Chapter 10: The Duality of Man

PWING!

PWING!

PWING!

The entire room was smouldering hot, the heat so significant that it caused one's vision to swim. In virtually any other context, it would have been considered a torture chamber. Just a rounded room, all the walls black. In the center was a large steel furnace, a large collection of burning hot coals in it, glowing an angry orange. A purple metal grid was right above this heat source, and resting atop this grid was a long piece of blue steel, most of which was glowing orange thanks to the heat beneath.

Queen Jupiter, stripped down to the most basic of cloth clothing, was raising a large metal hammer up above her head with both hands, then bringing it down with massive force onto the steel, then raising it back up for another swing. She repeated this physically exhausting loop over and over, each swing down onto the steel resulting in a loud PWING on contact.

The young queen was sweating buckets, her skin flushed red with exertion, muscles in her arms pulsing as she continued to beat down on the glowing metal, shaping it. She set the hammer down, taking a step towards the furnace to grab the edge of the blue steel in order to flip it over, before stepping back to resume the violent work.

Obviously, there were machines that could shape a sword, shape it perfectly in fact. And there were millions of those machines on Jupiter, along with ones that could shape armor, and spears, and pikes, and any other metal object you could care to name. But it was a point of pride, to be able to shape them manually. To be able to do it the old fashioned way was something to brag about. And for the Queen, well, it served to earn the respect of everyone. So, whenever she could get a moment or two away, she almost always found herself in here, shaping and molding metal.

With a sharp crack, a section of the black wall was retracted inward and slid slowly to the side. A grey-tiled little room was revealed on the other side, a lone woman wearing green robes standing there, looking quite concerned.

"Your Highness, please!" she called out, waving over at Jupiter, trying to get her attention. After a couple more swings of the hammer, the Queen dropped it to her side and turned to look at her. "We have important things to discuss! This can't wait any longer!"

Giving a little moan, Jupiter leaned her head back, stretching out her neck. "It's odd. As the Queen, you'd figured that I'd be able to make things wait as long as I want."

"Please don't be like that, Your Highness!" she called out, looking around the room with mild trepidation. "We've told you before, once you've taken the throne, your responsibilities will increase many times over and you won't have as much time for this sort of thing! Come here, please!"

Jupiter reluctantly pulled the partially-smithed sword off of the furnace by the handle, looking it over. The lingering heat from the coals stung her hand, but she weathered it. "Well. I suppose it's not going anywhere."

She slowly walked over to the open door, towards her head advisor, swinging the heavy metal sword around in her hands, hanging it up on a metal set of hooks on the wall on her way out.

"And…" she looked down at Queen Jupiter's feet. "...at the very, very least, can you wear shoes when you're working in here?! We've been over this!"

"I can't work with shoes on," Jupiter replied, stepping out of the sweltering hot room and slapping her palm against a panel on the tiled wall, making the door slowly start to shut. "Distracts me."

"More than the...agonizing pain?" she questioned, unable to take her eyes off of Queen Jupiter's large bare feet, as she could only imagine how the scorching heat of the room must have affected the bottoms.

"Pain is relative," Jupiter replied simply, putting her closed hands on her hips. "For instance, I would find it less painful to stick my feet directly into that furnace and rest them on the coals than have to spend another secunda discussing education programs for level three classes."

"Well, about that, actually, we really should make a decision, having all of the youth academies working in unison is important," she began, trying to not act too agitated as Jupiter walked off, heading down the small hallway, fingers running through her sweaty brown hair.

"Lyra, I honestly have no preference, I can't even tell you the difference between them," the Queen said dismissively, pushing a door open and going into a white tiled room with a row of stalls along the wall.

"Well, you should be able to, it's a problem that you can't!" Lyra insisted.

Queen Jupiter reached up, pulling the white cloth strip off of her chest, unwrapping it off her body and dropping it to the floor. Lyra froze, backing up a few steps from the Queen.

"Oh, don't be like that," Jupiter said, looking over her shoulder as she similarly unknotted the strip around her hips, letting it drop down her legs. "Nothing you haven't seen before."

"It's...still not really—"

The Queen opened one of the stall doors, revealing an enclosed little rectangle of space with nozzles built into the walls and ceiling. She stepped inside, slapping a panel on the right side of the little chamber. Immediately, all the nozzles started to spray out cold streams of water all over Jupiter, the watery assault coming from all directions. Giving a little shiver and moan, she tapped the door closed.

