Chapter 39: Spot The Thread

"You've got to be shitting me."

Jadeite rapidly flipped his gaze from person to person, trying to find any cracks, any indication of this being an elaborate joke. A smirk, a giggle, something, anything. But despite his best attempts, his three fellow Earth generals, the Prince, and the Princess all remained stoic.

"Elaborate practical jokes are more your field, Jadeite," Kunzite said, seated right in front of the younger blond general. "This is all real, I promise you."

Jadeite pointed up at Prince Endymion, who was next to his wife on the side of the bed. "He's been running black market imperium out of the palace?"

"Not out of the palace," Endymion countered. "You make it sound like I'm purifying it in my bath."

"Well, however you're doing it, I don't really care, that's...I mean, why?!" His face wrinkled up. "What's the point? Of all the things you could be spending your free time on, why this?!"

"There were a series of circumstances and situations that led to this being the best solution," Endymion said evenly.

"Hey, buddy, don't get me wrong," Jadeite said. "As far as hobbies go, I've certainly seen far stranger. When I was growing up back east, my best friend had an older brother, and what he liked was, he would get these girls to—"

Nephrite unleashed a throat grunt that nearly shook the entire room, getting Jadeite to jolt up a bit and look up to his left, where the much larger Earth general was looming.

"...right. My point was, I just imagined that you would prefer a side project that involved less risk of being thrown in the most secure prison in the galaxy and being removed from the line of succession." He shrugged. "Last I checked, wood sculpting is legal."

"I was trying to protect what should have been rightfully hers," Endymion stated, looking over at Serenity.

"I...wait, wait," Jadeite said suddenly. "How long has this been going on?"

"Coming up on a year," Kunzite answered.

"And why am I being informed just now?" Jadeite asked, pointing at Nephrite and Zoisite, each of them standing on either side of him. "I'm sure Kunzite got in on the ground floor, he and the Prince are joined at the hip, but…"

"Been awhile," Nephrite answered gruffly.

Jadeite gave a semi-pleading looking over to Zoisite, who simply shrugged.

"Oh, come on!" Jadeite whined. "What, you guys...you all knew the whole time?! You didn't think I might want to know about it?" He pointed at Serenity. "You told her before me?!"

"Jadeite, we were doing you a favor," Endymion said, slowly getting to his feet. "Plausible deniability, I didn't want anyone to know unless they needed to." He paused for a moment. "And if you must know, Serenity wasn't told, she found out."

Jadeite blinked a few times, face wrinkling. "W-wait." He looked over at the Princess. "Se-Your Highness, does this have anything to do with...is this why you...uh…" he made an odd spinning gesture with the index finger of his right hand. Endymion scowled.

Serenity looked a little sheepish. "Right. So, I never did get a chance to...uh, Jadeite, I'm sorry I pulled you into that. I was beyond angry with Endy, so I just lashed out in whichever way I could. But lying to you and involving you like that, I shouldn't have done that. Sorry." She bowed her head a bit.

Jadeite pointed over towards the Prince, who was getting more visibly irritated by the moment. "Yeah, you should be, he tried to kill me!"

"Alright," Zoisite interjected. "We're not talking about that! Jadeite, I'm sure you have many questions, and we'll be happy to fill in all the blanks later, but for the moment, we should keep it to the core of the issue. The Earth Kingdom is trillions of creds in debt, and the Prince has hundreds of billions of illicitly-gained creds. We need to use the latter to handle the former. So, we need to pump it, as fast as possible, through legitimate businesses. We're going to have a very short window of time, so we need as many flows running as possible. Are you on board?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Jadeite said quickly. "Not really my area of expertise, but of course, I serve the palace, and the Prince first and foremost." He gave his head a quick shake. "I just can't believe that this is what I'll be doing to serve the palace and Prince, but, absolutely."

"Good," Zoisite said shortly. "I'll be selling the bookstore chain and flipping the resulting capital into other ventures. The name of the game is pump and dump. We buy majority shares of small, struggling, or failing businesses, quickly right the ship, build value, and then sell it. And every transaction along the way, we launder."

"Got any books I should read?" Jadeite asked. "Do I have time to take a business class or two at an academy?"

