Chapter 22

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Three silvery droplets of flyer, rhythmically turning scarlet in time with the flashes of the Iastal's navigation lights, detached themselves from the dark bulk of the yacht and plunged, instantly disappearing into the golden glow of the Copeira's night side.

The thrust generators were switched off, and the machines, having rolled up their gravitational mirrors, simply tumbled down in almost total silence. Taer deliberately sat on the same side as the lord but two seats away from him and now, avoiding meeting his gaze, stared out the narrow window above the opposite side seats. As the flyers descended lower and lower, the bright arc of the horizon, already tinged with the gold of distant dawn, gradually straightened and faded, dissolving into the dark blue velvet of night. But Sain Lieutenant, immersed in somber musings, remained unconcerned by this beauty.

What an idiot, for what shadows did I get involved in all this? If I'd stayed in the Navy, I'd have been a Peleng Captain on some patrol corvette by now. Or, with any luck, one of the Triumphs. But no, she was in trouble... And what a mess she'd been in. An assassination attempt on a Lord of the Empire!

She glanced at the lord, who was sitting staring out the window, obviously unaware of what he had just gotten himself into.

...And who did you get involved with? With that madwoman! Even if the High Tribunal finds out, what does she care? The Senate would still be considering whether to put the question of removing her immunity to a vote, how she would pirate in the FEZ again and if they did remove her immunity, she would also begin to prowl around in Imperial space. That's all. And we...?

The "we" was silenced by a nasty little voice in the back of her mind, which reminded her that she was not to be questioned in any case - she was bound by oath to testify against the Lord and was not responsible for her actions, let alone the actions of the Lord.

Besides, I have five hundred thousand denarii on my desk, and the account allocated for procurement is at my disposal...

Then Taer, with an audible sfqueak, froze in horror... How could she even think such a thing? She hastily dismissed the idea, and she shuddered in disgust.

No, I won't fall for that!

Taer glanced at Alex, a little frightened, wondering if he had noticed the change in her face. But he was still staring enthusiastically out the window.

Well, he could at least have consulted me! There was a look of resentment in Taer's eyes again. I am, after all, his Blade.

Lord, who must have sensed her gaze, turned and looked at her questioningly. Taer snorted grudgingly and turned back to the window:

What if that recording with Lord Velaske and the professor is even faked? There must be some way of contacting Countess Durlurl... she thought with a touch of despair.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the beep of a communicator - a call from the castle. She was being called by one of the secretary droids:

"Sorry to disturb you at this late hour, Mistress Sain Lieutenant Diltar of the Guard," the droid rattled courteously, "but we have been contacted by representatives of House Bentar. They informed us that the ship carrying the esteemed Dudo Guwar had arrived in the Copeira system and wanted to know where to put it."

Great shadows, Dudo, I'd forgotten all about him!

"Pass me the Bentar numbers. I'll take care of the matter myself," she pulled out her infobox and, after making sure the data had arrived, cut the connection.

"Did something happen?" Alex asked, listening intently to her conversation.

"No, it's just that a ship with Dudo has arrived and needs to be accommodated."

"Shit, I'd forgotten all about that! But I don't suppose that's a problem? There's a room in the castle that could be used as a ward."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Taer shook her head. "He's very badly injured - we won't be able to provide the necessary conditions in the castle. We'll have to arrange accommodation with a decent clinic."

With it being nighttime in the main zone on the Copeira, there's no one to be found.

"I hadn't thought of that," Alex sighed wearily. "Maybe there's no point in going to the castle, then? We'll just go meet Dudo and go to the hospitals."

Taer glanced questioningly at Alex. The effects of the Fenote seemed to have worn off, and there were deep dark circles under Alex's eyes, and they were flushed, their complexion painfully pale, and their movements unsteady.

"It's better if I search for the hospital alone. You, Your Lordship, go to the castle and get some sleep. And tomorrow, we'll visit Dudo together."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" she nodded back. "You are in a state of extreme fatigue anyway, and you have no understanding of medical matters. And I have had general medical training."

"You haven't slept as much as I have," the lord remarked uncertainly.

Taer cast a quick glance at her comm screen:

"It's only thirty-nine hours," she retorted. "It's perfectly normal for me: when I was in the Navy, I used to have sixty-hour watches. So I don't want to sleep at all!" she was modestly silent about the fact that she was on proper stimulants for the watch.

And she really didn't want to sleep, not out of any excess of energy, but simply because she was afraid of another bout of nightmares, which seemed almost inevitable after such a strong manifestation of the implemented skills. And the prospect of exhausting herself enough to fall into a dreamless slumber was tempting.

"Well, okay," Alex agreed tiredly. "You're right, I don't know anything about it anyway, so I'm not much help."

