Ken of Hosta was not on time for his meeting, he was early. A descendent of General Dennus who had retired as a Fleet Marshal, he was eager to meet his Sovereign.

“Greetings Councillor.” Lea Cania nodded to the tall, buff man. “It is not quite the fifteenth period yet.” She smiled.

“Well I don’t like to be kept waiting and I feel that I should not keep people waiting for me.” He laughed.

Lea smiled in reply. “If you will come this way sir,” was all she felt that she should say.

“Call me Ken.”

“Of course, sir.”

The Councillor eyed her, but made no further comment.

Arriving at the Ante room, they found several of the Ladies of the circle standing and talking excitedly in their own tongue.

With a sense of awe, Ken recognised from the Generals descriptions, Sandra, Elizabeth and Sydney who had met his ancestor a thousand years before. His “Ladies, It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” was followed by a bow.

“You are the Generals’ kin!” Sandra looked Ken over.

“I have that honour.”

“He was a nice man, treated us so well and we liked him.” Elizabeth spoke with a reminiscent smile.

“He also mentioned some of the tricks and games you all played on him. I read his book!” Ken reminded them.

“Lies, lies, all lies,” laughed Sydney.

“The book didn’t say half of it!” The quiet voice came from the ante-room.

“My Lord!” Ken bowed.

“Welcome Ken of Hosta, it is good to see you.”

“And you sire.”

The Ladies laughed and walked off hand in hand. Ken turned to thank Lea, but she had left already. Looking around he noticed that the Dark Lord was waiting by the door, hands in his pockets and an amused smile on His lips.

“There are many distractions in the palace. One must be careful not to fall into them.” Ken noted the implied warning.

“I also read that in the Generals book, sire. I will follow his path.” Ken replied, “I was going to thank Miss Cania for her company but she left.”

With a nod and the single word, “Come.” They entered the room. Ken went to the seat indicated with a wave while the Dark Lord took the other seat.

“You have waited a long time for this, I think.” It was a statement, not a question.

Ken took a breath. “I have indeed, sire.”

“And does it meet your expectations?” The smile took any sting out of the words.

“Very much so, sire.” There was a laugh in reply, then Dark Lord turned serious.

“You have supported the First Councillor consistently, I appreciate that. It is important that the council debate, but support when debate is done.”

“Indeed sire.”

“Do you have any questions of me?” Ken opened his mouth, then closed it.

“Speak.” He was encouraged.

“The General.” Although he was retired a Fleet Marshal, he was always referred to by the family as the General. “The General,” Ken repeated. ‘did you ever see him after….?”

The Dark Lord shook his head. “No, it would have been …. Difficult.” He chose not to say that both he and the Ladies deliberately restricted their contacts with those they called The Others.

“Yes sire.” They stood

“You never joined the Legion?”

“No sire, I felt that I would have too much to live up to so I went in a different direction. I sought to serve the people and also to employ them and make sure they were well taken care of during the times I was out of office.”

“You have done well in business?” The Dark Lord asked.

“Indeed sire, and yes, I have worked with Star Builders associated companies. That is all in the public record.” He faced his sovereign. “I have done nothing to be ashamed of.”

“And I implied nothing.” The Dark Lord paused, then continued. “You will work with many people and businesses, not all are beyond reproach, indeed most will try to gain an advantage, by fair means or foul.”

“I understand that sire, I work by the old maxim, ‘In the gods we trust, all others we put under strict contracts!’”

The Dark Lord chuckled, then stood. “We will speak again, Ken of Hosta, as I told the others it is going to be important that we meet, both as a council and as individuals.”

They rose and went to the door where Madla was waiting to escort Ken. The Dark Lord turned to her.

“Have the Steward attend on me please. It is not urgent, but soon.”

With a bow, they departed. On arrival at the stewards’ offices, Ken politely thanked Lea for her assistance and left.

*********

Once again the four Ladies came out and stood with the Dark Lord.

“That was boring.” Commented Lady Luca. “And why didn’t you tell him about the message you sent?”

“He didn’t ask.” Came the calm reply.

The walked along the corridor, laughing and reminiscing about General Dennus.

“He was always amused by the way you would open the door before he announced himself.” The Dark Lord laughed. The Ladies all laughed with him.

“Yes Jasmine was especially bad at that!” Lady Dana laughed as they arrived at the study.

“I was bad at what?” Jasmine gave an indignant snort as she turned from the conversation she was having with other ladies.

“The trip to Ti Lepus, how you would open the door whenever General Dennus came to it before he could announce himself. Actually before anyone came to the door!” Lady Dana explained.

“Ha, it was more who got there first!”

They all laughed again and settled down to talk.

The Dark Lord scanned the room without a visible smile, then sat at his usual spot, took up the book laid beside his chair and began to read. His companion also picked up a book and took the chair opposite him. The rest of the Ladies all chatted while some sat and read, played games or relaxed in their own idiosyncratic way.

