10th CARD › “The Roundtable”
Meetings that involved high ranking Espers from the Houses were a somewhat common occurrence in New Eden, and they were often referred to as The Roundtable.
It made sense considering that the ones in charge of managing and maintaining the city fell to the hands of the Houses, calling for meetings to discuss various issues. Most times you would see the Jacks of the four Houses or perhaps even the Queens, accompanied by various Numbers, attending a monthly or bi-monthly Roundtable. Sometimes there might not even be a Jack or Queen present, especially when a Number from a House may be well-versed in handling any given situation themselves.
The Roundtable would cover a wide range of topics – from economic trends to city infrastructure, public events planning to product shipping orders, and of course Chaotic reports and Esper news.
Of course there were also the rare occasions where a King would join.
It wasn’t normal, outside of yearly King-only meetings, but they would attend Roundtables if there was a pressing matter that required their attention. Most of the time this would be a single King, focusing on their own coverage area. Other times the matter may be a general happening or even a circumstance beyond the city limits.
An even rarer sight would be multiple Kings attending a Roundtable.
If such a meeting were called it would mean that the Numbers tagging along would remain at their headquarters. Even Queens and Jacks would most likely stay behind.
A King-only meeting took place only once a year. Any other time was mostly during emergencies and large scale disasters. To gather in one place meant a dire situation had emerged. They were, after all, the four who governed absolutely in New Eden. The four strongest beings in the entire city.
Or so they appeared.
Above the Kings were those who ruled absolutely; The Aces.
Truthfully there weren’t many in the public who took a look at the governing structure and noticed Aces. They were, for the most part, completely concealed from the outside world. Not even the Kings themselves could meet with the Aces regularly.
Such a set up was strange to say the least, but at this point in New Eden’s history there wasn’t a reason to question it.
A little over a century ago the Aces were the ones who founded the city in its current form and established the Houses, including choosing the Kings who in turn chose the members of their House.
Yes, that meant the Aces were as old as the city itself and beyond. Such was the power they possessed. The ultimate power of immortality, or at the very least, something very close to it.
The Aces locked themselves away in what became Central – the tallest building in the city, right at the center – where no citizens were allowed to normally venture. The reasoning behind such a move seemed to be a way for the creators of the city to watch over it while remaining on the outside of most situations. At the very least that was what others in the past had believed.
Central itself was a fortress at all times, even when Kings were summoned there. Private security forces in the form of automated systems barred entry. Individuals who were specifically chosen to be guards to Central were posted at various points at all times. These individuals, all Espers, once belonged to Houses before being chosen as Central guards.
The security was top notch, but it was almost a pointless stationing of people. These were the Aces, right?
Aces created the Houses and discovered the power of the Espers. They were above the Kings – the same individuals with enough firepower to obliterate the entire city.
With the Kings being that strong, didn’t the ones standing over them have to be practically gods?
Practically might be the wrong choice of words, though. The Aces were well over a hundred years old and still they controlled the flow of power to the Houses. There was little doubt that they had to be gods in some form or another. Their near immortality, the knowledge that they essentially brought forth the power of the Espers, it all added up to being something akin to a god.
So, if not only the Kings but the Aces as well were to hold a Roundtable, just how serious would things have to be? How dire a situation to have all of these unstoppable forces under the same roof?
The only other time in recent memory that such a meeting took place was four years ago – when Giotto Jaeger, a King, Fell from Grace.
« — »
“Kruger! As a known friend to the Rogue known as Wild Card, surely you won’t let your personal feelings get in the way now. Correct?” The fierce, high and mighty tone was no doubt Victor’s.
Just across the sleek gray table, which just so happened to be circular, sat the King of Spades. To his left was the King of Clubs, Kenny, and to his right the King of Hearts, Rose. All four were in official attire, sporting their uniforms and House colors proudly. It was unfortunate that they were gathered here for such a sour discussion.
“Answer me, Spades King!”
“Hey, hey – Let’s not get so hot headed over this, Victor.” Kenny wanted to try and stop things getting out of hand, but that was easier said than done.
“.. My duty lies with the city and its citizens, yes.” The Golden Lion’s response was calm, but there was a serious lack of emotion in those words.
It was obvious that things reaching this point were putting a strain on Leon, but he had to stay true to his role as King. At least he had to try.
A rather smug, satisfied look washed over Victor as he leaned back in his own chair.
“Then I can expect your full cooperation in apprehending him immedia—”
Kenny wasn’t liking where this was going and made his voice heard.
“You can’t be serious, right Victor? Say what you want, but you and all of us here know that Gio is far from a problem. He’s out there protecting the city, same as any of us.”
