Imperial Orders

♕The Elephant In The Room♕

"This is an absolute outrage! A disgrace to everyone in this room!" The Head of the Tactile Ministry had risen from his seat at the council table, his gloved hands exerting a death grip over the intricately carved edge of its rich, mahogany surface. His eyes scanned the circle of other ministers around him before landing on the Prime Minister, who sat confidently in her exquisite, throne-like armchair at the head of the table. Her hands were clasped carefully on the table in front of her and her gaze rose evenly to meet his; her calm response to his violent outburst seemed only to further anger him, as his face quickly twisted into a scowl. 

"Are none of you seeing this?" Oliver Speiss continued his tirade, gesturing wildly to the holographic screen that floated behind him. On it was the most recent footage from what the media had termed the 'Nardyskian Spaceport Fiasco.' A girl dressed in a poorly-fitting fur coat ran across the flat spaceport ground, blindly pursued by a security guard with an open suitcase flung over his head. 

"My wife and I lost over a million marks' worth of property to the daughter of a known criminal - who, might I remind you, is still at large- and her Djareny accomplice. I am more than disappointed at the lack of action being taken to recover my lost spaceship and, more importantly, to prevent embarrassing security failures such as this one from occuring again within our empire."

"Minister Speiss." Saara Remy's smile was warm but not indulging, making it clear that the Minister's high status and fiery speech would not affect her crystal-clear judgment. "You have my word that the criminals will be dealt with most severely when apprehended, and your ship returned to you perfectly intact. If it is found in less than acceptable condition, I will see to it that you are reimbursed by the Ministry." At this, she furrowed her eyebrows, sinking into deep thought. Though her mask of cold diplomacy would never allow her to say it aloud, the Minister's anger had only been a trivial part of the issue; the elephant in the room was yet to be discussed. 

"Diane, would you please show us the perpetrators' files once again?" Saara shifted her gaze to her personal assistant, a chronically nervous young Tactile who sat on a stool offset from the Council table by a few feet. Her fingers darted spasmodically across the keyboard in front of her to fulfill the Prime Minister's request. Moments later, two detailed case reports were displayed side by side on the large holographic screen that sat at the back of the room. 

"Tuofah Meredith Lynnstrijker. Daughter of Tarien Lynnstrijker, former Imperial cargo pilot..." Saara trailed off, reading disinterestedly from the screen before the words it displayed suddenly captured her attention. 

"Lynnstrijker," she whispered powerfully. The name left a foul taste in her mouth, but it would be most unprofessional of her to linger on her personal vendetta against the family during a crucial Council meeting. She decided to progress onward, her eyes drifting to the profile her team had put together for the boy. 

Hugo Lennez Pearce. Former soldier of the First Legion of Djaren. Family history unknown. 

"A First Legion-er. That means he served directly under Serpis- highly unusual for someone whose family history is unknown considering how big the Djareny are on kinship and clan hierarchies...he must be a truly extraordinary warrior, but in that case, why was he dismissed from the Legion?" Saara shook her head in disbelief, resting her chin on her knuckles. 

"He must have angered Serpis- perhaps he disobeyed her, or followed a loose interpretation of his orders." 

All heads turned toward the far end of the Council table where the voice had come from. Jay Remy. The Prime Minister's husband rarely spoke at Council meetings- rumors suggested that his son's kidnapping so many years ago had shorn him of his faith in the Empire's ruling body- so if he did have something to say, he was certain to have every ear in the room. 

"It makes perfect sense, doesn't it, Saara? We've got Pearce, a young Djaren disillusioned with the Legions looking for a new future. You've seen my work on the Lynnstrijker family- I've traced their lineage back hundreds of years, and considering the identity of their most prominent ancestor, it's completely understandable why someone like Pearce would turn to them. If he was truly close to Serpis, then he knows all about Ikma-" 

"I understand," Saara cut him off with a curt raise of her hand. It was clear that the name of the infamous Old Earth survivalist made her decidedly uncomfortable. "Pearce knows something from his Legion days, and Lynnstrijker is his opportunity to put that knowledge to use...I have a theory, but I need to see something before I can be sure. Diane, can I have the last twenty seconds of the Spaceport footage at ten percent speed?" 

As her assistant prepared her request, the Prime Minister rose from her seat, circling the left half of the Council table as she strode toward the holographic screen. Her eyes snapped forward as the screen came to life, locked on the suitcase in Tuofah's hand. She followed its path with precise care as it hurtled in slow motion through the air before landing on the security guard's head, tapping into her Ocular abilities. With her sense of predictive vision, mentally analyzing the wind and air pressure conditions of the Spaceport as they appeared to her, she saw the suitcase's path as it should've been, and then as it was. As Diane replayed the footage, she frowned, now able to more clearly see the suitcase's marked deviation from its predicted parabolic path. If it had followed the laws of physics, the suitcase would've missed the guard by more than two feet. 

This was a glaring inconsistency- far too great to be attributable to random error. Just as the Prime Minister had suspected. 

"What is it?" Jay asked, registering the troubled look on his wife's face. "What do you see?" 

"Lynnstrijker's a mutant," she said simply. "A highly volatile telekinetic Tactile mutant just like Serpis. I want everyone in the war room right now- I know where our spaceship thieves are headed."