It was a beautiful early morning in the capital of Tolen Ke. The night had been uncommonly brisk. As the sun rose over the mountains its rays warmed the cool surfaces of the buildings. The mist rose above the city turning the scene into an ghostly vision. Standing on the balcony in the residences of the Imperial complex known as the Middle Court, a tall lean man with graying hair sipped his coffee. His eyes traveled over the lower city then he turned and glanced up at the Imperial complex. After a few minutes he took a seat at the table and turned on the holopad to view the latest news.

"Did you see the way He looked at her?" Chanish Megreth asked excitedly as she joined her husband. "Can you imagine? *Our* daughter has caught His eye! I can't wait to tell Halit about it."

Vacyn glanced up from his reading. "I wouldn't read too much into one dance Chan. He's a little busy right now trying to solidify his power base. By the way, where is Chys?"

"Already out and heading for the shops. With Summer Festival just around the corner, I told her to get some new gowns. Afterall, she has to look her best if she expects to keep His eye."

Vacyn sighed. "Is that really necessary? Think about it Chan. First, we are a lesser House. He's not likely to select a mate from them. Second, and mark my words, this Emperor will try to undo what the Houses have worked hard to attain." Vacyn sipped his coffee then added, "Mikal would have been a better fit or even Jon. This Nadir doesn't impress me in the least."

"Watch your tongue Vac!" She glanced over toward the open door to make sure none of the servants had overhead then looked back to her husband. "Be careful with what you say. For Halit's and Chys sake."

"He's botched the negotiations with the Consortium. What next? We also know He's preparing to move against the lesser Houses who haven't pledged support. " Vacyn slid the pad across the table to her. "Kalgen Nadir stepped aside. As well he should have since he was under suspicion for Jon's murder and while this removed the cloud over his own head, one can't help but wonder whether the plan was to place his son upon the throne all along."

Chanish looked stunned by her husband's words. She opened her mouth to frame a response but paused when the servants brought breakfast onto the balcony. Sitting back while they placed the trays down, she calmed her expression and waited. When they had finished and they were once more alone, she spoke quietly. "We? Vac, please tell me you aren't getting involved in something which could be construed as treason? Please? Who is this 'we' you speak of?"

"Treason is a strong word Chan." He placed the mug down and inched the chair closer to the table. "We will be known as patriots when it's all said and done. I can't elaborate further."

"You haven't answered my question. Who is involved in this?"

Vacyn looked across the table. "Eat the meal before it gets cold. We'll discuss it later."

Chan knew the conversation was over for now but she no longer had an appetite. Forgotten was the rush of exhilaration she'd felt about her daughter becoming consort to the Emperor.

Among themselves they were known simply as "The Unit". All members of the Emperor's personal guard, the six men and four women had been handpicked by the leader of the Imperial Guard General Konor or the Emperor himself. Their assignments up to now were covert operations which garnered little attention from the general populace but the arrest of a noble even from the Lesser Houses would be headline news as soon as it became known. Today however their force would be swelled by others of the Guard.


Kalen Taev stood just out sight along a side street from the Outcourt residences. Their target this morning was the Megreth residence. The lord, lady and their children were to be taken into custody. Their son Halit was at the military academy on Marlbeuru VI. Upon the Emperor's command he had issued orders to have the cadet placed into protective custody until members of the Guard arrived to escort the young man back to the capital.

A glance down at down at the chrono confirmed it was just a few minutes until they moved in. He had almost reached the main thoroughfare when footsteps caused him to shrink back a few paces and flatten himself within the sculptured contour of the building. Watching as Chyshe Megreth strolled out of one of the Outcourt entrances flanked by a pair of family retainers, Kalen noted at least one carried weapon. He didn't consider this unusual. Most nobles were accompanied by a bodyguard when they went into the city.

Moving forward as the trio turned away from his place of concealment, he continued quietly to the intersection and followed their movement until they rounded a bend and went out of sight. It was a minor annoyance that she had chosen this particular morning to leave early. Kalen activated the transmitter and sub vocalized his commands to have the young noble shadowed while he continued on to the entrance.

Tolef yawned then glanced away from the vid screen. Stationed at the east entrance of the Outcourt, he simple wanted to be done with his shift. As he turned his gaze toward the street, he paled then whispered "Sweet gods!" He elbowed his drowsing partner. "Jenth! Wake up! Imperial Guard!."

Jenth woke with a start. "Where?!"

"You are relieved of your watch. Go home." Kalen motioned for the three men who had joined him to take the security station.

"Yes sir Major!" The two guards wasted no time in following orders.

At 36, she had lost none of the beauty of her youth. Trim and fit with flowing red hair reaching almost to her waist, she turned heads wherever she went. Educated at the finest schools she had excelled in her studies before joining Myrr Unlimited. There she had quickly climbed the ladder of the organization with her skills and obvious charms until she had come to the attention of its principal shareholder and owner, Draevan Myrr. It wasn't long after she was sharing his bed. The last four years had been a whirlwind. With Draevan's sense of business daring and her own talent for the more delicate intricacies of negotiation, Myrr Holdings had tripled in size. Whatever they wanted which couldn't be obtained with his extensive financial resources was subject to hostile takeover. If necessary this was augmented with brute force. Together they were building an empire with the Anden Empire.

Sheril Talmis tapped her finger on the console. Azure eyes carefully studied the screen. She didn't like the pattern which seemed to be developing. Agents who administered his resources throughout the Empire were reporting similar incidents. Someone was making discreet inquires into Myrr properties. Sher moved back to the first transcript, glanced at the date then scrolled to the last. The questions had started five days ago and she could see a good number of offices had been contacted. Only a handful on the outer rim showed no change in routine activity.

