he said. “I think I’m going to escape relatively unscathed.”

“How did you manage that?”

“By being unscrupulous and playing someone else’s game,” Reinhard said.

“Now you are making me worried.”

Reinhard described the interaction he had with Captain Fork in the bathroom during the inquest, and the hearing itself. Annerose was silent until he finished, save for kicking a pebble down the sidewalk between them as they went.

“And so you wrapped the Committee for Public Defense around your finger for Job Trunicht?”

“I made some implications,” Reinhard said. “I didn’t stick my neck out too far.”

“Hunh.” Her tone was too carefully neutral.

“I hope you’re not too ashamed of me for that,” Reinhard said.

“I don’t think I would ever be ashamed of you,” Annerose said. “I’m concerned, but not ashamed.”

“I thought you had been, back on Odin.” He nudged her head with his, and with a bright laugh said, “Glad to hear you’ve changed your mind.”

Even in the rapidly dimming light, the sudden flush on Annerose’s cheeks was visible. “That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

Reinhard just laughed again. He sobered quickly. “I’m going to meet with Trunicht tomorrow,” he said.

“Is that a good idea?”

“You really are concerned.”

“I’m not going to question you if you think it’s for the best. But I wouldn’t trust someone who engineered to put you in that position,” Annerose said. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to work this into an advantage for yourself.”

“Snubbing him will be worse, even if he does just want to push me around.”

“And will you be able to bend the knee?” Annerose asked. “As I recall, you’ve never been very good at that.”

Reinhard made an annoyed noise. “You do think little of me.”

“No, I don’t,” she said. “But I know you’re proud.” Her voice was warm when she said that, so Reinhard didn’t bristle.

“I can do it for you,” Reinhard said. “That’s all I have to think about.”

“Me? What about me?”

“It’s not like Job Trunicht isn’t aware of where Ms. Roscher is living. It would be very easy for him to have you discharged, and her removed, if he thought he could use that against me.” He could feel Annerose stiffening beside him. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Captain Fork was not the first way that Trunicht tried to contact me. If he had gone through Ms. Roscher first… I asked her if he had, and she said no.” He shrugged.

“Reinhard--”

“It’s fine,” he said. “I want you to be happy. I don’t want anything I’ve done to come back and cause you problems.” He pulled his locket out from under his shirt and fiddled with it, running his thumb over the seam between the two halves.

“You know there’s not-- It’s not like that.” Annerose’s eyes followed the glint of the locket in the last waning rays of sunlight.

It amused him to feel like he had the upper hand on Annerose in this matter, but he didn’t want to annoy her so much that she refused to talk about things with him, so he just said, “Well, you wouldn’t want her to leave, would you?”

She hesitated, then let out a rush of breath. “No.” Still kicking the pebble down the street, she said, “Thank you, if you really did sell yourself out to Trunicht for me, then.”

“I’m not sold,” Reinhard said. “I’m going to spin it into an opportunity.”

She was happy to change the subject. “Do you think that Trunicht is going to be able to stir up support for antagonizing Phezzan, or whatever it is he’s going to do?”

“It wouldn’t be difficult,” Reinhard said. His political mind clicked back into high gear. “It’s not even necessarily a bad idea. We can barely afford to service the debt that we owe them-- which isn’t the type of thing politicians really like to think about. And the Artemis Necklace-- it clearly is a faulty piece of technology. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some sort of shutoff switch that Phezzan is holding on to, ready to sell if the time is right. That might even be what was done to Castrop’s planet.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter-- we really shouldn’t be relying on Phezzan tech in the first place; maybe this will finally knock that into people’s heads.”

“What good will any of this do?” Annerose asked.

“The Earth Church wants to play its cards,” Reinhard said. “They seem to have decided that this political situation is not going to hold-- someday someone is going to come after Phezzan, and if it’s not done on their terms, they’ll lose their power. Trunicht and the Earth Church, they just want to make sure all the pieces fall into place in a way that’s favorable.” He bit his finger, thinking. “If the price of a puppet on the throne of the Empire is Phezzan’s independence, I can understand why they would make that trade.”

“Does the Earth Church really have the power to make that bargain? You’d know better than I would.”

