It was Stefan's turn to nod along, a frown of concentration marring his features. He had met with Lang personally, several times since he had first sent his young cousin as his courier to the Fort Commanders. He got along surprisingly well with the man, and they had rarely disagreed. Of course, some of their cordial relations certainly stemmed from the fact that they had been given very few choices for survival outside of working together and both of them had been focused entirely on that goal. Now that survival was almost a certainty, it was less certain if they would continue so, but not so much so as to worry the Minister. The good of the State was the primary goal of both men, and, Stefan believed, would remain so for the rest of their lives.
Jäger held an entirely different set of motivations, though he would have protested had anyone said so where he would hear of it. Every general, hells, every citizen, in and out of uniform, would proclaim their primary goal to be the good of Zaichaer. One of the things Stefan had lost since the disaster was his belief that most of them meant it. Perhaps the majority of those who remained meant it, and perhaps that was a silver lining to be appreciated.
Shifting minutely closer Stefan read back over his own notes as Eitan browsed them, one hand falling in thoughtless affection to his brother-in-law's knee. It was a relief that Admiral Angevin hadn't decided to fight him on his conclusion. He had a right to the position, as the only man of his rank to have worked since the disaster to try and preserve and protect all of what remained of their people instead of gathering a section of followers and trying to consolidate power. True power came with good stewardship, as it had come to Eitan, not the other way around. General Jäger would come to power via force if he thought he had a chance to succeed, and once he held the title of High Marshal there would be none left for anyone else until the inevitable coup. The power in Zaichaer did pass peacefully from one High Marshal to the next, sometimes, but rarely did a single lifetime pass without the upheaval of either a coup or some level of militant unrest in an attempt to replace the current leader. Stefan wanted better, he wanted something more stable. Hence his triumvirate government idea. It was like a child in his head, something to protect and nurture but something he hoped would grow stronger, in time, than the ones who had birthed it and outlive them.
"I'll talk to Delia, about speaking to Vonnegut. Once she is on our side, which I am certain she will be when it is explained that the alternative to Lang is Jäger, her endorsement will pull the other two Commanders away from any lingering ideas they had for themselves. That will be half the battle. Once Jäger himself sees that the Islands and the forts stand together behind the candidate he is most likely to accept, after himself, he'll at least weaver. Hopefully, that will give us the time for Reichart and you to convince a few others. We won't need many more before everyone will see the tipping point has been crossed and jump to our side lest they be the last one standing opposed."
Glancing around in the hope of tea Stefan saw none and sighed. Dinner time wasn't that far off and if he wanted to argue for as small a staff as possible now that the Hall was emptying as its extra occupants returned to the ground now that parts of the city were safe to live in again, he couldn't be always ringing the bell to have his whims indulged.
Jäger held an entirely different set of motivations, though he would have protested had anyone said so where he would hear of it. Every general, hells, every citizen, in and out of uniform, would proclaim their primary goal to be the good of Zaichaer. One of the things Stefan had lost since the disaster was his belief that most of them meant it. Perhaps the majority of those who remained meant it, and perhaps that was a silver lining to be appreciated.
Shifting minutely closer Stefan read back over his own notes as Eitan browsed them, one hand falling in thoughtless affection to his brother-in-law's knee. It was a relief that Admiral Angevin hadn't decided to fight him on his conclusion. He had a right to the position, as the only man of his rank to have worked since the disaster to try and preserve and protect all of what remained of their people instead of gathering a section of followers and trying to consolidate power. True power came with good stewardship, as it had come to Eitan, not the other way around. General Jäger would come to power via force if he thought he had a chance to succeed, and once he held the title of High Marshal there would be none left for anyone else until the inevitable coup. The power in Zaichaer did pass peacefully from one High Marshal to the next, sometimes, but rarely did a single lifetime pass without the upheaval of either a coup or some level of militant unrest in an attempt to replace the current leader. Stefan wanted better, he wanted something more stable. Hence his triumvirate government idea. It was like a child in his head, something to protect and nurture but something he hoped would grow stronger, in time, than the ones who had birthed it and outlive them.
"I'll talk to Delia, about speaking to Vonnegut. Once she is on our side, which I am certain she will be when it is explained that the alternative to Lang is Jäger, her endorsement will pull the other two Commanders away from any lingering ideas they had for themselves. That will be half the battle. Once Jäger himself sees that the Islands and the forts stand together behind the candidate he is most likely to accept, after himself, he'll at least weaver. Hopefully, that will give us the time for Reichart and you to convince a few others. We won't need many more before everyone will see the tipping point has been crossed and jump to our side lest they be the last one standing opposed."
Glancing around in the hope of tea Stefan saw none and sighed. Dinner time wasn't that far off and if he wanted to argue for as small a staff as possible now that the Hall was emptying as its extra occupants returned to the ground now that parts of the city were safe to live in again, he couldn't be always ringing the bell to have his whims indulged.
