Far Future Ch. 180 – Ah, the Price of Nobility

I was hustled to the Castle politely but firmly, and they didn't really bother to speak to me anymore. I just put the Seal away, smiled politely back, and got sent to where I wanted to go.

They had muttered into their comlinks and sent word ahead, but I wasn't worried. I was very sure that both the Dukes Twilight would be gathered by the time I got there.

I was escorted with a bare minimum of politeness up to the offices of the Duke Coronal. I noted the differences in the richness of the ornamentation, money spent on ego-stroking adornments that were replaced on Janus by memoriums of those who had fallen in service of the Emperor. These were more about the glorious achievements and victories of the Coronals, mindswords swinging. I noted sapphire dominated the color hues...

The office of the Duke Coronal was quite plush, with real leather, gold-veined ornamental stone, not a hint of dust, and ornaments of rare Energized metals emitting subtle melanges of light in two spectrums. The secretary was male, and looking down his aquiline nose at everyone as we arrived. He had the air and posture of the noble-born, meaning he was probably an insufferable twit.

"This is the reprobate who dared misuse our Order's funds?" he sniffed, his vowels rolling in the most arrogant manner he could.

Chalice dropped down into my hand, and ignited in a flash of gold.

Five Stars burned on her blade, two Suns rotated, and she began to drone in a manner that shook the bones of everyone around me.

My escort scattered instantly as I kept walking forwards.

"The Dukes Twilight can wait to see me until we address your rudeness on the dueling grounds," I hissed sharply enough to cut paper, my hair fluttering behind me in my own auburn-hued custom cloak.

His sneering expression became almost laughable panic as he counted the five Stars and realized he was dealing with a post-Ten. Oh, and an incoming Intimidate check at 50+. I would be amazed if this twat could handle a 25.

His sense of self-preservation reached up, dragged away his sneer, and replaced it with fawning subservience. "M-my apologies, my Lady! I did not realize I was dealing with a senior!" Whole beads of sweat were suddenly across his forehead, and his knees were shaking visibly as I Glared At Him. "Who...who shall I say has come to call upon the Dukes Twilight?"

"Colonel Sama Rantha, under Twilight Seal." I reached in to my vest pocket, popped out the Seal, and displayed it for him as his eyes almost bulged out.

HAH, the bastards behind me hadn't told him about the Twilight Seal. I guessed he was a popular fellow. Grym caught the shadow of their smirks, which might have gotten a little bit wider when I gave them a thumbs-up behind my back.

"Y-yes, right away." He looked pointedly at the desk, and a diode lit up. Obviously we were under observation. "P-Please enter, Colonel Rantha!" The wooden doors, which I was sure from some extinct species of hardwood halfway across the galaxy (Marbled Stonewood from Corpusti III, I was informed by Emma, a Natural Sculptor) opened silently to admit me.

I gave the jerk a long last Withering Glare, and he melted back into his chair before I pulled Chalice back up into my arm, the golden soulblade snapping away, and I skated along an inch above the plush carpet within.

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The doors closed silently behind me. The twat gasped loudly in relief, and my escort also flinched as they were released from my presence.

"Emperor. We were going to start a fight with her?" hissed Dame Towagers, staring at the closed doors.

"The fight would have ended before we could start it," murmured Inquistor Coffins, his eyes dark enough to do credit to his name. "A five-star mindblade. I've only ever seen three in my life." His eyes flickered. "Her name isn't in any database we have, which is impossible for anyone with five Stars. Where did she come from?"

"If the Dukes want us to know, we'll know," Towagers replied, and tilted her head as a voice spoke to her there. "We can go."

The Inquisitor didn't question her, and they and their Strikers left the office and the secretary who hadn't quite managed to hold onto his piss.

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Three men stood to greet me as I came into the spacious corner office with a magnificent high view of the core of the city behind it. Mentat Tower, the Crownspire of the government, the lesser Spires dropping away in size as they increased in distance from the Central Spire of Kolosti Prime. A thousand miles of skyways wound between them even from here, and multiple levels of airborne flightways complimented all of them.

We wouldn't mention the sprawling, shadowed darkness of the lower city's countless Downspire bloks and the Underspires who never saw the sun... Kolosti Prime was in excess of five billion souls, so it could eat a couple Janus Prime's...

The Coronal Duke was a shorter man, with dark hair, a trim mustache, hard eyes, and the body language of a chip on his shoulder. He moved with deft precision and projected an air of command and authority... with the underlying impression to me that he was afraid people wouldn't notice him if he didn't. He definitely didn't like the fact that he had to look up to a woman, I could tell... and he probably really enjoyed ordering around people taller than him, like his twat of a secretary.

The Umbran Duke was tall, sallow, and moved in a lazy manner, but his eyes were working and scheming with every breath he took. He looked like he wanted to peer inside my head and find out everything I was thinking, and was only holding himself back somewhat after seeing my display outside.

The third man was Marquis de Krov, smiling and happy to see me, a finely carved wooden box in his hands.

"Your Graces." I glided up, felt them twitch at my presence, ignored it as I executed a perfect bow, and finished it off with a somewhat more casual salute. "I am Colonel Sama Rantha of Janus Prime's Planetary Guard, here under Twilight Seal. A pleasure to meet you both. If I may?" I held out the Seal, and its display winked up again.

