Homecoming: Return of an Heir
by: Morgan Lewis

Part 6

Light from the sun's early morning rays bathed the balcony in complex
pattern of light and shadow.  The more the sun advanced, the more the
shadows were slowly chased into the furthest corners of the terrace.  Zair
Rilie stood motionless on the balcony slowly drinking in the beautiful
sight.  Her husband had always particularly enjoyed watching the sun rise
and set.  He had spent so much of his time in the cold void of space where
more often than not the light had been artificial and had thus learned to
appreciate the some of the smaller joys of life.  Every day that he had ever
spent on Chandilar, he had taken time to watch the sun rise and set with
her.  Even now, fifteen years after his death, she still felt the aching
loneliness of his absence.

She sighed heavily and pushed herself off of the balcony railing, then
turned to enter back into her home through the balcony door.   Now was no
time for her to be pointlessly dwelling on the past.  No, she had managed to
accomplish a great deal this past night and now was the time to plan for the
future.  Her weary body issued a slight groan of complaint as she passed by
the door of her bedroom and continued onwards to her study.  The Shi'ar
woman couldn't remember exactly the last time that she had managed to obtain
more than a few moments rest and wasn't sure when the next opportunity would
present itself.  Recently, from the assassination of the Telaranni family to
the arrival of the Neramani Heir, there had simply been too many events in
motion for her to indulge herself in a full night's sleep.

Zair felt her lips twitch slightly in consternation as her thoughts turned
once again to the young man who had recently become the subject of interest
to a great many people within the Imperium.  That one had been difficult to

handle.  More than once she had been forced to fight down the urge to smack
his smug face.  She still wasn't sure how it was that he could keep his
features completely expressionless and manage to portray outright arrogance
at the same time.

She was still greatly regretting the fact that she had given him the
cloaking field generator.  It would prevent even her from being able to
track him down should he choose to go into hiding.  Unfortunately, there had
been no other way to gain the young man's trust or even his attention.  The
former intelligence officer just hoped that he didn't use the device to
overly distress the Imperial guard.  Gladiator was already less than
approving of her presence within the same star system in which he was
currently residing, and she highly doubted that her recent actions
concerning Remy would further endear her to the Praetor.

Her office doors slid open with a quiet hydraulic hiss as she approached,
her mind still deeply involved in its current line of thought.  Zair had
silently admitted to herself that she had been more than a little disturbed
when she had first learned of the existence of the half-blooded member of
the Imperial line.  She had questioned whether or not one that was not
purely
of the Shi'ar blood would be capable of continuing the chosen lineage.

Those doubts had been increased by the boy's utter disregard, bordering on
contempt, for the prophecies concerning the chosen lineage.  Some of those
prophecies were drawing close to the time when they would be fulfilled and
if a descendent of Aldarus Neramani was not willing or able to perform his
role in such prophecies, then disaster was imminent.

It never ceased to amaze her that the Shi'ar failed to completely
understand the importance of bloodlines.  Even the emphasis that the M'krann
faith placed on the concept of the chosen lineage was slowly beginning to
fade from memory of the Imperium.  It was obvious to her, and any other
individual that had ever bothered to study history, the destiny of the
entire galaxy was not just arbitrarily assigned to an individual.  Ten of
the members of the original founding council of the Imperium could be linked
to one another within three generations of their family history.  Another
six could be linked together within five generations.

This fact was the main reason that her blood boiled every time she heard
some modern historian propose another thesis about why it was impossible for
Aldarus Neramani to have even been remotely related to the ancient
descendants of J'oshe.  Any one who would even bother to look would find
that almost every single pivotal figure in the history of the Imperium
before Aldarus had been a direct ancestor to the man.  She wondered if
everyone believed that such occurrences happened purely by chance.

It was also for this reason that the loss of house Telaranni had come as
such a huge blow to the Neramani household.  The two houses had been
constant allies ever since Aldarus Neramani and Neff Telaranni had worked
together to dethrone J'thenn and expose the Fal'korr society over five
hundred years ago.  Since that time a pattern had developed in which a
descendent of the Telaranni line would alert a descendent of the Neramani
line to a potential danger so that an action could be taken.  As a result,
the Imperium had managed to avert disaster several times.  If Neramani was
the defender, then Telaranni had been the seeker.

The Shi'ar woman felt her brow crease in concern as the familiar question
continued to ring inside of her skull.  With house Telaranni gone, who would
warn the Empress of the return of the Fal'korr?  There had only been two
other lines that she had been able to trace back to Neff Telleranni, the
first ending with her and the second surprisingly ending with Jalrus Talm.
Zair had no illusions that the Chief Magistrate would provide any sort of
intentional aid to the Empress, which meant that the task of being the
seeker fell squarely on her own shoulders.

