"I know who knows my heart," Rene told Solae, stroking her gently and leaning close to kiss the back of her head. Unique in Rene's experience, Solae had judged him not on his rank, his family or even on his alleged crimes but only for himself. He tightened his grip on her protectively. He thought about her words wondering if his framing might be nothing more than an attempt to drive a wedge between his father and the Empress. Certainly Alric had shown that his loyalty was to his sovereign rather than siding with Rene, though what such a choice might have looked like Rene couldn't be sure. Could it be some ploy by the Chastains to weld their line to the Du Quentains? That seemed an obvious choice, but it was so obvious that there was no way his father wouldn't have investigated it when the match was proposed. Rene was also mature enough to realize that he himself might want his fathers new wife to be involved in the plot. It was natural to feel animus at the one who supplanted you. He thought back to the fleeting vision of his new mother in law, hardly older than him on the PEA link. At the time she had seemed flustered, but then who wouldn't be to receive a call from the murderer whose fortune you had usurped. Then there was Duke Tan's coup, it was obvious it was part of something bigger, something beyond the eastern cross. There was no reason the Empress would go to the Winter House other than to hide, the Praetorian Guard wouldn't allow her to do so without extremely extenuating circumstances. What if it had never been about him at all, simply about Amelia? Rene struggled to recall details of her family linage. All the Empress' hand maidens were of old families, usually younger daughters who would not inherit and whose family preferred the political currency of access to the Throne. His mind turned in futile and familiar circles, lacking information to make anything more than a guess.

What if all the reasons were facets of the same plan. Rene stiffened in shock. What if rather than one motivation, it was a complex of ends all targeted towards the destruction of the Empire. Amelia killed, posioning another of the great familes against Alric, the Chastains maneuvering or being maneuvered to lay claim to the Du Quentain fortune, the Emperess being forced to question who her supporters really were.

"My father wouldn't have stood by and watched me be executed," Rene said with sudden certainty. That was what he had been missing. He sat up suddenly convinced.

"Solae, they never imagined Id keep free long enough to enlist in the marines, I probably wouldn't have managed it if I hadn't spent months in the palace with the Praetorians," there were still fuzzy spots in his head unanswered questions but at long last the riddle seemed to be gaining some sort of coherence.

"Whoever did, thought I'd be snatched up by the palace guard and executed over my fathers objections, what if, after I was dead evidence was produced that showed I was innocent, killed by an Empress every bit as vengeful and unhinged as her father. At a stroke it would have driven a wedge between the Empress and my father, probably fractured the senior fleet command as well." Pieces began to fall into place.

"All of a sudden, rebellions break out, attempts on the Empress' life, no strong leadership from the Throne, communications disrupted save for a handful of people in control of the PEA networks. I don't think what happened to me was anything personal, just one of dozens of initiatives aimed at creating enough chaos that someone could either kill the Empress and assume power, or cause so much uncertainty that they could raise their own banner as a source of stability against a weak and feckless sovereign. Stars I bet if we go back through you notes we can find other incidents designed to do exactly the same thing."