The room was now filled with the sounds of pouring water, echoing around the tiled walls. Lyra crossed her hands over her chest, frowning at the occupied stall.

"I can hear you in here just fine!" Jupiter called out. "Go ahead, I'm listening!"

"Okay, well…" Lyra raised her voice. "We still have tariffs with Uranus that need to be re-considered, crime rate is up to dangerous levels in thirty-eight regions now, exports of Halagenic Gas need to be reconsidered in terms of the price, we have—"

"Can I just say yes to everything?" The door the stall cracked open a bit, letting Jupiter poke her head out of the showering chamber, over at her head advisor. "Would that be such a bad idea? Honestly, that has as good a chance of resulting in good decisions as anything else I could do."

"No, you...Your Highness, we can't do that either, I…" she sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry, I understand. It's a massive burden, being the Queen of a planet of more than a trillion people. I know you're overwhelmed. But, running from it is not going to make anything any better. With time, we'll be able to develop a system that delegates responsibility and decision-making, but right now, you need to throw yourself into this!"

"What's wrong with just letting you and your team make all the decisions?" Jupiter asked. "That's basically what happened the last twelve years, why should it have to change so much just because I'm eighteen now? I trust you all, and it's not like the Kingdom is falling apart over the last decade."

"You're the Queen!" Lyra countered. "You have to be involved in this stuff, that's all there it to it. We can help, but you have to be involved."

Queen Jupiter sighed. "I need to marry a guy who can handle this stuff."

"...valid...valid idea, but until then, you have to be part of this," Lyra insisted.

"Serenity has the right idea," Jupiter grumbled. "Okay, just...let me clean up, and then we'll...go over those education programs." She shut the door. "And Serenity only has...what, a billion people on the Moon?" The Queen rolled her eyes. "Wish I could trade."

"

Endymion fiddled with his fingers in front of him, timidly shifting his weight back and forth as he looked at the metal sliding door in front of him. He glanced around, down the hall on either side of him, and then reached forward to knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door slid open automatically, revealing Zoisite sitting on his bed, holding a small remote in his hands. He stiffened up a bit on seeing the Crown Prince standing in the threshold to his private chambers, hands in his lap.

Endymion slowly walked across the small room, Zoisite's eyes trained on him as he moved. The Prince sighed as he approached, glancing down at the carpet beneath his feet for a moment.

A couple of slow beats passed, Endymion shifting his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly, projecting an image significantly different from the one he had given eleven days ago in this room.

"I'm sorry."

Zoisite jerked his head back a bit at this, raising an eyebrow at this proclamation.

"Look, Zoisite, I...I'm...I feel that, maybe, um…" he reached up to scratch his forehead. "Can I sit?"

"Absolutely," Zoisite said, Endymion quickly moving over next to his general and sitting down on the bed.

"I know that recent things that you've learned about me...might seem a little strange, but...I don't want it to affect our relationship. Really." He reached up to put his hand on Zoisite's right shoulder. "I want you to feel comfortable around me, we're...we're friends."

"I just don't want there to be any confusion," Zoisite replied. "I've taken vows, and I take those vows very seriously. I serve you. Not myself, not the King, not any God, you."

Endymion nodded. "Yes, yes, not disputing that, but...I like having a positive relationship with you. So, what I'm trying to say is...what I've had you do for me, I-I know that it probably didn't sit well with you. So, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have asked you to do it if it wasn't extremely important."

"I know," Zoisite insisted, nodding. "I want you to be able to trust me, and...I know I'm the youngest." He grimaced. "I know I've been here the shortest amount of time, and I—"

"Zoisite, if I did have any doubts about your loyalty, which I didn't...I certainly wouldn't now," Endymion assured him. "All I'm saying, is that...what just happened in Kunzite's room, that's not what I want. I want you to be calm and at ease around me. I want to be friends."

Zoisite nodded quickly, still looking rather stiff with his hands folded in his lap and his back straight.

Endymion stood up, putting his arms out at his sides. "Come on, man. Come on. I'm not leaving until I get it."

Zoisite, after a couple awkward beats, couldn't help but crack a smile. "Are you giving me an order?"

"Do I have to?" Endymion asked, beckoning his hands towards him. "Come on."

Zoisite stood up, unable to resist a small grin, and then leaned in towards the Prince, wrapping his arms around his back a little awkwardly.

