Chapter 17

It was several hundred rotations before our group could assemble as we had to wait for Amanda who had been in consultations with the Imperial Embassy. It was over a demand couched as a request from the senior Duke leading the most powerful Ducal Fleet. The ‘request’ was to supply advanced weaponry in defiance of the new trade protocols. Amanda had assisted the High Bureaucrat to send a polite but dismissive reply telling the senior Duke just where to get off. Her signature would give the reply far more weight than would normally be the case in the class ridden politics of Gershon. Amanda had also informed Jessin of the attempt, though more as a courtesy as Jessin was very much aware of the situation.

“So, this Duke Vernissilia appears to be behind a lot of the various assembly plants in Vimeaon?” Amanda asked.

“According to the locals, yes,” I nodded.

“Good work, Dayyev,” Verlig replied. “The Registorum Nobilis was a dead end as it placed the known owner as the actual owner, something we knew not to be the case.”

“So far only the son of Duke Vernissilia has made any appearances, though he’s unlikely to be working alone,” I added.

“Where would Vernissilia keep any records ... assuming he does?” Amanda asked.

“It would be at his residence AI ... assuming it’s simply not committed to memory,” Haelee replied.

“Unlikely to be committed to memory,” Verlig replied thoughtfully. “These Nobles are so paranoid they’ll have wanted some guarantees of any contracts to do with the Empire ... or rather just who they are actually dealing with.”

“Seems likely,” Amanda nodded. “I’ll pass the info about his real activities on to Myrialis ... assuming Jerra and Raisa don’t.”

“Myrialis needs to remove a blind spot on the intelligence capabilities of the commoners, as well,” I added.

“I’ll pass that on too, as unwelcome as such advice is likely to be for her.”

“Definitely missing a trick if she doesn’t begin to use them,” Torric chuckled.

“True, but their Realm, their prejudices,” Amanda replied with a smile. “How did your enquiries go, Torric?”

“The medical clinics are also aware that the named Noble isn’t the one actually in charge of most of the assembly plants, though couldn’t give me a name,” Torric replied. “They are, however, often in dispute with them as the payments for centres are supposed to come directly from the Nobles but are often unaccountably delayed. They suspect the reason is the need to send it further up the food chain to get approval.”

“Seems likely if the Nobles aren’t in charge of the purse strings,” Amanda nodded.

“No doubt that will interest Jessin and Myrialis as well,” Verlig chuckled.

“I think so,” Amanda replied. “I am wondering if Duke Vernissilia is a little over-extended too.”

“It is possible, though we won’t know unless we can look at his books,” I noted.

“In the meanwhile, I need you all to be on your guard, apparently there are rumblings that a cabal of the Nobles are extremely put out with us and may seek to mete out some sort of lesson,” Amanda warned.

“Any idea who?” Torric asked.

“No, the information came from the Embassy, not the Gershonians.”

“It seems likely to be aimed at me after the lesson given to Ramantiliar,” I chuckled. “But that does also mean they’ll seek to embarrass you as well, my love.”

“Possibly, though getting past Trusha would prove somewhat of a challenge,” Amanda smiled.

“Too true,” Trusha added with a smile. “It’s likely that if it does happen it will occur tomorrow when you visit the opening of the new orphanage wing that the Royal Charitable Trust set up.”

“Hmm, possibly,” Amanda nodded. “Could you contact Sakla to ask him to nose around, please?”

“Yes, Serenissimé.”

“Otherwise, I believe we should all take a look at Duke Vernissilia’s palace tonight, if only to see if we can circumvent his security.”

“Yes, Serenissimé,” we all replied.

We all assembled later that evening at the maglev entrance, just as it was going dark. As Amanda wanted all our bodyguards to have a look at the palace, she was with us, dressed as we all were in sombre coveralls with a holo-disguise overlay.

“We’re just here to nose around tonight,” Trusha informed us all. “No risks, even if an opportunity arises.”

“No problem,” we all agreed.

The maglev took us to another pre-installed destination and we used the AI in orbit in the Gloriana to make our way to our destination of the palace of Duke Vernissilia.

“Serious pretensions of grandeur,” Amanda murmured as we gazed at a huge over-decorated edifice that took the term ugly to a new standard from my artistic view.

“Yep, I just have got to get this down ... mostly as a reminder to others of what not to do,” I chuckled.

“Memorise it, we have work to do,” Trusha chided me.

“Spoilsport,” I laughed as I set off behind Liono along with Torric, with Verlig and Haelee following Sakla and Amanda following Trusha.

“Life sensors built into the wall,” Torric warned.

“No surprise there,” Liono nodded.

“AI should be able to fool them, they’re hardly state of the art.”

“Need to find an access channeler. The AIs can do it remotely, but it takes a lot of processing power and this isn’t an Imperial world where they can double up on tasks,” Liono replied.

“Seems to be an access point over there,” I pointed. “It’ll be alarmed though.”