"I have a better idea," Zoisite said. "I think this works better if you're properly motivated. And of course, this only goes under the radar if it makes sense externally."

"I don't know what any of that means," Jadeite said. "And quite frankly, the way you said it makes me afraid that this involves me wearing a chastity belt of some sort."

"No," Zoisite said quickly. "Jadeite, how would you like to run a professional handball team?"

"

It took a lot for an environment to be so sterile, so artificial, so clean and maintained, that it made Cronus uncomfortable.

He spent his life in carefully-controlled laboratories and orderly offices, so he would have expected to find the hallways of The Savery familiar, but there was something foreboding about being inside a man made creation of this size and scope. Steel in every direction, each hall looking just like the previous hundred, just about every door identical, it was as if the whole place was built by robots with no sense of style or taste. Sitting here, just outside the door of a small meeting room, Cronus could see why criminals dreaded the idea of extended stays aboard the station.

The pharmaceutical kingpin waited in silence, just barely reacting to give a requisite polite nod every few secundas when someone walked past. The mask he had spent the last decade constructing was working overtime to present his friendly, public face out to the very organization that was hunting his other half, as his mind was already blaring with alarms of how delicate things had suddenly become.

Prince Endymion, however clever his little scheme was, and however necessary it was from his perspective to guarantee his survival, had committed a cardinal sin. He had left a mess. Cronus had survived for so long in large part by making sure he never left a mess. And despite his best efforts to clean up the mess that the Prince had left, it seemed as if he might have come up just short. It was too much of a coincidence for the agency to call him in to answer some questions, just days after Viluy had met her end. Surely, they were related.

But, Cronus was nothing if not a survivor. It was just going to be a little harder this time.

"

Grandmaster Galen tapped his fingertips along the top of the long oak table, pursing his lips as he glanced around the small, darkened room, made up of not too much more than the table, eight chairs around it, and a projector hanging from the ceiling pointed at the south wall. A dull, gentle light bathed the small room in illumination.

On the other side of the table, Orion was impatiently glancing back and forth between the two doors. One on the west wall, the other on the east.

"He doesn't actually have to be here for this," Orion muttered.

"He wanted to be, he was very clear about that," Galen pointed out. "Let's wait a little longer. He's the driving force behind this anyway."

"Can't believe we're doing this," Orion grunted. "You think Cronus is getting up for any fund-raisers for the agency after getting called in for an interrogation?"

"It's not an interrogation," Galen interjected. "We're just asking some questions. Reasonable, fair questions given the circumstances. I mean, I'm not going quite as far as Kasios on this one, he's a little too eager to throw out the extreme accusations, but this is certainly a stone worth flipping over."

"Cronus, majority owner of Soranus Pharmaceuticals, head of Galen Laboratories, involved in black market imperium?" Orion said under his breath. "I just don't see it. Why would he?"

"Well, we're certainly not implying anything of the sort right now. Actually, we won't be implying anything. We're just here to get some answers and theories from the one person who might have some idea of why Viluy died under such bizarre circumstances."

Suddenly, the eastern door burst open, the High King of Earth stepping in to join his two colleagues. "Sorry! Sorry. Held up down on Earth."

"It's understood that your priorities on Earth might take precedence, you know," Orion said as Kasios shut the door behind him. "Me and the Grandmaster could have easily handled this."

"No, no, I'm not missing this," Kasios said dismissively.

"I think you might be overestimating the significance of this," Galen said. "We're just asking a few questions, and in all likelihood, Cronus will answer them, and that'll be that. I think you're imagining a massive breakthrough that just isn't going to happen."

"Maybe," Kasios agreed, bending his torso to the right a bit. "But he's got some things to answer for, doesn't he? I mean, stop me if I'm being delusional, but I'm pretty sure all the shit we found warrants an investigation at the least. And Cronus has some explaining to do in order to clear himself based on what we know."

"Absolutely," Galen agreed. "My point is, it's far more likely that Cronus is able to explain himself, and that'll be that."

"No accusations, by the way," Orion said sternly. "We're just asking questions. Don't even imply anything, we still want this guy to like us after this is over."

