“Your wing?” Viman repeated, skeptical.

Ashwin nodded. “I could show you the scar, if you’d like. Wounds inflicted by sif are slow to heal, even when it’s not the reinforced kind.”

“You took me by surprise, that’s all.” Ruban waved a hand. “Most Aeriels earthside aren’t suicidal enough to get up close and personal with Hunters. I wasn’t used to it.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you nearly killed me.”

“If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”

Ashwin’s lips quirked with amusement. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, my friend.”

As Ruban opened his mouth to respond, Viman interrupted, putting an end to their bickering. “If that’s truly the case, then why do you now support this alliance with Vaan, just as the reinforced sifblades are on the brink of full deployment?” he asked Ruban. “Don’t you want humanity to have a real chance at peace – at justice – after all these centuries of bloodshed?”

“Because it’s the only way to prevent another six centuries of bloodshed,” Ruban replied evenly. “This cycle shall continue until we all realize the fundamental truth that humans and Aeriels are not the only two sides to this war. There’s the feather mafia. Only last year, they allied themselves with the Exiles to make a fortune in the black market. And if you think the mafia are the only ones profiting off the illegal feather trade, you’re mistaken. Terribly mistaken.”

“I don’t understand,” said Viman. “Could you elaborate? The people have a right to know what unseen dangers they’re facing in this country.”

Ruban straightened in his seat. “Which group of people do you think has the most to lose, if this alliance with Vaan were finalized? If it became permanent?”

“All of us,” Viman said promptly. “The common citizens of Vandram. We’ll lose not only our freedom but also our self-respect. To submit to Vaan, after all that our ancestors sacrificed to free us of their tyranny.” He scoffed. “How will we look ourselves in the mirror ever again?”

Ruban inclined his head. “From a purely emotional viewpoint, you may not be wrong. Now, who has the most to lose financially?” He stressed the last word, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “If this alliance became a permanent reality, whose bottom-line would be most affected? Whose stock prices would plummet? Whose net worth would drop a few zeroes?”

“I’m not sure I take your meaning, Mr. Kinoh.”

Ruban smiled grimly. “If Vaan and Vandram were to become permanent allies, our government would gain nearly unlimited access to undamaged, high-quality Aeriel feathers. Do you disagree with that?”

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“Of course I don’t,” said Viman. “That’s the whole reason so many of our politicians caved so easily to Vaan’s offer. The political class has been seduced with dreams of unlimited wealth and glory. That’s what’s driving these ill-advised plans for an alliance. Anyone with any common sense can see that.”

“Maybe you’re right. But couldn’t that also be what’s driving the other side?”

“What do you mean?”

“The desire for riches,” Ruban said. “Or the fear of losing the riches they’ve already accumulated. With a functionally unlimited supply of undamaged Aeriel feathers, the government can easily flood the market at their quarterly auctions. Needless to say, that’d drive down the demand for black market feathers.”

“It’d destroy the feather mafia’s entire business model,” Ashwin chimed in. “But it’s not just the mafia that’ll be affected. All the feather refineries that processed those illegally obtained feathers. All the politicians and officials who’ve so far turned a blind eye to the mafia’s activities – and enjoyed the monetary rewards of doing so. Even the smalltime dealers who’d bought feathers from the Qawirsin or any of the other gangs last year, with the intention of reselling them for a profit. They all stand to lose substantial amounts of money, should this alliance prove successful.”

“As Janak Nath’s activities proved last year,” Ruban said. “Not all humans are opposed to allying themselves with Aeriels. Not if there’s a profit to be made from such an alliance. After all, have you never considered how Tauheen was able to steal reinforced sif ores – in such large quantities – before her death? Do you really think Aeriels can find and overtake heavily-guarded sif mines without any inside help?”

“Oh yes, my mother almost certainly had moles within SifCo (or the IAW) when she stole the reinforced sifblade formula. No other way she could’ve known exactly where in the SifCo campus it was being stored.”

Ruban inclined his head, careful to keep his expression solemn, neutral. “Reinforced sif can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, be they human or Aeriel. Hence, the IAW and the Hunter Corps have a duty to ensure that the roll-out process is handled safely and responsibly. That in our haste to win an imaginary battle against Vaan, we don’t end up losing the war to the likes of Janak Nath or some up-and-coming cult leader, who’d use our own weapons against us.”

For a moment, Viman’s eyes were unfocused, gazing unseeingly into the middle distance. Then, he nodded, visibly forcing himself back into the present moment. “You say Tauheen had a mole within the IAW. Yet, you want us to simply take your word for it that you don’t know who…” he glanced at Ashwin. “Or what…that mole is?”

Ruban raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He wasn’t going to make Viman’s job any easier for him. If the man wanted to make an insinuation, he’d have to use his own words to do it.

“Wasn’t the original formula lost when you killed Tauheen?” Viman held Ruban’s gaze as he asked the question. “Four people entered the villa in Ibanborah that night. You, your uncle Subhas Kinoh, Tauheen, and her son Prince Shwaan. You two were the only ones who came out alive. Tauheen and your uncle died inside the house.”

“That’s correct,” Ruban said simply.

“So, how can you be sure that Prince Shwaan didn’t steal the formula that night, after helping you kill his mother? He didn’t even need to have any malicious intentions to do it. From his point of view, he was simply protecting his own people. Doing what he needed to do to ensure that humans wouldn’t have a lethal weapon against his kind.”