"It's okay, it's okay, I get that you might have...developed a bit of a friendship with Princess Mercury. And that's great! I got no problem with that, in fact I think it's cool, and probably good for diplomacy, too, I encourage it! And I'm sorry you had to...trick her like that. I know you weren't comfortable with it, just...it was important. I'm trying to do something for Serenity."

The two young men broke their hug.

"And, the fate of the galaxy might hang in the balance. Really, I'm...I'm making the best of a difficult situation. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You don't have to," Zoisite insisted. "I...yes, I like Princess Mercury, she was nice to me and we have some things in common, but it ultimately doesn't matter. I know what my priorities are. And, if you ever need me in the future for help on this...this matter, then I'm here for you."

Endymion slowly reached over, giving Zoisite a couple of smacks on the shoulder. "Money laundering, think about it. We need a way to get the money into clean accounts."

"O-okay," Zoisite agreed. "It's just...Your Highness, I...it's just shocking. To hear that you, of all people, would get involved in something like this, I...it's a shock."

Endymion smiled, nodding. "I know, sometimes I can hardly...hardly believe it, but...well, things happened, and here we are."

He turned around towards the door across the room, heading towards it. Zoisite tapped the black remote next to him on the bed, opening the door with a little hiss.

"

"Alright, give it to me, Kunzite, what are we looking at?" Endymion crossed his arms over his chest, leaning up against the counter. His most trusted general was closing up the drawer underneath the counter, where all of the formulas had been stored, having added one more to the comprehensive collection.

"Not that bad, actually, all things considered," Kunzite admitted. "We'll have to get a tube furnace, but that's simple enough. Most of the materials and substances are easy to obtain, and obtain in large amounts. Honestly, for the most part, the cost difference is negligible." He gave a half-hearted shrug. "There's one exception, but...it's a big exception."

"Go on," Endymion prompted, glancing over at the U.V. Ray Chamber to his left, shoes tapping gently on the floor of The Qesem.

"The catalyst for the reaction, it's Boron Crystal Fluid." Kunzite's face wrinkled.

"Well, there's certainly plenty of that in the galaxy," Endymion said casually.

"Sure, but we can't buy it," Kunzite countered. "If you want to buy it, you have to have a verifiable reason for wanting it, and illicit Imperium synthesizing isn't going to cut it. We'll have to steal it."

"Well, there are thousands of hazardous chemical warehouses on Earth," Endymion reasoned. "Most of them should have some Boron Crystal Fluid, so we just find one with some security holes."

"No, we don't steal from Earth," Kunzite said. "This is an opportunity to throw the agency off our scent. We've already got them going through Librum, Yarlford, and Vilma with combs, practically. And I'm sure in a handful of days, it'll be the same for La Pina. Boron Crystal Fluid only has four known uses. It's used in psychic suppressor injections, an immune disease vaccine, fusion explosives, and, so it would seem, Imperium synthesizing. So if we steal some, it'll be obvious what it's being used for."

"Steal it from Jupiter, give them the wrong idea of where to look," Endymion reasoned. "Fair enough."

"I'll take care of that," Kunzite said. He pointed a stern finger over at the Prince. "Alone. You've got the wedding to think about anyway."

Endymion grinned, but nodded. "All yours."

"The King's signed off on the negotiations for the union, so it's a matter of days. Involve yourself in it as much as you can, you'll only be getting married once in your life. And, anything you can do to put Serenity at ease would be good as well."

"Oh, love life coach now. I knew you were a man of many talents, Kunzite, but this is a new one," Endymion teased.

Kunzite cracked a tiny smile. "And, please don't have the wedding until after I get back."

"What if you get caught?" Endymion asked, coming up to his guardian and slapping him on the shoulder.

"I'm not going to get caught," he replied simply. "You just focus on the wedding, and your wife. And maybe think a little bit about how you're going to need to spend your time once it's official."

"I know," Endymion said quietly. "I know, I...good luck." He patted his shoulder a few times.

"

With a curled finger up on his upper lip, Kasios stared at the small mound of tiny clear crystals on the stainless steel table in the middle of the room. He was standing amid a small crowd of people, his fellow council members and a couple of scientists in white lab coats. Conversations were buzzing about around him, but there was a dull ringing in Kasios's ears. Almost as if his mind was intentionally blocking out everything around him so he could focus on the crystals.