"I won't," Kasios assured.

"He's waiting out in the hall," Galen said, jerking his head over towards the western door. "All yours."

Wordlessly, Kasios went over to the other side of the small room, pulling the door open in one smooth motion and peering out into the hall. "Cronus! Afternoon!"

The white-haired, bespectacled man rose to his feet and turned to the High King of Earth. "Afternoon." He reached forward and took Kasios's hand, shaking it. "Good to see you, Your Highness."

"Not up here," Kasios protested, stepping to the side so Cronus could enter the small meeting room. "I'm not a Highness up here."

"Grandmaster Galen, Orion," Cronus said in turn. "Good to see you."

Galen gave a wan smile. "Cronus. Um, any chance you could stay for awhile after this meeting? I was thinking about grilling up some salmon, I'd love to catch up with you."

"Sounds wonderful," Cronus replied. "I think I can do that."

"Kasios, how about you?" Orion asked, glancing over at the High King.

"Ah...I actually need to get back to Earth right after this," Kasios muttered quickly.

Orion rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Ah. Right then. Cronus, have a seat, please."

The pharmaceutical kingpin quickly swung into one of the vacated chairs, leaving a few for Kasios to choose from. "Alright. So, what is this all about? I sense that it's not about setting up another fundraiser or donation drive."

Galen cleared his throat. "Well, Cronus, first of all, let me just say, I'm really sorry to hear about Viluy. Real tragedy, what happened there. I know you two were close."

"Thank you," Cronus said, smiling amicably. "It's certainly sad. She had so much more to do in her life."

"Mm," Kasios said. "So, Cronus, I'm sure you're aware of this, but just so we're all on the same page here. The circumstances of Viluy's death, they're a little curious. Some things worth asking questions about."

"That's what this is about?" Cronus asked. "I'm sorry, but I can't help but wonder how this has become an agency issue. I've already been working with law enforcement concerning this incident, I'm not sure what the agency has to do with any of this."

"Right." Orion clapped his hands together. "Just...bear with us for a moment here, Cronus, some of the findings around Viluy's death drew our attention. We just want to get your perspective on things. And we didn't want to wait for the Space Enforcement Bureau to inquire about this and hand off information to us. We're actually collaborating with the bureau on this, they're focused on investigating the crime scene, and we're asking some questions of the handful of people who might have relevant information."

"Very well. How can I help?" Cronus tugged at his overcoat's lapels.

"Alright." Orion opened up a thin folder in front of him. "So, it's tough to deny that there was some form of foul play with Viluy's death. The autopsy and evaluation of the scene indicated that a mining laser blew a hole in the hull of this freighter ship while Viluy was inside, resulting in her exposure to the vacuum of space. It's very likely that someone, or someones, wanted her dead. Seems like she was, somehow, lured onto this freighter ship. We don't know how, or why, or what the context might have been. What we do know, however, is that this freighter ship was carrying a collection of barrels. Could have been a couple dozen, couple hundred, couple thousand, hard to know since so many of them had spun off in every direction by the time the salvage crew got to the ship. But the salvage crew was able to round up a good number of them, and got them open." He gestured towards Cronus. "These barrels were all full of clear crystals. Are we working off the same set of information so far."

"Yes," Cronus said quickly. "That's my understanding as well."

"The crystals were nothing," Orion continued. "Decorative, cheap, no scientific qualities at all. Which is pretty strange. Seemed like that's all the freighter was carrying, too. However, it was noted that the crystals did very closely resemble, at a cursory glance, raw, highly pure imperium. So, that caught our attention. And the freighter, unmarked, no identification tags, no way to determine who it belonged to or what it might have been doing. So, the question is, what was Viluy doing there?"

"I see," Cronus said. "I think I can provide clarity."

"Well, that's the best news I've heard all day," Galen said. "Go ahead."

