Sitting in a bunker under the royal palace on Lonazar, the polycule was rather confused as to what was actually happening. Once or twice Agent Lee had hurried through the room, responding ‘need to know’ to any questions they tried to throw at him. The imperial guard weren’t much more useful, simply replying ‘remain calm’.

It was not very helpful. Worse, racing hearts did not seem to mix well with the persistent higher gravity of the planet, so the whole process was exceptionally unpleasant. Vivian hoped she could get somewhere she could actually relax properly soon. Though she did now understand why Kobaroic furniture was so plush and cushioned. It really made a difference in high G.

Finally, after more time than she wanted to think about, a member of the Kobaroian royal guard tried to hurry past. Both Vivian and Bokarza were able to scramble in front of the woman to get her to stop, though Vivian had worried the taller woman would just barrel through them when she almost didn’t stop.

“As your regnal queen,” Bokarza said with surprising authority, “I command you to tell us what in the galaxy is going on. What were the circumstances of Svetlana going missing? Is anyone hurt? Just how missing is she?”

“And where’s Houyu?” Vivian added.

“Guuuhh--Har wuk... we believe royal baby is also missing too,” the guard said in heavily accented English after having started in Kobaroic.

“And no one thought to tell me before now?” Vivian hissed, her maternal instincts flaring up despite how distant she often worried she was.

“We--we thought Earthling guards said it,” the woman replied, quickly tapping her forehead in deference. “Apologies. Apologies.”

“And what happened?” Bokarza asked.

“She... empress had... gas. Ventilation gas. Everyone went to sleep. Somehow empress was not affected. Somehow broke into engine compartment of star runner. Separated it. Left with royal baby,” the woman said.

“What? Was... was Svetlana-wife able to stay awake with O’tmyil-love’s help?” Plynx asked, hurrying over from where she was seated.

“No. O’tmyil was left... left behind,” the woman said. “Must go. Jathek, Kraz.”

“Ulark,” Bokarza replied, accepting the apology and stepping out of the woman’s way.

After watching her go the group realised they didn’t have a better ratio of answers to questions than they’d started with. Sure, they now knew that Svetlana had run away, and taken Houyu with her, but... they had no idea why she’d have done that. Or when she’d learned to fly an interstellar spaceship through jump-space. Oh, also, when had she gained a resistance to some sort of knockout gas that apparently worked on Humans, Lanthoneans, and Kobaroians?

To say nothing of why in the world she’d have left O’tmyil behind.

Had she somehow kept her plan secret from O’tmyil? Svetlana was pretty terrible at keeping secrets. Especially from someone she had a neural link with.

Really, the questions had grown significantly faster than the answers.

“I knew she seemed off, but I didn’t realise it was a sign of something like this,” Thisbe mumbled, pulling her feet up onto the armchair she was in and hugging her knees.

Apart from Bokarza she was the only one not in powered armour, and Vivian wasn’t sure if she envied her for the comfort or was happier with the sense of safety the armour offered. Both physically and O’rygnoh doing his best to send her calming positivity.

“Well, hopefully O’tmyil will be able to tell us something when they bring her down?” Vivian said, trying to keep her head level so she didn’t panic about why in the world her wife had just sort-of-kidnapped her child.

“That will take a while,” Agent Lee said, strolling into the room. “After an initial few moments of wakefulness she insisted she undergo a full diagnostic check. Which is not a rapid process. Ms. Campbell, Queen Bokarza, we require at least two of her siblings to assist and your guardians are the only two initiated who are not currently providing necessary support against the local gravity. Might we borrow them?”

“Oh... yes,” Thisbe said.

“Sure. Getting O’ktaubr off my tail is a good thing in my books,” Bokarza added.

Agent Lee nodded, accepting the disc forms of both guardians before hurrying off again. They found themselves alone once more. With nothing to do but worry.

With no one else entering the room, eventually Bokarza poked her head out into the hall, getting the attention of guards and requesting a view screen so that they could at least watch the news if no one was going to tell them anything. To Vivian’s surprise, when they eventually got the screen it turned out that none of the news was covering what had happened. It seemed it was still too early to answer many questions and the various royal minders were hoping to solve the whole affair before news leaked out.

It seemed a rather questionable angle to take in Vivian’s mind, and also felt somewhat... unpleasant? Having the fact that her child and wife were missing be covered up as a minor embarrassment didn’t seem right.

Yet, she supposed the alternative would be a nightmare of insensitive paparazzi type nonsense. Galactic media didn’t seem as bad as, say, the British media, but it still would probably be a feeding frenzy. 

