A month after HMGS–His Majesty Guard Ship–Falcon 1 from the Imperial Recon Guard went missing. A hearing was held by the Imperial Council; The Emperor, Alexei Zormenia, attended the meeting. Military High Command of the Galactic Imperium and high-ranking nobles from the Galactic Imperium attended the meeting as well. Vice-Admiral Jormon Osber looked nervous, he had to present to the council his investigation of the accident.

“Your Majesty, everyone has arrived at this meeting. Shall we begin the hearing?” said Admiral John Windshire, Commander of the Imperial Navy’s Military Police.

“Yes, let’s begin this meeting. Vice-Amiral Osber, present your investigation,” ordered the Emperor.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Jormon stood up and multiple floating displays appeared on the table in front of everyone.

He looked nervous and tried his best to compose himself. “Greeting everyone, as we have known, a ship from the 1st Imperial Recon Guard Squadron, HMGS Falcon 1, has gone missing for a month. The ship was on a mission to investigate a pirate base in Combi System, however, they never arrived at the system and went missing on their way there. A few days after their last communication, the Imperial Recon Guard’s office launched an investigation and the results are as follows.”

The screen changed into a picture of a map. “As you can see in front of you, that is the last known location of the ship. The ship was last seen by our radar on the border of Zone of Coverage and the ship was in a jump at that moment.”

“Are you saying they deserted?” asked one of the nobles.

“No, My Lord. Commodore Lucas would not dare to betray the Empire.” retorted Osber.

“That is indeed correct. He is our Princess’s fiance after all. However, Vice-Admiral, one of the crew is a Parmis. A descendant of a traitor,” said Duke Oskar Jimena.

“My Lord, I can assure you, she too, would not betray the Empire!” said Jormon raising his voice.

“Hah?! How can you prove that? Her grandfather once betrayed the Empire and now I am certainly sure that she did the same, and there are 2 Loriens inside that ship. Killing 2 descendants of a Hero would be an achievement for a traitor!” argued Duke Jimena.

“My Lord, I asked you! For the first and last time, not to slander my subordinate anymore!” shouted Jormon.

“What ar–”

“Silence! Stop acting like a child. This hearing is important. Continue your report, Osber. ” The Emperor stopped the argument between the two.

"I apologise, Your Majesty. I will continue my report. I sent the rest of the 1st Imperial Recon Guard Squadron unit to search the area when HMGS Falcon 1 jumped and the last known location on the end of Zone of Coverage. Sadly, we have found nothing."

"So you did not find anything? Not even a distress signal?" said Duke Lucio Lorien.

"Yes, My Lord. Even with our advanced radar detection range, we could not find them."

"Have you tried going outside the Zone of Coverage?"

"We did, just a little. Still, we didn't find anything."

"Useless."

"Duke Lorien, I understand your sentiment, but please refrain from insulting the commander for doing his best," said the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, this matter involves 2 members of my House. I request you to let us join the investigation, and for the Imperial Navy and Imperial Guard to share all their findings and facts with us."

Duke Lorien had asked the Emperor before for the House of Lorien to send their own investigation team. However, he declined the request with the excuse that the missing crew was part of the Imperial Guard.

"Duke Lorien, as I have said before, this matter is being handled by the Imperial Guard," said the Emperor.

"Their findings within a month didn't tell us much."

"Duke, I disagree. Their findings are useful. Now we know they went outside our Empire zone. The Imperial Guard will expand their search area there soon, am I correct, Osber?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. We will send teams outside there," said Vice-Admiral Osber.

"Still, Your Majesty. Please consider allowing us to join the investigation. You can't keep us outside this matter when 2 Loriens are involved."

"Fine, I'll consider it. Vice-Admiral, continue your report."

Osber glanced at Duke Lorien before he said, “Our Empire strived for greatness and discoveries of new things, ideas and anything. The Imperial Guard has participated in many prototypes and field-testing of inventions from the Imperial Research Institute. However, we are also in partnership with Lorien Institute on implementing their newest invention.”