"Galen Laboratories has, in recent cycles, been placing a special focus on trying to develop new lung medications. Thirty-six percent of deaths in the galaxy that are attributed to being of natural causes relate to failures of the lung. We are quite close to beginning the mass production of this medication, which we believe will extend the average lifespan in the galaxy by three years within two generations. However, in order to produce the amount of this medication needed, we require a massive amount of a particular crystal, called tiberium. Not exactly rare, but I wouldn't call it common, either. Lately, we've been in contact with various suppliers, trying to procure as much tiberium as possible for when we're ready for production. Perhaps half-a-cycle ago, we were contacted by a merchant, who claimed to have a massive supply of tiberium that he would sell at a discount."

"Maybe just a little too good to be true?" Kasios suggested, rubbing his chin. "Did he also offer to sell you a pet dragon?"

"Oh, I certainly had my doubts. But in a circumstance like this, I had to at least look into it. What's the worst that could happen, I thought." He grimaced. "It would seem I now have an answer to that."

Galen's forehead knitted together. "Are you saying that this merchant is responsible for Viluy's murder?"

"Not a merchant, as it seems," Cronus said, face going taut. "We kept up correspondence with this source for awhile, and it seemed credible, so I arranged for a look at the crystals. Viluy went, and ended up in a trap. I suspect it was meant for me, but they took what they could while they could get it."

"And who is they?" Kasios asked. "You're saying someone was trying to kill you?"

"That, I can't answer with full confidence. But I have a suspicion." He nervously glanced between the three older men in front of him. "I suppose I am obligated to be as open as possible, but I have to say, I'm somewhat concerned about repercussions for what I'm about to divulge. I only ask that you all extend me the courtesy of respecting my concerns about this being spread around."

Galen pursed his lips. "Well, Cronus, I'm not entirely sure what I can promise. But you know the respect I have for you, professionally and personally. So I suppose I'll promise to take your concerns seriously."

Cronus nodded. "Very well." He swallowed down hard. "I suspect that The Rings were behind this."

Orion jolted up a bit. "The Rings? What makes you think that?"

"Well, it's no secret that I was born on Saturn, and I've made public my support of the current regime remaining in power and re-uniting the planet under one rule. And in recent cycles, it's my understanding that the current regime is gaining the upper hand in the war. In fact, according to my sources, the war should be effectively won some time in the next six cycles. The Rings, perhaps realizing that their time is limited, feel the urgency to do something that will have a strong impact on the galaxy. Cause as much chaos as possible, while they can. At their core, The Rings are little more than a terrorist organization, despite their claims otherwise. So I believe they attempted to assassinate me just to try to knock off a high-profile individual who supported the House of Saturn. Splash around in the pond as much as possible before drowning. When they couldn't get me, they took Viluy instead."

"Hm." Kasios put his hand up to his lips. "Interesting. You really think they'd divest resources away from a planet wide civil war to try to kill someone not directly involved? Particularly right now, when they run the risk of losing?"

"Like I said, Your Highness. The Rings are ultimately terrorists. Whatever excuse they can come up with to revert to terrorist-like activities, I imagine they'd take." Cronus shrugged. "Again, I have no proof, just a theory."

"Well, I have to admit, it's a persuasive theory," Galen admitted. "Have you told this theory to anyone else?"

"Ah, no," Cronus said uneasily. "Truthfully, I've been hesitant to do so. Obviously, I have no proof. And it also makes me look rather foolish, having been deceived like this. But, more than anything, I wish to avoid stirring the pot by voicing my suspicions publically."

"How do you mean?" Kasios asked quickly. "You think The Rings murdered your friend and colleague, don't you want to make sure they answer for it?"

"Of course, but that's not the only consideration," Cronus said carefully. "Revenge is a bad business to get involved in. And I do not want to give The Rings a reason to continue to target me. Even if I can make myself untouchable, my business holdings span the entire galaxy, and much of it is vulnerable to terrorist attack. I fear The Rings might come after me with all that they have if I make my suspicions known. If I keep it to myself, they will likely dismiss me as a target after their initial failure."

"Sure, maybe. Or maybe they're loading up for a more direct run at you, and you need to make sure everyone knows so you can start taking measures to protect yourself," Kasios suggested. "If you really believe this is what's going on here, I don't think you should keep quiet."