“It will be alright,” Plynx said, taking Vivian’s hand and offering a soft purr in encouragement.

“I just don’t know how to handle having my family be front page news,” Vivian said. “Well, I also don’t know how to handle the kidnapping, but that’s a bit too big to process right now.”

“There’s no sign anyone else was involved,” Bokarza offered. “I’ll bet Svetlana just got tired of being herded about all the time and decided to go on a little joy ride.”

“Hopefully that’s all it is--” Vivian was replying when a somewhat nervous looking Kobaroian man stepped into the chamber. 

“Err... Consort Campbell?” he asked.

“Yes?” Thisbe replied, surprised to be called out.

“A... a Zuumult vessel just entered the system. The pilot is saying that their name is Vahr and that you would be willing to talk to them,” the man said. “Is... is that true?”

Blinking a few times, Thisbe then nodded. “Yes. I suppose I would be happy to? I mean, they crossed a good chunk of the galaxy to get here. Whatever they have to say is probably important?”

The man gave a crisp Kobaroic salute (a specific wagging of their large forehead horn) then turned and rushed out of the room.

It was a few more minutes before the group found out anything else, their viewscreen switching to a video call, the head of the imperial guard on the other end. “Your majesties, we have the Zuumult here now. Are you prepared to lead the questioning?”

“Questioning?” Thisbe replied, worry flowing off her and into the hearts of all the others (not that Vivian needed any more worry).

“A Zuumult appearing just after the Empress’ disappearance is... suspicious, at the very least. So we must treat them as potentially involved,” the Lanthonean man replied. “Are you prepared?”

“Y-yes,” Thisbe said.

“We-all will try to be polite, due to the lack of the proof, but we are ready,” Plynx added.

The man nodded and then the camera switched to another room. The Zuumult in question was in a room clearly too small for them with their knees sticking up above the cold crystalline table in front of them, whatever chair they were sitting on completely blocked from view, and... only their chin visible in the camera.

“Err, Vahr?” Thisbe asked. “Is that you?”

“Yes!” they replied, leaning in towards what must have been a screen on their side, but still having their eyebrows and everything above cut off from view. “I... am I too late? Everyone seems even more worried than I’d expected.”

“Too late for what?” Auguste asked, leaning into the view of the camera on their side.

“The... the empress... has she--where is she?” they replied.

“That’s what the security folks want us to ask you,” Vivian said.

Vahr winced. Even though it wasn’t the same as a human wince it was still close enough for Vivian to tell what it was. 

“Then I am too late,” they said quietly. “I had come to warn you... that was not the empress.”

With that the entire imperial polycule rushed forward towards the screen, the word for ‘what!?’ being shouted in in four different languages (English twice, French, Kobaroic, and Issiod’rian Standard). 

“My larger sibling produced a replicoid while the empress was visiting... I had been unaware until we departed and was placed in charge of keeping her company in our custody,” Vahr said. “Svetlana asked me to warn you while Houyo was still safe, to weaken the empere’s negotiating position. But now... if they’re already in jump space then it’s too late.”

Staring up at Ouzzhen from the bed in her cell, Svetlana wore the cockiest smirk she could manage. “I hope you realise this is all going to blow up in your face... your jerk-face, since you’re a jerk.”

That drew a laugh from Ouzzhen. “It’s too late for that, I’m afraid. The replicoid has acquired your spawn. With both you and the baby in my care those cowards at the Imperial Council will be forced to cave to my demands.”

The news that Houyo was in trouble sent worry though her. It was hard not to be scared, hearing that her child was in the hands of some sort of infiltration android. Still, she kept a poker face in place and decided to try to focus on the big picture.

“The Issiod’rians and Kobaroians were tired of war, that’s the only reason that I was able to be used to make peace. Just a paper excuse. I’m not actually that important to the Galactic Commonwealth. They can function just fine as a republic. Which means holding me hostage doesn’t do anything but annoy them... and me. It definitely also annoys me.”

“You underestimate how much importance the galaxy places on the idea of a monarch. We Zuumults hammered it into them through millennia of absolute monarchy. They need someone else to bow to or else those weak in the knee will turn to us anyway... I’ll offer them to give me your ceremonial position, which is far better than they would ever expect. Then I will employ the patience of an immortal and usurp more power with time,” Ouzzhen replied, before crouching down to have their eyes level with Svetlana. “But I do want to say that I genuinely like you. You’re amusing. Perhaps I’ll let you rule your world as a vassal. Or keep you on as a consort. Perhaps even both.”

