Jade War

Shae asked Deiller, “Has the cormorant ever provided you with false information?”

The colonel’s eyes narrowed at the use of her old code name. “No,” he admitted.

Their table was discreetly partitioned from the rest of the dining floor by a wooden screen, and Woon had seen to it that the dining floor staff did not seat any other patrons within earshot, but nevertheless, Ambassador Mendoff lowered his voice. “This is evidence of large-scale SN1 production in Ygutan.”

“With ample SN1, if Ygutan can secure jade on the black market, they can use it for military purposes, including equipping their puppet militia in Oortoko.”

Both men appeared noticeably discomfited by the idea. Mendoff asked Deiller, “Why haven’t our assets in the Ygutanian government told us about this?” he asked Deiller.

“Your spies embedded in Dramsk probably aren’t aware of it,” Shae said. “The SN1 production facilities aren’t being run by the Ygutanian government. As much as we Kekonese oppose shine trafficking in our own country, there are some people—in clans other than my own—who have no problem producing it and selling it to anyone who will pay, regardless of political alliance.”

Even before the clan war, Lan had anticipated that No Peak could use information about the Mountain’s overseas SN1 manufacturing operations to damage their enemies—and that was precisely what Shae intended to do. She took the sheaf of papers and put them back in the envelope, then put a hand on top of it and looked at the two men with her eyebrows expectantly raised. “Despite our differing views and priorities, the No Peak clan wishes for our countries to remain friends, which is why I asked you here today for an honest conversation and to offer you something of value.”

The two men across the table glanced at each other, apparently coming to some silent, terse agreement between them before turning back to her. “I would have to make some calls to Adamont Capita,” said Ambassador Mendoff slowly, “but you’ve done us a great service by sharing this information. It would be worth perhaps ten to fifteen million thalirs to us.”

Shae managed to hide a grimace at the sudden blunt mention of price. The Espenians were a mercenary, plutocratic people; their society was built on a long history of naval power and trade, and they treated fair commerce like a religion. They could put a price on anything, Shae suspected, certainly jade, maybe even life and death.

She leaned back and drank some tea, pretending to consider the ambassador’s offer; they would likely be offended if she did not appear to take it seriously. “Clans in Kekon have a tradition,” she said at last. “When an outsider has done something for us out of respect and goodwill, we give them a gift. It must be an item that’s green, marked with the symbol of the clan. It means that we’re grateful for their friendship, and if there’s any way we can help them in the future, we’ll do so.”

Deiller shifted in his chair; Mendoff coughed. The idea of favors and indebtedness clearly made them uncomfortable. The ambassador said skeptically, “That’s what you’d like in exchange for information of military importance?”

Shae smiled. “No, no, that isn’t your custom, so of course I wouldn’t expect you to follow it. The whole point of the gift is that there is no specific date or value tied to it. It’s meant to symbolize appreciation and trust. But I don’t need a symbolic token, and I wouldn’t expect you to accept an exchange that’s so undefined. I only bring it up because I would like this to be an opportunity for us to improve the bond between our countries. We are allies, as you say, but because of what’s happening now, the relationship is strained. If we build bridges—profitable bridges—it would go a long way in strengthening our alliance and public perception of Espenia.”

Ambassador Mendoff nodded slowly. His broad shoulders and pale blue eyes were squared toward her now. “You have some particular opportunities in mind?”

“There are many Kekonese companies that would like to gain access to the Espenian market. For that to happen, tariffs would need to be reduced or eliminated in certain industries such as textiles and consumer products. I’d like to see restrictions on foreign real estate investment in cities such as Port Massy be lifted so more Kekonese businesses can operate there.” She decided it was best to speak as frankly as they had. “Since the end of the Many Nations War, Kekon has been opening itself up to international trade, but if you subtract our primary export to Espenia—jade—we’re running a substantial trade deficit. In order to correct that, and to expand business opportunities for Kekonese companies, I would need your support.”