I doubt it'll come up any time soon. But thanks for the gesture.

Plants won't do so well in electric light, that's probably a solvable problem but I don't know how to mess with it. She sends a memory of sunlight. That's the spectrum my world's plants are calibrated for, if it'll help.

Ours are probably used to the Trees, but there should be a way to make light in the right range - might just be a question of which metals you're running it through, I'm not sure, I'll give the engineers a heads-up...

I'm sure it's not impossible, but I'm in no position to say how.

You know everyone in the other camps doesn't know about the ships, they think you're in a position to send over exactly the right things and are intentionally delaying. I'm keeping your secret, but is that still necessary? From the practitioners, at least. You don't have to worry about getting political advantage relative to your father if you know they'll regard that other thing as a betrayal...

True. It's probably safe now for them to know, I'm in a better position to convince my father I'm not working against him.

Oh, if it's safe to tell them in general that's even better.

This is definitely doing the incentives thing Findekáno was worried about. But it's not as if anyone would want to stay deceived to hurt Maitimo, probably...

Give me two or three days to frame it for my father before he hears it from our spies, but yes.

Can do.

Might obviate part of Findekáno's letter, I don't know what's in there.

I'm pretty sure I do. Anyway, thanks. 

You're welcome.

Exit either stage or regular up, with the returned goods and a time-delayed bit of important news.

The returned goods are appreciated and distributed.

And she still can't say Maitimo wasn't stalling. She waits a few days before breaking the news.

Findekáno? You're going to want to know this.

Yes?

The ships. Maitimo's innocent. Couldn't say until now because his father confuses dissent and disloyalty, and he didn't want to look disloyal. So that's why the multiple atrocities didn't prove loyalty, he was still making up for not doing the second one.

Did he swear to this - was he clever about it -

Swore he tried to prevent it. And that, having failed, he didn't participate. He didn't swear to the reasons for keeping it secret.

Thank you.

I've known all along, since the first time I went to talk to him. He told me on condition I swear to keep the secret, but now he's got his father adequately convinced.

On account of having neatly pulled off another betrayal. I wonder if that's part of why he did it, for the freedom of action with his father -

- not that it matters -

Might be. If he predicted me. I thought you should know anyway, maybe everyone else now that it's not secret.

Well, more people at least. If it's everyone we'd risk shouts of 'all hail Maitimo, the token reasonable one,' since most don't know about the other betrayal. Then we're back to provoking Fëanáro to get back into politics.

Which is the outcome he claims he wanted to avoid by not telling us?

One of them. The change since then only applies to practitioners, but from Maitimo's point of view his father retaking some authority because he's angry at us is probably pretty similar to his father doing the same because he doesn't trust him.

And his father has presumably been fully apprised of what he pulled off and how, so he trusts him more.

Yup. Doesn't mean he won't resume kinging badly if our population starts cheering Maitimo, but at least the truth isn't completely secret now.

People will have mixed feelings. It's good to know he didn't participate, but he still failed to stop it and is working very devotedly to prove his loyalty to a dangerous lunatic.

It's strictly less evil than the alternative, got to give him that much. Excessive loyalty is very true, though.

You were the one he made that promise to. Is it any better, now that you know that was him failing instead of lying?