*********

It was later that afternoon when the Head Steward answered the Dark Lord summons.

“You asked me to call, sire.”

“I did indeed.” The Dark Lord put the book that he was reading down. “I wish you to pass a message from me to the Marshal. It is not urgent and must not interrupt current operations.”

Some of the Ladies began to show interest in the conversation.

“Yes sire.”

“There are five battleships that are slated to be decommissioned, two recently used in current operations. They are the Barrows Night, Barrows Day, Barrows Sun, Barrows Moon and Barrows Star. The reason for their being decommissioned is, I understand, that they were an experimental design based on the command vessel series that turned out to be only partly successful. In any case, I see a use for them.” He paused.

“You have all this so far?”

“I do my Lord.” Garda replied. He noted that while some Ladies were still sitting and reading others were paying close attention,

“Good, now I understand that they are the fastest craft that we have that operate in both normal space and hyperspace, excluding courier craft. That is an advantage I intend to use. My instructions are that all five of these battleships are to be retrofitted with the best sensing pods, the best scanners and the best stealth capability that we have. Also they must have the capability to place scanning satellites in different systems and monitor them. The latest equipment is to be installed, even if is still in the experimental stage. I would like, within the next week, a timeline for these upgrades.” Again the Dark Lord paused.

“Yes sire.” Some of the Ladies were standing close by, their interest open. Even the seated ones all had their books down and were listening. The Lady sitting closest had her chin on her fist, a frown wrinkling her smooth forehead.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No sire.”

The Dark Lord smiled. “I am sure that the Marshal will have some. Tell him that I will listen, but I have reasons for these orders, and I also have a place for these ships where they will do the most good.” With another smile He finished. “I will listen to any objections that the Marshal has.”

“Thank you my Lord, is there anything else?”

“Just how is everything in the palace?”

“Going well my Lord.” The Head Steward replied.

“The renovations?” The Dark Lord gave an enquiring look.

“Progressing, I will have a time line for you by the nineteenth.” Garda replied.

“And our media consultant?”

“Rita Caenett was meeting with her other contact in the security police, she has not yet returned.”

“And the Chief Usher, his little problem with the Imperial Guard?” The Dark Lord held his face expressionless.

The Steward froze. The Imperial Guard were the Dark Lords personal troops and He watched over them carefully. No one knew where they came from, but everyone thought that it was Tantalus, the same home world as the Dark Lord and the Ladies, however none of them exhibited any of the powers that the Ladies sometimes showed. Garda also noted the Ladies, whose interest had fallen of somewhat were now listening closely.

“I spoke with the guard sire, a compromise satisfactory to the Chief Usher and the Senior Guard has been reached.” Garda replied carefully.

There was a fractions silence. “If there is any more such problems, bring them to me, I will speak with the guard.”

“Yes my Lord.” Replied the Steward, fervently hoping that there would be none. He also made a note to himself to speak with the Head of the Guard, asking him to bring any problems directly to him.

“Anything else my Lord?”

“One last item. Our Security Chief, Ferni Massett. Just remind her that I wish to be appraised of any significant changes. It would not look good in the media if I was to be unkind to an innocent civilian.” He smiled.

“Indeed not my Lord.”

“If there is nothing else, I have kept you overlong.” Came the dismissal. “Thank you, Head Steward.”

“Sire.” With a bow Garda left.

There was a burst of chatter as he exited. One voice was louder than the rest.

“Is it him? Is he back?”

Garda increased his pace, not wanting to hear any reply.

*********

The three aides sitting in front of the Marshals desk tried not to fidget as Ress Lissor listened to the voice of the Head Steward of the Palace. The meeting that had been routine was routine no longer.

The forces requested by the Dark Lord had all been summoned and various cruiser squadrons tasked with orders to occupy Star Builder bases in their operational area. The Star Commander had been updated as ordered and the First Councillor kept informed.

Then the call had arrived from the palace. Somewhat to his staffs’ annoyance, the Marshal was listening through his head piece rather than using the speaker function.

“I see.”

Silence.

“He gave no other reason.”

Silence.

“The upgrades, how soon does He wants a timeline?”

Silence.

“Very well.”

Silence.

“I have a lot of questions but they can wait for our next meeting.”

Silence.

“Thank you Head Steward, if our Master has any other requests, get in touch with me.”

The head piece was removed, the three aides stared, waiting anxiously. Ress Lissor did not smile. “We have new instructions from the Palace, our master has placed an order for the use of our five Barrow class ships.” The Marshal engaged his comm.

“Admiral der Watt, I need you and Admiral Enst Ru Quirra along with his Construction and Maintenance chiefs here now.”

The staff offices stared.

“Sir…” One of the staff officers began but was stopped by the Marshal.

“I want to tell you all at once.”

It took just a fraction and the four officers arrived.