Zair quickly cleared her mind before seating herself in front of her desk.
She took a moment to glance though any recent messages that she had left
herself as reminders and then began to cycle through the  communications
that her center had recorded during her absence.  Most of them were
concerning matters of her own private estate.  Ever since her formal
departure for the Shi'ar Intelligence it had become necessary for her to
maintain a sizable private fortune in order to finance her continued
investigations.  Few of her many contacts divulged information for free.
Most required either payment, information, or her services as an
investigator before she could get one word out of them.  It thus behooved
her to keep a ready supply of all three.

She replied to most of them briefly, diverting just enough of her own
attention to them as was necessary while continuing to ponder her other
responsibilities.  The final communication, however, managed to fully grab
her attention.  It had been sent to her on a secure line from an undisclosed
source and was marked as an anonymous sender, which was exactly how she had
instructed Judan to conduct all communications with her.

"My, that was certainly fast," she mumbled quietly to herself.  "He must be
very eager to get the rest of those holos from me."

She selected and activated the message and ,a few moments later, a
holographic projection of Judan appeared on her desk.  He appeared unusually
rushed and nervous, which Zair attributed to the fact that Telra Ja'harr's
entire household was probably doing their best to avoid her wrath ever since
the arrival of Remy.

The image of Judan came directly to the point.  "There were some unexpected
but welcome developments that allowed me to free up the item you requested a
little bit more quickly than I had thought would be possible."  I trust that
you shall be pleased with the results.  I will meet you at our regular
meeting place for the exchange."

The hologram slowly faded after Judan completed his transmission.  Zair
leaned back in her chain and, as always, carefully analyzed what she had
just observed in her mind.  Judan had spoken of unexpected developments that
had facilitated his obtaining of the Empress's transmission records but
hadn't given her any hint as to what they might have been.  Another person
may have simply disregarded the fact, seeing how the end results had been
beneficial to her.  After all, Judan may have simply been bluffing,
attempting to make the information that he possessed seem more important and
valuable when in fact it was quite easy for him to obtain.

However, the instincts that she had developed as an Intelligence officer
were grumbling that something important must have happened.  Something that
she did not yet know about .  And that fact made her decidedly
uncomfortable.

*************************

Professor Charles Xavier smiled in simple pleasure as his hover chair
quietly drifted across the intricately decorated floor of the Shi'ar palace.
The graceful patterns which were etched in the polished surface didn't
quite glitter, but managed to catch the light just so as to accent the color
more sharply without becoming too pronounced.  And as the early morning
sunlight was drifting in through the high arched windows to drench the floor
in a wash of various colors and hues, the effect was quite stunning yet
subdued as well.  It was for this very reason that Charles had so enjoyed
every opportunity that presented itself to visit the famous Skylight towers
of the Imperial palace.

The towers, which had been commissioned and built other a thousand years
ago, had become nearly as powerful a symbol for the potentate of the
Imperium as the actual throne.  Though there had been many wars and internal
conflicts in that time, not once in all of their history had the towers ever
been taken by force or even damaged during an armed conflict.  The popular
belief of the people was that no conqueror could ever bring himself to mar
the towers as it would have been an utter waste to destroy something so
beautiful.

The towers had gained their names from the uniquely domed roofs, which
adorned the top of each of the four towers.  The shape of the dome itself
was not the unique feature, but rather the fact the entire structure was
composed almost completely of stain glass that set the roof apart.  The
scenes depicted in the roofs domed surface were those of the history of the
Imperium.  In the past, no lamps had ever been hung inside any of the
Skylight towers as the glittering domes were able to adequately light the
entire interior even when only the light from the stars shone through their
brilliant surfaces.

Yet, the true beauty of the famous Imperial palace Skylight towers was
unfortunately missing this morning.  Lilandra, noting how the pigments in
several of the domes had all but faded to nothing after enduring centuries
of the Shi'ar sun and moon, had ordered a full restoration of the dome
towers.  What light that still managed to leak though the patched windows
was now invariably lost in the maze of catwalks and scaffolding that hung
suspended some three-hundred feet above the professor's head.  Sadly the
restoration project was not due to be completed for several more months, by
which time he and Remy would already have returned home to Earth.

Charles paused his chair in its progress across the floor as a new thought
occurred to him.  Now that Remy knew of his own heritage, would he still
truly consider Earth home in the same sense the Xavier did?  As more and
more of his son's childhood memories resurfaced, which ones would produce
the strongest effects on the young man's loyalties.  Charles was certain
that his own dream of the peaceful coexistence of mutants and humans was
still important to him, but how would it rank next to his new found
loyalties to the Imperium and Lilandra.