Refined imperium, ninety-one percent pure. Each time the agency enforcers brought up a new little paper envelope of the stuff, Kasios reacted almost the same as he had on the first delivery. Yes, you couldn't quite re-capture that initial feeling of shock and fear, on learning that the universe as you knew it was not suddenly a lot more complicated than you thought and that you weren't as in control of it as you thought, but it felt like each new packet of crystals was another strike across the face. It was becoming clear that it wasn't just some random fluke, with someone having come across a tiny little supply of pure Imperium and selling it off to fund a vacation or purchase a hovercraft. Someone was treating this as a business. A lucrative business that would be difficult to stop. And it would only get more difficult with each passing day.

"Mark the date and time, everyone."

Even Kasios's mind knew enough that the time for ignoring people was at an end when he heard that particular voice. The average-sized, plump figure that he knew belonged to Galen, the fifty-one year old Grandmaster of the Galactic Imperium Agency, strolled in front of him, up to the table. He turned his focus to the highest ranking member of the agency.

"As of this very moment, we now have a full uncia of of this new strain of Imperium," Galen announced, pointing down at the mound of crystals. "Or, as they might say on the streets, an ounce."

"So how much is out there?" Naxos wondered out loud, going up to the table side next to the Grandmaster and staring down at the crystals. "Two libras? Three, maybe?"

"If I had to guess, a lot more." Another high council member, Orion, went up to the table next to Naxos. "This Imperium is so potent, the street slingers barely have to carry any. We're literally picking it up a dozen or so carats at a time. I think the typical assumptions we make about ratios can go out the door here."

"Which is also why we haven't been able to get anyone incarcerated up here," Galen added. "Everyone we've busted has either been a Class D or Class E offense, because they've got so little. Two cycles in jail, twenty-five hundred cred fine, nobody's rolling over to get out of that."

"Okay!" Kasios extended his hands out wide to his sides. "Alright, I understand that everyone here is looking at me on this, I get it, and I'm promising everyone in here that I'm getting on top of this!"

"Your Highness, nobody's looking at you on this," Orion protested, waving his hand over towards the Earth King. "This is a problem for the whole agency, it's on everyone to solve this."

"No, no, I get it." Kasios tapped his palm against his chest. "The Earth is mine. This stuff isn't popping up on Venus, or Jupiter, or Neptune, or anywhere else. And, for the millionth time, I'm not doing that Highness crap when I'm on board The Savery."

"It doesn't matter where you go, King Kasios," Galen insisted. "You're a King, everywhere in this universe."

Kasios rolled his eyes. "Alright, well, the distribution network for this stuff has been jumping all over the globe, so whoever is behind this is smart enough to keep moving. Librum, Yarlford, Vilma, by the time we move in, they're on the way out. But, something will come up eventually, the moment I see a carat of this stuff pop up anywhere I'm putting a couple hundred agents on the ground. Longer we let this go, the more money these people make, the harder it'll be to catch them."

"Or, if they're not particularly bright concerning tax law and being inconspicuous, much easier," Timon pointed out. "But yes, sooner we jump on this, the better."

"Which is why I'm making it my top priority to spearhead figuring out where this stuff is coming from, and taking down whoever is behind it. As far as I'm concerned, it's on me, and it's the primary thing on my mind, I promise." Kasios nodded confidently.

"No, it's not," Galen said strongly, looking up at Kasios. "I forbid it from being such. And in fact, you shouldn't even be here."

Kasios looked confused at this proclamation, looking over at the Grandmaster. "W-what are you talking about? Of course I should be here."

"Your son is getting married, Your Highness," Galen reminded him. "You've only got one son, and he's only going to get married once, barring unspeakable tragedy. That should be your priority right now. Even I know that."

Kasios grimaced, pulling at his lower lip with his left hand. "I...I know. And believe me, I...I'm going to cherish that, but...some asshole is out there right now with the purest Imperium in the galaxy, making creds hand over fist. And whoever it is, they're in my territory! Word's starting to get out, the general public is finding out, it doesn't reflect well on the agency." He scowled. "If we let this prick keep going, he might build up enough distribution to start selling in multiple places at once. We need to stick this guy now."

"Or girl," a female voice suggested from the collection of people standing together near the small table of Imperium. Jorja, the lone woman voice on the council. "Just saying."

