The Fall of Eva Pryor Ch. 06

"Is the Sultan minded to attack the Unified Nations? He seemed friendly when we met -rather too friendly, in fact. It was very strange."

Eva briefly outlined our encounter in the Red Room. At the end, Fatima shook her head.

"I cannot say why he received you like so, though he was maybe testing your allegiances before deciding where to place you on his chess board. No, the war to come is not with the Unified Nations -or, at least, not only with them. It goes much further than that. He plans a conflict that will engulf all the nations of the globe in a great World War. And the pyre on which he will start this conflagration will be the Germanic nations between the two empires, where the men are heavily armed but lack a common cause. At the moment they squabble amongst themselves, Austrian against Hungarian, Bavarian against Bohemian, and who knows what-all besides. But if they were provoked by the Unified Nations -say, through the assassination of a Hungarian prince or some such political figurehead- they would unite against the UN and become natural allies of the Ottomans."

Eva's visage darkened as she contemplated the implications.

"So the Sultan will stage a proxy war by making it look as if the UN is the assassin, and then taking over when the Huns have defeated his foes for him."

"Oh, he will not let the Fractured Lands do all the work. He fully intends to join in with all the power of his steam-driven army once the skirmishes reach Ottoman territory in the Mediterranean, where the UN forces will be lured into an attack. That way the Sultan can justify entering the war against our former allies in England and France, and claim a share of the spoils once it is done."

"That must be why he was so interested in your miniaturized steam-suit, Eva. I believe he wants access to that technology more than...any other favours he may have asked of you." I added.

Fatima raised an eyebrow. I suddenly became very interested in her oil-lamp and did not meet her gaze.

"This is dire news, Fatima. Have you any proof of this plan?" Eva asked.

"Yes, I have. My translator and encoder -poor Shahid- intercepted some letters about it in the course of his secretarial duties in the palace. He passed the originals on to me and carried copies that he made of them on his person. He was a skilled forger, so he let them think they'd caught him, and then they-"

Here Fatima broke off in a sob which echoed plaintively from the vaulted ceilings. In that moment, I realized that she had already lost her career, her home, and her friend to a war that had not even begun yet. Eva embraced her again, and Fatima clung to her tightly.

"I am so sorry, my dear." Eva whispered. "We shall make sure he did not give his life in vain."

Fatima held onto Eva silently and did not let go. As long moments passed, the sorrowful tone changed and something grew charged between the two women. The passion in Fatima's grasp, the way she pressed her bosom close to Eva's, the heated expression with which she gazed up into the other woman's eyes...

'join with me in acts that will generate the birth...'

But as she had done with me, Eva ever so gently disengaged herself from Fatima's arms.

"I wish I could give you more comfort, Fatima. But all I have to offer is the strength of my suit and the assurance of my word that we will put a stop to this war."

Fatima took a deep breath, then nodded in resignation.

"Perhaps when all is done, we can make our acquaintance anew in happier surroundings."

"I'd like that. But for now, we must get those documents out of Constantinople before the forgeries are discovered, if they have not been already."

"Do you propose to bring them back to London?" Fatima asked.

At that, Eva sighed and shook her head.

"What can one do when trapped between opposing fanaticisms? Of course, I do not agree with the Sultan's plans for global warfare. But the Unified Nations, with their arrogant imperialism, are merely pursing war by other means. To support either Empire is to side with the misuse of power."

"How about the Fractured Nations, then?" I asked. "They won't willingly be pawns if they know how the Ottomans plan to manipulate them. And there are plenty who are against the UN as well as the Ottomans. The Welsh Independents, the Southern resistance leagues...I'm not saying we solicit them all directly!" I added hastily. "But we can reveal the Ottoman plot against the Fractured Lands to those who dwell there and let them form alliances on their own terms."

"Will they truly form alliances, though, or just keep fighting among themselves?" Eva asked.

"That I cannot say. We can only bring the truth to light, and see in which direction it moves them."

"In short, throw ourselves into the course of action and respond to whatever comes our way?" Eva asked, with a wry smile.

"Yes, indeed. And hopefully we will fall into grace, as it were."

"Fatima, do you agree to this plan? Will you come with us to deliver the letters and guarantee their authenticity?" Eva asked.

Fatima nodded, her eyes still brimming with tears.

"I had already thought much the same as you. It is the third way of which I wrote. The conjoining that generates the birth of a third. Metaphorically speaking."

"We may well have more than three conjoining with us before the end," I quipped. "I hope you're open to group activi -well, never mind. Er, which way to the Vimana?"

You can well imagine the look Eva gave me. But it was true, literally speaking. With the three of us joined and more allies to be sought ahead, we were on our way to another adventure. In my youthful optimism, I defied the dark visions and portents which suggested this adventure would be our last. Perhaps I defy them still.