"I'm afraid I can't see it that way," Cronus said. "I do not want to provoke a terrorist organization in what they must realize is their final days. As it stands, they took a shot at me, and they missed. I seriously doubt they'd try again, given that I'm now aware of the potential danger. But if I were to attempt to get the entire galaxy to destroy them with a true, but impossible to prove, accusation, they could go after my laboratories and pharmacies. Tens of thousands of my employees, and billions of creds in medicine, would be at risk. Not to mention the well-being of galactic civilians that would have their medication supply disrupted. I'd prefer for the civil war to take its course and handle The Rings that way."

"I see," Galen said quietly. "I can understand your concerns."

"Can I help you gentlemen with anything else?" Cronus asked. "I believe that's all I can say about Viluy's death."

"I think that's all we need," Orion said, motioning forward to close the folder.

"Actually, there was one more thing that caught our eye," Kasios spoke up, leveling his gaze over at Cronus. "Actually, it was the thing that got this case on our desk in the first place. Viluy's body was found with a particular possession. An imperium purity reader. Advanced one, too." He shrugged. "Any reason why she might have been carrying that with her?"

Without missing a beat, Cronus replied. "Almost all of her work at the labs required her to understand exactly how much energy output would be achieved when an imperium burner was activated. Hardly a day went by where she wasn't needing to get a precise measurement of imperium output. She carried that reader everywhere she went. I suspect it was almost like a body part to her, after so many years of using it."

"Mm." Kasios nodded. "Was there a reason why Viluy, and not you, went to investigate this offer?"

"She's more qualified to make judgements of suitability of Tiberium than I am," Cronus answered. "And I had a very important meeting with shareholders running during the time of the meet."

"Alright, I think that's about it," Orion said, standing up. "Sorry to pull you in like this, Cronus." He reached across the table and put his hand out, Cronus getting to his feet and taking it in his own. "You remember where Galen's office is?"

"I think I can find it," Cronus said.

"Why don't you head over, me and the Grandmaster will be along shortly and we can discuss things over some of that grilled salmon," he said with a smile.

"See you shortly." Without waiting for any last-moment inquires, Cronus departed the room the way he came, opening the door just enough to admit himself outside and closing it behind him.

"So. Satisfied?" Galen asked.

"I'll look into some of his claims," Orion said. "Make sure that Galen Labs has been focusing on lung medication recently, check that the shareholders meeting actually happened, look into the tiberium story with his major suppliers. But I have to say, I think I buy it."

"It was convincing," Kasios acknowledged. "I mean, The Rings, what did you think about that part of it? They're over on Saturn, fighting for their lives, hanging on by a thread, they're gonna spend their time going after a businessman just because he came out in support of the royal house?"

"The man had a good point," Orion suggested. "They're terrorists. And they're starting to get desperate. And by the sounds of things, their little plan didn't require a ton of manpower."

"So you buy it?" Kasios asked.

"I wouldn't exactly swear by it, but I'm inclined to believe he's probably right. Good catch with the imperium reader, by the way, kind of slipped my mind. But his answer there too, it made sense." Orion gave a halfhearted shrug. "I'll confess to not being entirely impartial on this one, but I think it adds up the way he says it."

"None of us are impartial. Cronus has been good to us for a very long time, I think we're all leaning towards assuming the best of him," Galen admitted. "Myself included. Even putting that aside, I think we can close the book on this one, assuming his stories check out."

"U-uh, Grandmaster Galen, I wouldn't go that far," Kasios protested. "Yes, he acquitted himself well, but I think that there's a lot more to look at here."

"Yes, there is," Galen agreed. "There's a lot more investigating to do. But it's got nothing to do with us. Whatever happened on that freighter, and whatever the circumstances of Viluy's death are, the bureau is more than capable of handling. We stepped in because we had reason to believe that imperium might have been involved, and now we no longer think that. So the agency has no further reason to be part of this investigation." He got to his feet. "If the bureau comes to believe that imperium is somehow tied into this matter, they can bring us back in. Now, what we have to do decide on whether we keep Cronus's secret suspicion a secret."

Kasios turned away, face clouding over with a small scowl.

"I say we respect his wishes," Orion suggested. "We owe it to him. Besides, he can't prove it. If the bureau investigates and finds evidence of what he claims, then that's another matter, but I see no reason to divulge his beliefs against his will."

