Chapter 67. Security Concerns

...OOkay. I'm not happy right now. I was horribly, catastrophically right about van der Klaases pulling power plays. The opener is both audacious and breathtakingly stupid, as Mihel shows up with Marceu in tow, and announces that his son would be taking the "manservant" slot. And immediately starts making digs at me for failing to anticipate that. I, quite reasonably, point out that he was sent a message asking him specifically if he has any special requests. And yes, that included the option of asking for space for actual manservants, if he was so inclined to take his son along for the trip. Not sure why, though. Then, a couple of burly servants show up with a chest that has no hope of ever fitting through the door, and Mihel tries insisting on letting them take "the wall" down so that the chest could be put into his cabin.

"First of all, there is no reasonable way to dismantle a part of airship without rendering it inoperable for a whole day..." - I try to be reasonable and talk things out.

"Not very well constructed, is it?" - Mihel interrupts me with a sneer. Idiot.

"Because cabin sidings are intentionally constructed to be as monolithic as possible to ensure the safety of people traveling within." - I continue irritably - "Furthermore, there already IS an existing secure storage in every cabin."

"Not as secure as my chest!" - he immediately objects.

Seriously? You call THAT secure? Good grief. In lieu of an answer, I walk over to the chest, put my hand over the lock, nudge the gears inside while simultaneously suppressing the rather basic enchantment that would detect the gem set in key's head... and pull the lid open effortlessly, making the elder troublemaker gape and stare at it. Marceu, meanwhile, emerges from the ship with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Lady Gillespie, I do not wish to accuse you of lying, but our cabin clearly lacks any sort of secure chest." - he pushes. I pinch the bridge of my nose as the urge to just leave them behind rises. Abraham, thankfully, plays the peacemaker.

"I have not known lady Gillespie to make false claims." - he begins with a light rebuke - "How about we come and see the storage she prepared before any more harsh words are thrown around?"

Seeing as the rest of the people are already making themselves at home in their respective cabins, I lead the duo of annoyances and bemused king to the cabin I set aside for van der Klaases. As we come in, I demonstrate the storage by pulling on the discreet lever and the whole thing descends from the ceiling, rendering Marceu and Mihel speechless for a moment.

Then, just as I fold it back, Mihel sniffs. "How is that secure?" - he demands - "Anyone can get into it just by pulling on the same lever!"

I love how his face elongates when the lever he is yanking on refuses to budge entirely.

"Biometry identification enchantment." - I explain - "Scans the person pulling the lever and does not move unless they match to the internal record. Right now, it's keyed to me. Once you settle in, you'll provide your own imprint, and for the duration of your stay on the ship, it will remain keyed to you. Yes, excluding me. Only one record at a time is kept."

As Mihel hems and haws, Marceu steps out and comes back with a chair. "The lock is perhaps secure. But it doesn't mean anything if the intruder can just break into the chest bypassing it." - he exclaims jubilantly as he clambers on the chair and jams a dagger into the ceiling, trying to pry the paneling open. I admit, I am very much satisfied when he gets a good bzzt for his troubles and falls over from the chair twitching uncontrollably. Thankfully for him, he does manage to fall in the direction of one of the cots. I catch the dagger he flung during that, and set it down on the table firmly.

"And this is what happens to craftier intruders." - I explain, as he writhes on the bed.

"Marceu!" - his father yelps, rushing to the bed to check on his rash son - "What have you done to him!?"

"Security enchantment. In case of someone trying to pry in, they are hit with uncontrollable muscle convulsions. The end result is not unlike lockjaw, except lasting for maybe five minutes." - I explain - "I also get alerted about breach attempt. Between the two measures, not only the storage is secure, I also have high confidence anyone trying it can be detained and questioned."

Abraham chuckles. "That... is more than a little impressive, lady Gillespie." - he proffers - "Please demonstrate the arrangement to sir Malachi once we return. I daresay he has at least a dozen places that could benefit from such stringent measures. Is it limited to a person trying to breach in, or..."