Kasios nodded. "Seriously, in a couple cycles, this stuff might be everywhere on Earth. Every continent, every region...every city. And then what are we gonna do?"

"Regardless," Galen said sternly. "You're leaving The Savery today, and you better not be back here until after the wedding. Work from the Earth Palace if you must, but you shouldn't be here." Galen took a couple strides over to the Earth King and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Family before work. Trust me, that's a mistake that I made earlier in my career, not realizing that, and I still regret it."

Kasios sucked down a deep breath through his nostrils, but then gave a begrudging nod. "Alright, alright, I'm...I'm out of here later today." He looked around the room at the gathered council members. "I'm not going to pretend that we have much to work with, but the task forces that have been going through the cities where this showed up have a little bit to go on. Information packets are going to be distributed in a day or two, read them, and we'll get this prick fast."

"This goes for everyone here, not just King Kasios, consider this our number one priority. Whoever is producing this, assuming they have enough of it, is well on their way to becoming the main player in black market Imperium. I'd like to get him before that happens," Galen added.

"

The warehouse was a plain and uninteresting structure for the most part, a massive, high-ceilinged room constructed of concrete and steel, rectangular in shape, filled with metallic shelves loaded with barrels of virtually every color. Half a dozen men in dirty green uniforms were moving between these shelves, loading barrels onto little hovering platforms and then guiding them over to the northwest corner, where a transport ship had been parked by a loading dock.

Among these half-dozen was a man who had no business in such a place, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to conduct a theft in the name of the Earth Prince. He had located the Boron Crystal Fluid, kept in a dull yellow barrel, but extracting it from the warehouse was going to be a tricky matter. Obviously, there would be no covering up the fact that it was gone, that was unavoidable, but the tricky part was making sure nobody knew until after he was long gone with it.

Kunzite was wearing the same uniform as everyone else, his white hair tucked up into a hat on his head, inserts in his cheeks altering the look of his face and purple-tinted glasses making him look practically unrecognizable. The security cameras all over the facility would not do anyone any good to identify the thief after the fact, for within minutes of his successful thievery he would have destroyed all evidence of having ever looked anything like that.

The transport parked in the northwest corner was his chance to sneak something out. But things had to be timed perfectly. As he moved around, guiding barrels over to the ship, he kept an eye on how full the cargo hold was, watching it fill with assorted chemicals and liquids. It was very close to being loaded with the required payload, at which point it would be sent off to Callisto, where it would be held temporarily until ships from other planets came to pick it up, per trade agreements.

"Alright, that's everything on the manifest."

Kunzite's ears stood at attention, picking up on the conversation happening right next to the transport between two of the warehouse employees. He stopped walking, head down towards the ground.

"We checked everything?"

"Yeah, it all matches, let's get it out of here."

Subtly, Kunzite reached down to the pocket on his left hip, finding a tiny remote in there and tapping at the singular red button on it through his clothes. As he did this, he ducked over inbetween two of the shelves.

On the walls, a few dozen yellow sirens began to frantically flash and spin about, a stomach-curling looping alarm ringing through the air.

"Aw shit, okay, everyone out! Get to the decontamination room!"

The cacophonic sound of boots slapping against the concrete floor filled the air around Kunzite, everyone quickly retreating out of the warehouse, dropping everything to get out of the 'supposedly' dangerous room. Kunzite waited, listening intently, hidden from immediate view. After a couple moments, he heard the doors across the giant room open, and then slam shut.

He had a short window to work, and so he stood up, kicking a floating little square platform across to the shelf on the other side of the room. Hustling over, he grabbed one of the yellow barrels, dropping it on the platform, feeling it's significant weight and hearing the sloshing within. Half a culeus of Boron Crystal Fluid, enough for several hundred libras of Imperium at the least.

Knowing that the security cameras were beats away from reactivating, he sped the barrel over to the transport, quickly loading it into the ship, among the dozens of others. Satisfied, he sprinted back to where he had ducked away during the sudden room evacuation, down between two shelves.

The cargo had already been checked against the manifest, and when the contamination alarm was revealed to be a false positive, the odds of the load being double-checked before being taken was small. It would be a simple matter of getting to the drop off point on Callisto, causing another disturbance, and making off with the barrel before the cargo could be checked there. The theft would be exposed only after inventory on the warehouse was taken, by which time Kunzite would be far away.

