Chapter 54

It was good to be back on Lassos where I handed over the memory core to Herrick as he, Amantil and Amanda greeted us.

“No trouble?” Amanda asked.

“Kilios handled it,” I replied. “I saw Aunt Janilla and Uncle Riggs too.”

“Aw, are they OK?”

“Yes, planning a second honeymoon on the Spire,” I chuckled.

“Er ... won’t Spire Security object?”

“This is Kilios. The security AI will have no images available to identify any of them,” I replied with a smile.

“This is correct,” Liono confirmed. “As advanced as their tech base is, Kilios can, if necessary, subvert it.”

“Surprised you aren’t running your own Realm somewhere,” Amanda giggled.

“We have considered it in the past, but decided against it. Too much trouble and work.”

“Tell me about it,” Amantil interjected with a smile.

“Hope the data core tells us who is behind Rogoth,” I added.

“So do I,” Amantil nodded. “Even then, unravelling the truth may still take some time, even if we have actual suspects.”

“Yes,” I sighed, knowing the Empire would not act until it was ready.

“For now, debrief,” Amantil smiled, sensing my frustration. “Then a meal, your family will be joining us for that.”

“Lead on,” I said happily, glad to be home.

“We may need to plan an escape,” Noll informed the group.

“Are the Empire closing in then?” Trask asked with a frown.

“Unfortunately our contact in the Imperial Health Bureaucracy got caught falsifying a test result that we had ordered him to carry out.”

“Oh, the Serenos equivalent?” Vrice enquired.

“Yes. The Roksos Entertainment Management Cartel were using it to excess and a random drug check by Medical Resource tested one of their ... workers and wanted the substance checked against IHB approved treatments,” Noll sighed.

“This is unfortunate, though this contact does not know who we are, surely?”

“He does not. But ImpSec are known to be thorough and will start tracing the chain of payments and although will not find it easy to trace the source, it is rather closer to home than we’d normally like.”

“I see. You are correct. We need to polish up our escape plans, just in case,” Vollt nodded acceptance, as did the others.

Amanda and I were enjoying some free time and so were goofing off in the lower levels of Hrunesh block, cheering on the Dynamo Junior male grav-ball team in a match against the Treeos Devils. The reason for this was Hilli had finally made the Team as a first pick, rather than as a substitute and so the whole family had turned up to see how they, and Hilli in particular, did.

It was a very close match and it was obvious that Treeos were slightly better as a team. However, Hrunesh were proving tenacious and had a more opportunist point attacker in that they, if given a chance, were very accurate in their strikes on goal. Hilli was playing the centre role and assisting both attack and defence. He was clearly coping well, if often let down by his side’s defenders who were caught out of position time and time again by the tactics used by Treeos. Still, with only one rotation to go, Hrunesh had levelled the score, though were under pressure from Treeos who were trying desperately to regain the lead they’d held through most of the match. A fortunate block by a Hrunesh defender saw the ball rebound to Hilli who, seeing an opportunity, made a dash towards the Treeos goal, flanked by the point attacker and who only had the two Treeos defenders and their goal minder to beat with the rest of the Treeos team streaming behind them, having been caught out of position.

Everyone on Treeos seemed to believe Hilli, being the ‘new’ kid, would opt for a ‘death or glory’ throw and so tried to force him wide. However, Hilli just bored in on the goal and released the ball to the point attacker as Treeos were caught slightly out of position giving the point attacker his chance to slot the ball home for a winning goal as the time ran out immediately after the restart.

“Well done, Hilli,” I congratulated him as the team finally emerged from the changing rooms and after he’d had hugs and kisses from his girlfriend and sisters.

“Coach was pleased with my efforts,” he smiled, clearly delighted with his play. “So was Vion, as he never expected me to pass for that last goal.”

“It was the right thing to do,” I nodded. “But yes, everyone expected you to have a go yourself.”

“I might have scored, but Vion was a dead cert to.”

“Probably why you’ll now get a regular slot in the team,” Amanda said as she came up. “Talent and a good team player too, a coach’s dream.”

“Still need to sort out our defence,” Hilli shrugged, looking embarrassed at all the praise he was getting.

“True, but that’s no reflection on you.”

“So, where would you like to go for lunch?” dad offered.

“Could we go to Kersels?” Hilli asked, naming an iced delicatessen specialist in the Royal Mall.

“Kersels it is,” dad chuckled.

“Finally sorted out a date for my new Expo,” I informed the group.

“Ooh, finally!” Mirri replied, looking delighted.

“Yes, will be a big one with works from the Hegemony and Emirate as well as Kansdoorf, Balesia and Tarron.”