“Protecting? Ha! Haha!” The Diamond King slammed his fist onto the table, causing a minor spark of electricity to rise up from the impact. “Do you dare forget the destruction that Rogue causes on a regular basis? How about the multitude of laws broken by him and his partner in crime? That Sera Noel, whom seems just as suspicious.”
Another spark from his clenched fist caused Leon’s own eyes to narrow. Leon had a feeling what was coming next, and the truth was that hearing it may turn this discussion into more of a brawl.
“.. And of course, Kruger, I’m sure you remember what happened four years ago. When that Rogue killed—”
“Enough!” Leon leapt to his feet, chair flailing back behind him.
Victor was taken aback for an instant, but he stood his ground.
“These are the facts, Kruger. He’s a rabid dog that should have been put down when he was discovered to still be alive years ago. However, you and Blume are far too soft and sentimental.”
He looked to his daughter – no – to his fellow King; Rose.
“Things are not as they were when we had this discussion so long ago. Now, you no longer hold a majority. With the Hearts King and myself, we stand divided at two for and two against the apprehension and execution of Giotto Jaeger.”
Rose remained silent. She barely even moved.
Kenny felt like a broken record, trying to speak reason, but they were all getting a temper. Emotions were high. He tried again.
“You still aren’t listening. Gio isn’t a bad guy, Victor. He’s helping the city. What happened back then, we can’t even be sure that was a Fall – he survived. Not only that, he gained a new power – one that we’ve never seen before.” Kenny’s attempted defense of Gio didn’t seem to faze Victor in the slightest.
“Correct you are, Blume. He gained a new ability, the likes of which we haven’t seen and cannot explain, and you expect us to accept that he gained this by being a victim? He caused that event and the death of hundreds, including his House’s Queen and Jack, all for pow—”
A golden flicker of light burst past Victor and in turn a bolt of lightning zipped across and back at Leon, missing ever so slightly. Kenny and Rose were to their feet, the former of which was still hoping to settle things peacefully.
“Attacking a fellow King, Krug—”
“—You can say a lot of things, Victor, but do not sully the names of the dead. Especially of friends… as for Gio’s power, it’s…”
“Not something you can explain, right, Kruger? You assume that he has done nothing wrong because he is your childhood friend. Your judgment is clouded. You have little right to dawn your Mark as a King of New Eden.”
Leon’s frustration and emotions were breaking through his typically calm demeanor. Sadly, Leon couldn’t dispute Victor’s words. Not entirely. He trusted Gio as a brother, but there was an obvious oversight from the event four years ago. What caused the so-called Fall from Grace? Why did Gio acquire a new ability afterwards? He knew that Gio wondered the same things but that didn’t mean he was totally ignorant of the cause.
Victor felt the answer was obvious as he stepped back from the table and his fellow Kings.
“I accurately predicted this Roundtable devolving into what we see before us. So, as the longest reigning King of New Eden, I have requested the presence of our seniors.”
All three Kings looked on as Victor turned to the side, revealing a flickering screen emerging from the darkness behind him. The screen grew larger, revealing itself to actually be multiple screens. One by one they came to life with static sounds – and in a sudden rush, the wall of white noise behind Victor turned to an image of the four House symbols.
Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs, and Spades.
The sound of static faded to silence.
Victor turned to face the screens, crossing his arm in front of his chest and bowing ever so slightly. Rose followed suit from where she stood, and while they both hesitated and looked to each other with worry, Kenny and Leon joined in a bow.
“As Diamonds King, I thank you for taking the time to join us – Lord Aces.”
Those words were like needles prying into the spines of Ken and Leon. If Victor called the Aces to join the Roundtable, then that meant they were about to be faced with bad news concerning Gio. They both saw little reason other than bad news that the Aces would show up.
SPEAK. SPEAK NOW.
Words appeared on the screen, showing the response of the Aces. For quite some time, most likely due to their already lengthy lifespans, the Aces themselves had refused physical contact. Hence the elaborate, yet simplified, way of communication. Their voices were long since forgotten.
Even with the theatrics, all of the Kings respected even just an image and text on a screen. The Aces were the source of the Houses power, and in a way, the power of the Espers.
Victor was quick to take the floor once more.
“Certainly. As you have seen and heard, the Rogue known as Wild Card – Giotto ‘Gio’ Jaeger – has finally crossed lines that can never be uncrossed. He confronted and assaulted myself and other Diamonds Espers. In addition, he interfered with the Hearts King’s capture of another fugitiv—”
“—That’s not true at all, Lord Aces!”
Leon quickly stepped around the table and past Kenny, running to stand opposite Victor in front of the screens.