"

"Alright, so, you and your mother come in through here," Endymion indicated, running his finger down a thin little path between the rows and rows of benches depicted on the large hologram being projected in the middle of the room. It was a very accurate representation of the interior of The Holy Gobekli Temple, the oldest place of worship on the planet, having been renovated countless times over the years. No place on Earth was more revered and respected, outside of perhaps the Earth Palace, and as such there was no better place for the union between Endymion and Serenity to made official.

"Ooo, the curtains where we come through, c-can they be white?" Serenity asked, pointing at where the hologram showed the entryway, thick blue curtains hanging in the way.

"Oh, they're definitely white, it's just...this hologram makes them look blue," Endymion said quickly. "But yeah, pure white, white as snow, definitely."

Serenity nodded, eyes dancing along the hologram, beaming with excitement. "A-and, over here," she continued, pointing at a couple rows of benches up near the head altar. "Right here, I have a few people who are really important to me, I'd like them here, if that's okay."

"Serenity, everything's okay," Endymion insisted, reaching down underneath her and picking her up in his arms, one hand on her back and the other supporting the backs of her knees. "Everything has to be exactly the way you want it, on this day of all days. Any detail, any specific little thing, I don't care how small it is, I want to make it the way you want it to be." He began to slowly carry her around the hologram in the middle of the bedroom. "So, whatever is going through your mind as you think about how you want this day to go, you verbalize it."

Serenity leaned up to kiss Endymion on the cheek. "O-okay, so, there was one tutor I had when I was fourteen. I was never...the best student, but she...I had a good relationship with her. Alexa, I want her up there, she reached me in a way that others couldn't, she's precious to me."

"Absolutely," Endymion agreed. He glanced down at her stomach. He thought he could maybe, just barely, detect a bump to signify her pregnancy, but it was subtle. Easily hidden. True, after she gave birth, people would do the math and figure out that the moment of conception had been well before the wedding, but it would matter much less by then.

"The head of the Royal Guard of the Moon," Serenity continued. "Head chef, my nanny when I was little, I want them sitting there." She danced her finger along the glowing structure. "I want a big portrait of my father over to the right of the altar, I know which one I want too...he should be here in some way."

"We'll put him right next to the tiara display," Endymion suggested. "Just perfect."

The door to the Prince's bedroom opened. King Kasios entered, holding a small folder in his right hand and a scowl on his sharply featured face as he came in. Endymion's smiled faded, at first thinking he was somehow in trouble.

"H-hey, father," Endymion said uneasily, spinning towards him, Serenity still in tow.

Kasios stopped halfway over to the hologram, looking up, the displeased expression on his face seemingly melting away. "F-...father?" He glanced over his shoulder. "I don't see any Royal Emissaries or Kings of other planets behind me, what's up with that?"

"You...you looked unhappy, that's all," Endymion said softly. "Did I do something?"

"Oh, oh…" Kasios waved the folder around in the air in front of him. "No, no, I...you're fine, sorry, son, I...I'm taking my work home." He held the folder up. "I'm frustrated with this, not you." He rolled his eyes. "Dad, I'm dad, seriously."

"Sorry to hear that, dad," Endymion said, slowly setting Serenity back down on the carpeted floor. "You mean...you mean agency stuff?"

Kasios nodded. "Horrible timing, here we are less than a cycle away from the wedding, one of the biggest days of my life, and I've got this in the back of my head." He slapped the folder across his left hand's fingers with a sharp little rap.

"W-what's going on?" Serenity asked, Endymion glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Last...last cycle or so, something's showed up in the Imperium black market. It's bad. Bad for all of us." Kasios opened up the folder, peering down into it. "Some piece of shit got his hands on product that nobody else has ever even seen before, it's...it makes us look like amateurs. Over ninety-one percent pure, just started popping up on the streets. Ten percent more pure than anything anyone else has ever made, it….it's embarrassing for the whole damn agency."

"Ninety-one percent?" Endymion repeated, unconsciously reaching up and grabbing Serenity's shoulder with his right hand. "That's...how is that even possible?"

"Beats me," Kasios grumbled. "But it's out there, and it's being dealt on Earth. Nowhere else." He scowled. "I just know the other council members are looking at me on this, even if they won't say it. I gotta get on top of this, but…it's not going to be easy."

"I'm sure you'll get him," Serenity assured him, leaning up into Endymion's side. "You always catch these guys, right? That's what you've always said, how is this one different?"