I'm gone a two weeks and all hell breaks loose. Does Drae know about this? She glanced at the chrono. Likely he was either down in the shipyard itself or its main office. Ever since Neptus Yards had taken on the task of building the new warships for the Consortium, he'd spent most of his time at the various facilities located around the Pisces Cluster. Sheril touched the inset. A young woman with light brown hair and dark eyes answered. A large smile blossomed when she saw who it was. "Sher! Welcome home! How are you?! When did you get back? How was the trip?"

"Good Morning Lin. Very early this morning and it was wonderful. A little tired from the return voyage but otherwise fine. We'll have to get together so I can tell you about it." She tucked a few strands of red hair behind her ear. "But right now I need talk to Drae. Is he down there?"

"No he isn't. Sorry. He left on ColdDrake for Amed III about fifteen minutes ago. I have to tell you; he's been rather out of sorts the last couple days. All stirred up over who knows what. Said something about sending off the three remaining orders and I know they're not quite ready yet. Yesterday they took the weapons array off the last one." She leaned closer to the screen and lowered her voice. "The Imperials have seized V'carus Planetia. You know, the Megreth place. You heard about Vacyn Megreth right?"

"I hear some rumors but nothing substantiated. Then again, I didn't listen to much news." Sheril saw by the expression on Lin's face they weren't mere rumors and sat back in the chair stunned for a few seconds. She quickly regained her composure. "Lin, I have to go. I'll call you later." She terminated the connection before the younger woman could respond then set about sending messages to all of the agents. Any further inquiries were to be directed her way. Under no circumstances were they to offer information about Myrr Unlimited without her or Drae's approval. While she was waiting for the confirmations, she dispatched a message to their operatives in the capital, placing them on standby in case Drae decided to eliminate Megreth. When the endorsements began to arrive, she set the computer auto log and confirm then attempted to contact Drae. She didn't have long to wait. His face appeared on her terminal.

"Welcome back love! You look fabulous!" Drae broke into a wide smile very pleased to see her. "Sorry I wasn't there to meet you. It's been a little busy around there the last few days."

"So I've heard. I spoke to Lin a short time ago. Drae,what's going on? Someone's been asking alot of questions about the companies."

The smile waned and he became extremely agitated. "I know. I know. But I've been too busy here since the seizure of V'carus. I can't chance the Imperials finding out about these warships. I've already had the three unfinished products towed to a secure location and ordered a partial dismantling of the last one along with a temporary refit. It'll look like a freighter should anyone come snooping around." He paused then and forced another smile. "Sorry to be laying this on you upon your return.

"It'll cost a bundle but if you think it necessary then a wise move." Sher smiled. "I don't like seeing you get this way. We'll get through this just like we got by the regime change. And if we have our way there will be another soon enough. Actually it appears you have it well in hand here. I took the liberty of notifying all the necessary agents about the queries. It's possible we'll have to do some damage control but I'll handle that. Oh and before I forget. I also made contact with our operatives in Tolen Ke should you decide to do something about a certain lord of the lesser house. Do you want me to brief our representative in Dorthin?"

The luster returned to his blue eyes as he visibly relaxed. Drae ran his hand over the jet black hair. "Always busy Sher. It's why I know I can count on you. And no, I'll be back tomorrow night so I'll take care of any problem with the Ornak. "

Sher made a pouting face. "Tomorrow night? Well I suppose I'll have to make due with the delicious Lin tonight." She fanned herself.

The thought of it brought a lecherous smile to his face. "Tomorrow then. I'll be expecting to hear what fun you two had."

Adan Crowley shut down the terminal then looked across at Moreth. "We have a go on the project."

"When do you expect to handle it?" Moreth Sion took another sip of the Saurian brandy. He heard the Emperor favored it and now he knew why.

"I go on duty in three hours so at breakfast. I'll mix the cherub root in with the meal. I'll also drop a little into his drink. Perfect solution." Adan shrugged. "He'll be dead in a matter of minutes and any real threat he poses goes with him."

"Excellent." Cherub root was a near perfect poison. Ground from the root of a bush bearing the same name it grew only on one planet on the outer rim. Odorless and tasteless, death occurred in mere minutes when the body began to metabolize it. And since the compound was almost impossible to detect once the tissues absorbed it few would suspect this poison. "But how do you propose to get it past the scans?"

"Like this." Crowley dug into a satchel on the table and withdrew a pair of exotic looking bottles. "The major asked me to bring some keldirae tea extract for him. One contains the powdered tea, the other is the ground root."

Moreth wasn't impressed. "That'll do for a quick once over but what about the chemical compounds scan?"

"I checked the listings. The root isn't in the database. At worse, the bottle will be flagged and subject to a visual. Since both are same color and nearly the same texture no one will be the wiser."

"Risky Adan. But I know there's no other way. Be careful. I know you realize that you'll be questioned since this will take place during your shift.. just keep it mind we can't afford to lose you."

"No need to worry. I know how to handle their questions. Too bad we couldn't have taken out Megreth before this though." Adan placed the bottles back in the satchel. "I need to head back to my apartment to pick up a few things before I go in." Crowley shouldered the satchel and moved to the door.

Moreth swirled the brandy then touched the door lock release. He waited till the guardsman left then rose, placing the snifter on the table as he made his way to the terminal. The quick review of the incoming message confirmed what he suspected. A watchword imbedded within was his order deal with Crowley even if the mission was successful. Too bad ..the kid showed promise.