Taer, with a look of triumph, nodded in satisfaction and turned again to the window.

Bloody hell, where am I going to find a decent clinic now?

Nothing cleverer than raising the ears of the retainers had occurred to her so far. Because she, too, had a rather vague idea of how to distinguish a decent clinic from an indecent one. Especially in a matter as delicate as extensive blaster wounds.

But you can't take him to Fyron to the Guard General Hospital!

Taer tortured herself with this question for a while longer, but soon fatigue took over, and her barely moving brain came to the conclusion that as a last resort, she would simply go to the most expensive clinic she could find.

Soon the thrust generators hummed softly, the flyers came into a turn, and the castle appeared in the side windows. The gardens, illuminated by a soft blue light, surrounded the castle in a glowing ring. The pale blue glow of the castle walls faded into bright purple spires, the glowing mass was reflected in the black mirror of a rippled lake, and the entire manor seemed to be engulfed in a cold, ghostly flame.

But neither Taer nor Alex had the strength to admire this beauty.

The vehicles came to a standstill on the landing in front of the front entrance, the large double doors were open, and the warm yellowish light in the front stretched in a narrow lane to the base of the stairs, where the majordomo was already waiting for them.

Signaling to the pilot to wait - she still wanted to pop into the garage with them to get her service Isato - Taer gently jumped down onto the sand of the grounds, followed by the lord out of the flyer.

"Arrange for dinner, Your Lordship?" Barra inquired.

"No, that's unnecessary," Alex brushed him off. "I'm going to bed. And you go, too."

After dismissing the majordomo, he turned and, pulling a jar of Fenote from his trouser pocket, handed it to Taer:

"Here, you're already scary to look at, and you don't know how long it will take to find a clinic."

She was only pretending to be reluctant and, with a heavy sigh, picked up the jar, mentally vowing to stock the medicine cabinet with normal stimulants.

After reaching the garage, Taer said goodbye to the pilots and went in search of her Isato-Planet. Finding the flyer, she collapsed tiredly into her seat and clicked the key on the dashboard. The vehicle's dark interior began to fill with flickers and lights as the dashboard came alive with terminals and system tests started up.

She watched the lights on the dashboard for a moment, sinking deeper and deeper into prostration, her eyes swimming, her eyelids heavy... Waking with a jerk as her head snapped back onto her chest, Taer woke up and looked around with mild surprise, remembering how she had gotten here in the first place.

No, we can't go on like this! I'll fall asleep in flight!

She reached back towards the back of the sofa where the mini-bar was located. Taking out a greenish bottle of Tarius tincture, she twisted off the golden cap with one swipe of her thumb and placed the open bottle on the floor beside her. Counting out five capsules of Fenote, Taer popped them into her mouth and chewed them. Wrinkling and squeezing her eyes shut from the unspeakable extravaganza that was going on in her mouth, she groped for the bottle of Tarium and took a few greedy sips right out of the bottle.

"Definitely, if you chew that crap up, it has twice the effect," she said aloud in a husky voice and, closing the bottle, steered the flyer towards the garage exit.

The search for the hospital took six hours, five pills of Fenote, and the night shift of the Retainer service of House Fyron alarmed. Finally, when it was clear to all involved that, on the one hand, it was not a nobleman and, on the other, Lord Cassard was taking care of all the expenses without much concern for their size, a suitable hospital had been found. The doctor on duty, a polite and short-spoken man with a noble grey in his temples, assured Taer that their equipment and experience were sufficient to deal with blaster wounds of this complexity. And that they would begin therapy as soon as the casualty was brought to them.

It remained to deliver the casualty, so after another hour and a half, Taer stood on the golden sunlit landing pad, shivering from the piercing gusts of cold wind that wafted across the roof of the clinic. She would have gladly waited for the Bentar transporter in the warm and cozy flyer, but beside her, the three medical technicians, led by the doctor on duty, were freezing, clearly more chilly than she was.

The Bentars were noticeably delayed. They had to spend another ten minutes on the roof before the carcass of the transport passed over their heads. The vehicle turned heavily on its nose towards the lifts and descended with a loud hiss as it lowered the nose ramp.

The young man in the gold uniform of the Bentar Guard jumped onto the platform without waiting for the ramp to fully lower. A few moments later, a pair of blue overalls followed him down the ramp, pushing a massive closed preservation capsule on a trolley. The upper cover of the capsule was transparent, but no one could see the face of the man lying underneath through the jumble of tubes, the extended observation units, and the blue glow of the regenerators' spirals.

The personnel, who must have been delighted to escape the roof and the piercing wind, rushed to the capsule and literally snatched it from the Bentar technicians, and hurried to the lifts. Only the doctor on duty was left, inquiring about his medical history and the procedures that had been carried out.