“They think they do. Or at least, they’re telling Trunicht that they do. It’s only decorum that’s prevented people from invading before now, and Trunicht is making moves to discredit that decorum. Once there are ships in the Phezzan corridor, it won’t really matter what power the Earth Church thinks it has. ”

“Political power grows from the barrel of a gun,” Annerose said, frowning.

“Among other places.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I would be so eager to throw away the economic power that they have.”

“Will they lose it?” Annerose asked. She was hesitant, as though worried that Reinhard would reprimand her for not understanding something. “Most of the actual physical goods Phezzan produces are made either within the Alliance or the Empire, aren’t they?”

“Sure,” Reinhard said. “But the Empire half will be cut off, and I would bet that Trunicht and everyone else on the council will be very eager to nationalize the Phezzani industries that are operating on our side of the galaxy. Especially if they want to ramp up war production for a trip into the Empire.”

“I hate this,” Annerose said.

Reinhard looked at her sharply. “Why?”

“I hate feeling like we’re on the precipice of something terrible. If we invade Phezzan, or the Empire…” She shook her head. “I can’t even imagine how destructive it will be.”

Reinhard clutched his locket. “The Goldenbaum Dynasty needs to be destroyed,” he said. “It’s the only way we’ll have peace in the galaxy.”

Annerose looked away. “And Ingrid’s son?”

“He deserves to have his mother, and both of them deserve to not be used as political tools. And the only way that will happen is if-- you understand.” His voice was hard.

She looked over at him. “It wouldn’t be so bad to stay like this forever,” she said. “You and me and Ingrid and Julian.”

“And Captain Schenkopp?”

Annerose smiled faintly. “Him, too.” They turned a corner, starting to circle back towards their house. “I don’t want to lose all this. And seeing you get pulled into it, and Ingrid… Do you think me silly to be afraid?”

“No,” Reinhard said. “I can’t blame you for being content.”

“Not content. Happy,” she said. “I’m happy.”

Reinhard’s knuckles were white as he gripped his locket. Annerose wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.

Trunicht’s office was not difficult to find. When Reinhard presented himself at the lobby to get his visitor’s pass, he was escorted directly to it, though he was made to wait outside as Trunicht finished some phone call. He was finally let in to the office, and Reinhard got a quick look around before his eyes settled on Trunicht sitting at his desk.

The office was unpleasantly ostentatious, with a large painting of Trunicht on the right wall, and several official looking awards and plaques clustered around it. Trunicht’s desk was situated in such a way that anyone coming to speak with him in the afternoon, as Reinhard was, would be nearly blinded from the glare coming in through the large window directly behind him, with a prime view of the statue of Ale Heinessen, with his outstretched arms. They framed Trunicht’s head like horns or a halo, depending on the angle.

He didn’t stand when Reinhard entered, and Reinhard saluted sharply.

“Glad you could make it, Lieutenant Commander Müsel,” Trunicht said. “Especially on such short notice.”

“I have no duties while I’m here in the capital, sir, so it’s hardly an imposition. Thank you for taking an interest.”

“Not at all,” Trunicht said. His smile was thin, and he didn’t offer Reinhard a seat. “How did you find the Committee for Public Defense?”

“I understand that they have a duty to perform,” Reinhard said, as carefully neutral as possible.

“I could do without them, myself,” Trunicht said. “I’m glad they didn’t rake you over the coals too hard. It would have been an inconvenience.”

“An inconvenience, sir?”

“Well, I’ve taken an interest in the career of the Hero of Condor Base.”

“Thank you, sir.” The stiffness in his shoulders was acceptable, and the only thing he could allow. “I apologize for squandering the posting you recommended me for on Phezzan.”

“Squandering? I wouldn’t say that. You’ve done this nation a great service, I think.”

Reinhard hesitated, then said, “With regards to Ms. Roscher?”

Trunicht’s smile was thin. “Among other things. There was the business with Cahokia, too, wasn’t there?”

“I hadn’t been given the impression that my name was attached to that.”

“I like to know who is capable of getting things done,” Trunicht said. “It’s a quality I seek out in people, and you seem to have it in spades.”

He could tolerate flattery, even if it was insincere. “Thank you, sir.”

