The Marshal and the First Councillor arrived at the same time at their secure underground parking. With them were their senior advisors, Admiral Loss der Watt, Chief of Staff for the Marshal and the Chief of staff for the First Councillor. This last came from the planet Debra IV and her official planetary name was a series of symbols that described her, so for convenience, she had been given the nickname Dertre. What it meant, few had inquired and fewer had learnt.

Greetings were given, accepted and returned. The four continued to the secure elevator that took them to the Stewards offices. The four chatted, exchanging the usual harmless bits of gossip while riding up, although the object of their reason for being there never crossed their lips.

Grada Karkart met them at the door, along with Rita Caenett.

“Greetings,” he said heartily, “welcome back to the palace.” No clue was given about the bomb that was to be dropped. “I am given to understand that this is to be a somewhat informal meeting so relax as best as you can.”

Les Doman Resta and Ress Lissor were becoming familiar with the layout of the palace by now, but were still surprised when they were met by a Lady they had never seen before. Stunned might be a better word.

“I am Kaylee, please follow me.”

“Thank you Lady.” The response came with a small bow from the First Councillor.

The four, augmented by Grada and Rita, followed the tall, brown skinned woman who was wearing a short and tight, bright yellow dress, and sandals. Taller than most men, she matched the First Councillor in height. Athletic and toned, she radiated fitness and health.

The two members of the palace hid their smirks, conscious of their own reactions on meeting the athletic Lady. Both had been surprised, but having some experience with the Ladies, concealed it better.

There was silence walking to the room designated for this particular meeting. The two Chiefs’ of Staff were overawed by the charismatic woman. They were also fascinated by the palace and just by being there. They had visited of course and had met with the Head Steward in the past, however they had never penetrated beyond the public areas or the Stewards’ offices. Neither had they ever met any of the Ladies, not having been included in the earlier meeting.

So, it was with ill-concealed awe that they followed Lady Kaylee and the palace staff down the twisting corridor to the meeting room.

This room, while close to the usual set of suites used in the day by the Dark Lord and the Ladies, was not often used by them. But it had the standard comfortable chairs, small tables and it also had a side board on which laid the meal that the Chief Usher had arranged. An important point was that it had bathroom facilities so it could be used for extended meetings. Waiting for them were the Dark Lord, along with Ladies Dana, Luca and Andrea. His usual companion was missing.

“My Lord, Ladies and Chief Usher.” Les Doman Resta was punctilious in greeting all in the room. Dertre followed his lead with a bow. Ress Lissor and Loss der Watt saluted their Sovereign and also greeted the rest.

“Will that be all my Lord?” The Chief Usher addressed that Dark Lord.

“You have done well Chief Usher, we can take care of the rest.” With a bow, the Chief Usher left. Having recently being confirmed by the Dark Lord, The Chief Usher was somewhat more relaxed. But he also knew his place and was content to stay in it.

“Greetings, let us relax, a little at least. While we do have some serious issues to discuss, let us not rush into them.” The Dark Lord turned to their guide, “Kaylee, thank you for your services.” The athletic woman nodded and departed, a smile on her face.

Both Les Doman Resta and Ress Lissor responded with a slight bow and taking a light snack, they motioned their aides to follow. These two were rather unsure of themselves, but followed the lead. As neither had attended the earlier meeting they were uncertain as to why their presence had been specifically requested at this one.

With a welcoming smile, the Dark Lord turned to the First Councillors assistant.

“Dertre, I am sad that I have never had the opportunity to make an official visit to your interesting planet. You must tell me more.”

Taken aback, the handsome woman began to sing the praises of Debra IV. A planet in the third cluster, it was slightly larger then what was considered ‘standard’, but not overly so. It was also on the outside edge of the ‘green zone’ so was somewhat cooler than most. None of this stopped Dertre from launching into a series of anecdotes dwelling on the ferocious storms of winter and the glorious fast moving dawn of springtime. Loss der Watt was also drawn into the conversation and the two, excited to be talking with their sovereign, exchanged stories. The thought that the Dark Lord may have made unofficial visits to their respective worlds crossed their minds, but was never mentioned.

After a fraction of this small talk, the First Councillor took the lead.

“Sire, this is interesting, but you would not have brought us here just for small talk.” He gave a small bow.

“Indeed sire, you have something to tell us?” The Marshall inquired. Everyone looked at the Dark Lord. A nod of satisfaction met the looks.

“Yes we have a story, but it is not mine to tell. Rita, begin at your leisure.” He turned to the rest. “Let us sit.”

Taking their seats, the four looked expectantly at the newest member of the palace. Taking a breath, Rita laid out the story to the new listeners. None of the four were completely surprised at the story of betrayal, much too common recently, they almost expected it, but all were shocked at the revelation of who was at the center of the intrigue. There was silence as the First Councillor and the Marshal absorbed the new information. Ress Lissor was the first to speak.

“This is bad, very bad. The company makes a significant part of our fleets’ equipment. If he has arranged for equipment to be accessed or comprised in any way, this could be a disaster.” The Marshal had a worried look on his face. Admiral Loss der Watt looked stunned. He opened and closed his mouth, then spoke.