"Stack Lieutenant Guardsman Lit Medel," the Bentar Guard approached Taer, raising his hand in a military salute.

"Sain Lieutenant Guardsman Taer Diltar, Lord Cassard's Arm," she replied, waving two fingers from her temple. "I wish to thank you and all the forces of House Bentar on behalf of his lordship, as well as myself, for your help and concern for the wounded."

"Well," the guardsman objected, "I'm afraid we didn't do enough. So, in turn, on behalf of House Bentar, I would like to offer our deepest apologies for our failure to prevent the attack on our guests. I would also like to give His Lordship Lord Cassard a letter from Her Ladyship Lady Bellar."

He held out the golden envelope and bowed his head slightly. She took the letter, bowed her head slightly and said goodbye to the Bentar, and hurried to the lifts, mentally beating herself up for her hindsight:

Well, the Lord forgot, but me... No letter of thanks, no gift! Word will get out that Lord Cassard is an ungrateful stingy! We'll have to hint to "his lordship" to bestow a gift on all those involved in rescuing him...

"Except for the intelligence freaks who planned this operation!" She added aloud, finding herself alone in the spacious lift cabin.

At the clinic, she watched as Dudo was taken out of his medically preserved capsule and had a long talk with the head doctor of the clinic, who was waiting for her.

The clinic was very expensive, so the head physician, Jussi Pintirsi, was, as Taer had expected, a short, lean man, even for this race of mirlisti, wearing the green coat of a servant of the Protectress. He invited her into his office, a tastefully furnished oval Vythian-style room, windowless and finished in polished red elm.

"You see, Madam Diltar," the chief medical officer explained after Taer politely declined the drinks brought by the assistant, "the injury sustained by the esteemed Guwar is extremely serious."

There was sorrow in his huge green eyes. He sighed heavily, raised his folded palms to his mouth, and was briefly silent, obviously trying to find the right words:

"There are several approaches to treating such wounds," Mirlisti finally said. "And they are very different in both price and results."

"What's the difference?"

"Primarily in the speed and completeness of recovery. If we begin classical therapy, then, taking into account the time required to grow a lung, to perform implantation surgery, to build up the ribs and restore the skin," he was silent again and, with a heavy sigh, he shook his hands, "the treatment will take at least three decades - about thirty to forty days. And after the active phase of the treatment, it will be about the same amount of time, perhaps more, before the dear Guwar will be able to move about actively. It is also possible that for the next ten to twelve decades, he will experience some breathing problems. Not life-threatening, of course," he added hastily, seeing the look on Taer's face, "but preventing prolonged physical exertion."

So simply put, for six months, Dudo will be an invalid who is constantly panting and suffering from shortness of breath, Taer thought unhappily.

"I assume there is some alternative?" She 'nudged' the head doctor.

"Yes," the doctor twitched his ears in agreement. "Intensive care with Vitalin. In case of immediate life-threatening and severe wounds, you don't need to get on the waiting list." For some reason, he clarified. "And we can get the necessary amount of Vitalin at once for a full course. In that case, if all goes well, we can release dear Guwar in three or four days. And in about another five days, he will be able to move about actively." He fell silent and, clasping his palms together in a lock, sadly added. "But it will be very expensive."

"Dear Pintirsi, can you tell me directly how expensive it is?" Taer sensed a familiar dance around the price of the generator.

"I can't say for sure yet. I have to wait for the doctor's report, but not less than two million credits. Of course, with the additional costs the amount may increase." Pintirsi hurriedly added and, smiling embarrassedly, nervously drummed his claws on the polished surface of the table.

Her first impulse was to immediately agree to intensive therapy with Vitalin. There was still more than ten million danarii in her personal account from the money that had been earmarked for the purchase of equipment. She could have paid for Dudo's treatment right now without even requesting the lord's visa. But a worm of doubt stirred in her chest, her conscience chanting in a sneaky voice:

Joyfully proceeding to utilize the funds, Madam Guards Sain Lieutenant, eh?

The thought that she was already beginning to take charge of the money allocated to her, that she thought of it as her own, kept her from agreeing. Although, deep down, she was absolutely convinced that Dudo deserved the best treatment possible.

The lingering pause was interrupted by the chief physician, who folded his palms together again so that they were almost covering his small mouth and leaned forward a little:

"There may be a certain discount... For you personally," said Mirlissti as if in between, probably taking Mrs. Diltar's silence as an expectation of an offer.

He only added fuel to the fire: "In the case of such sums," Taer smiled coldly, "I must consult with His Lordship Lord Cassard, so I will inform you of our decision at a later date. I hope, dear Pintrisi, to see the final calculations by then, with the exact REAL amount."