Kasios gave a quick, vague nod. "Yes, yes, that's fine," he muttered.

Galen pursed his lips. "Kasios, you seem unhappy."

"Oh, no, no, sorry, Grandmaster," Kasios grunted. "I just...um, I don't know. I just can't help but feel like the investigation might be better served by us remaining a part of it."

Galen carefully considered his words for a few moments. "There's no reason for us to put our time and resources into it until we have reason to believe it involves imperium. We thought we had that reason, now we don't. That's really all that can be said. From our perspective, there is no investigation."

"Understood," Kasios said, standing up. "Alright, you two enjoy the grilled salmon, I actually have to get back to Earth."

Orion sighed. "You could have just called in, you know. Burning imperium to make a trip all the way here just for one short meeting, not the best message to be sending."

"Oh, I...I wanted to be here for this one," Kasios said absentmindedly, turning towards the door behind him.

"

"Unbelievable," Endymion grumbled, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the gold, wide-winged spaceship settle into the docking grooves, the force of its movement enough to push him a half-step away. "It really is, unbelievable. Everything happening down here on Earth, the agency should be the last thing on his mind right now. The mess he's made, every bit of his time should be spent on trying to clean it."

"Your Highness, please," Kunzite said, putting his hands up on the Prince's shoulders. "We're going to need his co-operation, and we're far more likely to get that if we refrain from berating him."

Endymion unfurled his left fist, revealing a small green data chip in his palm, maybe the size of his thumb. The door on the side of the just-docked ship whisked open, the Prince and his general immediately approaching it. High King Kasios stood right by the step out into the palace hangar, giving a confused stare at his son as he rapidly approached.

"Oh, welcoming committee," Kasios said quietly, eyes darting back and forth between the two young men quickly. "What, did something bad happen?"

"I'd consider being trillions of creds in debt something bad, so, I suppose so," Endymion answered tersely.

Kasios's eyes bulged a bit, and he reached forward to roughly yank Endymion into the interior of his personal A Class starship. Kunzite quickly followed his charge into the King's ship, and Kasios hit a panel by the wall to get the hatch to seal.

"Not where people could overhear us!" Kasios hissed, pushing Endymion a bit towards the middle of the ship interior.

"Nobody was there," Endymion muttered, turning around to face his father. "Alright, we need to talk about this, right now."

Kasios sighed. "Son, I...look, I'm sorry, okay? I am. I'm sorry. But this isn't helping. You hounding me about it, nothing can be done to undo things now. I don't have a time machine, and neither do you. L-look, I got us into this, I'll get us out, I'm...I'm not saying it'll be quick, or anything, but just let me figure this out. Forget about it, pretend it doesn't exist, and let me figure out the best way forward."

"Dad, I already found the best way forward," Endymion said, extending his hand out towards his father and presenting the data chip. "Take this, and as soon as you get back to your room, look at it. Carefully."

Kasios put his palm out and Endymion gently placed the chip in the center of it. "What is it?"

"It's how we get out of this," Endymion said simply. "We pay off our debts, we don't sign over territory, and we put this whole thing behind us."

Kasios closed his eyes, his dismissive annoyance overt. "Son, if there was any way to do that, I would have done it. Believe me, you don't serve as a King for decades like I have without knowing every little nuance that there is, so—"

"Dad, I've been working with Kunzite and Zoisite very closely the last few days. We think we've found a way. Zoisite's mastery of business and economics is unparalleled, he has a plan to stimulate a massive amount of capital growth in a short period of time that we can flip to start paying off the investors." He jabbed his finger down at the chip. "It's all there."

"Endymion, there's no way that Zoisite, or anyone in the galaxy, could generate enough creds via business investments to pay these debts," Kasios said. "Now please, just accept the fact that things are going to be suboptimal for awhile, it'll be my burden to carry."

"No, it isn't." He glanced down at the chip, then back up to his father. "Now, you go back to your room, you look at that, and you get back to me. We're going to figure this out. And in the meantime, you're not to give away any territory to anyone, no matter what."

