manded that Kimdori would man those ships, and keep them on constant standby. The attack on Jason, which the Kimdori admitted they couldn't track back to the house that ordered it, had spooked the Denmother, and she ordered those warships ready to jump out of the system at a moment's notice to defend the Grand Duke Karinne if he was attacked again.

He returned home to Foxwood to find a sashed member of the Empress' personal staff waiting for him, sitting sedately in a chair in a receiving room, chatting with one of the maids who had brought her a cup of tea. She stood up when Jason came into the room, bowed to him, and gave him a small, rather elaborately carved wooden box. She then bowed to him again and waited for him to open it.

He did so.

What was inside made him drop the box like it was a live snake and back away from it. He put his hand over his heart as he tried to remember how to breathe, staring at the object that was inside, almost expecting it to jump up and attack him.

"Are you alright, your Grace?" the maid, Patty, asked.

The emissary said nothing. She just bowed her head and looked, then she shook her head and sighed.

Within the box was a single white flower, looking like a small rose. It was a _mey_, a rare flower, and its significance was not lost on Jason. It was an ancient tradition, practiced by the Empress and the Highborn Grand Duchesses.

By sending him that flower, Empress Dahnai was informing him that she was taking his hand in marriage.

He didn't bother changing out of the work clothes he was in. He didn't call for a skimmer or yacht to come get him. He jumped in a Nova and took off, and he flew at breakneck speeds into space, past the moon, through the gate, and down to the Imperial Palace. He had no clearance to land, and that nearly got him blown out of the sky. He stalked past everyone, even pushed guards out of his way, until he was standing in front of Dahnai's door to her quarters. It opened before he could knock, and he found himself staring at her, wearing one of her thigh-length robes, splayed across her couch watching the vidlink. "Have _you lost your fucking mind_?!" he demanded in a thunderous shout. "Are you insane? You have to be insane, Dahnai! What hair got up your ass to do that!"

She gave him a slow look. "Come in. Shut the door," she said, then she looked at one of the guards. "Leave us. _Now_," she ordered in a tone that would brook none of the usual objections when she ordered the guards out of a position to protect her, especially right now, when Jason looked of half a mind to charge across the room and strangle her. The three guards filed past Jason and out the door, and the two guards who had been flanking it closed it, but not without worried looks into the room.

"Sit down," she told him, waggling a foot at the chair facing her couch.

"Answer me, girl," Jason said hotly. "Are you _nuts_? Do you have any idea how much trouble _both_ of us are going to get into if people find out what you did?"

"I gave it a lot of serious thought, Jason," she told him evenly. "And I told you to _sit_."

He blew out his breath, then decided to obey. She was being very calm, very rational. Clearly, she had a reason for this insanity, and he wanted to hear it. So he sat down. "Tea?"

"Skip the pleasantries and get to the point," he demanded.

"Alright, the point. The point, Jason, is the very trouble that will start because of it. You think I don't know how the _Siann_ will react when they find out I'm engaged to a Terran? They'll have a conniption. There's gonna be angry shouting, protests that I'm disgracing the throne, sneers that I'm introducing the wrong blood into the royal line, the whole pod of _chaba_ nuts. And that's _the point_, Jason. Who I marry shouldn't matter, but it does. It's probably going to start a war," she admitted evenly. "The Shovalles and Dorranes will use it as a pretext to try to take the throne. Hell, even the Trillanes might take a shot at it, Maeri will say that I've gone insane and she didn't deserve the punishment I laid down on her.

"Clearly, I'm dragging you right into the middle of it. You're the perfect catalyst, the handsome alien that sweeps in to steal a noble house, then woos the young Empress and makes her so smitten that she risks war to take his hand in marriage. Quite the story, isn't it? I'm sure there'll be literature in the libraries a thousand years from now about the doomed, tragic love between Dahnai Merrane and Jason Karinne, a love that ignited the Fourth Civil War."

"You _are_ insane," Jason breathed in disbelief. She was going to start a war _on purpose_!

"No, I'm not insane, Jason," she said evenly. "Did you ever wonder why I've been so hot about finding out what you know? Well, the simple answer is, hon, that Merrane is in a _bad_ position. The other Highborn houses have grown past us, and they can see our weakness. They're building alliances to try to overthrow us. The seeds of this war were sown over twenty years ago, Jason. I'm just pouring water on the garden and making it grow faster. This war will happen no matter what. Whether it happens now, or happens in ten years, it _will_ happen. At this point, it is unavoidable. What was happening on Terra should make that very clear to you. The Trillanes were in the first stage of a plan to _start_ that war. If I hadn't intervened, the Imperium would have been in the thick of it inside a year. It was that close. When I remembered my history and the lore about the Karinnes, I was hoping that I might be able to lure or woo or maybe even seduce something out of you that would solidify the Merrane position, some lost technology that might even the playing field and make the other houses think twice about a war. But, your little speech has made it clear that my hope was a hollow one. You are a man of great convictions, and I have no doubt you would have fallen on your own sword before giving me what I needed from you. So, if you want to blame anyone for me sending you a white _mey_, look in the mirror. You forced my hand.

