Completely oblivious of the turmoil engulfing the palace, with the exception of the Dark Lord, Frosta Kuns arrived on time at the fourteenth period for his appointment with the said Dark Lord.

Greeted cordially and bemused by the Ladies in attendance, Kuns pledged his loyalty to his sovereign. Terrified that he might be tainted by the traitorous activities of Tama Priestas and Tim Deuris, he protested his innocence of any conspiracy against the Dark Lord himself.

“Yes, sire, like the others I schemed and formed alliances, but I also was a supporter of the First Councillor and was faithful in my support of him when I made the commitment.”

“And I may count on your continued support?”

“My Lord, I will be faithful to my oath.” Kuns spoke firmly.

With a smile that was just a little dangerous, the Dark Lord rose. “You may be sure that I will hold you, all of you to your oath.” He waved his hand. “Come, you will have nothing to fear so long as you remain faithful to what you swore.”

At the door, the Dark Lord stopped. “As I told the others and will also tell the rest, if you honestly feel that you can no longer support me in the council, convey such to the High Councillor. He will contact me and we will meet and discuss. If you remain adamant, you will be released. Your oath is not a permanent sentence. But it must be on a grave matter of conscience.”

There was a flood of tension release in Kuns. “I understand my Lord.” With a bow, he was sent on his way.

*********

The same four joined the Dark Lord. “Well that was easy, he won’t go against you and has not any major business dealings.” Andrea said.

“Indeed Andrea, I suspect that most of the rest will be much the same,” The Dark Lord gave her a glance, “and it went well this morning?”

“Indeed, our inspector is under discreet surveillance. As suspected, he is also being watched by others. I am surprised that he is in the open and not, as our chief thought, in hiding. The imperial guard has noted at least three other watchers.”

“Three? Really.” The Dark Lord looked amused. The other three perked up and smiled. It seemed that action was on the agenda for the Ladies.

Arriving at their usual room, that is the sitting room, the Dark Lord took his regular seat. The Ladies crowded around, almost quivering with anticipation. His “Ladies, room to breathe please,” came with a smile, which was noted with a certain relief that His good mood seemed to be holding for the present. They moved back to form a loose circle around the chair.

“We must set up a reception for our friends at the Dark Moon. Elizabeth, Sydney, Sofia, I think that it would be best if you were waiting.” There was suddenly an air of repressed excitement around the three. “Do not get too excited, you must be both visible, yet inconspicuous. You have the usual protections already, and Luca will be there with her sword ready of course!” A grim smile spread across all four faces.

“In addition, Lisa, Savannah and Sandra will be there as back up, again with the usual protections” There was a series of nods all round. “I will see you there but I will not stay. You must all be concealed in plain sight until it is time to act. You will know when.”

“Now, you all know your best positions and what to do?” There were nods and words of confirmation. The Ladies had all done such work before and were well versed in what they needed to do.

“When we receive word from the new member of the palace, as to the time of the meeting, you will be advised. Now, go and prepare, remember, you must blend in. Luca, you know how to prepare.” The last was a statement, not a question

“It has been a while, but I will be ready!” Lady Luca replied with a cold smile.

“I know that you will be.” He returned the smile. “Now, all of you go and get ready. You will be told when we know the time.

The Ladies all left except for His usual companion. She gave him a plaintive look. “You never let me out to play.”

“Never fear, soon you will have your moment. You already have had some while I was away, so I reject your unwarranted slander!” This delivered in a mock angry tone had the Lady smiling. “I will have need for all the ladies in due time.” What was said next, uttered in a sober voice brought a frown, “We have interesting times ahead, and you know what that means. There will be work for all.”

The Lady sat up and opened her mouth but closed it again when He raised His hand. “We will talk more later, for now, let us get ready for the meeting with the advisors. Let me have the folder again, I need to review the recommendations for the council.”

Grudgingly the folder was passed over into the hands of the Dark Lord. It was an unwritten but firm tradition that all important communications with the Dark Lord had to be in writing. Once more it was opened and perused until it brought sighs from the holder.