“Can’t wait,” she beamed. “Auctioning some coloured stuff too?”

“Yes,” I chuckled as Mirri was very enthusiastic about my work.

“He’ll also be selling some stuff from his wedding sketches too,” Amanda chimed in.

“Any of the diadem trio?” Truna asked as a lift deposited the family and friends outside Kersels.

“No. Aunt Manny asked me not to,” I replied.

“Ah, keeping it special?”

“Yes, though she did have one of Ammie and Vicki shipped to Emir Grigo.”

“Well, they are his daughters,” Truna nodded with a smile. “But yes, I see why she’d want to keep the diadem pictures a rare commodity.”

“People can still buy a print of the official portrait,” Amanda pointed out. “It’s very popular, even amongst ordinary folks.”

“Yes, but a print isn’t a genuine original,” Mirri pointed out.

“No. Which is why Aunt Manny doesn’t want them to become commonplace,” I chuckled. “All part of maintaining the air of mysterious dignity of the Royals in the eyes of her people.”

Once in Kersels, we were joined by other friends of Hilli, including Vicki and Plenna, who had been allowed away early from his job to help celebrate.

“Finals in a binary cycle?” I enquired in conversation with him as Vicki fussed over Mirri who was wearing a gorgeous new outfit in an original style.

“Yes, then Fleet for both of us,” he answered.

“You’ll do OK.”

“I intend to, there’s no way I want to disappoint Vicki or Aunt Manny.”

“Far cry from your wild days,” I chuckled.

“True, but we all have to grow up eventually,” he laughed. “And my wild days weren’t that wild. I had you as an anchor.”

“Going to help at the Expo?”

“If I’m not at work, yes, of course,” he replied as Vicki approached.

“So, what was the Protectorate like?” she asked.

“I didn’t see a lot of it, to be honest,” I replied. “I did a coloured portrait of one family in exchange for some info they had on financing Rogoth and then ran away,” I finished with a chuckle.

“A shame, it’s one of the more interesting societies out there,” she nodded.

“You have an interesting view on a society where the ordinary people pay their government to leave them alone,” I commented, alluding to the Protectorate’s odd form of ruling.

“It’s still a very high-tech society, even for their ordinary folk; so they must be doing something right,” she shrugged.

“I suspect some of it is down to how wealthy their society as a whole is; other parts are down to them ensuring people behave by using the threat of coercion.”

“True, none of those captured at Rogoth and weren’t prosecuted asked for asylum, except that woman and her two children.”

“Pretty sure she had no ties back to Arconia,” I mused. “Their official relationships are very different to their actual relationships.”

“Ah, yes,” she nodded. “Marriage is for children; sex is often used to seal a deal, so married partners are rarely in love with one another.”

“True, the other partner has no say in any negotiations which might involve a sexual act to close it down,” I agreed. “I was told they often have lovers as well.”

“Oh, right.”

“Going to help with the Expo?”

“Yep, looking forward to it, plus Mirri told me where I can get those gorgeous outfits from so I’m going to strut my style,” she giggled.

“Look forward to that,” I laughed.

“That Dayyev is finally doing an Expo,” Vollt informed Noll. “Are you still having him observed?”

“No, we’re avoiding drawing any attention to this group, even by proxy,” Noll replied. “Why?”

“Just wondered if this assassin group would be sticking their noses into our interests again.”

“I suspect they have decided to swallow their pride and accept their humiliation.”

“Good. The fools might just have pointed ImpSec in our direction,” Vollt nodded.

“Yes, it has not been a particularly good year for the group, though we did still come out ahead,” Noll agreed.

“Yes, though I plan to retire and leave the Empire soon. I have enough capital to live comfortably elsewhere.”

“I think we’re all thinking along the same lines,” Noll nodded sagely.

“So, do we think we’ve found the leak on the medical seal mimicker protocols?” Herrick asked Vilgra as they discussed various cases of interest.

“More than think, Monitor Geisach has confessed to various ... misdemeanours in his work at the Imperial Health Bureau going back years to the days of the former Orliantomina Ujuna,” Vilgra replied. “Including the ‘orgy on demand’ drug scandal.”

“And he managed this how?”

“He was paid as a consultant, supposedly for advice on preparing a case for a medical procedural request. Seems some of his clientele were paying him for information and/or cover ups.”

“So we didn’t catch him because it was infrequent?” Herrick queried.

“Infrequent and all technically within his remit, hence he didn’t raise any red flags for the AIs.”

“Hmmm, I’ll speak to Orliantomin Jorulla later to see if anything can be done, though it appears to be a one off.”