by Cinnabar » Sun Apr 27, 2008 2:27 am
This little demonstration is regarded quietly, the Governor's features betraying little beyond his disapproval of the circumstances which have brought him here; peering into the chamber revealed through the concealed doorway, eyeing the trigger-stone carefully, then straightening and skimming through the note.
"Hm. Well, it fits with his general air of smug self-satisfaction. And his taste for hidden rat-holes and such." The reports of Karolinger's capture had made mention of a similarly secret hideaway concealed on an abandoned Pritchite farm, a Janeiro-constructed cache of weapons and supplies. It should have been expected that they'd riddle their own stronghold on Myrken soil with such tricks.
"Whether or not you believe his being placed in this cell was happenstance, there will be a full investigation of the Commander's decision; this is a very serious lapse in security, and cannot be allowed to continue." Grey eyes turn to Artois again, displeased, but more at the extent of this oversight than at the man himself. For now.
"If there are ways for a man to get out of Fort Sumpter undetected, there are undoubtedly similar ways for a man - or men - to get in; whatever passages Karolinger has described in this note" The scrap of paper waved irritably. "you can be certain that there are more that he has not." And with the likelihood of the former mercenary commander taking such secrets to the grave postponed indefinitely, that is a concern.
"Fort Sumpter is no longer secure, and is thus no longer viable as a defensible outpost in its current form." The Governor has seen enough, it seems, and steps outside the cell again, waiting for the vice-commander to follow. "I'll be sending someone to oversee its decommissioning and dismantling, and to make a record of any other such secrets it might hold. I want the place stripped to below the foundations, and every last hidden passage, secret tunnel and false wall noted." It'll be a big task, but one absolutely necessary; no telling how extensively the place has been undermined.
"Also, I want all former Janeiro personnel under your command made available for questioning - officers included. I want to know exactly how many people knew of these passages, and why the first we knew of them was when a murderer used them to escape government custody. The confusion over the pardon is an incidental matter. That a man walked out of here before he'd been properly realeased, however, is not. Is any of that unclear?" Pale brows lift inquiringly, with the impression that if Artois has any questions, he'd better ask them sooner rather than later.
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.