"Remember what you said to me? That the Karinnes would never be a part of the Imperium as long as we are who we are? Well, that made me think. It _really_ made me think. I realized that there was two ways you could approach that vow, Jason. You could stand back and do nothing, or you _do something about it_.

"So, here are your choices, my betrothed. You can do nothing, and watch the Imperium slowly kill itself, and watch the Faey who you love, but whose tendencies you hate, succumb to those tendencies and destroy each other. Or you can use those mysterious, secret Karinne technologies to stand up and say _no, you will not do this again_. The Karinnes were destroyed in the Third Civil War, Jason. I should know; my house was the one who destroyed them. Do you want to see more banners taken down from the audience chamber? Do you want to stand back and watch millions die, and then live the rest of your life knowing you did nothing to try to stop it?

"So, keep your secrets, Jason Karinne. I'll never ask you about them again. But for Trelle's sake, don't stand back and do nothing. We can't help being who we are. We can't help but make war. The Dorranes and Shovalles can't help but try to overthrow Merrane any more than Merrane can help fighting to retain the power it possesses. We're like little children, fighting over the best toys in the toybox. So, be our responsible father, Jason Karinne. _Stop us_ from making a terrible mistake."

Holy _shit_. She really did think this through. She'd been ready for him, and she explained it all with an awful clarity that made her decision a coldly logical one. And part of her logic was trying to make Jason take a stand, either to side with Merrane or to rise up and decry what was coming.

It was a horrific thought. Yes, the Trillanes had been on the verge of declaring war on the Imperium, trying to overthrow Merrane. Was it truly so far gone? Were the other houses so set in their intent that it really was unavoidable?

Yes. They were. Dahnai was right. If they thought that Merrane was weak enough to defeat, they'd fall on Merrane like a pack of wolves.

He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. Damn her. Dahnai really was smart. If she couldn't secure his help, she was going to put him in this terrible position, pitting his morals against his desire to stay out of it, gambling that his morality meant more to him than his word, that his _humanity_ mattered more than his _duty_. Jason would be destroyed if he stood back and watched the entire Imperium disintegrate into a civil war, and knew that he might have been able to stop it... but had done nothing. It went against his concepts of common decency.

But what could he really do? All he had were three warships and a dead planet, and the knowledge of the Karinnes that he could not share with anyone. Even if it did destroy the Imperium, he couldn't give them the tools to destroy. It would be a crime greater than the extermination of the entire Faey race in a suicidal civil war. He would not, he _could not_, facilitate the means by which the destroyed everything around them.

"I... I don't know what to say. I can't answer you right now, Dahnai. I have to think."

"That's fine," she told him calmly. "I didn't really expect an answer right now. But I want you to know, Jason, I didn't send you the _mey just_ to use you. It was necessary, and I don't think you'll believe me, though. I like you. You're intelligent, funny, warm, caring, and very strong. I admire you, very much. I think I could even come to love you, if we had more time and circumstances were different. To me, you're the only _real_ man I've ever met, I've ever known. You've shown me who you are, not what you wanted me to see, and you've never asked anything from me or my position. You've been interested in _me_, not in the _Empress_. When I'm with you, I feel like _Dahnai_, not Empress Merrane, and you've been a very good friend to me. I can't tell you what that means to me. I could marry a man like that without batting an eye, and be content with the _friendship_, even if I couldn't have the _love_."

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me," he told her honestly.

"I'm not trying to flatter you," she told him. "I just wanted you to know that. I didn't just decide to do this off the cuff, hon. I knew it might destroy our relationship, and yet I did it anyway. Please, remember that, and remember how much I like you. Let that tell you how deadly serious I think this situation is to do something like this, to risk the wrath of the only _real_ friend I've ever had. And please, even if you do hate me, know I made this decision because I couldn't see any other way. This was my last resort, Jason. Please understand that."

She looked away. He was startled; she was on the verge of tears. He had to believe her, at least about that. This wasn't something she did out of spite for his defiance of her. This was something she only decided to after heavy thought, and felt that she had no other real choice. He could hate what she did, but he couldn't deny that it wasn't easy for her to do.