He still recalled the conversation that he and Lilandra had shared when
they had finally returned to her private quarters at the conclusion of last
evenings festivities.  Though neither one had openly discussed the subject,
the unspoken question of where Gambit's place would now be had hung heavily
in the air.  The Empress seamed to accept the fact that her son's visit was
only temporary at the moment, with her tenuous political position, it could
unfortunately not be otherwise.  But the issue of whether Remy's place was
to be on Chandilar or Earth would eventually have to be resolved.

Of course, that issue would be a walk in the park when compared to the
other larger issue concerning their son's eventual fate.  Before they had
left the mansion, Remy had made it abundantly clear that he felt it would be
better if he were to discuss the matter of the time paradox destined to take
his life.  Charles had thus respected the young man's wishes and refrained
from divulging that information to Lilandra during their time together the
previous evening.  It was a reckoning to which neither one was eagerly
anticipating.

At that moment, the object of his present line of thought entered into view
with his usual confident saunter.  Charles had to suppress a smile at the
sight of his cocky son, who it appeared had once again managed to loose the
detachment of guards that had been trailing after him since their arrival in
Capital City.  He still remembered the Gladiator frantically contacting him
and Lilandra last night to inform them that the royal heir had gone missing
somewhere in the city.  It had taken quite a bit of effort on Xavier's part
to convince the Praetor not to descend on the unsuspecting city with an
entire legion of the Shi'ar army in a frantic search for the young man.

"I see that you are still busy giving the Imperial Guard the Shi'ar
equivalent of stress induced heart attacks," Xavier observed wryly.

The former thief simply grinned and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly as he
palmed a cigarette from the one of the sleeves of his tunic and a silver
lighter from the other.  "I wouldn't worry  bout it to much, Xavier.  Dey're
startin' ta' get used to it by now."  He brought the cigarette to his lips,
then cupped his hands around the zippo as he lit the tobacco and began to
puff away contentedly.

Xavier briefly wondered why his son didn't just use his biokinetic charge
to light the cigarette as he had always done in the past.  Noticing his
questioning glance, Remy quickly added, "De boys are startin' to figure out
that they can track my energy signature if I use ma' powers.  And I kinda'
want to spend a few more minutes by myself."  The former thief made the
lighter disappear back up his sleeve with a deft motion of his right hand.

"Well, I certainly hope that for Gladiator's sake, they can find a few more
ways to stay ahead of you."  Charles responded lightly.  "You do know that
he barged in on Lilandra and I last night after your disappearance."

"Good thing then," Remy responded playfully, a mischievous sparkle in his
eye.  "Ya' not supposed ta' conceive me for at least another five years
anyway, remember."

The professor felt the heat rising slightly in his cheeks at his son's
implied statement.  "Well... that is not .... exactly what I intended to..."

Remy waved one hand to cut him off, "Dat's okay Xavier."  He took a deep
draw from his cigarette before continuing.  "Dere are some things about my
parents dat I'd rather not know."

Charles decided that when it came to exchanging witty comments and teasing
verbal play, he was just slightly outclassed and therefore it was
definitely time for a judicial change of subject.  "I had meant to ask you
earlier, what were your impressions of the results of the Lighting Ceremony
last night?"

His son smiled knowingly at Xavier's attempt to alter the course of the
conversation, but seemed satisfied that he had declared his surrender and
complied with the professor's unspoken request.

"Well,  dey certainly cheered loud enough."  Remy slowly leaned against
one of the walls, folding his arms across his chest in a pensive posture.
"But I was gettin' de impression  dat we could have probably put Mojo
up  dere on the balcony and they would have still cheered so long as he
was tellin' them how great  dey were."

Charles nodded his head in response, conceding his son's point.  "True,
many of them were far too drunk on T'al and their own jubilation to fully
realize the implications of what exactly happened last night."  Xavier,
however, did not want to give up hope quite so easily.  "Yet at the same
time, any such ceremony that can invoke such passion in the people would
also promote a feeling of fierce protectiveness to what they would consider
the sanctity of the that ceremony.  The mere fact that they did not feel you
were in violation of that sanctity is greatly encouraging."

Remy just shook his head sadly in response.  "Xavier, every Sunday o' my
life all de t'ieves and all de assassins would meet together in de same
church, sing de same praises, an' pray de same prayers.  Then dey would
leave and spend de rest of de week trying ta' kill each other."

The young man took one last drag from his cigarette before flicking the butt
out a nearby window.  When his son turned his red and black eyes to meet
with his own, Xavier thought that he could detect the slightest trace of
bitterness
in their depths.  "Sanctity don't do me a whole lot of good when it only
lasts one day o' de week or year."

Charles had, of course, already considered all of these arguments the night
before with Lilandra and had even found himself sadly agreeing with Gambit's
assessment.  He had, however, hoped that his son would be possessed of a
slightly more optimistic outlook seeing as he did possess some positive
memories of his childhood here.  But, it appeared as if too many of his
idealistic notions had been stripped from him after one fateful visit to
earth.

