Now, though, with the decision point so close and the invasion to follow shortly afterward, that no longer seemed adequate. To improve his odds, he'd have to go further. As much as the idea galled him, he'd have to put aside his own agenda until things returned to normal after the invasion—if they did—and cooperate to the best of his ability.
That would be tremendously difficult. Even his grudged cooperation hadn't been easy … He took a deep breath, sighed again. Life was more important than the pride that had been his downfall; he'd do what was necessary to preserve that life now, and worry about pride later. If Odeon made the correct decision and the invasion resulted in war rather than simple massacre, faith and worship would be far more important weapons than ships and disruptors; he'd have to begin actively promoting both, even though he didn't share either.
He took time to grimace at that repulsive thought, then he settled down to work with the information he'd gotten from Odeon. What should his—and the Church's—official position be? Positions, rather, with this Communion of Promise Cortin had instituted at Odeon's urging. That, unlike the Sealing he couldn't officially know about, was both public and taking place in church, though not—quite—as part of the Mass.
He would be expected to condemn both that and the Families, as Cortin anticipated—but should he? It was a delicate question, since his first priority had to be doing what little more he could to prepare Odeon for his critical choice, working through and around Cortin while awaiting the Protector-to-be's arrival. Then came the propagation of faith and worship.
He smiled slowly. He might be able to derive some amusement, if not pleasure, from this full cooperation after all, if he did it properly. He'd never been accused of moderation, for excellent reason, and saw no reason to change that particular aspect of himself.
Back Cortin and her team—now become a Family—to the hilt, then. That would serve both his modified purposes, with the side benefit of confusing the Sealed ones, who knew his identity, no end. Since the only thing he could know about by normal means right now was the Communion of Promise, and he wanted to make the greatest impact he could on the Sealed ones, he'd simply announce he was studying the prophecies and would issue a decision later; conditionally, he'd allow them to continue.
As for the Families and Strike Force, he could undoubtedly trust Sara to publicize them as soon as she was permitted to, probably after the convent raid. That would be good timing, since the raid's aftermath would provide Odeon and, incidentally, Cortin, the last of his pre-decision lessons. He'd contact them after Sara's stories were published, invite the Protector's Herald and acting Protector to concelebrate Mass—though since he was now helping her, perhaps he shouldn't mention the Protector role. Nor would he have to be concerned about her powers any longer, since her truthsense would assure her he was no longer—for now, at any rate—a threat.
And what about the Brotherhood? It had served him well, his doubles and Victor in particular, increasing the population of his realm quite nicely. That, however, was no longer his objective—worked against the faith-and-worship weapon system, in fact. He'd have to order it disbanded, urge the members to repent their sins and return to the Church and sacraments. They'd still have to pay the worldly penalty for their crimes, but as long as they ended up in Purgatory rather than Hell, they could still contribute. Again, not until after the convent raid, and he'd have to work through one of his doubles.
Unfortunately, he'd also have to change his plans for the Imperials once that crucial contact was made. It would have been pleasant to torment them, make them special targets—but that would be counterproductive.
Ah, well, life over pride, he reminded himself. And he'd wasted enough time; he had an audience to conduct, then he should see what he could do about special devotions that large numbers of people would find attractive.