He had to do something. In that regard, he realized, she won. She'd made her point, proving it to him beyond a shadow of a doubt. But, she didn't need to be so rash. With some time to consider the problem, maybe they could come up with a solution to prevent a war without having to actually start one.

Besides, she was his _friend_. He had to help her, to honor that friendship, if for no other reason.

He got up and walked over to her. She looked up at him, and almost flinched when he reached his hand down. But he took her hand, turned it over, and kissed the back of it. "Take back the _mey_, and I'll do what I can," he told her. "I can't promise anything, though. I don't have half as much as you think I do, and I'll need time to come up with anything... if I can, anyway. I told you once before that I owed you, Dahnai. I'll honor that debt, as much as my duty to the memory of the Karinnes will allow. But we need more time than we'd have if the _Siann_ caught wind of what you did."

"Well, then consider us un-engaged," she told him with a shiny-eyed smile. "And I'm _sorry_. I didn't want to take it there, Jason. I didn't want to risk our friendship. But I'm in a bad position, here, and I had to risk it. I don't have much choice."

"Actually, that was the only way you were gonna move me," he admitted wryly. "Because it did make me see how serious you are. But, no harm done. As long as you cancel your crazy idea about marriage."

"A girl wouldn't be crazy to want to marry _you_, Jason Karinne," she told him with a smile, taking hold of his hand and patting it fondly. "So, I can count on you?"

"You can count on the fact that I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise how much help it'll be," he told her.

"Fair enough," she told him with a smile. He moved to return to his seat, but her hand grabbed hold of his and pulled, stopping him. "No. Don't leave. I want you to stay."

"I was just going to sit back down."

_Stay with me,_ she sent, her eyes pleading. _I'm anxious, and I'm worried, and I'm lonely, and I just nearly destroyed the only true friendship that I've ever treasured. I _need_ you right now. Please._ She looked longingly up into his eyes. _Please. Stay with me tonight. Show me you forgive me. Don't leave me alone. Not now. I have to _know_ you forgive me. Show me you forgive me. Please, show me you forgive me._

He couldn't really say no. She was the Empress. Besides, she was _gorgeous_, she wanted him, and he felt true compassion for her. He could see that she was offering sex as an apology for her actions, and though it wasn't necessary, he also saw that the weeks of suppressed attraction to him had boiled up to the surface. She wanted to sleep with him to prove that she was sorry, to make sure he forgave her, and to more deeply cement their friendship, to take that next step that Faey friends of the opposite sexes eventually took, a step she had resisted taking for weeks. He saw it for what it was; both an apology and a test, to see if he wanted to take their friendship to that next step.

He sat down beside her, leaned over, and kissed her, giving her her answer.

                                        * * *

God, what a _woman_. He'd had sexual relations with three Faey women in his life, Jyslin, Symone, and Songa, and two of those were platonic partners... but those two platonic partners didn't prepare him for a night with Dahnai. Hell, the all-giving intimacy he shared with Jyslin almost didn't prepare him for Dahnai.

She didn't cross the boundary and threaten his marriage vows with Jyslin, but she came _damn_ close. She was a very prolific sender when she was having intercourse, very "vocal," very strong, and Jason found himself having to remind her there was a line she couldn't cross with him while they were having sex. Repeatedly. She kept pushing it, pushing the boundary, seeing how far she could go. Symone was a sender too, but she respected that line. Dahnai, so used to taking anything she wanted from her sexual partner, wasn't used to being rebuffed, and couldn't quite get herself to back off. After all, no man, not even a married man, had the balls to refuse the Empress anything she wanted... except for Jason.

There was that, and there was the raw, elemental, pure _sensuality_ of her, a responsiveness and indulgence of the senses he only experienced with Jyslin, that made their night very intense. She was a heavy sender, sharing her pleasure, her sensations, her desires, and while that pushed the boundary of mental joining that was the sole realm reserved for Jyslin, it did make it much more intense than the casual sex he enjoyed with Symone, who didn't do so with half the power or clarity. Dahnai was a very powerful telepath; that had to be part of it. She could send stronger and with a more detailed transmission of the myriad sensations and textures that made up her senses and her pleasure than Symone could. Dahnai's sending had almost crossed the line, but Jason couldn't deny the intense pleasure it brought to their lovemaking.

And there was her body. Jason felt Jyslin was still the perfect woman, but Dahnai gave her a serious run for her money, with her height, and her long, long legs, and smooth, soft skin, and her perfect blend of delightful female softness and muscular strength. She had the sexiest body in Dracora, and Holy Lord above, did she know how to _use_ that body.

