Amongst the forest of soaring office buildings was one containing the offices of Ganner Re Dapplell, whose finance business occupied several floors. Ganners office occupied a corner of one of these floors with views of other buildings. While spacious, it was not unusually so.

The day had gone well, a minor but still important deal had been closed and the market eased somewhat from the Star Builders crisis. Ganner was still not at all happy over ‘that mess,’ as he called it. He was also unhappy with the response from the First Councillor and appalled at the silence from the Imperial Palace. While he had been persuaded to go to the palace the day before he had expected little, which exactly was what he believed they got.

Still the commitment that the palace was not interested in interfering in the world of business had helped calmed the fears of many. He had done his part he felt in spreading that word while looking to protect his company’s position and those of his clients as well. Listening to his associates as they left the meeting and how happy they were, made him smile.

He had listened to the Dark Lords response carefully and noted the sardonic smile and the clearly worded warning at the end. These had given him a chill. The Dark Lord was an unpredictable wild card, and that was the sort of thing that gave him pause. The sort of thing that could upset deals and cause a run on the market. He also discounted the comments that some had made about being able to deal with or otherwise accommodate the returned occupant of the palace. This was not Tim Deuris or Tama Priestas. No, the Dark Lord was different.

It was now late in the afternoon, he had put these thoughts to the side and was concentrating on a strategy session that he was having with two associates concerning the Star Builders crisis. Tall, like the First Councillor he was a native of Tihab, so had a full head of hair. Rangy and thin, he was considered one of the brightest minds in the business community. Somewhat cynical in outlook, he had little time for ‘fools,’ as he considered many of his contemporaries to be. Many regarded him as something of a bandit while others admired him but all respected him, not an uncommon fact of life in high finance.

He was winding up the discussion when a commotion outside his office caught his attention, before he could do any more than register it, his secretary burst into his office. All three came to their feet at the unwonted intrusion.

“Sir, there is …..” His usually cool, calm, collected, smartly dressed secretary pointed to the door.

Which now framed a beautiful dark haired woman wearing a short pale yellow skirt, sandals with straps circling her calves and a cool green top accentuated her figure. Behind her were two members of the Imperial Guard.

The trio moved into the office, the two guardsman fanning out to either side, one, the elder slightly ahead while the younger held slightly to the rear. Both kept their hands on their swords.

“Ganner Re Dapplell?” The woman spoke.

“I am,” He stood as he recovered from his shock.

“The Master commands your presence.” She smiled. The atmosphere lightened. “My apologies for disrupting your meeting and your afternoon.”

“You are one of the Ladies of the Circle.” Ganner bowed as he made the statement.

“I am Andrea, we must leave now.”

Assessing the situation, at the Ladies name which all knew and at which there had been a sharp intake of breath, Ganner knew he had little choice but to comply. To refuse such a command, would bring a swift and possibly lethal response.

“If I may, Lady?” He indicated his associates. Lady Andrea nodded.

Giving swift instruction to his two senior men, both of whom seemed struck dumb, was followed with equally swift instructions to his awed secretary. Looking the three over, Ganner wondered if anything he had said had registered.

Picking up his comm, he bowed to the Lady.

“I am ready, my Lady.” They moved off, Lady Andrea in the lead, with the two guardsmen following Ganner.

While annoyed at the interruption, Ganner was too astute to show it. For some reason the palace, meaning by that The Dark Lord, had him in their sights. As they walked through the office, staff turned and stared and got out of the way. Well if He wants my head, he can have it, he murmured to himself. He was surprised when Lady Andrea turned and gave him a smile.

“I do not think that you will lose your head today, Ganner Re Dapplell. There is no reason to worry.” The clarity of her perception did not calm him.

At the buildings central core with its transit shafts, a third member of the Imperial Guard waited. With a bow, she, waved them into the elevator that was held in readiness then followed them. Exiting the elevator, they walked to a waiting ground car that was held by a fourth member of the guard. Ganner wondered about all the security.

“The Master does not like to let us out without security.” Lady Andreas smile was sad at first but then turned dangerous as she finished, “Sometimes he lets us play.”

A somewhat truncated and confused report of the events of the 16th had reached Ganners eyes and ears, enough for him to be careful and not give any offence to any of the Ladies, so he just smiled and nodded.

The drive to the palace was conducted in silence. On arrival they parked in the front parking area. Walking through the palace to the Steward’s office was something of a revelation for the business man. The crowds parted and bowed, some clapped and all smiled. He was astonished by the crowd’s reaction to Lady Andrea. Intellectually, he knew of the Ladies popularity, but to see it in action was something different. Watching Lady Andrea as she walked down the main hallway, glided might be a better term, he wondered why this type of public display was not more common and encouraged by the Dark Lord and his advisors. This line of thinking was cut off when the group reached the stewards office.

Head Steward Grada Karkart bowed as they arrived. “It is good to see you Lady Andrea and welcome again to the palace, Mr. Re Dapplell.”

