whose slightest actions could alter the destiny of the Empire of Earth. He was most
widely known as the Grand Duke of Sector Four, that ten-degree sliver of an imaginary
sphere surrounding Earth and extending toward infinity. Von Wilmenhorst was the
hereditary ruler of all worlds lying within the boundaries of his sector, subject only to the
Emperor himself-and since his sector was one of the most thoroughly explored and
populated, he held a considerable amount of influence in galactic affairs.
But there were thirty-five other grand dukes, all his equal in rank; what set him
particularly apart from the rest was the fact that he was also the Head of the Service of
the Empire, that vast Imperial intelligence network that kept the Empire free of corruption
and discontent. Being the supreme leader of SOTS-though that fact was known to a
comparative handful, and most of those within the organization itself-was his primary
responsibility; it made him a key advisor to the Emperor on matters of policy and internal
security.
The Service of the Empire was not a spying agency, though many of its agents did work
under cover; nor was it a police agency, though the targets of its attention were usually
lawbreakers. The purpose of SOTE was, quite simply, to assure the safety of the
Empire against all threats. It was loyal exclusively to whoever occupied the Throne, and
did its utmost to ensure the stability of that person’s reign. The Service was charged with
the task of weeding out treason wherever it might occur and whatever the cost. The
agents of SOTE were the most able, most conscientious people in the Galaxy, and their
record of success spoke for itself.
Von Wilmenhorst, in turn, eyed the four people who had entered the room. Of all the
loyal, talented people at his disposal, these four were his top choices. Together, they
made two of the best undercover teams he’d ever seen; time and again they produced
results that took his breath away.
The way they had multiplied was most gratifying indeed. He had started out with two: the
brother-sister team of Jules and Yvette d’Alembert, circus performers from the
high-gravity world of DesPlaines. In addition to bodies in prime physical condition, they
also possessed minds that could act with lightning speed. They’d been his top agents.
Jules d’Alembert was the only person currently alive who’d made a perfect score on the
thousand-point test of ability given to all Service personnel; Yvette was barely a point
behind at 999. Together they had helped smash a ring of traitors that had been building
for sixty years, and had gone on to crack numerous other difficult cases as well.
Only a few months ago both had gotten married-Jules to his childhood sweetheart
Yvonne Roumenier, and Yvette to a young nobleman, Pias Bavol, from the high-gravity
Gypsy planet of Newforest. Both Pias and Vonnie were now in the Service as well,
working with their spouses. Instead of one super team, the Head now had two-a
double-barreled threat against the enemies of the Empire.
“Come in, please,” the Head said. “You’re right on time. I trust the directions I gave you
were adequate.”
Pias Bavol was a bit shy at meeting the Head for the first time-but as always, he covered
his shyness with a lighthearted exterior. “The directions were perfect, sir. Despite the
doubts of unnamed others who thought we were lost, I guided us safely here.”
The Head laughed. “I know the feeling well. I got lost myself on my first few visits. Luna
Base grew in a very irregular manner, and nothing is ever quite where you’d expect it to
be. Sorry to have you meet me here rather than in Headquarters on Earth, but I’ve been
involved for the past few weeks in security briefings with the Navy brass, and I couldn’t
get away.” He looked pointedly at Jules and Yvette. “Aren’t you two going to introduce
me to your spouses?”
Brother and sister blushed. They had both conferred with the Head on so many
occasions that it was difficult to remember that Vonnie and Pias had never met him. It
was Yvette who finally took the initiative. “Vonnie d’Alembert, Pias Bavol, this is our boss,
Grand Duke Zander von Wilmenhorst.”
The two introductees were suitably impressed, but the Head put them quickly at ease.
“Yvonne, I’d like to say that you’re more beautiful and charming than Jules described, but
I’m afraid that would be impossible; you’ll have to settle for as beautiful and charming.
And as for you, Pias,” the Head went on, turning to Yvette’s husband and looking him
straight in the eyes, “I could never adequately thank you for helping save my daughter’s
life on Sanctuary.”
Pias shrugged. “It was something I just sort of fell into,” he explained with
uncharacteristic modesty.
“And lucky for all of us that you did,” the Head added. “Amen,” Yvette smiled at her
husband.
The Head waved an arm at the chairs around the central table. “Please be seated and
make yourselves comfortable. If you’d like some refreshment, you’ll find that each place
at the table has its own order box. Just punch in your request and it will arrive in a few
seconds, compliments of the Imperial Navy.”
Jules and Yvette were mad for orange juice, and each ordered a large glass. Yvonne
preferred hot tea and a small buttered roll. Pias ordered a glass of acolya, a wine
peculiar to his own homeworld of Newforest-and was pleasantly surprised to find that the
Navy kept it in stock. Their orders arrived up a small tube within the table in less than a
minute-a tribute to the Navy’s efficiency.
When everyone was comfortably settled, the Head grew more serious. “As I’m sure you
assumed, I didn’t ask you here merely for a pleasant afternoon’s conversation. There’s
work to do.”
“Isn’t there always?” Jules said.
The Head merely nodded and continued his explanation. “As Pias and Yvette found out at
the time of Princess Edna’s wedding, there seems to be a link between the conspiracy
masterminded by C and Lady A, and at least some of the space piracy that is plaguing
the Empire. We took care of Captain Ling and his crew, but we discovered that they
were building a navy of their own. It wasn’t until just a couple of months ago that I
learned the Navy had been conducting its own investigation for almost three years and
had not thought to tell us about it.” Von Wilmenhorst shook his head. “Sometimes I think
we may be our own worst enemies, with interservice rivalries and the lack of
communication between branches of government. If they’d bothered to let us know. . .”
He paused and placed his hands face down on the tabletop. “Well, that’s a problem for
me, not for you. What matters now is that we’ve opened the channels of communication
between us again and some surprising developments are coming out. The most
important of them-and the reason for my calling you in-is a person named Karla Jost.”
He punched a couple of buttons on his console and a face appeared on the screen in the
center of the table. It was a middle-aged woman with mouse-brown hair, a
two-centimeter long scar over her left eyebrow and a square, firmly set jaw. There was
a steely look about her eyes that marked her unquestionably as a dangerous woman. “I’d
hate to meet her in a dark alley,” Vonnie commented.
“You won’t have to-she’s dead,” the Head told them. “But the puzzle she represents is far
more of a threat than she ever was.”
The Head leaned back in his chair once more and began a recitation of facts. “Karla Jost
was in and out of trouble ever since she was a teenager. She had a prison record that
read like a short novel. About fourteen years ago she threw in her lot with a pirate gang,
and rapidly rose to a position of leadership within it. It was her gang that made the
famous raid on Taratuil-do you remember anything about that?”
The four agents had to search their memories for a moment. Thirteen years ago, the
planet Taratuil was at the outermost limits of the Empire. It was a newly settled world,
with a population of only about five thousand people. Seeing it as a weak target, a pirate
gang swooped down on it and; with their superior arms, forced the locals to submit to
their rule. The Navy, when it learned what had happened, moved into actionbut with the
pirates holding the citizens hostage, the government had to move carefully. Finally, after
almost a month, a combined action by the Navy, SOTE and the Imperial Marines freed
the planet and captured the pirate gang.
When he saw that his agents recalled the, incident, the Head continued on. “The top two
leaders of that gang were executed after a brief trial, as were eleven of the gang