“And you were right to search Mr. Castrop’s ship, as it turned out.” A cloud passed in front of the sun behind Trunicht’s head. The room grew dimmer, Trunicht’s face in shadow.

“Do you really believe it was Phezzan who killed him?” Reinhard asked.

“What do you think?”

He played his card. “Do you really believe it was Duke Braunschweig who killed Prince Ludwig?”

He could see Trunicht’s perfect row of teeth. “And what would you know about that?”

“I know that it doesn’t really matter who killed the prince, or Trunicht, so long as there’s someone there to take the blame.”

“You may be right, Lieutenant Commander.” He laughed. “I’m glad you’re astute, as well as talented.”

“Thank you.” There were only so many times he could say that.

“In any event, even if it wasn’t some Phezzani scheme that killed him, the fact remains that Phezzan sold us a technology to protect our planet on the promise that it was completely invincible, and we’ve seen it be destroyed by one single ship.”

“I think there’s an adage about no ship being unsinkable, sir,” Reinhard said.

“I didn’t buy the Artemis Necklace,” Trunicht said. “So I don’t stand to lose face from it being a bad investment, at the very least.”

Reinhard had no idea what to say to that-- it was rare that he was left speechless-- so he just nodded.

“Well, Lieutenant Commander, I shouldn’t waste too much of your time, or too much of your talent, as it were.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Unfortunately, you have ended up in a little bit of a predicament with this whole”-- he waved his hand-- “inquest. I’d love to have you assigned to my office, but I think that would look bad for the both of us.” He picked up a pen and tapped it on his desk. “I think there’s likely some post that will suit you well… You do have an eye for manufacturing, supply chains-- I’m sure there’s some place involving those things that would be appropriate for you. You’d get to stay on Heinessen, at the very least.”

Trunicht wasn’t really looking at him. “Sir,” Reinhard said. “I would like to be sent to the front.”

Trunicht laughed. “The front? Why?”

“I appreciate that you would like to reward me in a way that looks like a punishment. I know that posts on Heinessen are highly sought after. But I’m not the kind of man who would be happy to sit at a desk for several years.”

“The thing about talent,” Trunicht said, “is that it’s often wasted at the front.”

“I would not waste it,” Reinhard said. “I want to make the most of myself, sir.”

Trunicht raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What do you think you’d do at the front?”

“Sir, I understand that I am still just a year out of school, and only a lieutenant commander. When things begin changing in the galaxy, I want to be able to participate.”

“You’re an ambitious man, Müsel?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I like that.” His lips curled.

“May I say something else, sir?” Reinhard said.

“Of course.”

“I should hope that when things start changing in the galaxy, my ambition and loyalty will be rewarded.”

Trunicht looked him in the eye for a moment, and Reinhard was not going to look away, not until Trunicht said, “If you do make the best of yourself at the front, then many new opportunities will open up for you.”

“Many more than had I asked for a desk job on Heinessen, I assume?”

“Perhaps.” Trunicht rolled his pen around between his fingers. “Phezzan was an opportunity for you. You’ll have to work hard to replace it.”

“I will, sir.”

“Good.”

“You won’t move until the Kaiser dies, will you?”

“I don’t know what the future holds any more than you do, Lieutenant Commander.”

“When he dies, call me back here. I’ll work for you directly.”

“Are you in a position to be making demands?”

“No, sir,” Reinhard said. “But if I don’t make my intentions clear now, I doubt I’ll have another chance.”

“Your intentions?”

“I want to see the Goldenbaum Dynasty ended,” Reinhard said. “I don’t want to watch others do it for me.”

“I see.” Trunicht folded his hands. “And yet you’re keeping the mother of the future Kaiser in your house?”

Reinhard stiffened, and it was an act of sheer will to resist reaching for his locket. “The kindest thing that could be done for Erwin Josef would be to free him from the burden of being the Kaiser, and to reunite him with his mother. I have no hatred towards him as a child whatsoever.”

“Of course.” Did Trunicht think Reinhard had some other scheme? Reinhard couldn’t tell from the slickness of his voice.

“Do we understand each other, sir?” Reinhard asked. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he didn’t have much of a choice.