“Gio was not the instigator of any conflict with Diamonds or Hearts. It was in fact the King himself who drew Diamonds into battle with Gio, and the Hearts King was operating on her own without any notice to even her own House.”
While remaining quiet, almost obsolete, Rose seemed to finally let a sliver of her own feelings out.
“How dare you, Leon!” She stepped towards him, only to be frozen in place by more words before them all.
THE FORMER KING. GIOTTO JAEGER, WILD CARD. THREAT LEVEL ASSESSMENT?
Leon started to speak, but Victor cut him off. The latter seemed like he was reading from a script with how quickly he dished out his anti-Gio speeches.
“There is no doubt, Lord Aces, that Wild Card is a bigger threat than any Chaotic or Rogue to ever plague this city. He must be put down immediate—”
“Listen, listen! Just recently, Gio saved countless at Clover – he even defeated a militia of Rogues gathering illegally, with the intent to take down this very tower, all the while saving an Esper who was from the Houses.” Leon pleaded.
He wasn’t wrong in terms of Gio’s good deeds, but they weren’t going to be enough.
“Really, Kruger? How interesting. Surveillance already informed me as a such, but if you yourself knew of his involvement with that militia you must have led him to it, no? To his old pupil, Jay Willow? The official reports actually stating that child and your Ocho beat back that group, hah!”
Victor mocked, confident, but Leon wasn’t one to simply lie down.
“Lord Aces, I’m sure you don’t need us to show you. I’m sure you’ve seen the good that Gio has done, correct? There has to be—”
CAPTURE. DETAIN AND QUESTION. SEAL HIS POWERS BY ANY MEANS. WE MUST LEARN ALL WE CAN.
“C-Capture?!” Victor’s surprise caught the others off guard. His reasoning for surprise, though… “You cannot be serious, Lord Aces. We must eliminate him before he has the opportunity to cause more damag—”
THESE ARE YOUR ORDERS.
Leon shook his head, pleading once more.
“Please! You have to reconsider! Let us prove to you that he is not a threat – he is doing good work for this city and its citizens!”
Both Leon and Victor were exasperated, pleading with a serious of computer screens for completely different reasons, but they were met with the same response – silence and the sudden darkness as the screens cut off.
Despite their disappointment, both sides did have something positive to pull away.
Victor finally had the green light to move on Gio, while Leon had stayed the execution for the time being.
“What’s done is done, then.” Victor turned back to the other Kings, Rose making her way to stand by his side. “There’s nothing more that you two can do now. I’ll be sending the full might of New Eden to apprehend that villain.”
Leon’s hazel glare seemed one given right before all-out war.
“.. You say that, but you still have to bring him in alive. You can’t try to execute him—”
“Can’t I?”
Ken and Leon’s faces were left contorted, surprised, at such a brazen comment by a loyalist like Victor.
“You mean to defy the Aces?!”
“Oh my, what a foolish question, Kruger. Unlike you and your compatriots I would never dream of such things. That being said, the apprehension of a dangerous criminal can always get… messy. The situation may get out of hand. I will use whatever force I must to subdue him.”
Victor turned to leave, Rose following suit, but another flash of golden light soon went flying past him and slamming harmlessly into the field of monitors.
“.. Yes, Kruger?”
“You can scheme all you feel you have to, Victor… Just know that it’s not something we, or Gio, will have to do. You’ll learn soon enough that your blind rage isn’t justified!”
Victor could only manage a chuckle, slipping himself and Rose into the opening doors of the room’s lone elevator. They stepped through, looking back at the Kings as the double doors closed.
Kenny and Leon were left looking back to each other.
“What now, Kenny? We have our orders.”
Ken seemed beside himself, but he focused back and breathed out his hesitation.
“Now, I’d say you have somewhere to be. Until that Old Man’s got his force on the move, you have some time to have a final chit-chat with someone.”
Leon nodded slowly, looking back to where Victor had been standing seconds prior.
“So it’s really happening… Victor was right. We can’t protect him anymore, but maybe…”
The pair shared a brief nod and then they headed for the elevator as well. The cogs of fate were turning en masse.
“If things become clouded, Leon, what will you do?”
The Spades King stared at the elevator before him, eyes never seeming to trail away. It was as if he was looking past the building’s stone, metal, and out to the city outside and even beyond. He was focused and appearing to come to a decision that he had thought long and hard about for some time.
“.. I’ll do what I have to.” The elevator doors then slid open once more, and Leon stepped forth.
“What you have to?” Kenny followed his lead, the two standing comfortably in the lift as it closed.
“Yes. I won’t abandon my friend. I can’t say anything for certain, but… if it calls for it, I will act.”
~ END 10TH CARD ~