"Of course, of course," he nodded sympathetically and, smiling apologetically, slid a flat table of one of the infoblocks lying on the table towards her. "Perhaps then, Mistress Diltar, we should make a contract for accommodation in the intensive care ward in the meantime?"

"It is possible."

Half an hour later, Mirlisti, smiling embarrassedly and constantly apologizing for everything in turn, escorted her to the car park on the roof.

Taer arrived at the Blue Flame only to arrive at the clinic with the Lord after forcibly cramming in her breakfast, four hours and three fenot pills later.

"So, how long would it take you to get him back on his feet?" Alex asked, observing through the transparent wall of the room the steady blue glow of the regenerator tubes that enveloped Dudo's body.

Dudo's body was almost entirely covered by the gold foil of isopholia. Completely, except for a huge dark red hole on the left side of his chest. The translucent flickering beam of the clamping field, illuminated by the cold shimmer of the disinfecting lights, beat directly into the wound, almost obscuring all detail. Which, in Taer's opinion, was only for the best. The resuscitation unit in which Dudo's body lay was tilted almost vertically and pushed forward for all to see, making the golden figure, entangled in blue tubes of a blood substitute and with a dark scarlet hole in its chest, look like some kind of grotesque sculpture.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"In the case of intensive care, three to four days, Your Lordship." The chief physician replied, bowing his head in a courteous bow.

"And when can you start?"

"We could do it now, Your Lordship." Smiled Mirlisti.

His ears were twitching - he was nervous.

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to decide formal..." Alex began but was interrupted by the piercing beep of Taer's communicator.

"I beg your pardon!" The "specialist" smiled tensely and went out into the corridor, retrieving her communicator as she went.

"Yes. What is it, Barra?" The call came from the castle from the steward's personal communicator, and the steward never made a trivial call.

"There are officers from Imperial Security here..." Barra's voice trembled slightly, "and a commissioned investigator from the Imperial High Court. They want to see Their Lordship, Lord Cassard. And their lordship Baroness Rionale is shouting at them. What am I to do?"

Her memory, which must have been spurred on by the Fenote, instantly produced a question before Taer could be surprised or frightened:

"Do they have an injunction from the Imperial Tribunal or authorization from the Senate?" She asked in a matter-of-fact manner. "And why is Kayrin shouting at them?"

"I... I don't know," Barra's voice was suddenly lost, "they didn't show anything." He mumbled and, clearing his throat, continued in a normal tone:

"As I understand it, it has to do with the assassination attempts. They have brought some kind of equipment and are measuring something with it all over the castle, and they have entered the Baroness' rooms, and she..."

"What kind of equipment?!" Taer started to get agitated but stopped just in time. "I'll tell you this. Get them all into the main living room, give them tea, teymar, wine, whatever they want. Tell them they're not to do anything in the castle without their Lordships' permission, including the use of any equipment, and their Lordships will speak to them as soon as they are free."

"What if they don't obey?" There was a pity note in his voice that did not sound at all like the majordomo's.

He must have thought that some of his financial frauds had been uncovered and they had come to get him, so he panicked.

"They have no choice, they will obey! If not, call me!"

When she entered the reception area of the ward, Alex, surrounded by the chief physician and his two assistants, was just reading the contract on a small flat-panel infoblock. The Mirlisti opposite and the others around him were trying their best to show that they were not shocked by the spectacle. But it didn't work out so well.

"We're having some difficulties at the castle," Taer whispered in his ear, coming up behind him. "It would be good to get out there."

Alex squinted his eyes and, seeing the frown, set the infoblock aside on a small table:

"Is it that serious?" he asked again in a whisper.

He only nodded silently. The lord hummed thoughtfully and then turned back to Mirlisti:

"Well," he smiled sweetly. "I think everything is fine, we are completely satisfied with your conditions, and I hope your clinic will not let me down in such a sensitive matter. I really hope that my man will be all right."

The chief medical officer got the hint:

"Of course, Your Lordship!" he fluttered on. "We are more than ninety-four percent sure of the outcome and, in any case, your servant's life is in no danger as he will be treated by our best team! They are, without exaggeration, the finest resuscitators, surgeons, and regeneratologists on Copeira!"

"I hope very much for your professionalism!" Alex nodded solemnly. "And, as I now have urgent business to attend to, I would like to complete all financial matters as quickly as possible."

"Of course, Your Lordship! If you are in a hurry, you can postpone the signing of the contract and the transfer of funds to a more convenient time."

"I'd prefer to pay for everything now. If that's possible, Mr. Pintirsi, of course."

Mirlisti smiled in response and nodded.

"What happened?" Alex asked as they said goodbye to the smiling Chief Medical Officer a few minutes later and boarded the flyer waiting on the roof.