“What do you mean? Imperial Guard testing Lorien’s invention?” asked Duke Jimena.

“Yes, My Lord. This decision was made by the Emperor and agreed by Duke Lorien.”

“I am sorry, but the Imperial Navy never heard of this agreement or decision,” said Admiral Harry Kowalski, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Navy.

“Of course, you don’t. There is no need for the Imperial Navy to know our affairs,” said Admiral Jacob Kowalski, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Guard.

The Kowalski brothers occupied the two highest positions of the Galactic Imperium’s military. However, their relations were not the best, since they were children they often fought each other. This caused the relationship between the Imperial Navy and Imperial Guard to become strained.

“Hahh, I’ll explain,” said Duke Lorien. He was annoyed hearing the banter between the brothers. “It is a new reactor, engine or power generator, whatever you call it, that can be used by a ship more efficiently. It was invented by Lorien Institute researchers and is in the phase of testing on the Lorien Navy as well. As a loyal subject of the Empire, I offered His Majesty the reactors to be tested on the Imperial Military. As far as I know, all ships from the Recon Squadron of Imperial Guards have been fitted with the reactors.”

“That’s correct, My Lord. all squadrons of the Imperial Recon Guard already use the reactors,” said Vice-Admiral Osber.

“This is unacceptable, Your Majesty. We haven’t heard of this news before. How could you agree to let Loriens test their invention on the Imperial Guard without consulting us?” said Duke Jimena.

The nobles who attended voiced their agreement to Duke Jimena’s complaint. If it was tested on the Imperial Navy, the nobles would not be so vocal about the decision. However, the Imperial Guard was given the privilege to test it, the nobles were afraid that an invention from someone other than from the Imperial Research Institute would bring harm to the Imperial Guard. Many inventions from the other noble houses usually were tested on the Imperial Navy and not Imperial Guard.

“I understand your concerns. But, I have full confidence in what the Loriens made, they have served the Empire forever and their loyalty is unquestionable. My decision to test their new invention was correct. Now, Vice-Admiral explains why this invention correlates with the case?” said the Emperor.

“The new reactor has better efficiency and better energy generation compared to the current reactor we used in the Imperial Military. We also found the new reactor will make the speed of the ship jump faster. By looking at the tracking of the HMGS Falcon 1, we concluded that the limiter for the jump speed was deactivated and they jumped at the maximum speed.”

“How can it be deactivated?” said one of the nobles.

“The ship limiter can be deactivated with the authorisation of the commander of the ship, in this case, would be Commodore Lucas Lorien.”

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“Are there any reasons to deactivate the limiter?”

“Usually the limiter will be deactivated when the ship is responding to an emergency or being scrambled, or when fleeing from a threat, in the case of civilian ships. The Imperial Military allowed the release of limiters for many reasons.”

“And do you know why he did it?”

“Usually we will receive a communication from the ship if they want to jump with unrestricted speed. However, the last communication from HMGS Falcon 1 was the usual report of their location and situation which we found to be normal.”

“So, he deserted then.”

Vice-Admiral Osber held his anger. “No, we didn't find any reasons for him to desert. The failsafe we have on board the ship, the ship’s AI, didn’t send a report about the deactivation of the ship’s limiter. We believe the AI malfunctioned and somehow resulted in the ship’s out-of-control manoeuvre.”

“Malfunctioned? Is that what your narrative is?” said Duke Lorien with an irritated tone.

Vice-Admiral Osber looked frightened, “Y-yes, My Lord. It malfunctioned. We believe there was no other reason.”

“What about the dead mechanic?”

“I apologise, what do you mean by a dead mechanic?”

“I see, so that’s how you want to play. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to tell you a story. I–”

The Emperor interjected Duke Lorien’s speech. “Duke Lorien, what are you on about?"

"I'm going to tell the truth which the Vice-Admiral decided to hide."

"I hope you don't make baseless accusations. I have read his report and there is nothing hidden from this Council."

