Hàkétzü Province's DZ was unusually quiet by Imperial Standards. The Lossec MPA office took great pride in this. In fact, they were more proud of not having to perform a CCI than the Lossec Colonial Charter Administration was about their record numbers of colonies failing because they forgot to send them resupply ships instead of them being destroyed or ravaged by marauding hordes of bandit scum. Good old incompetence. It was the number one reason why everything in the Imperium was a steaming fat turd. The current victims of terminal stupidity would be no different.
Fhá took down the charter designation and ran it through the Hàkétzü Province DZ Charter database. What she got back she was entirely unprepared for.
CHARTER: Hàkétzü DZ-C_060041386
AUTHORISED BY: Duchess Iju Kvaling Tvì [Imperial Seat]
AUTHORISATION DATE: [redacted]
RENEWAL DATE: [redacted]
EXPIRATION DATE: indefinite
CHARTER RECIPIENT: Ëchüha Tvì
Colonial Status: Tier 5 Pre-Established
Colony Type: SC-C IZ - Class IV
Provisional Designation: Ëchüha Tvì Éshà
Population: 14.234.671
ISK Valuation: 55 Tn ISK
Prime Resources: H | He Ne Ar Xe
Li Na K Cs
Be Mg Ca Ba
Sc Y La Ac
Ti Zr Hf
V Ta
Cr Mo W Sg
Mn Tc
Fe Os
Co Ir
Pd Pt
Cu Ag Au
Zn Hg
B Al Ga Tl
Si Sn
P Sb Bi
S Te
I At
Ce Pr Nd Gd Yb
Th U Pu
Ecology: !!Hothouse Paradise Xenobiosphere!!
Mythic Presence: [redacted]
Mythic Treaty Status: [redacted]
[continue report]
"Fuck," Fhá swore, realising immediately what she was dealing with.
Imperial seat nepotism. No wonder Ngèza pawned this one off on her.
Ëchüha Tvì Éshà was intentionally kept off the books and it was clear why. Hothouse Paradise Xenobiosphere. Not just one of the rarest things to find anywhere in The Way, but also one of the most highly protected.
Most places people inhabited had to be terraformed and seeded by the Engineers before they could truly be hospitable to any kind of life. Of the handful of Xenobiospheres existed throughout The Way, all of them almost immediately had Herbalists and Mythics making pilgrimages to them, including boatloads of Graces. How they all made the voyage was a mystery to everyone but them. But there they were, undoubtedly, somewhere in the mess.
Fhá didn't need to read the rest of the report to know exactly what had happened. Ijv's least favourite son polluted the planet to death. Breaking the news to the Duchess wasn't going to be easy and certainly not pleasant.
"Ngèza!" Fhá barked, interrupting her boss again.
"This had better be important!" she snapped back.
"I need a 22-69!" Fhá fired back.
"Can't you see I'm busy!?"
"Should I call Jvsé instead?"
"No," Ngèza answered, earthquaking her way back to her desk, "make your call. I'll have the form filed before you're connected."
"Thank you," Fhá sighed, picking up the receiver to her secure comms line.
She dialled in the internal extension to the Knotworx Root.
"Operator, how may I direct you," one of the Knotworx handlers responded.
"Duchess Ijv Kvaling Tvì, Imperial Seat, P1," Fhá answered.
"Routing you now," the handler responded.
Fhá wedged the receiver between her shoulder and ear, continuing to skim the report while she was being connected. The more details she received, the worse the situation appeared to be.
"Duchess Tvì, who is this?" a male voice droned, breaking Fhá's concentration.
"Fhá Vngví, Hàkétzü Province MPA, M'lady," Fhá answered, after collecting herself.
She'd never gotten the hang of communicating through Knotworx.
"What's this about?"
"Hàkétzü DZ-C_060041386, Provisional Designation Ëchüha Tvì Éshà," Fhá answered, "when did you last hear from His Lordship, Ëchüha?"
"Must have been...a dozen anno ago, by Imperial Seat Chronosync," the Knotworx droned, "fourteen Tanno. Why? Has he somehow managed to run even that honeypot into the ground?"
"I'm afraid the situation may be far more dire than that," Fhá replied.
"Go on."
"Preliminary investigations indicate a combination of factors may have led to a total ecological collapse of DZ-C_060041386," Fhá relayed.
"I'm sorry, but did you say total ecological collapse?"
"Yes. You were not made aware DZ-C_060041386 was host to a Xenobiosphere?"
"I was not. Thank you for informing me of the situation. Carry on with your investigation."
"Yes, M'lady."
"Keep me apprised of your findings. I'll have the forms and authorisations forwarded to your office."
"Of course, M'lady. Is there anything else I can do?"
"That will be all. Oh, one more thing. Report any interference with your investigation to me."
"Yes, M'lady. I will assuredly do so."
"Good. I look forward to your call this evening."
The line disconnected, leaving Fhá in a state of shock. What had just happened?
A cold pit formed in the bottom of her stomach as the reality of the situation sunk in. Duchess Tvì of the Imperial Seat, a high noble with the ear of the Emperor, had her, Fhá Vngví, a lowly Imperial Librarian-5, investigating the fate of her son and the world he was put in charge of. Even if Ëchüha Tvì was loathed and despised by his mother, he was still the son of high nobility.
"Well, guess I should start updating my resumé," Fhá grumbled.
Fhá considered for a moment taking her stapler and caving in Ngèza's skull with it for giving her this shit job. That moment passed like so many before it, and she instead opened the first file in the report and began to read. Might as well milk it for all it was worth. She was only a few paycheques away from unemployment. Or a one-way trip to an Inquisitor's Interrogatorium.
ESTÁS LEYENDO
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A0T2.1 The Ëchüha Incident (Part 1)
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