"Oh, we'll get him for sure, but...it's just annoying. Frustrating. He's out there wasting untold amounts of energy on a sub-ideal purification process. But even still, it just makes the agency look bad. Ninety-one percent, blows us out of the water, hate to admit it." He shook his head.

Endymion grimly nodded. "Sorry, dad, I'm sure you'll get him." He paused for a moment. "Or her, I guess."

"Yeah, maybe," Kasios agreed. "Anyway, sorry, I'm...you're in here planning the wedding and I just barge in here bitching about...organized crime, jeez, I…" he gave his head a rapid shake. "Forget it, forget it. Okay, this is Gobekli?"

Endymion turned back to the hologram. "Yup, we're just making sure we've got it arranged just the way we want, but...dad, really, you don't have to feel bad if work stuff has you agitated. I'm your son, I care about that stuff."

Kasios gestured at the hologram. "It's your wedding, son. Last thing I want is to be responsible for you thinking about...Imperium smuggling during your wedding planning."

Endymion gave a thin little smile, squeezing Serenity's shoulder again. "Dad, it's fine, I promise."

"I mean, I just…" Kasios shook his head. "Can you two keep a secret? I, I'm not supposed to be sharing this shit with people outside the council, but...God, I'm sorry, I just wanna vent a little bit, and they won't let me back on The Savery until the wedding is over, you okay if I vent a bit?"

"No problem, not at all, go right ahead," Endymion said, Serenity wrapping her left arm around his back.

He sighed. "Okay, so, we've gotten boots on the ground every city that this Imperium popped up in. Asking questions, making arrests, all that." He opened the folder again, looking down at it. "I was really hoping that by now, we'd have something to work with by now, but...I just got this. Everything they got so far, I don't even know what to do with it."

Endymion swallowed down hard. "N-not much to go on?"

"So get this," Kasios said, Endymion turning away slightly, acting as if he was looking at the hologram of the temple. "The only thing we've been able to cross-verify that might be of any value is...this one particular guy has been popping up in all these cities."

Endymion's stomach clenched a bit. "A guy?"

"Yeah, and...this guy, he dresses like a...like a comedic relief character at a theater play," Kasios said. "Top hat, cape, mask, dinner jacket, I mean...it'd be hilarious if it wasn't so obnoxious."

"A cape?" Serenity repeated, giving a little grin. "Like, a cape on his shoulders?"

"Yeah, the guy who's making the whole agency look like a second-rate mom-and-pop shop isn't all there," Kasios said grudgingly. "Just, it almost makes it more annoying, you know? And we managed to come up with a name for this guy too, someone overheard it, but...Tuxedo Mask." He rolled his eyes. "What do I do with that? Send out a global alert, be on the lookout for a man wearing a cape, mask, top hat, and tuxedo? Answers to Tuxedo Mask? Give it a day, we'll have ten million assholes walking around wearing that outfit. And then what, I issue a decree banning...top hats and capes?"

"Well, dad...if I may...a man who thinks it's a good idea to wear an outfit like that probably lacks the mental stability to stay hidden for long," Endymion suggested. "So, maybe it's a positive sign."

Serenity nodded energetically. "Yeah, what kind of a moron makes himself stick out like that when he's trying to stay hidden? You'll get this guy no problem!"

Endymion squeezed his right hand into a fist by his side, hiding it behind his right hip.

"You're right, you're right," Kasios admitted. "Alright, that...that's it, I promise, I need to figure out what I'm going to do with this, but it's on me, just...keep it under your hats, please." Kasios motioned over at the couple. "I guess I have to...send out our sketch, let people know what's going on, but...I don't think I'm gonna like what happens. Okay, back to the wedding. I'm done venting, I promise."

Serenity turned back to the hologram. "Okay, so, after the ceremony is over, we bring in all the food and put it out on the tables back here." She pointed at a spot on the hologram, on the right side of the room, just past the rows and rows of benches.

Endymion nodded, glancing at Kasios out of the corner of his eyes. He craned his head up towards the open folder, barely able to catch a glance at one of the notes within. A black ink image on a white square of paper, a rough artist sketch of a man. Top hat on his head, masquerade mask on his face.

As he passively listened to Serenity's suggestions on the wedding, he could feel his left hand's fingers clenching into a ball at his side, staring at the drawing.