Duke Lorien was aghast, he now understood the Emperor was the one who told Osber to omit some part of the report. With anger, he said, "I understand now." Duke Lorien stood up from his chair. "This hearing was fabricated, the truth is kept hidden. I see no reason to stay on this damned hearing." Duke Lorien left the room, swiftly.

A commotion erupted in the room, nobles who were on Duke Lorien's side were questioning Vice-Admiral Osber about what Duke Lorien just said. On the other hand, nobles who were not on Lorien's side accused Duke Lorien was in emotional distress since he had lost his son and was not thinking clearly during the hearing.

Soon after, those who were on Duke Lorien's side left the room. Vice-Admiral Osber looked at the Emperor, Osber was ordered to omit some findings by him. He did not know the reason why the Emperor would want to hide it, Osber knew that Duke Lorien was able to discover the dead mechanic who was assigned to do maintenance on HMGS Falcon 1 when they docked on Earth. If the Emperor wanted to hide the findings from him then it failed before it began.

The Emperor soon adjourned the meeting. He has failed to keep Duke Lorien in the dark about the possible plot of the assassination of his son. He however was able to keep others in the dark. After the meeting, Emperor Alexei called Duke Lorien to meet him, however, his aide told him that Duke Lucio Lorien would not meet him. Alexei knew Lucio was pissed by the fact he was hiding the truth from the public. The aide told him if he wanted to send a message, it would be best to send it through Lucio’s wife, Duchess Noelle, who was visiting Princess Sophie in the Palace. He ordered him to send for the Duchess after she was done with Sophie.

Duchess Noelle arrived in front of Princess Sophie’s room, near the door was a maid. Duchess Noelle was an elegant and graceful lady, her etiquette was perfect and she was Sophie’s tutor. Noelle was born as an orphan who later worked at an orphanage where she met with the current Duke of Lorien. It was a love story that the public knew very well, both of them became symbols of love in the Empire. Some even compare them with the story of the first Duke and Duchess of Lorien. The maid told the Duchess the Princess had not eaten her food today and she had only eaten a small amount since she found out about the disappearance of Lucas and his crew. Duchess Noelle knew how much Sophie loved her son, but she thought Sophie was a little childish.

Duchess Noelle opened the door and entered the room. Inside the room was an untouched tray of food–lunch. On the bed was a girl, Sophie, laying down on her side and covered with a blanket. Duchess Noelle could hear a sobbing sound from the girl.

“Your Highness.” Noelle greeted her as she walked closer to the bed. There was no answer from Sophie, she kept sobbing.

Noelle walked to the side of the bed where Sophie was facing. “Sophie,” said Noelle softly. Sophie covered her face with the blanket when Noelle arrived in front of her. Noelle sat on the bed and caressed Sophie’s hair. Her beautiful and groomed hair had turned into a mess, she had never left her room and barely talked to anyone, even to her mother, since Lucas was gone.

“Sophie, take better care of your hair. Your hair is crumpled, what if Lucas saw you like this,” said Noelle. Sophie's sobbing became louder, her hand reaching to Noelle’s hand. She held her hand.

With a hoarse voice and crying Sophie said, “H-he won’t be c-coming ba-ck…”

“How are you so sure he won’t be coming back? I believe he will come back.” Noelle tried to console Sophie.

Sophie moved her blanket covering her face away from her face. Noelle could see Sophie’s swollen eyes and reddened, tired face. Together with her crumpled hair, she looked like a different person than she usually was. The news of Lucas missing must have taken her by surprise, at first she denied Lucas was gone, but slowly her denial turned into grief and depression. Noelle was asked by the Empress to visit Sophie and tried to console her, as her tutor and mother of her fiance, the Empress believed Noelle could console Sophie.

“He is gone, Duchess! There is no way he will be back!” Sophie had completely given up on the idea of Lucas’ returning. Noelle still held a sliver of hope of him returning and she was waiting on the hearing held by the Imperial Council. Her husband however already knew what the Imperial Guard discovered and found on their investigation before the hearing, however, he withheld the information to himself and did not tell Noelle anything.