Despite the eerie noise in the interior of the accelerating vehicle, Taer first took out a small suppressor pendant and switched it on:

"The SS has come to the castle," she shouted, trying to block out the roar of the traction generators. "And an investigator from the Imperial High Court. According to Barra, they want to discuss something concerning the assassination attempt on you. They've also brought some equipment with them and are prancing around the castle with it. I told Barra to put them in the living room and keep them out of the rest of the castle until we arrive."

"Imperial Security? Something tells me I don't like it. Can I refuse this joy?"

Taer shook her hands: "Technically since they don't have the Senate's sanction, you could order to kick them out. But..."

"... but it would raise a lot of unnecessary questions and suspicions," the lord continued for her. "All right, we'll talk."

A pale but outwardly unruffled Barra greeted them on the doorstep of the castle.

"How many guests do we have?" Alex asked the majordomo as he walked up the steps.

"Twelve men, Your Lordship. Eight respected members of the Imperial Security, with them the Mr. Officer, and also the Mr. Investigator. I have placed them in the lilac salon. And your former guest - Her Lordship Baroness Rionale is in her room, writhing in anger. His Lordship Marquis DeGrasteau is not here. He left for his friends after breakfast and promised to be here this evening. There are only two of his entourage in the castle."

"What was it that made Kayrin so angry?" The lord inquired with genuine interest.

"The honorable men from the Security Service went about the castle making some measurements and entered Baroness Rionale's rooms without any warning. Her ladyship was in the make-up room, and this made her incredibly angry."

Barra, who must have been overexcited with excitement, began to speak in "lackeyish ".

And Lord Cassard never liked that, Taer thought wearily as she watched the scene.

"Wow," Alex chuckled. "So nice! How long have they been here?"

"It's been an hour and a half, Your Lordship."

"I see... And what, they all want to talk to me at once?"

"As far as I understand, only two people want to talk to you - Mr. Investigator and the Stack Captain from the Security Service, and the rest are technicians."

"All right," the lord waved his hand. "Let's have these two in my office in about twenty minutes. Both of them at once."

"It will be done, Your Lordship!" Barra hurried towards the purple drawing room.

They stopped in the corridor outside the study. Taer was still going in to freshen up:

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked. "Will you be able to be present during the conversation? Because your eyes..."

"I'm perfectly all right! I'm fine," she assured him hastily, though she was already feeling a bit rough. But she could not miss the conversation with the investigators.

After all, the lord has lost his memory, they may try to take advantage of his ignorance, and I am the only person in the castles with any legal training.

"Well, look... It's just that instead of standing around like a lunatic, you'd better go and sleep - it's no use anyway."

"Well, I'm good enough to talk," Taer smiled wearily.

The lord shrugged in doubt and waved, walking down the corridor toward his bedroom.

No, I'm definitely enough to have a conversation. Especially if I eat a capsule of this abomination before talking

Five minutes later, eating three Fenote pills and washing her face with ice-cold water, but still slightly stupefied, Taer entered the small meeting room that adjoined the lord's office. The windowless circular room, finished in dark scarlet silk, was small and modest, about thirty paces in diameter. In the center stood a simple but elegant round table. Small in height, it was carved from a solid piece of dark stone, the depths of which played with scarlet overtones. The outer rim had a "Branches of Flame" ornament made with bright scarlet glowing etching. The table was surrounded by massive and low upholstered armchairs of dark brown leather, in which two "guests" were already waiting for them.

A young, thirty-something at the most, a stack captain in a charcoal black SS uniform.

And an older man in the snow-white uniform of a senior naval officer with the gold epaulets of a Sain Major. Judging by the "Peleng" on his sleeve, he had served in Imperial Intelligence - he must have been the authorized investigator. Behind the guests, two droids and a small hovering platform with drinks and snacks lingered.

SS man sat reclining in his chair, putting his foot on his leg and wiggling impatiently with the toe of his boot. His right hand was tapping an intricate beat around the foot of a half-served glass of Bentar Dew. From time to time, he cast quick, irritated glances at the scout. The SS man only gave Taer, who entered, a lazy glance that lingered a little in the area around her chest. Taer, to her surprise, was not at all annoyed by this:

It's from fatigue.

The Sain Major, seated next to the Security Officer, smiled at Taer and greeted her with a courteous nod. The scout, unlike the Security Officer, radiated calm and serenity with a steaming cup of Teymar on the table in front of him.

Apparently, having an interrogator and a whole Sain Major was not in the SS man's plans. And that just pisses the SS man off, and the Major likes it, Taer thought aloof as she looked at the pair of them.