They then flashed another one of those sharp toothed grins which were still just as visually appealing but Svetlana couldn’t help but see as annoyingly smug now. Instead of charmingly smug.

There was a fine line between those things.

“I still think you’re overestimating your hand. You think you’ve got a...” pausing slightly, Svetlana realised she didn’t actually know poker that well. At least she had a different card game she could try. “A hand of four eights in a game of crazy eights, when you’ve really just got a couple twos and a four.”

Ouzzhen stared at her. “What.”

“Alright, fine. Crazy eights isn’t the most cultured analogy... sue me,” Svetlana muttered, crossing her arms.

“Court jester, maybe,” Ouzzhen replied, grinning once more before turning about and strolling out of the room.

Svetlana tried to glare a hole in the back of their head as they left. Then into the door as it shut behind them. 

Her situation really did suck. Except... well, she knew she had an eight and a queen of spades rolled into one in her deck. 

Ok, that really was stretching the metaphor.

When the information about the replicoid was processed by the various security personnel there was then a flurry of further questioning for poor Vahr as it became clear they were effectively a defector. Their story was then verified when O’tmyil emerged from her intensive diagnostics, reporting that she’d been hit with a rather subtle virus that had interfered with her usual bond with Svetlana, causing the replicoid’s differences to be lost on her.

“Of course the replicoid’s neural patterns would be a close match to Svetlana’s to begin with. That’s how they function,” she explained as everyone was gathered in something of a war room upon the Imperial Guard’s heavy star runner. “They match the replaced person but for an underlying programming until the point where they are able to strike... though I find it deeply disconcerting one was able to get past my defenses.”

“It was the product of the Zuumult imperial family. They have many of the greatest artisans in the galaxy,” the head of the Imperial Guard said (Thisbe was fairly certain his name was I’phyl).

“Still, I should have mentioned that I thought there was something up to O’tmyil. Maybe we would have caught it earlier,” Thisbe mumbled.

“We should have discovered the security risk,” Agent Lee replied. “I had encountered a replicoid before, but had mistakenly believed that the Imperial Guard would have detected it.”

“You encountered one? On Earth?” O’tmyil asked. “And survived?”

“Yes. Further details are classified,” Lee replied. 

“We-all can point the claws later. What will we-the Commonwealth, do?” Plynx asked.

“That... we will have to see what the empere’s demands are. There’s no intercepting the ship to rescue Houyo unless they drop out of jump space in Commonwealth territory,” I’phyl replied with sigh and a drooping of his antennae. 

“Perhaps that is what the Commonwealth will do, but I do not represent the Commonwealth,” Agent Lee replied, adjusting his sunglasses slightly. “We will require the defector and any potential volunteers to assist in the rescue mission.”

“A rescue mission?” Bokarza asked, stepping forward to loom over the man. “That’s a suicide mission. The Zuumults are the most militarised major power in the galaxy. Wherever Svetlana is being held will be a fortress. I know you humans think you’re stubborn, but we Kobaroians are well known for being even more unwavering. If we tell you we must negotiate we must negotiate.”

Agent Lee simply smiled up at her. “The Zuumults’ Galactic Dynasty fell once. They can be defeated. Can they not?”

That last part he directed towards O’tmyil and her siblings.

“It was not easy,” she replied.

“As much respect as I have for O’tmyil, O’ktaubr, and the rest of their family... it was more than just their efforts that took down the First Dynasty,” Bokarza said.

“Yes. Even if we-here think ourselves as clever as the great heroes who founded the Second Dynasty...” Plynx said, before pausing, seeming to grow lost in thought.

“Mhm, even if we’re twice as clever as we have any right to think we are and we have the imperial guardians, the overthrow of the First Dynasty also took the M’tethon itself,” Bokarza replied. “Which, the last anyone heard the Zuumults were storing in their most secure vault in the heart of a planet orbiting a blackhole, so... unless you can pull the most powerful entity in the history of the galaxy out of your pocket we’re negotiating.”

Agent Lee gave a small nod. “I am aware.”

“You’re aware your mission is doomed?” I’phyl asked.

“No,” O’tmyil said with a small sigh. “He’s aware that the plan would require the M’tethon. What makes him so confident is that he does.”

The eyes of every alien in the room turned to O’tmyil. Well, every alien except for Plynx who let out an excited chirp before slapping the table beside her.

“That was what destroyed Halifax,” she said. “I had wondered what in the Galaxy had happened.”