"I suppose that the true reaction of the people is yet to be seen," Xavier
conceded.  "But, I have no doubt that the public will make their opinion
know within the next few days."

Charles did wonder, however, how much a negative public reaction would
truly alter Lilandra's plans.  The night before, she had seemed quite
determined to have the Imperium accept Remy as the royal heir with very
little compromise.

Remy closed his eyes and once again put on his well trained poker face to
hide what-ever emotions that may have been lurking underneath his features.

"Well, if dey really don't like me, we can always just console dem wit' the
fact dat I'll only be around for another nine or so years.  Den, I'll be
completely out of deir hair, or feathers, or what-ever."

It was at times like these that Xavier desperately wished that he was able
to read past his son's mental defenses and find what the man was really
thinking.  Just mentioning the time paradox back at the mansion had the
singular effect of casting a pall of gloom figuratively, and with Storm as a
resident, sometimes quite literally.  Remy had taken to reacting to the
mention of the paradox by either trying to laugh it off, or simply resorting
to his stone-faced expression.  And with either action, he always maintained
his psionic shields firmly in place.

Charles resisted the urge to flinch at Gambit's comment but merely sighed
heavily instead.  "Lilandra did mention that she had managed to schedule
some free time later this day and that she fully intended to use it to spend
some quality time with her son."  Xavier briefly studied the reflection in
the polished metal surface of his hover-chair, wondering when the man that
he saw there had gotten so old.  "I assume that you were planning on using
that time to tell her of your situation."

Remy simply stood silently for a few moments before finally opening his
eyes and slowly nodding his head.  "Putting it off any longer isn't goin' t'
make it go away."  He pushed off of the wall and slowly crossed the floor to
an open window.  "She needs t' know de whole story before she starts makin'
any more plans for me an de Imperium."

Xavier made no comment.  He simply moved his chair across the richly
enameled surface to join his son in viewing the city from the window.

Beneath their position, the whole of Capital City stretched out before them,
stretching to the horizon and beyond.  In the mid-morning light, he could
see the busy transports, crowded platforms, and bustling streets of a
thriving urban landscape.  Charles had to wonder how his son saw these
people.  Had he already begun to think of them as his responsibility, as did
Lilandra?

Remy finally broke the moment of silence by saying, "I'm beginning to
wonder if we shouldn't have just told her earlier and gotten de whole t'ing
over wit'."

Charles had no response to his son's statement as he himself had often
pondered
the exact same dilemma.  Together they had studied the entire problem out
several times and had both come to the same conclusion that it would be
better for all those involved to discuss the situation in person with his
love.  The decision had been a logical one.  But now, that logic seemed to
be fading rapidly.

They stood in companionable silence for a few more minutes and Xavier
assumed that their conversation was over when Remy turned from the window
and began walk back towards the main buildings of the palace.  However, just
as he was about to reach the exit he stopped and turned to face Charles once
again, his face showing a slight hesitation.

"Xavier, what do you know about the Teleranni assassination?" the former
thief finally asked.  The professor felt his eyebrows rise in curiosity and
surprise that his son would mention the late noble family.  Charles wondered
if he was still feeling guilt over not being able to avert their deaths as
well as the X-men's.

"Lilandra and I discussed it briefly last night," he responded slowly.  His
love had only mentioned a few details in passing, and he had to concentrate
to recall them.  "I believe that they did manage to determine that a clan
named Rasharn was responsible for their deaths.  The imperial guard
attempted to apprehend the perpetrators, but the entire clan was destroyed
in combat when their leader refused to surrender."

He could see Remy's eyes narrowing fractionally.  "None of dem was taken
alive  den?  No one had a chance ta' question any o' de alleged killers."

Xavier simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders in response.  "I'm
afraid not.  They tried to escape on a shuttle and were then caught in a
meteor storm."  The truth of the matter was that the physical evidence
found at murder scene had left very little doubt as to who could have been
responsible for the Telaranni deaths.

Remy's calculating expression finally prompted Charles to ask, "Why, do
you think there could have been more factions involved then just clan
Rasharn?"

Remy was silent for a few more moments and even though his poker face and
mental shields were firmly in place, Charles could see that his son was
deeply bothered by something.  The professor was about to make further
inquiries of the young man when Remy's whole attitude seemed to shift.

"Don't worry about it, Xavier."  He was wearing his characteristic
devil-may-care smile once again.  "It don't be not'ing."  He then stifled
a yawn the told Charles his son had probably spent the entire night in the
city.

"Well, I would suggest that you get some rest then."  Xavier suggested.
"I'm sure that you will want to be awake and lucid when Lilandra sends for
you later today."

Remy nodded in agreement.  "Dat would be a good idea.  I'll see you later
today."