Lady Andrea responded with a respectful nod while Ganner replied with a thank you. He also noted with some surprise that also present was First Councillor Les Doman Resta and his Chief of Staff, Dertre. The four Imperial Guardsman, bowed and left.

“Is the Master ready, Head Steward?” Questioned Lady Andrea.

“He commanded me to bring you immediately you arrived, Lady.”

Like everyone on the planet, Ganner had watched the opening of the palace. The commentary had mentioned that the palace staff only wore their uniforms on very special occasions so it was ominous then that both the Head Steward and Administrative Assistant Lea Cania were wearing their uniforms. It was even more ominous when he remembered that they hadn’t worn uniforms a day or so before. A third unsettling observation was that Lea Cania was holding the large red folder she had carried on the day of the oath taking.

*********

Passed through to the private areas, they walked down winding corridors to where there were several Ladies standing and chatting.

“Hey Andie’s back!” One called.

“And she brought presents!” There was general laughter which Andrea joined in.

“Ladies,” the First Councillor, the Steward and Lea bowed slightly. Dertre and Ganner followed suit.

“Are they always like this?” Ganner muttered to Dertre.

“No idea, my second visit here.” Came the soft reply.

“This way.” The Steward led the group into the study. Lady Andrea followed. Inside were Ladies Dana and Luca as well as the Dark Lord and his blue eyed, brown haired companion, sitting in their usual chairs. The Ladies outside also wandered in.

Grada and Lea moved and stood behind the Dark Lord and to his right while the other three stood in front of the chair their Master occupied.

“Welcome Ganner Re Dapplell, I hope that you enjoy this visit to the palace at least as much as you enjoyed your first.”

“I hope so, my Lord.” Ganner responded. The Dark Lord smiled, one that hinted of secrets. Ganner distrusted that smile. He also noted the Dark Lords eyes which at times seemed to glow, suggestive of his power.

“First Councillor, what do you have to tell me this afternoon?”

“Most likely what you heard from your meetings with the councillors today, Sire. The business community is still very unsettled and the firms that comprise Star Builders are virtually in a state of paralysis. Their suppliers just as much. This will have a ripple effect I am assured.” The First Councillor finished.

“That is indeed what I have heard.” The Dark Lord turned to Ganner Re Dapplell. “Your thoughts please.”

The businessman decided that he may as well be frank. “If Slav di Naska wanted to put a crimp in the Empire and cripple it at least temporarily sire, he couldn’t have picked a better way. This will cause massive loss of confidence in the shipbuilding industry which would cause equally massive problems in other industries.” He paused. “My Lord, are you familiar with the ripple effect the First Councillor referred to?”

“I am. Simply put, bad news causes job loss etc., while good news can promote the opposite.”

“That is what we are facing here.” Ganner finished. The Dark Lord calmly surveyed him for a space.

“What remedy do you suggest?” Came after this pause.

“Someone needs to be put in charge of running Star Builders for a time while an expert financial team restructures it. The company should be put under control by an independent body but I have no idea who would be prepared to do that.”

“I see. Do you concur, First Councillor?”

“I do, Sire. As does the Ministers of Justice, Finance and Industry.”

The Dark Lord stood.

“You now have a new job, Ganner Re Dapplell.” He reached for the red binder. “Here are your formal instructions together with a formal order stamped by myself, giving you all necessary powers to run Star Builders. You may hire and fire anyone you please. As to the independent body, you are looking at him.” The Dark Lord smiled as he handed over the documents. “I understand that you have your own business to run as well and I have no problem with you doing that. But you will also have to trust your team there.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“Is this legal?” Ganner stared at the documents.

“Oh yes. I have done it before. Haven’t I Ladies.”

There was a chorus of “Yes, I remember the last time.”

Sydney the red haired lady, Ganner did not know her name, looked him up and down. “You picked a better one this time!”

Tyler joined the red head. “Yes, this one looks like a survivor!”

Ganner returned the looks, reflecting that this must be what an old time warrior must have felt when he entered the arena for the first and possibly last time.

“Be nice Ladies.” The Dark Lord warned with a smile. Then turning back to Ganner. “You will report to me within a seven day period. You may also see me anytime you need, just contact the Head Steward. Enlist any person you trust to establish an operating board. Your main difficulties will be twofold as I see it. The first to re-establish morale amongst all the workers. While the second will be to re-establish trust amongst all the suppliers and subcontractors.

“Slav no doubt has funds stashed away somewhere, once we catch him and locate any such and pertinent information, this will be placed into your hands. All bank accounts they have are now under the control of the Ministry of Finance. Since you are now operating under my authority, you will have all these returned to you.

“Once you are satisfied that Star Builders can operate under new management, report back to me and we will begin the process of separating it from the Empire and relieving you of all responsibility. I believe that there are other members of the family who could be recipient to ownership of the company. These are under investigation as to the extent of their knowledge. You will be advised of the outcome of that investigation as well as any other that affects you.”

The Dark Lord sat back down.

