Continuation of the briefing for the benefit of those agents of the Sable Intelligence Service  (and others) who were on the Outside on 11th April SY 159.

Please be patient while I get it all in order, as there’s a lot to cover.

Robert de Lacy, King of Sable

Changes Resulting from the Events of 11th April SY159/11th April SY099, continued

No, my Family wasn’t immune to the effects of the timeline change, either. I know that, over the years of the old timeline, many of you not only worked for members of my family, but developed close working relationships, and even friendships, with some of them. I’m afraid that some of these have changed in the new version of reality. Without going into too many personal details, I’ll highlight what you would probably consider the significant ones.

Andrew de Lacy

Of all the changes to the Family during the new timeline, Andrew has been affected most significantly, due to his involvement with the original Technocracy and Machine. Having seen what he wrought the first time, none of myself, Roland or Rupert were willing to let it happen again. It was one of the few points we agreed on from the very start. Elementis was supposed to circumvent the need for the Technocracy, and to a degree it worked, but the decision not to let him build the Centre Power led to a deep and fundamental breakdown of relations between myself and my eldest son. I regret this deeply.

Under the terms of this briefing, what you need to know is that Andrew has never returned to Sable on a permanent basis. Once a somewhat different Technocracy was built (SY120), he focused the majority of his efforts there. He has never rejoined the Sable military hierarchy, although he has consulted on occasion.

In terms of personal relations between myself and Andrew, that’s a very different story. He’s never forgiven me for, inter alia: a) my part in trying to make sure he never Created, b) my friendship with Rupert Delatz,  or c) the fact that about six years ago, he spent a year dead for tax reasons, following a severe disagreement that had unexpected consequences. In co-ordinated efforts between Sable and the Technocracy, he deals primarily with Will and James, Will’s son. Contact between Andrew and myself, however, is kept to a minimum by mutual agreement. If it happens at all, it’s usually at Family gatherings.

While he does spend time on Prime, the Technocracy’s new home in Veil 100, since his return to the land of the living, Andrew has spent most of his time on the Outside, at the External Nexus.

Dominic de Lacy-Ellis

A few months after the building of Murray and the connection of Sable to the Aurellis Transport System, and therefore the Outside, Dominic decided to leave Sable permanently, and return to his wife’s homeland, Thelbane (the Outside equivalent of Aurellis). As you may remember, after his father, Andrew, disappeared following the death of his wife, Dominic became my Crown Prince. In the old timeline, he remained such until Andrew took back the title in July SY154. This time, he chose to abdicate all rights and privileges as early as October SY106. Since then, while he has visited occasionally, his presence is even less common in Sable than his father’s. Needless to say, this means that as well as leaving Sable, he never became King of Murray.

Francis de Lacy

In the old timeline, I believe you’ll be well aware that over the years, Francis became one of the most gifted commanders in the Sable army, rising to the rank of Field Marshal. Indeed, by the SY150s, he had become the most important “floating” commander in the Sable forces, often being deployed to particularly difficult theatres of operations. You probably last remember him being sent to Lowell, after the assassination of Travis Heinemann. This is no longer the case, because following Dominic’s departure, and with the continued absence of his father, Francis became my Crown Prince in November SY106. Moreover, for reasons I don’t intend to go into here, he later proved himself even further by spending three months as my Regent in SY153.

He’s still a damned good general, but he has less freedom to serve on the front lines due to his position. As a result, he was never appointed as Commander of the Shadow-based Sable Army, but is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sable (the home defence force).

William de Lacy

As in the old timeline, Will remains Lord Protector of Sable, and Commander-in-Chief of the Sable Forces. Of those who would be considered the “senior” Royals, his circumstances are the least changed, with one exception. He and his wife, Sarah (still sadly deceased) were blessed with an unexpected second child, a daughter named Evelyn, in SY102.

James de Lacy

In the old version of things, James was the Regent of Murray from its establishment in SY113 until Dominic became King in the SY150s. As it turned out, the changeover was a useful move, as it freed him up to become one of our significant “floating” commanders. This time through, he was again my first choice as Regent when Murray was established, but with Dominic’s effectively permanent departure less than a year later, and Francis’s promotion within the Royal Family, James was recalled to Sable. His capabilities are a military leader are third only to William O’Connor and his own father, Prince William. As such, he has taken the place that Francis can no longer occupy, as our senior troubleshooter. Hence this time around it’s James, not Francis, who is currently in Lowell.

Much as I would like to appoint him Commander of the Sable Army one day, at the moment he’s far more useful to Sable in a less restricted capacity.

Emily de Lacy

In the old timeline, Emily worked primarily for the Sable Diplomatic Service. I believe some of you even accompanied her on a tour of the Caulder Quadrant of the Commonwealth. With hindsight (foresight), looking at Rallissa’s original timeline, I came to realise at by using her as little more than a goodwill ambassador (except on the occasions when she undertook personal commissions for me), I was doing a significant disservice to her and her abilities. This time, I resolved to correct that. The opportunity came when I had to recall James from Murray, and I asked her to replace him as Regent. The fact that she chose that moment to tell me that she was married to a Wehrmacht officer was a bit of a surprise, but when I met Daniel, I realised that they were a good match, a excellent team, and very happy together.

Their children were born slightly earlier this time through, and Elanor married Jorge von Klieburg slightly earlier as well.