“Why can they not come up with some real people for a change?” He looked over at his companion. “I know the answer,” He grunted. “Like picks like. They have a need to know who and what they are dealing with.”

“Why then don’t you over rule him and choose your own councillors?”

The Dark Lord slowly closed the folder which He laid in His lap. After a pause, He replied. “I had considered that, but I must also show that I have confidence in my advisors. If I overrule the First Councillor in such a fashion, it will be read as a lack of confidence in him. I have just begun to settle the council down, I don’t want to upset it again so soon.”

The Lady looked surprised. “Are you going to accept second rate councillors then?”

“There’s the rub.” He grimaced. “These aren’t second rate men and women. They are worthy. What I have against them is that they are all politicians!”

Opening the folder again, He reviewed all the names, first the Second Cluster.

: Tara De Pentis, female from Drapuna, was runner up to Tama Priestas for representative from the planet.

: Repa Du Krictus, male from Lukas 12, was runner up for representation for the cluster.

Next was the Fifth Cluster.

: Rummur of Nextus, female, was representation cluster runner up.

: Timupa Rudakn, male, from Timus, was runner up for representative from the planet.

These four were the personal recommendations of the Council. While several other names were submitted, those were clearly considered alternates.

A detailed synopsis of each individual’s career to date was appended after each name. It was predictable in all respects. Each individual had performed all the necessary steps to get into the political scene and paid the necessary dues along the way. They had performed all the right moves throughout their careers.

One point in their favour was that they had also been active in their communities and had successful business backgrounds. This had been because of, in two of the cases mandatory term limits which prohibited extended stays of government service on their particular planets.

Looking over the names again, the Dark Lord made his decision.

Passing the folder back to His companion, He smiled. “I think that Les Doman will be happy with my choices. It is clear to me who his preference is for.”

About to reply, there was an interruption as Lady Andrea entered. Quivering with excitement she spoke. “It has been agreed, the Dark Moon, tonight at the twenty first period.” She was about to say more when the Dark Lord held up his hand.

“I do not need to know more, let those who need to know, know.” He smiled again. “I look forward with interest to the outcome tonight. In the meantime we will meet with the Marshal and the First Councillor this afternoon. Let us be ready for that.”

Lady Andrea nodded, gave a big smile and left.

There was an answering smile on the other Lady’s lips. “They really look forward to action you know. When it was you who rescued the Chief, they were so disappointed. They all wanted to go.”

The Dark Lord nodded with a twisted smile. “We all must always work in the shadows when possible. If the population of the Empire became fully aware of all our powers, I shudder to think of what they might do or how they might react. The possibilities are, well unpredictable, but possibly catastrophic.”

“You keep saying that, but why?”

“Did you ever have a child?” Came the quiet question. He meant after they had been changed of course, both had cut their family ties long, long ago.

The reply was just as quiet. “You know I didn’t.”

“What happened to those who did?” Softly.

“They had to watch their children, their grandchildren and their great grandchildren all die.” There was a sob in her voice.

“Yet people would still want us to give them immortality.” The Dark Lord quietly spoke. “When we, and that includes me, couldn’t even give it to our children. Contrary to what some say I, we, are not gods” A sigh. “And that is just one thing they would want.” He stood and wandered around the room, touching some of the rare objects. “Then they would turn on us, the curse of envy would rear its ugly head and the violence would begin. You have been with me from the beginning and you know what it took.”

He regarded her thoughtfully. “The least, yet the worst thing we could do would be to grant their wish to do everything for them. That would effectively destroy nine tenth of the population. People need a reason to live, not a great thing, just a reason and granting that wish would take that away. Without a reason to live, they would all die. Quietly and efficiently, we would kill them with kindness.”

The Lady sat quietly for a fraction, then stood. She gave an unreadable look at the Dark Lord then walked out of the room. He gave a sigh, it was brutal but necessary. None, not even the Ladies fully realised what a tightrope he constantly walked.