As his son turned to exit again, Xavier turned his attention back to
the panoramic view of Capital City.  Once more, his mind turned to the
millions of individuals that he could see and sense scurrying back and forth
across its busy streets.  Charles sighed and hoped against hope that on
Chandilar sanctity did indeed extend beyond only one day in the year.

*************************************

Varris Ja'harr leaned back in his chair and tried, with only moderate
success, to keep all traces of irritation and impatience from showing on his
face.  Seated across from him, Magistrate Allid noticed his poorly concealed
displeasure and smiled smugly at him.  The young Magistrate silently cursed
his fellow councilman and vainly attempted to smooth his anger from his
features.  However, in light of the events of the past few days, he
considered it an extreme accomplishment on his own part that he was able to
control the overwhelming urge to fling his seat across the Magistrate
Council chamber in frustration.  As it was, he was seriously considering
simply departing before this ill-timed emergency convening of the High
Magistrates even started.

After all, the young Magistrate could certainly find a great deal of
justification for simply ignoring Magistrate Talm's request that they all
convene as quickly as possible.  In all likelihood the man was just going to
spend several hours boring them all with details that they already knew.  He
would drone on endlessly about the importance of preserving the purity of
the Shi'ar bloodline and all present would readily endorse him.  Yet, in the
end, the grand speeches and claims of outrage would very likely have little
to no effect.  The public had always been so enamored with the Neramani line
that its members could easily violate the longest held traditions of the
Shi'ar without any fear of retribution.

Varris always felt ill when he heard the common public speak of every
member of the Neramani line as if they were anointed by the hand of the
Creator himself.  The idea that Aldarus Neramani could actually descend from
the Chosen Lineage was a complete and utter farce.  Why was it that every
time some noble managed to achieve success instead of attributing it to
logical factors, the rabble that were his people chose instead to cling to
the
belief of some mystic unseen force guiding and controlling their actions.

Varris shook his head in disgust.  Every ruling line to claim the title
Magistrix of the Imperium had been of the Chosen Lineage.  Even J'thenn, at
the time that he sat in judgement as Chief Magistrate had been believed to
contain the blood of J'oshe in his veins.

The simple fact of the matter was that Aldarus had been in the right place
at the right time and had the intelligence and cunning to see a potential
opportunity and the courage and daring to take advantage of it.  After all,
he had only been chosen as the head of the Imperium's army at the time
because Connance Ja'harr, ever the slave to duty, had passed over the
position, feeling that he could make a better contribution to the defensive
effort by leading the troops on the Tassedan front.  As a result, the
accomplishments of General Ja'harr had been all but forgotten while
Teleranni had been nearly lifted to the status of deity.  If Connance had
simply stayed in Capital City, then house Ja'harr would have been named the
revered Chosen Lineage.

Varris leaned forward impatiently and studied his reflection in the
polished smooth surface of the Magistrate Council table.  By Shi'ar
standards he would be considered strikingly hansom man, if a it weren't for
the perpetual scowl that his features tended to favor.  His feathered plume
was fair in color, and frosted lightly with gold at the edges.  He was still
young, the youngest member of the High Magistrate within recent memory.
Yet, despite his youth, many of his colleagues often joked that he had the
oldest mentality among them.  Fortunately, none of his fellow Magistrates
had an inkling of what he thought of them.

Despite his vocal and active support of Magistrate Talm and his political
issues, Varris found the man to be the epitome of ignorance.  But, as fate
would have it, he too had quite the popular following with a large and
growing segment of the Shi'ar populace.  And as Varris could stomach Talm,
despite his incompetence, much more easily than Lilandra, he readily allied
himself with the Chief Magistrate's growing political faction.  He had not
once in all the time since making that fateful decision ever regretted it.

Five years ago he had simply been a local Magistrate on some backwater
system that had barely advanced far enough technologically to have been
admitted into the Imperium.  Varris had ridden into the Imperial Magistrate
and then a into position as a High Magistrate on Talm's coattails.  For that
reason, he would continue to smile and nod and agree with everything that
Talm said even while he was inwardly railing against the man.

Varris quickly brought his attention back to the present as Chief Magistrate
Jalrus Talm finally deigned to make his entry into the very meeting he had
called.  Varris and the other magistrates in the room all arose to their
feet in a per functionary gesture of respect that was completely lost on
Talm, who wore an expression of worried preoccupation.  Behind him trailed
too assistants, one of them doing his best to keep up in spite of the
armload of data files and folders he was carrying.

"Please be seated," Talm waved one of his hands absent-mindedly as he
quickly moved to his chair at the head of the table.  Varris noted that the
Chief Magistrate seemed curiously disheveled, almost as if he had not slept
at all and hadn't even bother change his clothes or bathe since the night
before.