“Pull up chairs gentlemen. We have instructions from the palace.” The four new comers had stiffened when they entered and read the atmosphere in the room. Taken with the Marshals attitude, this did not bode well. They sat.

“Admiral Quirra, the five Barrow class battleships, you have them slated for decommissioning?”

“I do, Marshal, Why?”

“Because they are no longer going to the cutting torch. Our master wants them upgraded.” Then followed the instructions received through the Head Steward.

An explosion of protests followed. As these died down, Marshal Ress Lissor stood. He smiled as the other officers all stood as well.

“You have all made excellent points. Which one of you wants to volunteer to go to the palace tonight and present these to our Master?”

There was silence, all the officers held their expressions neutral.

“I thought so.” He looked at his maintenance head. “Admiral Quirra, pull one of the Barrows, it doesn’t matter which one, into a yard and give it a good going over. Draw up a detailed timeline for reconstruction to bring it up to the standard ordered by the Dark Lord. Be strict but fair and honest. You are going to present it yourself, along with your chief engineer within a week as commanded by our master.”

The Marshal paused, then continued. “Do not for a fraction think that you can place a plan before Him, biased to what you think should be the case. He will see right through it and you will be lucky if you only end up servicing auto-mechs in the bathrooms.” He stared at the Admiral who at this time was standing open mouthed.

“This is for all of you.” He looked at each officer individually. “If you are dealing with our Master, you need to know this and He has the habit of suddenly calling on someone for whatever purpose is on His mind. Remember what I told you about how He came back. So be ready.”

Admiral der Watt nodded. “I concur sir. The one time I met him, and I still think that there was more to it than he just wanted to get the measure of me, put a chill down my spine. He has some mission planned for these craft, and it can only be a scouting mission.” Admiral der Watt smiled. “I would like to volunteer sir, once we know what it is.”

The Marshal traded stares with his chief of staff. “You may just get the job but we will see, you are senior for such a posting.”

Ress Lissor turned back to Admiral Quirra. “Admiral, do you have any questions?”

“No sir.”

“Pick one and get it moving, draw up instructions for inspection and requirements to upgrade to the standard our Master specified, factor in costs, but keep that separate.” He gave the Admiral a sympathetic look. “Enst, I have this feeling that you are going to become very busy.”

Admiral Quirra just knew that this did not mean anything good.

*********

Rita arrived late back at the palace, just missing the evening meal.

“Did you eat?” The Head Steward asked.

“I got a snack.”

Garda nodded. Then went to business. “How did your meeting go?”

“I have a report but I want to go over it before a decision is made.” Rita fell in a chair in the Stewards somewhat cramped office. No one in the palace had a spacious office. As for the Dark Lord, his office was wherever he was.

“Go to the kitchen and grab something to eat first. You will think better.” Garda suggested.

“It’s ok, not a problem. Not the first meal I’ve missed,” she smiled.

A knock alerted them both. One of the young ushers, a woman, stepped in, unfolded a small table and placed it in front of Rita. Before Rita could protest, she placed utensils on it and left. She was replaced by another usher who placed a covered tray on the table. This young man was replaced by the Chief Usher.

“Our Masters instructions Miss Rita.” With elegance, a bottle of chilled water was placed on the small table. “Enjoy.”

A small bow was given to the Head Steward and the three left leaving an astonished Rita and an amused Garda behind them.

“It seems that I am to watch you eat.” Garda laughed, “Bounce the report over to me and I will look it over.”

Ferni put her head in while the two were separately occupied. “Thought I smelt food, what strings did you pull?”

“None.” Between bites.

“Our Master.” Garda looked up briefly, “Rita brought over the report. Oh Ferni, He wanted me to remind you about changes to the security arrangements. No, you don’t have to see him, just remember to keep him advised.”

“I will, that is a top priority for me. Now the report, bounce it to me.” Ferni pulled out her comm unit as she sat beside Rita and grabbed a choice morsel.

“I’ll bounce you!” Rita snapped, swung her fork at Ferni’s fingers and missed as they were snatched out of range.

“Hmmm, good.” Ferni eyed another tempting bit, getting an evil glare from Rita, who moved the tray away.

“How’s the report looking?” Rita moved to distract Ferni and distance her plate at the same time.

“Looks good.” Ferni responded after a fraction. As Rita’s plate was now empty, she was no longer distracted. “Nothing new, passed with ease, kept probing as to why he was being investigated. Asked about Lea and the Palace.” Ferni, put her comm unit to the side.

“I agree, we should discuss this tomorrow and decide if further investigation is needed before we speak to our Master.” Rita chuckled, “Let Mr. Tobis Nenna wonder a little longer before we bring him in for an interview.”

The two laughed. Rita stood, carefully moving the table and its contents away first. “If there is nothing else, Head Steward, Chief?” Both shook their heads.

Saying their good nights, the three parted, two to bed, Rita to the kitchen.