Following Taer into the meeting room, the lord entered - at his appearance, the Sain Major stood up. The SS Stack Captain glanced at the Major, in which initial surprise was instantly replaced by anger, and with a second's delay, not hiding his irritation, reluctantly rose to follow. Staying seated with the whole Sain Major standing next to him was simply not an option.

"Sain Major Vimo Derbal, the commissioned investigator of the Imperial Tribunal," the scout introduced himself, bowing his head and clasping his right hand to the chest of his white tunic.

"Stack Captain Libut Februro, Imperial Security Service," muttered the Security Officer, forced to follow the Major's lead.

And you, Stack Captain, didn't seem to have planned the conversation at all, Taer mentally sneered, unable to hold back a smile.

"Guard Sain Lieutenant Taer Diltar, Lord Cassard's Arm," she introduced herself as she greeted the Sain Major with a wave of two fingers from her temple.

She didn't dignify the SS man with a nod. She signaled to the Lord with her eyes to sit down and went to her chair, forcing the Major, but above all the Security Officer, to stand and wait for them to sit down. Somehow she was sure that the Major would not be offended by this, but the SS Captain was quite the opposite.

"Nice to meet you, gentlemen! To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" The Lord smiled and gestured for them to sit down again.

The officers looked at each other and the SS officer, barely able to contain his anger, smiled tautly and made a silent gesture, inviting the scout to speak first:

"I have been appointed by the High Tribunal of the Empire to investigate the assassination attempts on Your Lordship," Vimo Derbal began, nodding politely to the Security Officer. "I'd like to speak to you personally and clarify some of the issues involved in this case."

Having said this, the Major looked expressively at the Captain, inviting him to continue.

"Actually...," the stack captain hesitated and continued after a moment's pause. "We are interested in the same question. I would like you to tell us everything you know, it would help the investigation a lot."

He seemed to have an entirely different beginning to the conversation prepared, Taer laughed mentally. And the Sain Major's deliberately polite tone confused his plans.

The conversation was clearly beginning to please her. Looking at the stack captain she could not hide her smile and, as she hoped, the smile must have been a rare nasty one.

"Well... Ask."

"Your Lordship, if you don't mind telling us, could you tell us if you have any idea who might have wanted you dead?" Major Derbal nodded to the SS Officer to ask his question.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," the SS officer added, literally squeezing out, "your lordship."

A mental laugh rang in Taer's head - she suddenly, despite her monstrous fatigue, experienced a feeling of a kind of crystal, icy clarity. Everything became clear as if she had simply tossed the puzzle crystals into the air, and they formed a pattern of their own.

The SS was simply going to blatantly ignore the liberties and interrogate the lord brutally, against all the rules, just as they had done to her after the poisoning. Probably even by force, thanks to the fact that they had eight "technicians" with them.

"You know, unfortunately not," Alex shook his hands. "I'm sure it's not someone from our House. It's some outside force, but who would want me dead..." he sighed heavily. "I might have known, but as you know, the poison made me completely lose my memory."

It was a provocation - she did not understand how she knew that, but she was sure of it. That was why the SS officer was behaving so brazenly and he planned to behave even more brazenly. To take and interrogate the Lord of a Great House against his will, without the sanction of the Senate, could be described as a very sophisticated form of suicide. Such an insult, and from a commoner, would not be tolerated. Stack Captain Libut Februro was a card to drop, but he didn't realize it. Apparently, he was from the Central Sectors and had only recently been transferred here. And he had only met nobles from there. And now Captain Februro just didn't understand what he was being asked to do. He had only seen the petty nobles of the Central Sectors, most likely he had never encountered the "Lords" - they were too few in the Central Sectors and usually held the titles of Princes, though in our Sector they would be at best Marquesses.

Poor idiot, Taer's thoughts erupted into a ghostly trace of pity. He'd almost signed his own death warrant. He must have skipped all the lectures on the structure of the nobility. He had interrogated nobles hundreds of times and saw nothing special in it. Someone had made sure that a man was sent to talk to the lord who absolutely did not understand what he was doing. He would have tried, as usual, to "shake out" the information. He might even have succeeded. After all, there are eight of them, and I'm the only one in the whole castle who can resist. The House would have been obliged to react after such an insult. And even if the House had restrained itself when such an insult became known, there would have been some overzealous "fanatics" ready to avenge the "descendant of a lineage blessed by Flame", even at the cost of their own lives. And, by all appearances, that was all someone wanted. But then an Intelligence representative showed up, the whole Sain Major at once, whom the brave Stack Captain had obviously not expected to see. And not just any Sain Major, but a representative of the Imperial High Tribunal. Shadows, he's so high up he could force to march Stack Mayor Sheldon, Head of the SS on Copeira, never mind a Stack Captain.