Kasios almost chuckled. "Endymion, I hate to break it to you, but I'm still the King, so—"

"Not one blade of grass, not one speck of dirt, not one drop of water," Endymion continued. "I'm serious, dad. There's another way, we have to try it. Promise me."

Kasios blinked rapidly, looking down at the data chip in his hand. "Son, I...aw, look, when I told you about this, it wasn't my intention for you to feel like you needed to get involved and try to fix this, some things...they can't be fixed."

"Dad." Endymion leaned in a bit towards the High King. "Promise me."

"Ah, look...I'll look at it, okay?" Kasios said, quickly shoving the chip into his pocket. "I promise, I'll look at what you've got, let you know what I think. That's all you're getting from me. And if somehow, you've enslaved a powerful djinn, or one of your generals has started mysteriously having massive pink diamond sculptures come out in their stool, then great, the day is saved! But short of that, you're getting your hopes up for nothing."

"Just look it over," Endymion said sternly, turning away and motioning towards Kunzite. The white-haired general hit the panel to open the hatch of the ship, and both men began marching away.

Kasios slowly developed a frown, staring at Endymion's retreating back. His right hand reached up to his left side pocket, feeling the data chip. He let out a sad, slow sigh.

"

"Well, I have to give him a lot of points for creativity," Kasios said under his breath, eyes down on a large black tablet in his lap, rapidly scrolling through a series of detailed slides with graphs of all shapes and sizes. "It's persuasive, too. One thing you can say for sure, my son really doesn't want to hand over any land."

"Of course he doesn't!" Queen Serenity said, leaning over the High King's shoulders and looking down at the columns of numbers and figures she didn't even bother trying to understand. "This is the closest thing to hardship he's ever had to deal with in his life!"

Kasios's mouth tensed. "Sure."

"I mean, no offense, he's a good boy and all, and I'm thrilled that my daughter loves him so much, but...twenty years of life, he hasn't known so much as a hint of war, nothing but a booming economy and a full treasury, every girl in the galaxy swooning over him, four incredible generals serving his every whim, charmed doesn't even begin to describe it." The elder Serenity shrugged. "He gets one taste of something maybe going wrong. For the first time in his life, everything isn't falling into his lap. And he just won't stand for it."

Kasios set the tablet down. "Well, I suppose this is better than what Cromia did when she was told that we had lost the battle of Pausanias."

Serenity squinted her forehead in thought for a few beats. "Cromia, I...not sure I know about that one."

"Not many do, it's a bit of an embarrassment," Kasios said wryly. "Poor bastard who got roped into delivering the message, she just hurled him right off the balcony."

Queen Serenity couldn't help but let out a shocked little gasp. "Oh, I...I mean, was he...did he…"

"Oh, splattered all over, like a watermelon," Kasios said. "The thing is, she wasn't really that bad of a person. So people said, anyway, not like I'd know, three hundred years before I was born." He tilted the tablet up, looking at the data chip in the side. "At least Endymion's trying to fix the problem."

"He's just being selfish," Serenity said, crouching down next to the King. "He can't stand the idea of having his birthright be damaged, that's all he can see. Everyone else, we all know, you did what you had to do. You did what needed to be done for the good of the galaxy. He just doesn't understand, sometimes you have to make sacrifices."

He nodded listlessly. "Maybe."

"No, no maybe!" she protested.

"I've never really seen Endymion like this," Kasios mused. "Just...upset, stressed, aggressive, confrontational. This is what it takes to get to him, I guess."

"Hey, don't let him get to you." She pointed behind the King, towards the door back out to the main hall. "He loves you. He does. He always will. He's just angry."

"Yes, he's...he's certainly angry," Kasios mused. "Angry...and right."

"W-what, no," Serenity said, shaking off a bit of confusion. "He's not right, of course he's not right!"

"No, no." Kasios squinted down at the tablet screen in front of him. "It's not that simple. He's...he's right, I didn't have to do this. There had to be another way, I...I sold out the Kingdom that I've sworn to look over so everyone else could feel safer." He winced. "And all these years, just sitting there, knowing that disaster was looming, barely lifting a finger to protect against it. No, that's...I could have done more. Could have done things differently."