The members of the Magistrate High Council quickly complied and soon all
had returned to their chairs.  Varris felt his expectations slowly peaking.
Talm was normally a stickler for proper ceremony, opting only to omit
lengthy procedural matters under extreme circumstances.  This simple fact,
combined with his observations of the man's ruffled state, led the young
Magistrate to hope that perhaps there really was a productive purpose to
this meeting.

"Seal the doors and activate the sound suppression fields," Jalrus
instructed the assistant that wasn't burdened with a load of materials, then
returned to intently studying the datafile in front of him.  If Varris
hadn't known the man so well he would have believed that Talm still wasn't
fully prepared for this meeting and was using every possible moment to
review additional material.

He could hear a curious buzz starting among the gathered Magistrates as
Talm's aide quickly complied with his orders, sealing the rooms several
entrances and then moving to adjust the controls on a nearby sound wave
distortion generator.  Varris could feel his own curiosity rising as they
waited.  Normally, Talm would have informed at least one or two of the
member of the Magistrate council of his intentions before the meeting
convened to attempt to gain a feel for how the entire council would respond.
He was not a man who endeared himself to surprises.  However, it appeared
that he had not informed any of those present of his plans.  Then again, he
may have just assumed that every one of them already knew the topic that
they would be discussing this morning.

The buzz died to a silence as the Chief Magistrate set down his datafile
and rose to call the meeting to order.  "Before I delve fully into the
matter before us, I would like a moment to remind each of you of the vows
that you swore when you took upon you the mantle of your individual offices.
Namely, strict adherence to the moral and ethical execution of the law, in
spite of our personal interests or opinions on the matter."

Varris was forced to stifle a yawn as his interest vanished almost
instantly.  Apparently Talm had only chosen to forego certain formalities in
favor of other ones, more the pity.  It had been almost a year since the
last time he had been forced to sit through one of Talm's long-winded
speeches about their duty to the law that they had sworn to uphold.  He was

not particularly looking forward to another reiteration of that speech.

He continued to half-listen to Talm's remarks in utter boredom as the man
continued on for what seemed like an eternity elaborating on the importance
of moral conscience in all of their decisions.  It was at times like this
that Varris wondered if any of the other Magistrates present really
subscribed to Talm's philosophies or were simply riding out his approval as
well.  The young Magistrate was so distracted by his own thoughts that he
very nearly missed Talm's final words.

"...and thus, it is with great soberness that I feel I must invoke the
Fifth Magistrate Security clause and declare the entire proceedings of this
meeting sealed to the M'krann archive until further time."

Varris stiffened slightly in surprise and notices that he was not the only
Magistrate present to do so.  A few audible gasps permeated the air of the
room at such a radical move on the part of the Chief Magistrate.  One could
count combined number of Noble and Magistrate council meetings that had been
sealed to the M'krann Archives on one hand.

Talm took a moment to study their varied reactions before continuing.  "I
would remind you that failure to adhere to this edict would not only be a
violation of your oaths as Magistrates, but is also a criminal act."

The young Ja'harr found that his interest had returned instantly.  Even if
Talm's presentation had absolutely no bearing on Varris personally, the
simple act of being present in a Council meeting that would be sealed to the
M'krann Archive was more than enough to acquire his entire attention.

Talm turned and nodded for his assistant to begin distributing the
several data files that he had brought with him.  As the assistant moved to
comply Jalrus spoke again.  "All information and materials that you are now
receiving are to be likewise considered sealed to the M'krann Archive.  I
therefore suggest that you take very good care of them."

Varris received his own file eagerly and barely suppressed the urge to
activate it and began perusing its contents.  However, taking such an action
without having been directed to do so would have been a grievous breech of
protocol.  He just hoped that Talm wasn't planning on keeping them waiting
for too long before he got to the point.  He looked up to see several other
Magistrates, notably Colier and Imado, also carefully studying their own
files, curiosity openly displayed on their faces.

As was his habit when addressing any Magistrate assembly, Talm began to
slowly pace the room while beginning his discourse.  "I am certain that you
have all been considering the implications of Lilandra's recent actions on,
not only yourselves, but the Imperium as a whole."  There was no need for
the Chief Magistrate to specify to which actions he was referring.

"And doubtless, you have reached the same mutual conclusion that her
actions have proved to be both selfish and damaging to our people as a
whole."  Which, of course, they had.  For any occurrence that opposed their
own standpoints on the issue and thus threatened their power and credibility
was naturally also a threat to the Imperium.

Magistrate Talm paused for a moment and sighed as if he was carrying some
great weight on his back.  "This Rem'aillon has proved to be a larger menace
to our people than I had originally perceived.  Indeed, I fear that his very
presence could have the effect of corrupting our entire society, especially
if Lilandra attempts to place this half-breed on the throne."

