Elinor
The arrest of Bishop Keith Bush of the Osgar System had shocked the whole system, but Elinor had been surprised that the system had not uproared. Many might have been Furse, but those Furse, like System-lord Madlyn Sternjaw had long since converted to the Fabian Faith when they bent the knee to the King of Daxholm before the formation of the Commonwealth of Drala.
There had been loud protests from other members of the faith, nobles, politicans, and merchants, but they had all gone silent since the evidence had come out. A half dozen members of the Fabian had been arrested with the Bishop, but not as many as when the Bishop of Rustberry had been arrested. There were nobles linked to the pirate fleet, but nothing higher than a petty lord of minor estates throughout the system. No highlords, no great lords under the highlords.
Elinor had been surprised at how many merchants had been linked, until she thought abnout it. A pirate fleet was a prefect way to deal with rival merchants, and increase profits, but again none of the large Merchant Houses had been linked, and other than the Bishop, it seemed like it had mostly been the commons.
Of course the Fabian Order of Drala had been left out of the news feeds. There had been shock though that a Bishop could order so much death, and destruction, and System-lord Sternjaw had been forced to request that the Bishop be transfered to the ‘Skreap’ for safety, until such time as he could be handed over to Commonwealth Forces to be tried in a court of law.
“What now?” Elinor asked
“Either to a military base to off load the Bishop, or continue back to the Crown Princes plan,” Vault told her.
Elinor looked at the older man. She had been spending more, and more time with the Lt, and his old friend, Private Oakheart. As some of the few that not only could, but would answer her questions, it had been common for her to find them on the ship, and share a drink or meal.
“And that is?” Elinor asked.
“Well,” Lt Vault continued. “The Crown Prince setup bases on Grimsly, but he wants to gain the support of Lord Ice. His son seems like a good fit for an ally. Before we got word on the pirate fleet, there were rumors of making the journey north to meet with the Under-lord, and his father, and try and enlist their aide.”
“Holy shit,” someone shouted from one of the tables.
Elinor looked at the table, as someone looked at their datapad. “Whats that about?” she asked out loud.
“Ship just jumped into the system,” another Ensign said. “It’s battered to fucking hell. Looks like it’s ben through hell, and back,” the Ensign continued.
“CFS?” Oakheart asked.
The Ensign shook his head. “No, ship belongs to System-lord Karth. Rumors are saying that the whole System fleet of Lord Karth was destroyed. Ambushed by forces waiting for the task force, and the ship was sent to find the Crown Prince.”
“Holy fuck,” elinor heard herself say.
“Holy fuck doesn’t begin to describe it,” the ensign continued. “A whole fucking system fleet wiped out. Thats a fucking massacre.”