"You were trying to save the galaxy from an imminent threat. Sometimes there isn't a perfect solution, just the best one you can find," Serenity assured him.

"I'm sure a better solution was out there somewhere," Kasios mumbled. "Gods, I don't know anymore. Maybe there was another way. Hundred years from now, if they write about this in the history books, they'll say I sold out the Kingdom I was supposed to be in charge of so every other Kingdom could be protected, that's the opposite of what a King should do!"

Serenity inhaled slowly. "You had good reasons for doing what you did. Besides, what does it matter? You said it yourself, in a few years the deep space program will start paying off, you'll be flush with capital again, and we just get it all back to the way it was!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure, maybe. Hopefully. As if I know. Could be decades, centuries, there's no way to know right now. Might be never. Might be too late by the time it does." He rubbed his forehead. "Endymion was right, a splintered Kingdom doesn't come back together easily."

"That's not going to happen!" Serenity said. "What, you think a bunch of wealthy merchants are going to get a piece of Earth territory and declare war on you? That's not happening!"

"You know, he actually met me in the hanger, right after I docked," Kasios said, swallowing hard between sentences. "Just had to make sure he got to me before I could sign away any territory. He gave me all this." He gestured down at the tablet. "And even then, even now, with everything that's happened, I just went right to the old...hey, stay out of it, I'll handle it, I'll figure it all out, you just don't worry about it, it's all on me." He chuckled. "The same old spiel. I got this, I got this, I got this. I'll do it all myself. When it's plain as day that I don't and I can't. Maybe none of this would have happened if I still had an advisor to temper me. Most Kings have that, but I just...no, who needs one, I can do it all. And even now, someone offers me help, and I turn it down out of habit."

Serenity grimaced, looking down at the carpet underneath Kasios's chair.

"And the funny thing is...you know what's really bad, Serenity?" He turned to look at the Queen of the Moon. "All of this stuff happening in the last several days, now maybe getting handed a solution, trying to figure out if it's viable, weighing things...I can barely keep my mind on it." He pointed up at the ceiling. "My thoughts keep getting pulled to agency business. As we speak, I keep thinking about something that happened when I was up there today. Can't even really focus on these charts. No matter what I tell myself, what happens up there just seems more...important."

"What you do up there is important," Serenity said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Right now, there is," Kasios said begrudgingly. "Serenity, I'm not the King I used to be. Or maybe I never was the King I thought I was, I'm not sure. I shouldn't have let this happen, and I shouldn't have let things get this bad." He closed his eyes. "I can really see it now. High King of Earth, and on the high council of the agency, it's really starting to become too much. Might have always been too much. But it wasn't until today that I could even consider admitting it." He sighed deeply. "I think my time on the throne is coming to an end. Needs to come to an end."

Serenity frowned. "Kasios, I don't see how that would help. Whatever mistakes you've made, do you honestly believe your son could be a better King than you?"

"I know my son's shortcomings as well as anyone," Kasios said quietly. "Maybe he doesn't have everything you'd want in a King, but...he's smart. Very smart, smarter than me. And he's got a good heart. He's a good person. The rest, he'll have to figure out. And he'll have four excellent generals helping him."

"Sheltered. Spoiled." The Queen shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly count on him to be able to make tough decisions."

"Maybe." Kasios suddenly got to his feet. "But I'm not exactly hitting the target lately on my tough decisions, so who am I to judge?" He nodded. "Yes, I...I should focus my attention on agency work, leave the Kingdom in the hands of someone who will only have its best interests in mind. Sooner, rather than later."

"How soon?" Serenity asked. "I...I just really don't see it with him yet, maybe in a few years—"

"As soon as I'm able to do it with a clear conscience," Kasios answered thoughtfully. "I don't want to just drop the consequences of my mistakes on him, but...if we can get clear of imminent danger, keep the Kingdom in one piece...then I think it'll be time to step down. A few cycles, maybe, we'll have an idea of how viable his little investment scheme is, and then I'll make a decision."

Serenity slowly nodded. "It's your decision to make, of course."

"Yes," Kasios replied. "I think it's about time to toss him in the deep end, see how he swims. Whatever happens, at least he'll have the best interests of the Earth in mind at all times."