“Yes, doubt they are that stupid as to not protect their data-streams,” Liono agreed. “Not that alarming it will help them.”

Liono led us over to the hatch and began scanning it with one of her ‘hacking’ tools. Something that was highly illegal in any Realm, but pretty much used by all intelligence services. I had been taught its use by a Monitor working for ImpSec, though in this case left it to the real expert.

“Detecting life signs approaching the wall,” Torric warned. “Suspect it’s a patrol, but I’ll warn if they come through somewhere.”

“Good, though I’m almost finished here putting a back door into their system. We’ll be able to remote monitor them from the Royal Palace now,” Liono nodded.

“I think they’re scanning further out, though my wand should prevent any return,” Torric warned.

“I’m finished,” Liono replied. “Let’s move further back and observe.”

Cautiously we moved back towards the urban boundary as Torric used his wand to keep an eye ... so to speak, on the team inside the palace wall.

“Any idea who or what they are scanning for?” I asked as we ‘hunkered down’ at a wall and simply kept an eye on the well-lit palace boundary.

“Don’t think it was us, we never approached that closely,” Liono replied with a frown.

“Does seem very unlikely ... hold on, detecting some sort of animal,” Torric added. “Ah, it’s a holbein, that’s what has them curious.”

“Probably from the outer woods to the south,” Liono replied.

“Likely, their sensors will just be picking up the same mass as a human.”

“Hence the specialised team to intercept it,” I nodded.

“Yes, they’re packing up now, looks like they have it tagged.”

“Good, let’s continue the mission,” Liono nodded as we slipped back out into the darkness.

“Results?” Amanda asked, once we’d reassembled back at the Royal Palace.

“Security is paranoid and ill-equipped,” Liono began. “I’ve placed a backdoor into their AI systems that the Gloriana is currently hacking to get various command functions.”

“My medical wand was easily able to shield us from a mobile detection device they used when they did detect a holbein,” Torric added.

“Main entrance is well fortified and is also manned as well as studded with detection devices,” Trusha went over her discoveries. “No real surprises, their equipment on the gate is not state of the art, nor would their guards be any impediment should we decide to go in heavy.”

“We won’t, but thank you anyway,” Amanda replied dryly.

“They appear to believe the perimeter facing the woods is their most vulnerable section,” Sakla informed us. “Lots of detection gear ... if pretty crude. Probably how they detected that wandering holbein.”

“Yes, though the holbeins in the woods may prove a useful distraction if we can attract them out,” Verlig mused.

“I can get the AIs to whip up an attractor pheromone,” Torric informed us.

“Should work, so long as they do not detect it themselves,” Trusha nodded.

“I have obtained information on a plot to embarrass you tomorrow,” Sakla warned Amanda.

“I presume you have nullified it?” Amanda queried.

“We will have by the time you attend, Serenissimé,” Sakla confirmed. “I have Gershonian security investigating who is behind it, and I have prepared a response to those involved.”

“What was planned,” I asked.

“They intended to cause an incident where children would be crushed or trampled when her Serenissimé appeared.”

“Nasty,” Haelee frowned.

“Very, but I will deal with those who intend to instigate it before her Serenissimé arrives.”

“Permanently?” I asked.

“All but the ringleader. These are children, after all.”

“Good,” Amanda nodded, clearly angry.

“Need any help?” Liono asked.

“I shouldn’t, though backup will be welcome.”

“Trusha?”

“I can protect both of them,” Trusha nodded.

“Good, we’ll let you deal with it. I’m sure Jessin would like to know who could be so callous as to endanger children just to embarrass me,” Amanda added firmly.

The following morning, after a superb breakfast, we were taken by flyer to the Corbydalis Children’s Hospital and Orphanage that was a joint venture between the Gershonian Crown and the Imperial Embassy. It had been set up by Jessin after the Raffagean war to look after the orphaned children of the various Fleets who had lost both parents, or, in a few cases, had been abandoned by them. This had come about after a minor scandal involving children being used for slave labour by some of the municipal orphanages controlled by the Nobility. The reputation of the Orphanage had grown over the years as the Imperial Embassy provided aid by way of a modern AI system for both education and healing.

Naturally it was loathed by the conservative block of the Nobles as it forced them to spend a lot of Crowns to update and improve their own orphanages to deflect the opprobrium that came their way from the investigation into the slavery issue.

“Lot of children,” Amanda quizzed as the flyer descended.

“There were a lot of casualties in the Ducal Fleets that fought the Raffagee,” the AI explained. “The Nobility at the time were unable to cope and refused to assist the remaining parents or their children. Princess Royal Jessin stepped in when it became obvious that the children were having to be abandoned by desperate mothers and fathers who were having to seek employment elsewhere, always intending to reclaim their children afterwards.”

“I take it there was scant chance of this?” I asked.

“The Nobility were only interested in taking on fit and skilled adults, not their children. Nor, once you leave a Noble’s territory, are you permitted easy transit back.”