General Aranson was of less help than his bid suggested. Fortunately the old stick was an excellent defensive player and was able to stymy Vidar's attempt to take the lead away from us. Each time the general laid down a cross suited trump to disrupt the High Count's play that worthy grew pale with fury. None of the other players seemed interested in assisting Vidar to take the lead, but both Goldwyn and Lazaro were able to secure their reliquaries while we were distracted fending off his assault. Cardinals was a game of shifting alliances with a major objective, the Sceptre, and minor objectives, the Reliquaries. Obtaining a Reliquary essentially meant that you broke even for the round, obtaining a Sceptre was victory and obtaining a Scepter and Reliquary in the same round allowed you to move the end game and Crown the Ecclesiarch. The cost of gaining a Reliquary increased as the rounds progressed as they represented only illusory safety. The trick to Cardinals was to use as many of the other players as you could to drive up the cost of Reliquaries while obtaining Sceptres for yourself. Partnering up was profitable but usually represented an attempt to maneuver you. Playing the game without my Psy was fun for its novelty. By the time Hadrian returned looking very pleased with himself, I had acquired the three scepters I needed to Crown, largely thanks to Vidar's aggressive play and stubborn refusal to make an alliance against me. I broke with Lazlo by driving the price of a Reliquary too high for him to continue, then laid my remaining cards down to a collection of groans.


"She sees the back of cards as well as the front," Count Vidar sneered. A sudden stunned silence fell over the table, Dame Aranson inhaling so deeply on her lho stick holder that her eyes bulged in an effort not to cough. The croupier looked mortified for a moment before a professional blankness crossed his face.


"Did you just accuse my wife of cheating sir?" Hadrian asked in a voice so deceptively mild that one might have almost missed the deadly menace that freighted it. Vidar drew his lips back in a snarl but was interrupted by the ringing of the crystalline bell that signalled lunch was about to be served. The Croupier took advantage of the distraction to push my chips across to me with his crop. I flicked him a chip and slid the rest into the tables recess, hearing the click click click of the counter followed by the ping which let me know my winnings had been credited to my account. I stood up and the other men followed suit, each giving us a brief bow. Vidar stayed seated, flicking his cards childishly into the center of the table.


"I wonder what that was about?" I asked Hadrian as we headed to the dining car.


"You weren't actually cheating were you?" Hadrian replied as a white clothed waiter ushered us to an immaculately laid out table decorated with black lotus petals floating in ornate glass bowls. I grinned and shook my head.


I ordered a grox steak which had been pressure cooked, then sauteed with a glaze of wine and tart dried plains, followed by several other courses of salads and savories interspersed with a variety of wines and amasecs. We passed through a station and there was a brief disruption while a team of Arbites came aboard and departed again without troubling us. When I asked what they were up to, Hadrian shrugged easily and made a comment about wealth and crime being too sides of a coin. We were soon on our way again and making our way up through picturesque farmlands that boarded the sea before we began the long climb into the Kalydon mountains. The series of switchbacks provided stunning views while we chatted over biscuits and recaf. The Zephyr provided excellent privacy fields but we didn't bother to use them, we left Inquisitorial business aside for a few hours and talked of history and sector politics. Hadrian was very knowledgeable though he tended towards a rather Amalathian perspective that I didn't quite agree with but not so violently that it derailed our discussion. It was a pleasant way to spend a few hours and when the bell rang for dinner service we retired being too full from constant snacking and a steady supply of wine and liquor to eat another meal.


It took the Zephyr several hours to climb into the great mountain pass that split the continental curtain wall of the Kalydons. We had retired for several hours to bathe and change before the Crossing Ball, a dance that was held each time the great locomotive crossed the mountains. I dressed in a gown of cream silk trimmed with accents of gold and diamonds. I was just pulling on my stockings and fastening my garterbelt when Hadrian appeared looking rather fetching in a military style suit in a dark charcoal with a rather impressive fur trimmed naval watch coat. Hadrian arched his eyebrow in approval and crossed the room.

“You are looking very fetching,” I said.

“Not so bad yourself,” he said, crossing the room and seizing me around the waist. He lifted me up onto the countertop, pushing me backwards onto the countertop.

“We are going to be late!” I laughed as he took hold of my legs and spread them, gathering up my skirts then dragging me back so my bottom was on the edge of the counter.


“So we will be late,” he replied with a devilish grin that made my heart skip. He sank down to his knees and tugged me back further before drawing my skirts down over his head hiding him from view. His purpose lost whatever mystery it might have had as I felt his lips brush up against my underwear, his teeth seizing the flimsy fabric and pulling them aside with obvious relish. My eyes flew wide and… the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor of our compartment. Makeup containers and clothing were scattered everywhere. Hadrian was standing above me, his lips moving as though he were shouting. It took me a moment to clear the ringing from my head and sit up. My head was throbbing like mad, I reached up to touch my head but there was no blood.


“...you ok?” Hadrian’s words finally penetrated. I nodded my head, dazed and confused.

“There was an explosion,” he explained. I realized that the engine noise had stopped and a low whump whump whump of an emergency alarm was sounding. I heard feet pounding outside as people were running past. I had been thrown across the compartment and struck the window with my head. I probably had my elaborate hairstyle to thank for not having my neck broken.


“Accident?” I asked, thinking about the incredible care that the crew of the Zephyr leveled on their machine.

“Unknown,” Hadrian replied, furiously punching keys on the safe in which we had stored our weapons. It gave no response to his efforts, not even the soft beeps of the keys engaging.

“Stay here I’ll find out,” Hadrian said. The whine of a landspeeder turbine went past outside which made Hadrian frown. He crossed to the door and opened it. 


“You, what is the problem,” he demanded of a panicked looking staff member. The young man turned and stared blindly for a few moments.

“Our engineers are working on it sir, please return to your cabin,” the man said with the sing song voice of a man whose panic was so acute he was falling back on old scripts. With the door open there was a smell in the air, fisolene and burning insulation.


“WHAT IS THE PROBLEM,” Hadrian demanded, his voice infused with his will. The man wet himself instantly.

“Ex..explosion on the pleasure deck,” the man stammered then turned sideways and vomited. Another landspeeder howled passed outside, a very fast reaction for emergency services.

“Stay here,” Hadrian repeated, then vanished into the corridor.

“Like hell,” I said as I got unsteadily to my feet. I took my deringer from my garter and checked the load.

“Like hell.”