The Marquis should have been quivering in his boots if he was sane. Alas, he wasn't; he was my pet, which kept him pretty relaxed.

"I am Duke Vilfemmes of the Coronal Knights; this is my counterpart, Duke Kasper of the Fallen Moon. I have been told you know the Marquis de Krov." We both nodded. "Excellent. As you please, Colonel." Vilfemmes gestured at the big ornamental desk that seemed to dwarf the man behind it, and I skated forwards to set down the Seal, retreating and only moving half a step yet ten feet in both directions as I did so.

He noticed that, and gestured me to a seat as he and his counterpart took out their Regalia of office. The Seal immediately reacted to their presence. There was technopsi handshakes, mutual identification, and the spinning twin symbols flashed and resolved into the images of Duke Rimval and Parablum.

"Greetings from the Twilight Orders on Janus III," Duke Parablum's commanding voice echoed out in the air. I noticed Vilfemmes' eye twitch, and knew he was instantly confirming the identity and position of the others. "I am Duke Honus Parablum of the Coronal Knights of the Janus system. This is my counterpart, Duke Rimval of the Order of the Fallen Moon.

"I do not know which of my counterparts I am addressing. This message was entrusted to Colonel Sama Rantha for delivery to the other side of the Rift. If you are hearing it, it means that she was able to find a way around the Rift to you."

Their eyes shot over to me in shock and intrigue. This was bigger than they had expected, by a very good margin.

"To secure her help, a substantial reward was offered for successful delivery, given the odds of failure. Please authorize payment for her successful services. I am sure that she has already prepared a proper report and debrief for your perusal."

I nodded slowly, my fingers steepled, saying nothing.

They looked at the number, considered what I had done, and two confirmations came down. Systems cycled elsewhere, accessed my Band and the new accounts I had already set in place, and my seed money slid into my accounts, marvelously efficient and all.

"Colonel Rantha's primary mission was to deliver knowledge of a remarkable new form of neo-psychic energy that was discovered inadvertently here on Janus III. This energy has been given the name of Vivus, and her primary mission was to see that the specifications, testing data, and system of forging and utilizing items with vivus were spread across the galaxy before the Warp could stop it.

"If she is meeting you, then that means her primary mission has been executed.

"I will need to inform you that there will be immediate fallout from this mission as the Warp attempts to quash knowledge of vivus as rapidly as it can, judging what happened when we disseminated it throughout our sector. Please be aware of this, although similar warnings were included in the basic data package sent out."

Duke Rimval took over. "Within the Seal she carries is also contained relevant intelligence of events and movements on the far side of the Rift that have occurred since its establishment," his naturally dark voice went on grimly. "Although we are expecting neither reply nor relief, there is a great deal of relevant information extending from both sides of the Rift that only became apparent after it arose, with rippling consequences. I am certain that your analysts will find it thought-provoking."

"Colonel Rantha, your Twilight Seal is revoked. Thank you for your service."

I lifted an eyebrow, nothing more. The images of the two Janus Dukes flickered off, and the Seal and its precious load of data waited there for retrieval.

It slid by itself across the massive desk to the Umbran Duke, and disappeared the instant it touched his fingers.

"A report, Colonel?" Vilfemmes inquired.

My Band flicked up, and I waved a file transfer to him. His desk accepted it, popped it up, and both of them raised eyebrows at the size of it.

"If you could summarize, Colonel?" Duke Kasper asked languidly.

"We stumbled upon a Drow gate to the Underweb. I made my way through it to Gloomheart, and there found a certain human engaging in mercantile transactions with the drow, who also happened to hail from the far side of the Rift. I snuck myself onto his ship, took control of said individual, and had him and his fleet sail themselves to the nearest Castle and Dungeon to execute my primary mission," I explained succinctly.

Their startled eyes once again turned to the smiling Marquis de Krov. "Mercantile transactions?" Duke Vilfemmes asked archly.

"Over the past century, he has supplied more than one billion humans to the drow for slavery and sacrifice, in return gaining advanced technology, biotech, psitech, and rare Elements for trade. It has been quite the profitable exchange for him." Marquis de Krov nodded without blinking an eye, quite cheerful about it under the flat and cold eyes of the two Dukes. Power began to hum in the air, but that was ignored, too.

"You have... evidence of this?" Duke Kasper asked softly, eagerly even.

I flipped up another few files on my Band, sent them over. "Personal logs of all twelve Captains, their first officers, and their financial transactions since the Marquis gained his Writ." I steepled my fingers again. "By the terms of his Writ, I believe the Umbrans should have shot him approximately twenty months after he got his Writ and sent his first million refugees off to the slave pits of Gloomheart."

Both Dukes had rather frightening frowns on their faces. Dealing with aliens was something free captains did, and they could look the other way. But selling off humans, betraying the species to them for personal gain, was treason of the highest order.

The Marquis de Krov was a dead man, and yet, here he was, smiling. Their eyes turned slowly to me, back, forth, wondering what hold I had over him.

"In return for the service of bringing the good Marquis' actions to the attention of the Orders, I would like you to serve as a witness." I held out my hand casually, and de Krov handed over the wooden box. I popped it open, and held it so his Writ was displayed to the two Dukes Twilight.

The frowns suddenly became quite thoughtful...