The conversation between the officers and the lord continued, and Taer barely heard anything anymore. She basked in the feeling of omniscience. She didn't have to listen to them. She knew ahead of time everything they would say or even think. Poor silly Captain Februro would try to push, but the Major would shut him up with his monstrous politeness and rank. In the end, the Major will blow off the interrogation. He was not interested in it in the first place, and this conversation is an empty formality. And the Captain would give up and walk away, not realizing that the Major had saved his skin and possibly his career.

What kind of career can a fool have in the SS, though? He will be traded at the first opportunity in another combination since this one didn't work out...

Sain Major doesn't need an interrogation too. He's sure he'll find out because we'll tell him

Taer's mental laughter shuddered in her mind - she felt genius and enjoyed the feeling, she knew that the Major was right, and although it had not happened yet, they would really tell him everything he wanted to know.

A crystal, icy, ringing joy was beating inside - she suddenly felt omnipotent, this simple and sweet feeling of absolute freedom literally flooded her.

One can push off and fly, just like taking a full breath, she smiled.

Reality trembled under her gaze, everything became fuzzy, and at the same time, she could distinguish the smallest details. For a while, she admired the intricate weave pattern of the threads from which one of the officers' uniforms had been sewn and then shifted her gaze to them. She raised her palm and looked at them through spread fingers:

One can push them, and they'll wrinkle like paper bags.

Under her gaze, the figures of the officers trembled, eliciting a cheerful smile.

I can do anything! She looked at her right palm resting on the edge of the table. I can take a piece of the table and break it off

She suddenly felt an unbearable urge to try it. So that the small stone crumbs splattered to the sides, and she had a nice chunk left in the palm of her hand. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table, feeling the pleasant coolness of the polished surface. She tightened her grip just a little and felt it succumb under her palm.

One has to squeeze. It crumbles quite easily, like a sand biscuit, she decided, increasing the pressure.

And a moment before stone should have cracked and remained in her palm. She was scared out of her wits - what if she really could? The eerie terror that belonged to her, the normal Taer, erupted like fireworks, eating away the ringing sense of omnipotence with a smoky flame.

If I can do that, it won't be me. I won't exist anymore! It's scarier than dying, She thought, and reality came crashing down on her in a muddy waterfall.

"...I would like to speak to your security specialist in private so as not to bore your lordship. There are several boring technical nuances which, in the meantime, are worth clarifying..."

She took a deep breath, as if after a long dive, and looked around.

The Lord was talking to the Sain Major, who must have noticed the oddity and was looking at her suspiciously. And Stack Captain Februro was burning the Sain Major with his hateful eyes and didn't notice anything around him.

Taer looked down at her hand, which still covered part of the table as if it were stuck. Inwardly freezing with creepiness, she slowly moved her hand and let out a sigh of relief - under her palm was a clean and intact tabletop.

Along with relief came a sudden feeling of pangs of resentment and loneliness, like a small child being led by a hand and suddenly looking around and not seeing the familiar hand. And strangers and huge indifferent beings pass by. And it is so frightening, hurtful, and lonely that it makes you want to cry.

Taer took another deep, convulsive breath and felt the tears come to her eyes. She wanted to howl with resentment:

Why did I stop? I could have! Mentally she moaned, remembering the pure ringing feeling of absolute freedom, and felt like crying.

Fortunately, the blockade finally remembered that it existed. The pain in her chest prevented her from breathing, and the tears receded.

"Well..." Alex stretched and Taer felt a touch on her elbow, "it's not really a problem, but..." he continued to draw in, glaring at Taer just in case she nodded, not quite sure what he meant, "why not?" He finished with a sigh of relief. "You talk while I take Mr. Stack Captain and his men out." He smiled at the SS officer and made an inviting gesture towards the door.

When they were alone, the Sain Major took a small holo-projector out of his breast pocket and placed it on the table.

"I would like to show you one footage," he said as he leaned back in his chair.

The screen above the table flickered, and Taer saw a tape of herself, in her own right, taking a familiar folder filled with money from someone. It would probably have caused panic if she had been in her normal state, but now she was only mildly surprised. They've got spies in there, too.

"And what is that?" she asked aloud.

"Visual evidence of the commission of the serious crime of accepting a bribe on a particularly large scale."

"A visual record is not evidence and cannot be considered by the court," Taer quoted idly, thinking to herself: Great shadows! Must have been an overdose of Fenote. Bloody hell, what a high, and the fools at the university were trying to get a hold of a real bloof. All it need was a trip to the pharmacy.

She mechanically continued to say the phrases she had memorized: "And I, as a guardsman of the Great House and an Arm of the Lord, have immunity from prosecution."

"True," smiled the Sain Major softly, "but who's talking about a trial? Think what would happen if we showed this tape to their Lordships? How will your career go on?"