"She wouldn't dare," cried an outraged Imado.  Imado was one of the few
Magistrates on the council who was even more adamant about maintaining pure
Shi'ar blood lines than Talm  He had recently been trying to rally support
for new legislation that would in fact make it legal to segregate those not
of pure Shi'ar blood from the rest of the masses.  "The Noble Council would
never approve such an action on her part and the public would..."

"The public would bluster and then quietly accept anything that the Empress
chose to impose on them," Varris cut in coldly.  Imado's fanaticism tended
to blind him to certain truths.  "You forget, most of these people willingly
submitted to the brutality of D'ken's bloody reign.  What makes you think
they will balk at anything Lilandra does as long as she can wield her
lineage as a Neramani."

When the outraged Magistrate failed to respond Varris continued, "As far as
the Noble Council is concerned, they tend to base their decisions almost
entirely on precedent.  And the concept of an unborn heir returning from the
future to claim his rightful place on the throne has no precedent."  Varris
shook his head dismissively.  "There is no telling what the Council will
chose to do.  I'd prefer not to take that chance if possible."

Varris heard several Magistrates mumbling their approval before Talm openly
voiced his own agreement.  "Indeed, it is a chance that we can not allow to
be taken."  His sweeping gaze took in the entire council.  "In fact, we are
duty bound to prevent Rem'aillon Neramani from corrupting the Magistrix
throne any further and see that he is punished for the crimes that he has
committed."

Talm spun sharply on his heal and returned to his place at the head of the
table to retrieve his own datafile.  "For your convenience I have had the
following documents indexed by date and type.  If you would please open
to section eight: line twenty-two."

Varris and the other Magistrates needed no further invitation.  His hands
had been itching to activate the datafile ever since it had come into his
hands.  He eagerly opened the file to the indicated section and began
reading intently.  Within moments he had to remind himself to close his
mouth and start blinking his eyes again.  The young Magistrate managed a
quick glance around the table to view the other Magistrates' own reactions.
What he saw were open looks of shock and anger.

Through it all, Talm had calmly seated himself, a look of painfully solemn
duty etched deeply in his face.  For a brief moment, Varris wondered if he
could have misjudged the older Magistrate.  The sudden appearance of such
damaging and controversial information at a time such as this was a little
too convenient for him to fully believe.  Yet, at the same time, Talm would
never fabricate charges or even pursue charges against an individual if he
believed them to be false, no matter what the circumstances.

Finally Magistrate Colier managed to voice the question that they were all
asking.  "Magistrate Talm, may I inquire as to where exactly you were able
to obtain this data?"

"The information came into my hands from a source that can not be disclosed
at this time," the Chief Magistrate responded neutrally.  Which Varris
understood to mean that Jalrus had no clue as the file's origin.  And that
meant that someone else was pulling all of their strings in this matter.  If
there was one sensation that Varris Ja'harr hated, it was the feeling of
being controlled by someone else.  After all, he had already received a
healthy dose of forced submission from house Ja'harr's mysterious supporters
in the past years and had thus cultivated a distinct distaste for it.

Magistrate Allid shifted nervously in his seat for a few moments.  "How
certain are you about the validity of this data?"

Talm considered them solemnly before replying.  "To be quite honest, I am
not entirely certain.  That is the reason, in part, that I called for this
assembly.  I wish to place the matter before the Magistrate Council for
judgment.  Based on the information that I have provided to you, the council
must determine whether or not there is sufficient material to proceed with a
formal investigation into the matter."

So Talm wanted them to vote on the matter.  Varris had to restrain an amused
smirk from appearing on his face.  This was such a typical move for Jalrus.
He always insisted on following the letter of the law as closely as
possible.  He could have easily taken his evidence directly to the courts.
If he had taken such action, the resultant scandal would have destroyed
house Neramani whether Rem'aillon had been convicted or not.  Instead, he
had chosen to be a stickler on procedure and as a result the inquiry would
remain confidential until the Magistrate determined enough evidence existed
for a trial.  The man was as much of a slave to protocol as Varris and all
of house Ja'harr were to their hidden supporters.

However, there was still the small matter that this entire event had been
arranged by some unknown entity and that did not sit well with Varris.  He
could see that they were being led in their actions, much in the same way
that a beast would be led with a lure.  And that lure was a very
savory-looking
piece of meat.

Varris leaned back in his seat as he weighed the options in his own mind.
If the matter did come to trial, as he suspected it would if the Magistrate
Council approved a formal investigation, the negative propaganda generated
could easily destroy all of House Neramani's credibility.  If he was lucky,
it might even dissuade the public from their silly notion that the empress
and her bastard son descended from the Chosen Lineage.  For such a result,
Varris was willing to be led around just a bit.

"My fellow Magistrates," he intoned the most sober voice that he could
manage.  "If this data holds even a fraction of the truth, then we are
honored bound by the oaths that we swore to our people to investigate the
matter in it's entirety.  My vote is that the council approve a formal
inquiry into the matter."