“I think we do,” Trunicht said. “If you make enough of yourself on the front to be useful to me when, as you say, things in the galaxy begin to change, I’ll call you back to Heinessen.” That was phrased in the most weasley way possible, but Reinhard understood it was the best he was going to get. The mention of Ingrid had been a veiled threat to not push his luck.

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome. I won’t forget about you, Lieutenant Commander.”

Reinhad nodded, and understood he was being dismissed.

Transfer orders arrived for him the next day, sending him to the front.

Despite having asked for it, Reinhard couldn’t help but feel a little mellow as he packed his bags to head out, not even having much to pack. When he had first broken the news to Annerose, she had been stiff and silent, and that night he had heard her crying through the thin wall that separated his bedroom from the master bedroom. Ingrid had murmured indistinct condolences.

It wasn’t fair, either for her to worry or him to be upset about her worrying. After all, she had been in harm’s way far more than he had, at this point. She was a member of the Rosenritter. But it was touching that she loved him, even if it felt like a dig at his competence, and so he tried to tolerate it.

Julian had been solemn when Reinhard had broken the news, sitting in the kitchen together after Julian came home from school. They were alone in the house, a plate of cookies that Julian had made the day before sitting between them as a snack, and the air perfumed by some roses in a vase at the head of the table.

Captain Schenkopp had brought Annerose the flowers earlier in the week, when he had come for dinner and stayed the night. Ingrid had vacated to the couch, and had not accepted Reinhard’s offer of sleeping on his bed, despite Reinhard’s protestations that he would be fine in the living room, and that his room was her bedroom anyway, technically. In the morning, he had found her with her red hair splayed out across the arm of the couch, the pillow having slipped onto the floor during the night. The sight stirred something in him, and he turned away.

“It’s not like I’ve even been here very long,” Reinhard pointed out. “You’re lucky to be rid of me before I spend too long on Heinessen and get annoyed with it.”

“I wouldn’t mind, sir,” Julian said. “I like having you here.” Julian flushed as he said this, though it didn’t appear to be a difficult admission.

Reinhard laughed. “I appreciate it, Julian.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m sure I’ll be back before you’ve had too much of a chance to miss me.”

“You think you’ll be back soon? Why?”

“I made Trunicht promise to call me back when the Kaiser dies,” Reinhard said. “I doubt he’ll live too much longer.” He picked up a cookie and gestured with it. “I’ve got a clock hanging over my head, I think. A lieutenant commander isn’t going to be able to do very much in the grand scheme of things-- so I can’t waste any time out there.”

“I wish I could go out there with you,” Julian said.

“Hah, Annerose made me finish high school before I was allowed to do anything remotely exciting, tedious as it was. You’d better do the same.”

“Yes, sir.” He was solemn but unhappy. “Lieutenant Commander Annerose doesn’t want me to be a soldier.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t have preferred me to be one either, if she had her way.” Reinhard smiled. “But if you’ve put your mind to it, I don’t think she’ll oppose you when the time comes.”

“I hope so.”

“Why do you want to be a soldier?” Reinhard asked. “It’s not exactly the easiest career choice.”

“My father was a soldier.”

“I know, but that can’t be the whole reason.”

He thought about it for a second. “Why did Lieutenant Commander Annerose become a soldier?”

“You’d have to ask her.” Reinhard said. “I’m sure she would say that it was to help me, but I think there were probably other reasons that she doesn’t talk about.”

“I want to help you, too,” Julian said.

“That can’t be true,” Reinhard pointed out. “Annerose told me you wanted to be a soldier before you even met her. Or me, for that matter.”

Julian got up from his chair and turned away, mindlessly picking up the flower vase on the table and dumping out the water in the sink to replace it with fresh.

Julian finished filling up the vase with fresh water. “I want to protect people, I guess.”

“That’s what Fredrica-- Lieutenant Commander Greenhill-- said to me once. I guess you have that in common.” He smiled at Julian as he put the flowers back down. “It’s a noble goal.”

“What about you?”

“I don’t think the Goldenbaum Dynasty should continue to rule,” Reinhard said with a shrug. “That’s the simplest way to phrase it.”

Julian just nodded.

Reinhard stood up, then ruffled his hair. “You and Annerose will hardly miss me when I’m gone,” Reinhard said. “You’ll hold down the fort for me, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Julian said. “I promise.”

“Excellent.”

