Rene sat down on the floor and pulled Solae to his chest feeling the waves of heat and chill pulse through her scantily clad body as the shock of the news continued to surge within her. Nearly naked she looked like a goddess, her figure more than mere biology could have endowed. Gently he stroked her hair and hugged her to him providing what comfort he could.

“Well as a seduction technique it certainly has the element of surprise. I’m told that is important,” he joked trying to lighten the sombre mood. Truthfully the sight of her was making his blood run hot.

Rene felt his anger rise as Mia recounted the news. The sultry inflections of her voice banked his rage to a hot fire, though intellectually he knew that the AI had no other choice. His skin began to prickle unspent adrenaline and he ached to lash out at something. The reward for Solae’s capture was perfectly calculated to appeal to everyone from the crudest peasant to the most powerful noble. Appealing to sex, pride and wealth covered a fairly broad swath of the human universes priorities. He could attest to that himself as his body reminded him that he was clutching the nearly naked marquesa against him.

“We will figure it out,” he told her promising to himself that somehow he would get her out of this, whatever it cost.

The CLTI presented a problem he hadn’t foreseen. Rene himself had once had such a transmitter but the Marine Corp surgeons had removed it when he enlisted. Such a device presented an obvious risk for soldiers in the field. He decided he didn’t much care to know quite what ‘unconventional acts of copulation’ might entail and was just as glad not to have met Lord Armon. If the portrait of the man the house painted was in any way accurate it was unlikely they would have gotten along. Well Armon would doubtlessly have sneered at a lowly soldier so perhaps the feeling would have been mutual.

“I’m not a medic,” Rene began. When he had finished basic he had applied for every specialty from vacuum commando to electronic warfare operator. Despite his excellent scores both physical and intellectual every request had been rejected. Normally a recruit with Rene’s education and aptitudes would have been shifted to officer training but the political poison of his background meant that no one wanted to give him an opportunity where he could win fame and renown. A popular and successful officer with his background might become a threat, perhaps not unlike that which was convulsing New Concordia. Accordingly he had remained in the regular infantry and been posted to a galactic backwater besides.

“Mia does the manor have scanning gear of some sort?” he asked the AI.

“Lord Armon has a full body imager used for creating sculptures Sir Rene, I judge it will serve to precisely locate the CLTI, though I strongly suggest such an operation only be attempted by qualified medical professionals.” Rene wondered if Armon had a basement full of life sized sculptures of his various conquests but decided not to ask for clarification.

“Your suggestion is noted,” he replied dryly. For a moment he considered going into the city by himself and hiring or abducting a doctor for the job. It wasn’t likely that anyone was looking for him specifically, although the port databases would have copies of his biometrics which might have been distributed. Ultimately he decided he was unwilling to leave Solae alone in the manor or to let any stranger know of her whereabouts.

“We will take care of it Solae,” he told the girl in his arms, “I promise we will take care of all of it.”