Solae laughed lightly as she rolled on her back and stared up at the unremarkable barren ceiling of the captain's quarters. Obtaining decorations, such as paintings or tapestries, was low on their priority list. The Bonaventure had just been cleaned but she was already dreaming of what trivial disagreements they might have over domestic affairs. They had spent so much time trying simply to survive, to evade the forces of the rebellion, to not be traumatized by all they had been made to endure psychologically, that there was much they did not know of one another. Ultimately the nuances of his likes and dislikes were inconsequential in the grand scheme of their relationship. There was no difference of opinion that would make the marquise even consider parting from the soldier that had repeatedly saved her life. Still the scion wanted to know more of her fiance no matter how irrelevant. Idly she wondered what paint colors he might object to or what styles of art he had fondness for. The more mischievous side thought of provoking him by making purchases after they landed without his input and then gauging his reaction. It spoke to how hard they had struggled that she looked forward to seeing him upset over something horribly mundane for a change.

"I wasn't completely honest on New Concordia," she admitted with a sigh. "I didn't give [i]all[/i] of the liquid assets from the plantation away. Some of the funds were shuffled around a few times to make them difficult, if not impossible, to trace and placed into an account with an alias. They won't be able to touch most of my wealth, that's too well-secured, but I couldn't rule out the possibility they could monitor the trusts for hints of where I've escaped to. Any expenditure could tip them off."

There were several reasons Solae was absolutely certain she was not monetarily poor. The rebellion was unknown to the Stellar Empire as far as she knew and they would want to keep it that way until they were absolutely prepared for full-on war. Even declaring the murdered nobles dead would alert the appropriate departments that there was something foul afoot in their sector. While those on New Concordia itself could pillage and ransack homes, there were significantly more obstacles in getting to the currency held in the name of anyone of stature. More than once Solae herself had trouble verifying her own identity for access. Obtaining her inheritance would be a notoriously lengthy process that would require multiple hearings, enough documentation to make one's head spin, and a dozen sworn attestations. There were many things that the empire arguably did wrong but failing to prevent their upper echelons from fraud was not one of them.

"I know you disapprove, but desperate times call for desperate measures," she explained, "like becoming a pirate." The jest softened the blow of her robbing depraved slavers. Without looking she could tell the virtuous male was frowning at the lows she had sunk to but neither of their hands were clean. It was not as if they actually had a legal reason to do even half of what they had done on the planet they had just escaped the surface of. "It will help us afford some of the things we need, but since we don't know what else we'll run into before we make it to a functional communication array or a fortified Imperial outpost, we should probably find temporary employment on Panopontus. My hair can't hold dye and we don't have any wigs so it might be hard for me to hold down a job without attracting unwanted attention. If you don't mind scouting out what we're dealing with I'll stay on the ship and start installing some upgrades for Mia. It's not something I've done before but I am sure she can walk me through the basics."

"That would be much appreciated, Lady Solae," Mia purred seductively. If they had not known that it was an artificial intelligence system responding to her offer it would have almost have sounded as if it was a lady of the night responding to a proposition. Adjusting Mia's settings to not be so overtly sensual was rather tempting- but she wasn't sure she wouldn't miss the inappropriate humor of her intonations. She wasn't truly sentient but in her own way Mia had become almost human to the couple. Modifying her too extensively felt like performing a lobotomy to Solae.

"And there's something else important I want to discuss with you," the marquise said as she turned back onto her side. The solemn expression of her visage and timbre of her voice suggested it was a grave matter. They were already in lockstep as to the topic of marriage and children were a biological impossibility given Rene's sterility. What she sought to address was just as significant to their future, however, and she was under no illusions as to how receptive her consort would be as to this particular plan. "Panopontus should have a library with an archive. It won't be as extensive as anything on a primary planet of the central sector, but it should go back at least a decade, and have news as recent as the last month. I'd like to start looking into the accusations that were made against you. I realize that you have moved past those events, but I can't stand idle and not try to exonerate you. If you were in my situation I can't imagine you not meddling," she pointed out.

Solae didn't quite know where to start investigating a murder. Rene had not told her any of the details and so she would have to dive into records by his name alone to find the date or the deceased. There were inherent risks that, even on a remote planet, someone might take note of the surgical precision of her focus and access. But she was incapable of pretending that she would let his soiled name stand. She could be killed tomorrow, or the day after, or in a week, and any gains she made into clearing the charges would help her soul rest in any afterlife that might await. Were they both to survive the rebellion there was no chance of building lives for themselves, much less a family, until there was a more positive resolution. Even if Solae wouldn't admit it aloud, she also could use a distraction from the death and destruction of the last week that she had even less control over. Shifting to a new problem could provide clarity in the relief if provided from the Duke's machinations.

And as painful as it might be to have Solae poking around his past, she wanted to help Rene more than the Syshin of Amber Horizon. She believed in his innocence. She wanted everyone to see the profoundly handsome, inherently noble, courageous, and honest man that was before her at this moment.