"You love Lucas, right? How come you gave up on him."

"..."

“Come sit up, let’s eat your lunch, okay,” said Noelle. Noelle got up and picked up the tray with the food. Meanwhile, Sophie sat up on her bed, with a depressed expression. Noelle brought back the tray and placed it on the bed. Sophie started to eat the food and Noelle combed and tidied Sophie’s hair while she ate. Noelle sang a song to soothe Sophie’s mind. After she finished eating, the maid cleaned up the tray from her room.

Sophie was leaning on Noelle on the bed, Sophie told all of her feelings she felt after Lucas was gone. As Sophie's tutor, Noelle was like a second mother to Sophie.

“Duchess, what would you do if the Duke was gone while you were pregnant?” Sophie asked Noelle.

“Hmm? Well, I’ll try my best to take care of myself while waiting for him.”

“What if he never comes back?”

“Uhmm… Well, I’ll make sure to take care of the child. Because the child is the most precious thing he gave me and what was left of him.”

"....Thank you, Duchess."

Noelle wondered why she asked that. There was no way his son would impregnate her before their marriage because she had taught him well about sexual relationships.

"Sophie, are you…" Noelle tried to ask her.

"I-i'm pregnant, Duchess," said Sophie with a soft and shy voice.

"What? Are you sure?" Noelle asked, puzzled.

Sophie nodded, "The test is in that drawer." Sophie pointed at her nightstand.

Noelle opened the drawer and hidden below the handkerchief was a pregnancy test, showing positive. Noelle was shocked.

"Is it Lucas?" asked Noelle. Sophie nodded. "I-i'm sorry, I should have taught him better," Noelle apologetically said.

"No, Duchess, you're mistaken. It wasn't his fault, it was me. I lied to him, I said it was my safe day, but it wasn't."

"Why?"

"Be-because it was too long… I mean we have been betrothed for a year but there was no talk of marriage. So I decided to use my pregnancy to force him to marry me. I'm a bad girl, Duchess."

Noelle was speechless. "You are a horrible girl. As his mother, of course, I am mad,” said Noelle with an angry tone, “in a relationship you should let your partner know, especially if it affects both of your lives. What if Lucas did not want this to happen?”

“Ah… so-sorry, Duchess…” Sophie was frightened.

“There must be a reason why he didn’t bring up the marriage for a year. Have you talked to him about that?”

Sophie shook her head in silence. “I-i’m too shy to ask him.”

Noelle chuckled at hearing that. “If you are too shy to ask him directly, you could ask me.”

“…”

“Does His Majesty know?”

“No”–Sophie shook her head–”father and mother don’t know yet.”

Noelle hugged Sophie tightly. “You should tell them soon.”

“Yes…”

Sophie’s pregnancy might have brought a massive scandal to the Empire. Lucas and Sophie were betrothed, however, they had not married yet. As a noble–especially Imperial Family–pregnancy outside marriage was taboo and nasty rumours could spread like wildfire. There could be a rumour of Sophie slept with another man and the child was his.

Noelle planned to tell her husband about this and discussed what they should do with Sophie and her child. Whatever the decisions the Imperial Family would take, Noelle planned to do everything in her power to keep the child under her protection or at least under the protection of Loriens, if they decided to throw away the child. If Sophie was exiled because she wanted to keep the child, Noelle promised to take her to Lorien.

Noelle went back to the Lorien Estate in the Capital after she ate dinner with Sophie. She told her she would discuss this with Lucio and then told her about the decision they made. Unfortunately for the Emperor, his aide was not able to meet with Noelle to ask her to meet with the Emperor.

She was changing in her room when a knock on the door was heard. Her maid opened the door to talk to the person knocking, the maid did not allow whoever it was to come inside. That would mean it was not Lucio.

After a while, the maid closed the door and returned to Noelle’s side. “My Lady, it was someone sent by the Duke. He wishes for you for the night.”

“I see, I will take a bath first, please prepare my clothes and tell him I will be coming.”

“Yes, My Lady.”