Quorum
Enton raised his hands, as if to ward off a blow.

“Madame Karis, I’m sorry if you’re upset, but we handled it the best way we knew how! They did save the city, we couldn’t very well have attacked them at that point. It would have been a public relations nightmare for the company.”

The elegantly dressed woman tapped a nail on her desk, then abruptly slammed her fist down.

Karis replied, “ I don’t want excuses, fool – I want results. You had that motley crew of sniveling thieves in your grasp, and you let them get away! What part of my instructions were confusing or unclear?!?”

The dark-skinned human smiled nervously. He moved to the window, and looked up at the White Moon just beginning to rise. Without turning, he spoke quickly.

“It wasn’t a total wash, Madame. Your …err, assistant Morris did have some success during his infiltration of the Lodestar. He discovered something very…interesting.”

From his place next to the door, the bondslave Morris took a single step forward. His perfectly parted hair slid slightly across his youthful face. He spoke without emotion.

“That is correct, Mistress Karis. It is as we suspected, the Lodestar is far more than it appears. I have sketched the engine room from memory, and it matches exactly with the schematics that Seafoam obtained from the Library of Pice. It is definitely of Arkanic origin.”

Karis smiled for the first time since her arrival in Quorum. Her lips are painted an immaculate purple.