Varris clenched his teeth so tightly he could almost taste blood as nearly
all the other Magistrates nodded their agreement.  After all, it would not
do for them to see him howl in unrestrained glee.

************************************

Judan looked across his desk to view the Shi'ar sun as it slowly moved
along its slow course behind the horizon.  Soon it would be time for him to
meet with Zair at the M'krann Shard and finally get out from underneath her
boot.  He could nearly taste his own freedom and its sweet flavor was almost
intoxicating.  The chief of staff felt for the small datapad inside of his
coat to reassure himself that it was still there.  That small file was the
key
to his salvation and he had therefore become somewhat paranoid of its
protection,
especially after the risk that he had taken to obtain it.

In retrospect, he had probably moved far too quickly in his efforts to
claim the information now contained with his pocket.  In the beginning he
had fully expected the process to take several months and use up a great
deal of favors owed to him by various individuals.  Instead, a number of
elements had worked together to provide him with an opportunity that he had
simply been unable to resist.

Varris Ja'harr, who had been the Magistrate assigned to monitoring
Gladiator and his division in their investigation of the Teleranni murders,
had been busily concluding final details on his own reports.  He had needed
to confirm the times and dates of certain high security transmissions
between different members of the investigative team.  Then, quite suddenly,
Varris and all other High Magistrates had been called to an emergency
meeting by order of Chief Magistrate Talm.  As a result, Varris had turned
the task over to him, granting him the authorization necessary to access the
records of high security transmissions.

The simple part had been the acquiring the records he needed while
obtaining the ones that Varris had requested.  Flashing the acquisition
order signed by the High Magistrate had gained him admittance into the
central record office as well as the secure channel network without any
difficulty.  The difficult and dangerous part had been sufficiently covering
his tracks so that no one would discover that he had overstepped the bounds
of his authorization.  He had been looking over his shoulder every five
seconds while accessing the Empress's secure transmission records in fear
that someone would walk in on him.  He had been caught in the act of an
indiscretion once before and the result had been those cursed holos which
Zair held over his head.

Leaning back in his chair with a deep-felt sigh of relief, Judan Sysc
seriously began to consider resigning from his post as soon as his business
with Zair was complete.  After all, there was no longer any true reason for
him to stay on. He had made a sizable fortune from his occupation, and the
side deals he had made with Zair over the years.  Plus, Jenna Ja'harr,
Telra's daughter had quickly become somewhat of a nuisance once his
taste for her had been sated.

The Chief of Staff was suddenly pulled out of his own private contemplation
by the sudden hiss of his office door opening to admit Varris Ja'harr.  The
High Magistrate was moving quickly and had a look of eager anticipation in
his eyes.  In one arm he was carrying a full load of datapads and papers.

Judan nearly leaped out of his chair in his effort to respectfully rise to
his feet.  He had heard that the young Magistrate had finished with his
meeting not long ago, but still hadn't been expecting a visit from him for
some time.

"Good evening, my Lord."  Judan resisted the urge to lick his lips
nervously.  "I apologize for the state of my office, I wasn't expecting..."

"Don't worry about it," Varris said casually waving his free hand.  He then
deposited the pile of materials on Judan's desk to free up his other hand
and straighten his coat, which had become somewhat ruffled.  "I was actually
just in the area and decided to stop by and see if you had the
opportunity to obtain those transmission records."

"Yes, of course," Judan responded cautiously.  He quickly sorted through a
group of files in his desk before retrieving a datapad and handing it to
Varris.  The younger man accepted the device and quickly set about perusing
its contents.

"So," the Chief of staff began casually after a moment of sustained
silence, "what was the emergency meeting all about?"

Varris didn't even bother looking up from his datapad as he replied, "Oh,
nothing really interesting.  You know Talm.  Everything merits an emergency
meeting with that man."  The Young Magistrate continued glancing through
different files contained on the pad for a few more moments before nodding
in satisfaction.

"Well, thank you again for your aid, Judan," he said while gathering up the
materials he had deposited on Judan's desk.

"I live but to serve, my Lord," the Chief of Staff replied automatically.

Judan let out another sigh of relief as Varris exited his office and, not
for the first time, gave thanks to the Creator that none of the Ja'harr
household possessed telepathic powers, especially Jenna.  Just then, he
noticed an small datafile that had not been on his desk before.  It had
apparently been a part of Varris's belongings and had fallen from the stack.

As he picked up the datafile, Judan briefly considered running it out
to the young Magistrate before he could get too far.  He quickly discarded
the idea as tracking down the young Ja'harr could possibly have made him
miss his meeting with Zair.

So instead, out of pure curiosity, he activated the datapad and opened the
first file.  By the time he finally managed to pull his attention away from
the file, he was already ten minutes late.

-End Part 6