It was later, when Julian was asleep and Anneose was out with Schenkopp, probably not due to return until the next afternoon, that Reinhard sat down next to Ingrid on the couch. She was watching television, though it was muted without subtitles, and the room was dark, so the flickering blue of the news anchor’s backdrop danced across her drawn face. She looked over at him as he sat down, but didn’t say anything.

“You won’t let Annerose be too upset about me going, will you?” he asked finally, draping his arms over the back of the couch and crossing his legs.

“She worries about you,” Ingrid said. “But she understands.”

“I’ll be fine, you know.”

“You should say goodbye to your mother before you head out.”

“I will,” Reinhard said. “I’m going to see her for lunch tomorrow.”

Ingrid nodded absently. There was a long stretch of silence between them.

“Will you be honest with me?” Reinhard asked.

She looked over at him. “The only answer you’ll accept is ‘no,’” she said. “I don’t know why you ask.”

“Well, I just want to tell you that you don’t need to lie to me.”

She nodded, looking away again.

“ If someone did ask you to make me do something--”

Ingrid shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “I can be a tool,” she said. “But I don’t want you to be one, too. Or Annerose.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“How can I not?”

“I have never found a situation that I have not been able to turn to my own advantage,” Reinhard said. “Anyone who thinks that they can manipulate me should be more careful.”

“I hope you’re correct,” she said. “You’ve sold yourself to Job Trunicht.”

“The alternative was being sent somewhere backwater for years,” he said. “You’re not the only one he is capable of threatening.”

Ingrid stared into the silent TV screen. “You would have made some advantage of it,” she said, turning his words against him. Reinhard frowned.

“It would have been an annoyance, anyway. I don’t mind keeping myself in Trunicht’s good graces.”

She was silent.

“Do you think that’s a bad idea?”

“I don’t trust him,” Ingrid said.

“Neither do I.”

“Whatever he’s promised you, I don’t think he’s going to give you.”

“And what has he promised you that you’ve given up hope on getting?”

She just shook her head. “You would be better off far away from him, I think.”

“Ingrid--”

She shifted uncomfortably.

“I won’t do anything that’s going to jeopardize Annerose’s happiness. Or yours.” His hand found his locket, though it was underneath his shirt. She didn’t look at him. “You can take that as a promise.”

“Annerose’s happiness?” Ingrid shook her head. “I don’t think you understand her happiness at all.”

“I don’t?” Reinhard asked, affronted.”I think I should understand my own sister very well.”

Ingrid smiled, a thin expression. “I appreciate your sincerity. But she could be happy without me.”

“No,” Reinhard said, voice firm. “She told me herself that she wants you to stay with her.”

Ingrid’s laugh was mellow. “I believe you.”

“Then why would you have preferred to have Trunicht--”

“I wouldn’t have preferred it,” she said. “But it’s useless for you to do things for my sake.” She closed her eyes, the television’s glow tracing only her cheekbones and the tip of her nose, leaving her closed eyes dark shadows on her face. “I’m a doomed woman, Mr. von Müsel.”

“I don’t believe that at all.”

“Annerose wants all of this to last,” Ingrid said. “It’s not going to. Sooner or later, someone is going to use the tools they’ve purchased, and if that’s you or me, or the government of Phezzan-- nothing is going to stay the way it has. I wish I had learned that lesson years ago. But I know it well enough now.” She took a deep breath. It surprised Reinhard how calm she was, how controlled her voice was. “I appreciate everything that you and your sister have done for me, more than I could ever express.”

“Annerose won’t let anything happen to you,” Reinhard said.

“She won’t be able to stop it.”

“I think you underestimate what she is capable of doing for the people she loves.”

“I think you’ve misunderstood, Reinhard,” Ingrid said.

“Misunderstood what?”

“Annerose does not love me.”

Reinhard was silent for a second, then said, “I know you said that you would not promise not to lie to me, but I would hope you respect me enough to not try to delude me about the obvious.”

“The obvious?” She laughed again. “It’s amazing that we have the appearance of a scandal, where no such scandal really exists.”

Reinhard thumbed his locket through his shirt. “I would know what it looks like,” he said, trying to say what he meant. It was an offer, reciprocity.

