Fourth Vector Ch. 44

Ambros was shocked by Otto's statement, enough to be momentarily speechless. He didn't expect such courageous words from a mere servant, and he didn't know how to reply.

"So what will it be then, Your Majesty?" asked Otto with a raised chin. "Execution?"

Ambros finally shook his head. "No, there will be no executions today. You strike me as a very brave man, Otto. One much braver than any of the other servants here in the palace."

Now the shoe was on the other foot, and it seemed Otto didn't know how to respond to that question.

Ambros continued. "I know all about the rumor that you struck Avila. Let me ask you this--why'd you do it?"

"Your Majesty?"

"What possible purpose did you have for striking him?" asked Ambros. "Tell me."

Otto thought about his answer for a moment before he replied. "It was to save Dagobern from any further suffering. The city had already fallen. The army was shattered. The only one that still wanted to fight was Avila. He was becoming increasingly unstable, to the point where he was scarcely recognizable from the figure that stole the throne some years ago. I knew that without Avila, the fighting would already be over, so I did what I had to. I knocked him out to prevent him from interfering with General Vukhoz."

"And it largely worked, didn't it?" asked Ambros. "The city surrendered shortly after."

Otto nodded. "I was there when Avila was deposited at the feet of the Galician King. As you were, a short time later. But yes, I believe it was necessary, and I will go to my grave believing what I did was a good thing. Who knows what would have happened if Avila got to the barracks of the Emperor's Guard. He could have ordered all those men to fight to the death, which might have caused the Galicians to level the barracksand the palace. Who knows how many lives it saved?"

Otto was still speaking like a man that was already dead, and while Ambros appreciated the bluntness of his speech, it was time to set Otto straight.

"Otto, I'm not going to have you killed," said Ambros finally. "Frankly, I think what you did was of the highest orders of bravery, especially in a society like ours that's taught that the Emperor deserves the greatest amount of reverence. You did what you did because the end had arrived, and the hope of everyone left in the city was just to survive until the war was over. I have to commend you for your actions."

Otto's mouth dropped open in shock. That was the last statement he expected. "S-so why am I here then? What's to become of me?"

Ambros smiled. "I hear that you have trouble finding work. You've been bounced around from one station to another, and quite a few of the managers have recommended your firing from the palace."

Otto nodded. "This is true, Your Majesty."

"Well in that case, I'd like to offer you a new position," said Ambros. "I need a loyal deputy to attend my position. In fact, I'd like for you to fulfill the role you used to do for Avila, but for me. I need someone with a good mind and the will to execute my orders when they need done. I have a huge task in front of me, and I don't mind taking the best people in Swabia to help me get it done."

Before Otto could accept, he latched onto that last nugget of speech. "What is your huge task?"

Ambros cleared his throat. "As you know, the terms of our surrender included binding us more closely to Galicia. Galicia is going to war again, against an enemy across the great ocean that would seek to conquer the entire West. Out of my friendship with the Galician King, I have pledged Swabian soldiers to fight against this enemy. To that end, I need your help in working the logistics to get our forces from here to Picardy within the next two weeks."

Otto started choking. "Two weeks? But it'll take a week just to get to Picardy! How many forces are we talking about?"

"A good portion of the Swabian Navy as well as fifteen regiments of the newly reconstituted Swabian Army," answered Ambros nonchalantly. "Shouldn't be too bad to get that force to Picardy."

Otto nearly fainted. "That's at least fifteen thousand men as well as naval personnel and all the supplies and food to get them to Picardy! That's an undertaking that's going to take weeks if not months! You're asking me to do that in the next week?"

Ambros raised his hands. "I'm asking you to assist. Most of the groundwork has already been laid before you. We've been stockpiling food and supplies, and only a portion of the new army is going simply because I don't have enough supplies to send a larger force. Even still, most of these men are green and in need of further training. A good portion of them were captured with me outside of Castus, but many of them had been newly recruited before we marched down there. They will still need training but all I'm asking is your help in making sure we keep with our deadline to sail."

Otto seemed to have calmed down a bit once he heard that most of the work had already been done. He looked at Ambros warily as if to determine whether the offer was genuine.

"I need your help, Otto," said Ambros in a softer tone. "You've already shown me that you're a man that cares about your country and one that can get things done. You'll be adequately compensated of course. If you accept, you'll no longer be a mere servant. You'll be my personal deputy, and you'll receive a weekly salary."

"Salary?" asked Otto, his interest perking. "I'm to be paid?"

Ambros grinned. "I wouldn't expect you to work for free, Otto."

"Avila did," quipped Otto. "And while he took care of our food and housing, we never had much in the way of spending money."

"I'm not Avila," said Ambros simply. "I'd hope that was evident by now, but I plan to be an entirely different leader than him."

"I'll say," said Otto. "You don't seem like him. I've known of you for years and I always just assumed you were an extension of him. I see now that my opinion was wrong."

"So is that your answer then? Will you work for me, Otto? I need a good man in my service and you're amongst the best that I've come across."

Otto could only grin. "Yes, I'll work for you, Your Majesty. When do we get started?"