The estate of the Sarkonad family was only a short drive by ground car. The governor provided them with one of the official vehicles, reflective black but otherwise nondescript. Two of the palace guards, plain clothed men of a severe and military bearing, accompanied them. There minds were brighter than the governor’s had been their desires simple and primal. Get off shift, get drunk, get laid. They hadn’t had training to protect their thoughts, lacked the discipline to stop the mental leakage that made them easy marks.

The estate itself was a towering stone edifice surrounded by carefully constructed gardens. Vast glow lamps hung from the hive superstructure to provide a simulacrum of daylight. Spires and flared arches reached skyward, glittering with points of light. The whole complex was surrounded by a stone wall interspaced with pillars and topped with razor sharp fluer de lys wrought in beaten black metal. Two enormous gargoyles stood empty eyed vigil at the front gate, itself a triumphal arch that many a rural world would have killed for.  More practically a pair of arbite patrol cars were parked across the entry way. Four officers reclined against the vehicle cradling riot guns and looking bored. It appeared that the govenor or the local arbites intended to firmly bolt the door now that the grox had well and truly bolted.

A flash of the palace guards ID was all it required to win passage. Silvana felt that to be very lax but was just as pleased that Hieronymus was able to keep his Rosette in his pocket. Alrik had always held that it was better to avoid such notice if it were at all possible. The Inquisitorial badge was an ace in the hole, guarded against need. 

A pair of nobles were gathered on the cobblestone steps flanked by servants and guards. They looked nervous and haggard amid their expensive finery. Silvana touched Hieronymus, seated across the way from her, on the knee. As the Interrogator looked up she reached out with her mind and gently discouraged the attention of the guards. It didn’t make the conversation inaudible but it made it so boring that neither man would recall a word of it later.

“How do you want to play this,” she asked and then paused before adding, “and what would you prefer I call you when Interrogator isn’t appropriate?” She might have prefered to be leading her own team, but Alrik and the Emperor would find no fault in her service.


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