She nodded, and there was a moment of silence. Reinhard waited for her to fill it. “She isn’t capable of loving me,” she said. “Did you think she was?”

“You share a bed with her.”

“Like children,” she said.

He hesitated. “But you love her.”

“Yes.”

“Does she know that?”

“Yes.”

Without realizing it, he had tugged his locket out from under his shirt, and was twisting it around his finger. It wasn’t his responsibility, what Annerose felt for Ingrid, but he couldn’t help but feel responsibility, or something close to it, anyway. He had never had much sympathy in his heart for other people’s romances before, but this was different. Perhaps because he had brought Ingrid into Annerose’s life. Perhaps because he liked her better than he liked Captain Schenkopp. Perhaps just because when he caught a glimpse of her hair from behind, it reminded him so strongly of Kircheis that he was taken back to being a child on Odin, with the person he loved beside him.

“I think she might--” Reinhard began, but Ingrid put her hand on his knee and stopped him.

“It’s alright,” she said.

“She said to me that--”

“If she said she loves me, it’s because she likes to feel like I need her,” Ingrid said. “And that’s enough, even if that’s the only kind of love she will ever have for me.” Her smile was wistful. “And she likes that I take care of Julian, and that you and I get along, and that I’m a companion for your mother, and that I don’t ask her for anything more than she is willing to give me.”

“Why do you stay?”

She just shook her head, and Reinhard found that he understood.

“Do you want me to say anything to her?”

“No, no. There’s nothing that needs to be said.” She let out a breath. “Though I suppose I’m grateful to talk about it with you, anyway.”

“I guess you don’t really have anybody else.”

“Your mother operates under the impression that I sleep in your bedroom.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Reinhard said. “She knows a lot more than she lets on, I think.”

“Well, I couldn’t talk with her about it. Or Julian.”

“Yeah.” Reinhard paused, then said. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Do you need me to be honest?”

“I’d like it.”

“You can ask.”

“What do you think of Captain Schenkopp?”

Ingrid let out a small breath and looked away. “He’s a good man, and he makes her very happy. I can’t be unhappy about that.” Of course he wasn’t going to get an honest answer-- the pain was evident in her voice, even if she was saying true things about Schenkopp’s character. Reinhard would have to try not to begrudge him as well.

“Thank you for the honesty,” he said. “I do appreciate it.”

“Do you?”

The chain of his locket was squeezing his fingers purple. Reinhard looked over at Ingrid, then pulled it off his neck and held it out to her. She took it, the TV’s glow catching the gold metal as she opened it.

“Siegfried Kircheis,” Reinhard said after she had looked at the photograph and curled lock of hair. “We knew each other on Odin.”

“And you loved him?”

“Yes.”

Ingrid was silent for a moment. “When I left Odin, the Earth Church told me I couldn’t take anything with me. Not even the clothes on my back. They gave me new ones. It’s nice that you have a memento.” She was still looking down into the photograph, and it began to make Reinhard antsy, almost ready to ask for the locket back. “You look just like her, you know.”

“I know,” he said.

She passed him back the locket, and he slipped it on under his shirt, glad to have its cool weight against his chest once again.

“I’m going to see him again,” Reinhard said. “Someday. No matter how long it takes.”

“I hope so,” Ingrid said, though it didn’t sound like she believed him.

“I shouldn’t have asked you to make sure she doesn’t worry about me,” Reinhard said.

“No, it’s alright.” She reached for the remote and turned the silent TV off, plunging them into a near-darkness that Reinhard’s eyes struggled to get used to. “It’s nice to be able to take care of her, too.”

As Reinhard’s vision finally adjusted enough to see the stars in the dark sky through the window, Ingrid stood, blacking them out, except where the streetlights caught the edges of her hair, a crown of light, just this side of red.

“I think we all have to look out for each other in the ways we can,” Ingrid said. “I think that’s all we have, when it comes down to it.” She offered Reinhard her hand to help him stand, and he took it, not letting go even after he was on his feet.

“Right,” he said. “So if there is anything that I can do for your happiness-- and Annerose’s-- I’m going to do it.”

She shook her head, and he couldn’t see her face well enough in the darkness to read her expression. “Goodnight, Reinhard,” she said.

“Yeah, goodnight.”