-Abraham Lincoln

"I don't recognize that military rank, but… considering Moira sent you here to meet with her, myself, and whoever else she decided to invite without telling me anything," John began, not the least bit bitter about the situation, "I can only assume you're either the leader or one of the top officers of the Forgotten Legion. Moira has told me very little of your organization."

"She knows relatively little, at least what is not already public information. We prefer it that way. Our relationship with the Order has not always been the friendliest, and we have no reason to believe that this alliance will last longer than is convenient for either side."

"So why make it at all? Seems a bit inconvenient to be relying on someone to not stab you in the back, even if it is only long enough to take out someone as shitty as the Cabal."

"We have deemed it worthwhile, for the time being. The Cabal is a threat worth eliminating, and the risks the Order poses are small enough to us to warrant such an agreement."

John eyed the woman warily, uncertain of her motivations. Moira had only mentioned the Forgotten Legion in passing; she had never once described their origins, their motivations, or why the Order had once supposedly been in direct conflict with them but now considered them allies worthy of trusting in a war that they were apparently not fully prepared to launch alone.

"What has the Cabal done to your Legion that is worthy of extermination?"

"They have done little to us… directly," Julia noted, shrugging, "but they have no sense of loyalty, and certainly no sense of honor. They have even attempted to ally themselves with the Albidian Society recently, much to our chagrin. To turn to such a filthy group of inhuman slavers… it would seem the remnants of the Cabal maintained all the moral integrity of their origins."

"I guess I can understand that," John noted thoughtfully, shrugging as he continued, "slavery seems like something a lot of organizations could stand against."

John could not begin to imagine what he had said that was so abhorrent, but Julia looked at him as a man who'd spat on her armor.

"Our problem is not with slavery, it is with the treatment of those they have enslaved. The Albidian Society has no morals for how they treat their own slaves, and they hold no regard for whom they sell them to. I would have thought you would be intimately familiar with that, by now, as well as our own stances on the matter… how sheltered has this women kept you, pray tell?"

"I have protected John from the influence of those who would harm him where I felt it necessary. I have hidden nothing of your organization, nor the Albidian Society, though I will admit he has not inquired a great deal into either group of his own will."

Moira strode in through the front door like she- well, actually, she did technically own the place. Still, as its current inhabitant, John was rather annoyed at how casually she strode in. Moira showed no signs of hesitance in front of the woman who had John fully on edge, but all the same she kept her distance as she positioned herself halfway between the kitchen and the living room, carefully eyeing everyone present.

"Ignorance is no excuse. It is a fault as severe as any other… far worse than most. And in a world so treacherous as ours, ignorance comes from lack of exposure, not from genuine disinterest."

"John has been assaulted, kidnapped, and had his own home invaded. Not, I would emphasize, at the same time for any of the three. Any ignorance he has is his own fault, not mine."

John narrowed his eyes at Moira, struggling to find a way to shoot back at her but coming up dramatically short. If Julia was truly so off-put by his lack of knowledge, no amount of hot-headed insults would fix that.

"Well, he certainly has the air of an uninitiated about him… perhaps time will change that. All you need to know for now, John Newman, is that the Forgotten Legion has - at the moment - more reasons to topple the Cabal than to sit on the sidelines. That is enough for us to aid you."

"What a rousing-"

"John," Moira warned, her voice low, "whatever it is you are about to say, I would recommend you consider the effects it might have upon our allies before speaking it aloud."

John strangled the words in his throat, but it was less out of a proper hesitance than the disbelief he felt at seeing Moira kowtowing to a slaver. His expression must have conveyed as much to her, because when Moira met his eyes she stepped forward and spoke in such low tones that even John might not have heard her if her lips weren't pressed against his ears.

"This meeting was only called because we are ready to strike at the Cabal's heart," Moira hissed, shaking her head subtly. "Do not mistake a sudden manifestation of a conscience for true morality. Losing the support of the Forgotten Legion at this point would only result in unnecessary casualties, and they gain less than we do from the absence of a Cabal's influence over the region."

"Whispering is less effective when the person you are attempting to deceive can see you conspiring," Julia countered, rolling her eyes as Moira wheeled on her.

"Merely reminding my vassal of who he serves… and the purpose of this meeting, which - if I am not mistaken - we have not yet addressed."

"I will assume the veil of one who believes such blatant lies," Julia scoffed, "so that we may proceed in a timely manner and avoid any opportunities for the Cabal to oppose us. I assume that even if your contractors have been left in the dark, your soldiers are ready and able to begin this joint ****?"

"The Order and the Moon Clan are both ready. What of the Legion?"

"We are ready as ever. The moment we leave this safehouse, I will give the order for them to move out and rally with the alliance."

"Okay, seriously, will someone tell me what we're doing before we go anywhere?"

Julia raised an eyebrow and cast a surprised glance between Moira and John. For her part, Moira simply looked further annoyed, jaw clenching as Julia smirked her way.

"I will tell you what you need to know - what you already know. We are in a war, John Newman. Unlike the Cabal, we do not haphazardly strike and pray that our enemies are foolish and disorganized enough to fall before a few quick strikes, but at last the time has come. Our forces are united, a plan has been set into motion, and the Cabal will know the fury of those who stand against such toxic clusters of inhumanity.

"I see that communication is, as always, a strong point among your men. No matter, so long as they can swing a weapon I suppose that we can use them in our battles."

"We leave in three minutes," Moira warned, glaring at Julia. The smirk never left the ivory-haired woman's face as she turned and strode out the door, presumably to contact her own troops. Moira focused her gaze back on John the moment that the door closed once more.

"What are you thinking?" Moira hissed, shaking her head with disbelief. "Do you want the entirety of Springfield to assume the Order is falling apart at the seams?"

"No, I want to know what you've signed me up for!" John growled, raising himself up and matching her intensity. "I agreed to fight for you, but I assumed you would at least give me the decency of telling me when and where I'd be risking my life. I know you don't trust me, but you could give me more warning than a few vague text messages when you want to send us off to battle."

"I cannot inform you of everything, John. This plan has been pushed back and altered so many times over the past few days due to the various circumstances of the war that I hardly told my own Knights to ready their equipment; I certainly did not inform any of them of the exact time of the plan we were concocting!"

"And why not?" John asked, grimacing. "Besides, you cannot expect the same behavior from your Knights and from myself. Blind faith may be the Order's creed, but it is not mine."

"I'm well aware - if it were, you'd not have embarrassed me in front of the Legion and shown the weakness of our alliance!"

Moira was keeping her voice low, but she whispered with a fury that betrayed her outwardly calm appearance. Striding closer, Moira pointed toward the doorway without breaking eye contact with John.

"Understand this, John - there is no righteousness at play here. The Forgotten Legion are a remnant of a long-lost empire fond of slavery and domination by ****. The Moon Clan, while noble and moral, hold grudges as few may and will not forget any signs that an ally is unstable or unreliable when it comes to holding their interests and living up to any militaristic agreements. Lady Arista follows only who has the most coin for the least risk, and the Fateweavers often follow the same rules. There is no situation, ever, in which you questioning me or making demands in front of another faction will strengthen our position, or yours. The difference between whether a warrior stands beside you or stands against you is the strength of your arms and the size of your shield. Shift the balance and they can shift sides in an instant."

"So you would demand loyalty yet act as if no one around you is capable of such a thing?" John asked, scoffing at the absurdity.

"I would," Moira agreed, nodding seriously. "And that is the very reason the Order still stands."

As if that justified all that had transpired, Moira strode toward the door without even glancing over her shoulder.