Chapter Four: The Latest News

The great hall of Xanadu, windowless and nearly a kilometer below the surface, was filled with moss-encrusted fountains, mosaic patios flanked with marble statues, and bioluminescent plants. A young man, medium of build with too-soft skin, but otherwise well formed and crowned with bronze curls, sat naked in a warm bubbling pool. His head lay back on a brocade pillow, his eyes were closed. A trio of nubile creatures attended him with food, drink and the latest news. They had pointed ears, prominent eye-teeth, and were each of them stunning to behold.

“Iron ore production has declined over the last year. But new deposits have been discovered, and an increase is projected next two years,” the dark-haired minx read from a link-pad. “Ore and metal stocks are sufficient that industrial facilities shouldn’t actually experience any shortages. That about covers the industry report. Moving on to agriculture…”

“Oh, don’t bother me with the food unless people are starving or my own dinner is going to be late,” the golden-haired man interrupted. “Get on to the good stuff.”

The dark-haired one rolled her eyes with a smile and thumbed forward to the military report. That was always what the Emperor wanted to hear. He smiled as she read the latest training reports. “The games last cycle as you know were a great success. The Hunt overcame the Elite corps at great cost. Both units have returned to full strength, and morale is high. Only two lines from the hunt, and three from the Swinehost were put down. Even those were simply the bottom of the list. They actually performed quite admirably, but of course, the corps must have their sacrifices.”

He sat up to hear intelligence reports about neighboring kingdoms, and the tribal lands. “The Swinehost in Erikson put down a small uprising,” she continued, trying to ignore the emperor’s hand on her leg. “The local magistrate reports it was really nothing more than a small riot. A drunken worker’s brawl that happened to choose the armory as a target.” The emperor smiled and waved away the rest of that report.

“And there is the matter of the airship,” she went on. “The latest reports indicate that it moved from the coast inland toward the Looking Glass region. Their landing craft descended again, but was caught in the storm when it changed direction. We haven’t had any word since then. It is believed that the owls following the ship were caught in the storm as well.”

The emperor looked thoughtful for a moment. The woman with the knee-length tail fed him a strawberry which he chewed absentmindedly. “Any indication of satellite communications as yet?”

She shook her head, “Nothing outside their GPS, and weather report downloads.”

“What units do we have in the area?” he asked hopefully.

“There is an otter team a few kilometers from their last known location, and the main body of the Harri has just left Petra. They’ll pass through Geoduck, and be in the area before the cycle is out.”

“Good. If the lander doesn’t turn up after the storm, have all the owls and otter teams in the area search for them. If the lander has crashed, or if they’ve landed in any settled areas, order them to jam all the radio frequencies used by their aircraft and shoot the airship down.” He reached for the woman covered in fine golden fur. “Now lets have some proper fun.”