Solae had, true to her word, been brushing up on her Syshi with Mia. The latter had been suspiciously compliant and some of the sultry affect had vanished from her dulcet tones. The marquise highly suspected that Mia did have the capability to adjust to her voice to her guests, that there was some sort of underlying program for this purpose. What had triggered the change remained unknown. Considering they were not to stay in the manor for much longer it was ultimately irrelevant to their plight. Syshi was a difficult enough language that it was not impossible that Mia could not replicate it perfectly. The subtleties of intonation and emphasis was a challenge to impart to an artificial intelligence with a synthetic voice. When the creators of the software were themselves novices at Syshi, and they expected no patron with this very expensive system would dare to utilize the feature, it was allowed to be neglected and erroneous.

When Rene pounded on the door Solae nearly jumped out of her skin. At first she smiled thinking he was taking up the alluded to but not explicitly stated offer. Her excitement and anticipation the next second when Rene shouted he thought they had company. Tossing off the covers she swung her feet over the side of the bed and half-walked, half-hobbled to her shirt. Solae was still pulling it over her head when she door and indicated he should join her inside. Attempting to hide her limp she did a few subtle exercises with her left leg to improve circulation. Even in this life or death situation she was not confident in her ability to run.

"Mia," she called out, "Setting change. Authority of Marquise Solae Falia, Senior Translator at Stellar Imperial Embassy 524, Armistice, New Concordia. Code 4283-EMHAJ-calmtable3032. Acknowledge authorization." It wasn't the perfect solution; Solae was pulling rank on a home system. This was a universal 'back door' that blatantly exploited the strict seniority and privileges of status. Fortunately only someone elevated higher than a marquise would be able to undo what Solae planned to do and she seriously doubted there was a duke, duchess, or the like outside patiently sneaking up on the residence.

"Authorization acknowledged," Mia responded flatly. Lord Armon's seductive voice selection did not carry over to this administrative section of Mia's functions.

"Enable privacy protections. No commands available to guest users. Only authorized users are Rene Quentain and Solae Falia. Non-response to guest users. All system functions language change to Syshi. No translation or alternative languages available for guest users. Understood?" A blue circle appeared on the nearest wall and cycled a few times before flashing green.

[i]"Changes are in effect,"[/i] Mia responded in Syshi.

"We need to go to the master bedroom," Solae told Rene before taking his hand, slipping out the door, and creeping down the hall. The intruders had not yet infiltrated the house and they needed to make the most out of the time available to them. A dark blood stain led out of the master bedroom but Solae did her best to ignore the deep crimson saturation of the wood. Her stride and gait were uneven but the adrenaline pumping through her system was making the throbbing in her thigh much less noticeable.

Lord Armon's quarters were lavish enough to include a hot tub, a bed that would have comfortably slept half a dozen, two large sofas carved out of antique wood and upholstered in silken fabric, a tinted window wall, a mirror on the ceiling, and an a statue of two lovers embraced in a surprisingly chaste embrace. Solae moved towards a picture frame on the east wall which she pushed upwards, to the right, up again, and to the left. The frame receded into the wall and was replaced by a small hand indention. "This is the only place I can think of we can go right now. I apologize in advance," she warned as her palm was scanned and index finger pricked. A pleasant chime indicated Solae had passed the test.

"Maybe I was with him for the hot tub," she joked dryly. "This way," she gestured towards the master bathroom. This room had not been tarnished by the massacre that preceded their retreat to the estate. A shower inlaid with glossy polished stone murals depicting the heavens was ahead and to the left, one of its sides resting against the exterior wall, yet 2/3 of the floor was absent. A staircase had appeared in its place leading downwards and in the direction of the wall itself.

With Solae's urging Rene reluctantly followed. The staircase was cramped and tight, meant only for one, but with Solae leading the way it was not overly difficult to navigate. Once the system sensed Solae was descending the gap in the floor they had entered through it had sealed the opening shut again. Even with the closest of inspections Lord Armon's shower would only appear to be a wasteful flexing of his narcissism and wealth. The stairs curled down past the first floor and almost twenty feet below ground before emptying into a private entertainment room approximately the size of a guest bedroom. "Entry and exit for indiscretions," Solae explained. "I only used it a couple times so I don't recall where the tunnel ends."