I smile at him. "Not really. You can set the trigger to many things." - I return - "Opening a specific door, crossing a specific threshold, breaking a specific object, having a specific object on you when doing anything of the former, not saying a specific word or making specific gesture while doing either of the former, etc, etc, etc. A biometric scan can be attached to any of those triggers to additionally specify the need to be a specific person when doing anything of the aforementioned."

Van der Klaases grow very silent and worried while I outline the basics of the security suite, while Abraham beams. "Stupendous as always!" - he crows - "Expect a major commission in the near future, lady Gillespie."

I hem. "Your highness, I have quite enough on my plate as is. May I simply write the manual and pass it over to sir Malachi with a license to apply as needed? He is in a much better position than I to establish the necessary security measures." - I demur, and Abraham beams even more.

"I did not want to presume, but if you are willing to license the kingdom, it is even better." - he admits - "I was worried about you being overburdened with things, to be honest, but security is too tantalizing a prize to pass."

"Goodness, no. I am in no hurry to put one more hat on my head. Let sir Malachi handle that, it's his duty anyway." - I joke back - "Oh, just so we're clear - I would expect of him to establish the office and pass on the requisite knowledge to vetted and loyal Inquisitors of his choosing. No need to keep all eggs in one basket."

Abraham turns to face van der Klaases. "I believe there is a good lesson here for you to take, Mihel." - he says amiably, but with a warning undercurrent in his voice - "Lady Gillespie is a loyal and powerful ally who puts the needs of kingdom and people above her personal gains. You would do well to remember that and treat her with all the respect she deserves. Do not think I missed your little spectacle just now."

Mihel purples and lowers his head. "...My sincere apologies, your highness, lady Gillespie." - he grits out - "It is rare to meet a person who understands the needs of many come before the needs of few so keenly."

Abe chuckles. "We will speak no more of this, then." - he concludes - "But remember this well, Mihel. Honey before vinegar. At least, as far as lady Gillespie is concerned. I am well cognizant some of the nobles in my kingdom believe their blood makes them a valuable boon by itself, but not Alyssa. It is by her labors we have the chance to make an agreement so beneficial to everyone involved - both us and Krauts."

"I understand, your highness." - he bows, and turns to his son, who is just now showing the signs of awareness - "Marceu? Good gods, are you alright?"

"..Aaah ficn.." - he begins, pauses, and starts again, making an effort to enunciate every word clearly - "I... am... getting... better. This... enchantment... is... insidious. I... can't... stop... my... limbs... from... trembling."

"To be expected. While the application of enchantment itself is about a second long, the resulting tremors will persist for up to an hour." - I explain - "Simply rest and trembling will subside eventually. More on the point, now that you have a first-hand experience of the protection, do you still think it would be easy to bypass the lock?"

He glares at me, then sighs. "No." - he then enunciates - "Not... without... an... accomplice... to... continue."

"Won't work. This is a permanent enchantment, it draws power from the internal flowerbeds on the airship." - I explain - "Hydroponic section is protected with the same measures, obviously, so no cutting the power to enchantment either. Honestly speaking, your best bet to get into the chest would be to use spells or a ballista to destroy this cabin. Which, well... For one, it would be hard to destroy the cabin without destroying the chest in the process, for two, bringing the necessary firepower to bear can't be fast or inconspicuous. You'd have to attack from the outside, too, inside the airship the enchantment would also trigger on an attempt to fire a spell against the chest."

I unfold the security panel from the section of the wall next to the lever, and press my hand against the palm outline.

"Here, press your hand against it to record your signature." - I explain - "Oh, the panel opened because I'm keyed in right now. If it were someone else, it wouldn't budge, just like the lever. Or shock you, if you tried to open it by force."

Mihel cautiously presses his hand to the outline, and jerks it back when the panel bings at him and changes color from red to green.

"There you go. Now the chest will respond to you." - I explain - "Close the panel now, please."

He does so, his expression both pinched and thoughtful at the same time. "...I see." - he mutters - "I suppose that addresses my security concerns. If I could have ten minutes to have my servants transfer the things?"

Me and Abe bow out at this point.