As they entered the room she nearly wept out of joy at the sight of the PEA standing proudly before them. Solae had almost become paranoid that when they finally arrived it would be damaged, destroyed, or non-operational, but she could discern from a glance it was both intact and fully functional. The times she had sent messages across the universe for her superiors in the embassy seemed so distant. In the past two weeks she had been a translator, a negotiator, a spy, and now a mercenary out of necessity. While she had been using her linguistic and diplomacy skills, they had been applied in unusual ways, and it had been a far cry from combing through documents to provide a summary and analysis for fellow bureaucrats. A not inconsequential amount of time had been hiding her identity rather than utilizing it to further her goals.

The marquise glided to the display with a smile on her lips. For a brief second her affections for the PEA superseded Rene. [i]This[/i] was what they had been working towards. If they could successfully send a missive to the empress then there was hope they might yet be saved from death or a worse fate. She let her fingers glide over a panel on the pedestal directly adjacent to the crystalline structure. There were still struggles ahead of them: they'd have to flee this place, hide, supply the responding imperial forces with useful information, and pray the war succeeded in eradicating the coup, but this was the first step towards a victory. Everything they had done until now built to this penultimate instance. Whether they were heroes or forgotten footnotes in history was decided by the present.

Every PEA was slightly different. The pinnacles of technology were exorbitantly expensive; their materials were rare, costly to refine, and delicate, and their construction was shrouded in secrecy. What little Solae knew was that they could not be mass-manufactured. They were created by master craftsman of which there were only a few dozen in the universe at any given time, all loyalists that were kept close to Capella, and who took oaths to not divulge their practices seriously. Most of the time the quartz was clear as the most exquisite diamond, but some were tinged with a pale aureate shimmer, or kiss of azure at the edges. This particular PEA was one of the latter. The faintest hint of golden yellow was barely visible under the fluorescent lighting.

"Let's get started," she declared before turning to Rene. "You should sit down and rest a moment. They won't be able to breach these doors safely- not when they have orders to keep me alive and a precious PEA right at my fingertips. If your father answers our call and comes charging here looking for you, I don't want to look like a criminally negligent fiancee," the aristocrat gently teased. "Decimal, can you still hear me in this chamber?"

"Yes, Lady Solae," the computer answered succinctly. The AI would not have access to the PEA itself but he could still help keep them safe while she worked her figurative magic. This was the one room in which she could pull rank without challenge. Ralch himself could not initiate or receive a transmission. Only those who the PEA had been programmed to obey had authority in this space, and as the singular entity on the grounds with such a capability, that made this a very bizarre temporary haven. Bhast might not realize her disadvantage but she would quickly.

Sole placed both hands on the console in front of her. It illuminated as it immediately began the authorization process. Per the new regulations and standard protocol it tracked her heartbeat and circulation through the skin as confirmation she was living and not in extreme duress, pricked her fingers for genetic sampling as well as secondary confirmation her blood was not tainted, and a full body scan initiated where she stood. None of this bothered her. The benign lasers that traced over her form and monitored her would grant her precious power; it was a small price to pay.

"Welcome Solae Falia," another voice, distinctly not Decimal's, greeted.

"Please confirm for the resident security system my user status," the marquise requested.

"Solae Falia, Marquise of New Concordia, Diplomatic Attache Rank XIV, is authorized personnel for all Positronic Entanglement Arrays. Please acknowledge," the foreign voice announced serenely in one of the most pleasant tones they had the pleasure of encountering thus far.

"Acknowledged," Decimal briskly replied.

"Decimal, I am taking possession of this PEA, pursuant to Code 20-19(p)," Solae continued on, referring to a very specific outline for conduct in times when the empire was at war or otherwise threatened. The particular quoted section elevated imperial citizens the ability to seize assets if there was imminent danger they would or could fall to enemy combatants. "Barricade the doors and bar all outside entry. Additionally, initiate the self-destruct sequence and advise all lingering hostiles that it has begun. Set a parameter for the self-destruction sequence to be indefinitely halted if Rene and myself leave the building of our own accord without accompaniment. Make the hostiles aware of this as well should they ask."

"Understood," the stoic synthetic existence affirmed.

She knew this would alarm Rene but it was their best chance of getting away alive. Ralch and Bhast wouldn't be able to override her authority unless they miraculously found someone else on the planet that was capable of asserting jurisdiction to the satisfaction of both the PEA and Decimal. If they had such a person they wouldn't have chased Solae across the galaxy. They were willing to risk much to accomplish their dreams of a new government, but she was willing to wager her life that the possibility of losing this holding, the noblewoman that could summon their allies, and some of their elite forces would make them reluctant to call her bluff. Duke Tan stood to lose much more than the golden-haired woman he relentlessly pursued.

"Download current accessible transmissions and initiate new message for Capella," she ordered as she withdrew one hand from the console, pulling out a device and laying it flat upon the smooth metallic podium. There was no external signal that anything was being done other than a low hum as a wireless exchange between the computers commenced. The pinpoints of light within the invaluable stone flickered, swirled, blinked, dashed across the perceivable spectrum, and sparkled more beautifully than any gem the most wealthy of duchesses could obtain. There were lingering theories that the first PEA did serve its intended purpose but was too hideous for production. It was a dubious rumor at best, but it was hard not to notice the aesthetic draw of the esoteric apparatus, which surpassed the most desired maiden of the courts.