And nothing is going to happen - 'their lordship' already knows, she thought wearily, at the same time trying to play frightened.

"And what do you want from me?"

"Nothing that threatens you or your Lord," the Major assured her. "I want information. It seems to me that Lord Cassard knows somewhat more about the assassination attempts than he has chosen to disclose. But after all, it is in his interest to find the killers as well. I'm sure you, Mistress Diltar, as their lordship's confidant, know a great deal about what's going on. Share this information with me, and your privileged position will no longer be threatened."

Some pathetic crumbs of the insight she had experienced told her there was no need to discuss it now.

The Major thinks he needs the cooperation a lot more than we do. He can wait.

The memory of the effect sent a slight wave of longing through her, but this time her mind was on guard: No, I don't want to get hooked on stimulants.

"You know, Mr. Sain Major, I haven't slept in almost two days," Taer admitted honestly. "Let's take a rain check on this conversation. I'll give you my comm number," she held out her business card to Derbal. "I can't answer your questions reasonably now, anyway. Or you can tell the Lord everything now. I don't care. "

The scout, who was clearly expecting the conversation to go the other way, hesitated and, taking the business card, looked at it with a look of surprise:

"All right, Mrs. Diltar, let's put it off..." He stood up and, twirling his business card thoughtfully in his hands, headed for the exit.

At the door, he turned to Taer, who was standing to escort him out, and said with a heartfelt expression:

"Just please don't drag it out. It would be very unfortunate if the next attempted assassination took place before we spoke. And, I tell you what... take one too," he held out his card to her. "In case you have something to tell me."

After escorting the Major to the grounds, where the lord was just escorting 'guests' from the SS. Taer, after waiting for the flyers to depart, signaled to the lord that: We really need to talk, and taking him under her arm, she led him to the "back yard," where a stela of the shield generator loomed as a silver arrow among the green tops of the reswells. Stepping behind the massive main storage unit so that they could not be seen from the castle and mentally waving, To wash anyway, she sat down directly on the grass, motioning for Alex to sit beside her.

"What's wrong again?" he asked, staring at Taer with curiosity. "And why here?"

"We've had eight SS techs in the castle with some unknown equipment," she explained, turning on her suppressor and placing it next to her in the grass. "According to Bara, they didn't get to our rooms in time, but they could have unleashed miniature droids or some shit like that, and they could have already spread all over the castle. All the more reason for these little buggers to be clever enough to stalk us."

"Can't they get here?"

"No." Taer waved, leaning back against the warm metal of the generator. "We've got a planetary-class shield here - this thing's radiating so badly, it'll blow their brains out."

Alex looked at the stela with obvious doubt:

"Is it radiating? Isn't it dangerous?"

"If you're not a droid, it's not fatal." The specialist brushed him off and changed the subject:

"Sain Major Derbal showed me a video of me getting..." she stammered, and with some effort, she finally said it. "How I received the bribe."

"Wow, a manager taking the risk of screwing over a partner on a billion-worth contract..." Alex stretched out in surprise and, with a smirk, inquired. "And what did 'Mr. Plenipotentiary Investigator' want from you?"

"He wanted cooperation. He thinks you or I... well, one of us knows more about the assassination attempts than we've been told. Threatened to put an end to my career by showing you the record." Taer smiled wearily.

"A serious threat." Alex shook his head. "You have no other choice but to cooperate."

"As a matter of fact, yes." Taer stood up, shaking off her trousers. "You'd be in a remarkably stupid position if he did show it to you, and you wouldn't dismiss me in disgrace."

"Exactly!" Alex smiled. "So we will co-operate with the investigation. We'll just have to think about what we give to the investigators." He looked at Taer with interest and, squinting slyly, inquired:

"How do you feel about yourself, by the way?"

"Fine." Taer shrugged. "I'm sleepy, of course, but if you need anything..."

"No, no." Alex waved his arms. "I was just asking because you're so mysterious when you don't get enough sleep."

"What do you mean?" The 'specialist' frowned.

"Well..." Alex made an indefinite gesture with his hand, trying to find the words. "Well, it's like I'm talking to a completely different person. I don't know how to explain it. It just feels like that."

Taer defiantly checked herself:

"No, it seems to be the same. There's even a sense of clarity, despite the fatigue. Maybe I just ate too much of that Fenote." She suggested.

"I don't know." He sighed. "It was probably just my imagination. And you better go to bed because you're making me uncomfortable with your mystery."

Taer shrugged again and waved a silent goodbye with two fingers from her temple. She stripped off her clothes when she reached the bed, threw her belt and holster on the table near the terminal, and, with the temperature control set to "cool" - she was suddenly hot for some reason - collapsed on the bed, instantly falling into a deep sleep.

* * *