“If you have any difficulty you cannot resolve, contact the Head Steward. He will forward such message to me and I will resolve your problem.” A cold smile appeared and disappeared on the Dark Lords face.

Ganner followed that last remark all too well, so he just nodded.

“First Councillor. I will leave all the rest of this and coordinating any and all press releases up to you.” The Dark Lord turned back to Ganner Re Dapplell.

“One last thing, if there are any questions regarding the Legion, I suggest you hold a conference with the First Councillor, the Marshal and the Star Commander. They are very worried I believe and rightly so. I understand that their main concerns are actually maintenance, spare parts and missiles. If there are any disagreements that cannot be resolved, I will rule on them.” Again the cold smile.

He finished, “I do not like to send you on your way without feeding you. But this is a job that cannot wait. Dana?” He turned to the Ladies who were now very quiet.

“Yes?”

This surprised Ganner. There was now a totally different atmosphere from earlier.

“If you will accompany the good Ganner Re Dapplell to the Head Office of Star Builders where there is a stormy meeting going on I believe.”

“Ok.” Dana nodded and turned to Ganner, “Come with me please.” And they walked through the door.

*********

The study was quiet. The Dark Lord sat in His usual chair, reading, while on the other side of the empty fireplace sat his usual companion. They both looked up as Lady Dana walked in.

The Dark Lord tweaked an eyebrow as his companion asked the obvious question.

“Have fun?”

“I could have used Luca and her sword! They started yelling at me!” Dana was clearly miffed.

“And that was their first mistake?” The Lady asked.

“More like their tenth or twentieth!” Lady Dana looked around. “I lost count. Where is every one?”

“They got bored and left.” The Dark Lord responded.

“Except me.” Lady Tyler called from the corner. “This book is fun. I am getting lots of ideas from it.”

Looking at the Dark Lord, Lady Dana muttered, “You have created a monster,” giving both the Dark Lord and his Companion occasion to laugh.

Subsiding, The Dark Lord asked if Ganner Re Dapplell was firmly ensconced in the management of Star Builders.

“Yes, after I slapped them down and the security police arrested two for treason, not the two loudest actually, Ganner asked me to leave. I waited in an executive’s office. The rest of the staff were very nice to me.” She laughed. “A young girl, she must have been a junior just out of higher learning, I swear that she was actually trembling when she brought me a glass of water. If I had said boo, she would have wet herself!”

“I hope that you were nice to her,” The blue eyed Lady said.

“Of course, it’s Him they are really scared of!” As she pointed at the Dark Lord who had a satisfied smile on his face, Dana dropped into a chair.

Lady Tyler was openly listening. She had never had the chance to be in on one of these debriefing sessions before, and she was surprised at the relaxed and casual way Dana was speaking to the Dark Lord, so different what she had seen before.

“I wish to be certain. Do you think that it would be a good idea if I was to drop by so as to speak?” The smile had vanished.

“I don’t think so.” Lady Dana spoke slowly. “They were all very loyal to Slav di Naska and his sister, Lia Du Passa. I am not sure why, they both had the reputation of coldness and nastiness, she more than he. Some of the executives were just as bad.” Lady Dana stopped for a fraction. “Actually one of Slav’s few good points was his reputation of being very loyal to those he hired.

“I spoke to some of the junior staff. I assured them of respecting their privacy, but told them not to lie. Otherwise they just didn’t have to answer me. The response was mixed. Some glad to see the nasty ones gone. Some blame you for coming back!”

There was laughter at that.

“But I did put a crimp in their plans, I believe!” The Dark Lord paused, then sighed. “Well our poor businessman Ganner Re Dapplell has work cut out for him.” The Dark Lord mused for a fraction, then looked up. “Did he invite you back in?”

“Yes, the second meeting was much calmer. I repeated all your points, stressed that you had no interest in becoming directly involved unless it was necessary. I was interrupted at that point by one who asked what would make it necessary. My reply was that it depended entirely on actions by someone like him. Some cringed I thought. When I was further questioned, I pointed out that it would depend on the event, as well as the time and place. Ganner intervened and said that there would be no further questions on that line.”

Lady Dana smiled. “They were quiet after that and when I was finished I asked if they had any further questions. There were none. I was not surprised.”

“I will put my trust in Ganner.” The Dark Lord decided. “Please go tell the Steward that when Mr. Re Dapplell comm’s for a time to attend the palace he should bring his senior executives with him.”

“I will.”

“And Dana, thank you.”

With a smile, Lady Dana stood up and left.

*********

Lady Tyler had watched the interaction with interest. It was obvious to her that the Dark Lord must know much more than he was letting on. Yet he listened with care to what Lady Dana was saying and took her advice.

The relationship was much deeper and more complex than it appeared on the surface, Lady Tyler suddenly realised that she had not considered that. She had been changed the same time as all the Old Ones but was a teenager then and had been a member of the Circle for less than a hundred thousand years. When the Ti Lepus tragedy took place, she had remained behind and had not seen the Dark Lord since then. She knew that she had a lot to think about.