“My Lord, I have to tell you this. I have dealt with his firm numerous times. I have even spoken on two occasions with Slav di Naska himself. Once, looking back, I think that he may have been checking me out, but that brings up a most important point.”

“I agree, the Legion and the civil administration may all be compromised.” The First Councillor remarked. “If Slav di Naska has coopted members of both the civil administration and the Legion, who knows how far that the rot will have spread.”

“I would not worry. Our Mr. Naska will have been very careful as to who he picked and where.” Brushing aside Admiral Watts concerns about his appearance, the Dark Lord sounded confident. “Too many and the wrong person, would have someone talking so there will be only a few compromised. The security police should be informed however.”

“As to the civil service, if there is any overt action this will be immediately apparent. Otherwise, there is the possibility of spying, which is a possibility. The Legion however, are different. There are two possibilities, officers and ratings redirecting ships or preforming sabotage. While not impossible, there are two factors mitigating against that. The high morale, especially with the recent shocks and the fact that the Legion is an all-volunteer service.” The Dark Lord smiled. “In fact the Legion has a rigorous entry level screening system to weed out the less qualified and those likely to being enticed. That will help.”

The Dark Lord looked at all four of his advisors. “But there may be a weakness. Indeed, recent events have shown it.” He smiled. “But do not be too concerned, I have taken precautions. Out of an excess of caution, Mr. Naska has only worked on a single person and sabotaged only one planetoid.” A laugh. “A good plan and it could have worked. A flaw apparently hidden in all planetoids causing distrust to grow in all our equipment. Indeed suspicion and mistrust would have worked nicely to undermine the Empire. But do not fear, all has been foreseen and steps taken.”

The smile vanished. “But spies in the civil administration. That is different and somewhat more extensive.” A frown appeared on his face and Les Doman Resta shivered slightly. At this the Dark Lord held up his hand. “I am not upset with you First Councillor, I was simply considering any words of wisdom I may impart. I fear that there is little I can say. The council is clear, that much I can give you but the rest must be left in the hands of the security police. The city police will be of little help in this and to set the Imperial Guard on your staff would be counterproductive.”

“I agree sire, we will start straight away. The senior staff will be put under a lie detector.” The First Councillor spoke in the firm manner that he used after making a decision. “We will then proceed downward.”

Stepping forward, Dertre raised the point of not forgetting other staff members. “We must also include all the minor administrators, service staff and even cleaners. They have access to all sorts of areas and listen to conversations as well. For example I have spoken several times to the cleaning crew and had interesting conversations with them.” She paused. “Of course, I will be one of the first to go under the lie detector. I will show that all staff will have to do this. None will be exempt.”

“As will I.” Admiral Loss der Watt injected. “Indeed I insist on being the first amongst the Legion.”

The Dark Lord held up His hand. “How you handle this will not be my concern. I leave it in your hands. First Councillor, I promised you my decision on the council, and here it is.” Lady Dana handed him the slim folder.

“The two I select are Repa Du Krictus, from Lukas 12 for the second cluster and Rummur of Nextus for the fifth. I think that you will find them qualified.”

Gratified, he would not have been surprised if the Dark Lord would have gone outside the choices offered, the First Councillor accepted the folder back with a bow. “I will send a message immediately and request their presence in Tihab on your command, my Lord.”

“Please do, I wish for the council to be fully functional as soon as possible.”

“As you wish, sire and I concur.”

The Marshall stirred. The council was not a concern for him, just something he had to deal with. But danger to the fleets’ ships, that was another matter.

“My Lord, you spoke earlier, about the armoured planetoid, one which had been sabotaged. And that you have taken precautions.” He paused and gave the Dark Lord a straight look. “Sire, I have the right to know about any danger to one of the Legions vessels and I must know.” While speaking, he pulled his comm unit out in preparation.

When The Dark Lord had spoken earlier about the dangers, the Ladies present had given him startled looks as well. These had changed to nods of comprehension along with smiles. Now this changed to looks of respect and interest at the Marshal.

“Indeed you do. However, that will fare you little at this time. The planetoid in question that had an essential lie built into it is in hyperspace on a training and evaluation mission and will not re-enter normal space with its escorts for another eleven periods. While action could have taken place earlier, the time was not ripe. The vessel was only completed in the last two quarters and this is its final test cruise. Mr. Naska needed both ship and a compromised crew member together.” A nod of amusement accompanied the next words.

“A cautious man, our Mr. Naska, I am sure that he was aware of the plot by our Legionnaire traitors and wanted to have his own breakaway coordinated with theirs. Without their knowledge of course.” The Dark Lord stood. “Their failure will have shaken him.” A grim smile. “But not his sister, Lia Du Passa. She is his alter ego and exceeds him in ruthlessness and is more dangerous.”

As the Dark Lord paused, then smiled. “Not to worry Marshal, the Sidrat will be safe as you will see soon.” He sat again. “After tonight the police will be turned on our traitors, and the Legion onto places outside the atmosphere. Then we shall see.”