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Act I
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Emanuel reclined in his high-quality leather chair, the material fashioned from a rare and endangered xeno creature from the wild planet of Dhartnick. He sampled the glass of wine he held as he remained deep in thought. The rooms lighting was dim save for the projector that gave a view of the black expanse outside the ship.  The stars shining through the black looked like a sea of pearl-like gems. Emanuel always found the sight of space to be truly beautiful in its own right. There was a certain mystique that beckoned to one's imagination-- that made the unknown so attractive to the minds of men. 

The CEO of the Aurora Foundation would have preferred a starport window proper. However, the [i]Repulse[/i] class-frigate was not a mere luxury craft. His brother-- the liege lord of his house-- had provided the ship and insisted on its use over Emanuel's personal starship. He had to wonder why-- given that the [i]Gara[/i] expanse was hardly known for its piracy, well patrolled as it was. There was a light [i]ding[/i] from the other side of the room from the doors comms unit which caught his attention suddenly. 

"You may enter," his eyes never left the starport holo-projector, his chair facing away from the door as it was.

The portal slid open with a hydraulic hiss before the attendant entered and spoke, "my lord, we are just one void-leap from Akamar. Once we enter, it should be no more than four hours time before we can dock with [i]The Eight Rings[/i]."

Emanuel nodded to himself, "I shall take the time to rest then, awaken me one hours time before docking."

The man saluted clasping a fist to his chest, "as you wish my lord."

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The metal corridor echoed powerfully with heavy footsteps as three men walked the spacious hall. Temijen Blackwall escorted by two knights of the order, bedecked in their exquisite armor, walked with determined purpose through the passages of Praag. The dark blue of his long coat shifted with each step as his cane reverberated off the grated steel. At a junction in the hall, the trio stepped into a circular lift before they ascended swiftly. 

The elevator stopped suddenly, the sudden halt causing Lord Temijen's stomach to lurch slightly. He frowned, even having used these lifts a hundred times he never did quite get used to their speed. The room he found himself served as the Orders Combat and Information Center, oft referred to as the CIC by most. The place already was occupied by several templar-commanders and among them was one of Temijen's most loyal vassals. Odo of House Nightingale who served as High Lord of Dawn's End.

Those present immediately saluted as Temijen entered and approached the center of the room. There was a significant rectangular table in the middle of the chamber which was, in fact, a holoprojector and communication suite. Currently, it displayed the brilliant light blue image of a planet. Stopping at the edge of the table Temijen gave a nod-- signaling to his subordinates to be at ease. He then turned his full attention to the display as he rested both hands on his cane. 

"Slichi 7K7V," spoke one of the commanders. "If our intel is any good, we may have actually found him." 

"Has it been confirmed as of yet?" Temijen responded.

Barat the Hawk, the Baron of Vekkotish, shook his head, "we sent a forward detachment, but we have not yet gotten a sighting. However..."

"There have been reports that Imperial Bureaucratic loyalist have been sighted in the system. Given how out of the way the system is and the lack of strategic importance..."

"Prince Grerenth may very well be their target," Temijen added, "even if that is not the cause I don't like the coincidence."

"Agreed, milord," a templar-commander voiced, Temijen recalled he was a scion of House Byran. "I fear our initial team will be ill-equipped in dealing with the matter at this junction. Our nearest battlegroup commanded by High Lord Victor should be close enough to lend support if needed."

 "We might tip our hand if we send even a small fleet, he may have to settle with a token vanguard as to not attract attention despite the importance of the mission," the speaker was the tactically minded lord Thubet. 

Temijen paused a moment in thought before saying, "send a battlecruiser and two frigates, Slichi is a temple world so our presence should not be seen as strange. We will need to move quickly if we are to gain an advantage here. If both we and the IB have learned of the prince's location, I have little doubt others will have learned of him as well."