It had been a memorable night for him. It was morning now, the guards were back in the room, and he was tangled up with Dahnai under the covers, in her bed. She had a firm grip on him even in slumber, a leg thrown over his and a hand draped over his chest, fingers curled around his shoulder as her head rested against his other shoulder. He could feel every inch of her skin that was touching his, taking special note of the breasts pushing up against his side and the tickle of her pubic hair against his hip and upper thigh, feeling her with a surprising focus of sensuality awakened in him from the night before. He yawned and blinked, the lifted his head to see a guard in three of the corners, all of whom where looking at him with mischievous eyes.

_Shut up,_ he sent in a surly manner, which made all three laugh silently, for they had no voices.

"Stop harassing my guards," Dahnai whispered from his shoulder, "and go back to sleep."

"I'd rather you sent them back out," he whispered.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, biting her lip as her hand slid down his chest to fondle him, and then grinned at what she was feeling. She lunged up and gave him a hungry kiss. _Out,_ she commanded mentally, since she was too busy kissing him to speak.

_Your Majesty, you have court in an hour,_ one of them reminded her.

_Who gives a shit? Now get out, his cock is hard, and I'm not gonna insult him by doing nothing about it,_ she snapped, pushing Jason's head down to the pillow as she threw the covers off and slid on top of him. That embarrassed Jason a little bit. She may not be willing to have sex in front of her guards, but she sure didn't seem to mind exposing his erect penis and deliberately mounting him, her lips never leaving his as she kissed him with hungry passion. _Hurry up, for Trelle's sake! You're wasting my sex time!_

_Yes, your Majesty,_ came the amused reply.

After two very pleasurable hours, the guards were finally allowed to return to the room. In with them came a small army of maids, standing near the bed waiting to help the Empress dress while she laid splayed on top of him, kissing him absently on the neck. "Time to go back to reality," she whispered, then giggled. "I'm so glad you forgive me. Want to come back tonight and forgive me again?"

"I think I'll be spending tonight apologizing to my wife for vanishing."

She laughed. _Fair enough. But we gotta do that again, hon; that was some _awesome_ sex. Some of the best I've had._

_It was _fantastic_,_ he told her. _And I'd love to do it again._

_It's a date then,_ she grinned, licking him on the nose. _Let's get dressed. I'm already late for court._

_I just want to know one thing._

_What?_

_Why now? I've been sensing your interest for a while, and you've kept your distance. Why act on it now?_

_Because of your _amu dozei_,_ she answered as a maid started drawing her a bath. _That showed me that you're okay with _some_ Faey customs. I decided before I met you that I'd honor your Terran traditions, so I considered you out of bounds. But then I find out you're sharing with a friend. So, I figured, if you're willing to have buddy sex with your _amu dozei_, you wouldn't have an issue having buddy sex with me. I _am_ your friend, after all, and you're right, I've been wanting you for a few weeks now._

_Well, I have to say thank you for considering me before yourself. That was very thoughtful._

_You're welcome. I'm glad you didn't mind, or I'd have missed out on some _hot_ sex. I almost can't wait for the next time._

                                        * * *

The first thing he did when he got home was apologize to Jyslin. He told her what happened, telling her everything. She was a bit shocked that Dahnai would do that, but when he explained her reasoning, she actually nodded. _Yeah, I could see that. She was trying to pull you into it on her side. I'm not too surprised that she thinks it's gotten so bad. After what Trillane did here, it was like a big warning sign._

_I know, and she more or less blackmailed me into taking sides,_ he sighed. _I'm really torn up over it, love. I have to honor my duties as the Grand Duke Karinne concerning what I know and the responsibility it represents, but I love the Faey, despite your shortcomings. I can't just stand back and let this happen. The Karinnes _must_ do something this time. I just don't know how, or what to do._

_So, why did you stay so long?_

_She, uh, wanted to apologize._

_Oh. Was she any good?_

_Jyslin!_

_Seriously. She's one of the sexiest women I've ever seen, lover, with her great tits and her long legs, and she really works out a lot. Does she fuck as good as she looks?_

_I refuse to answer that, on account of I might get smacked,_ he sent defensively.

She laughed. _So she _was_ that good. Tell me. All the lurid details,_ she giggled, worming herself into his arms, resting her elbows on his shoulders. _Every pant, moan, thrust, and position._

_Now you sound like Symone, or the twins._

_When some other woman can make my husband's knees weak, I want to know how it was done,_ Jyslin sent with a grin. _I have to keep competitive, you know._

_Like anyone could compete with you._

_Mmmm, say that again,_ she sent, leaning in and kissing him.

                                        * * *

After apologizing to Jyslin, enthusiastically, Jason paced the manor for many hours, considering the problem.

It was a very complicated one. He had duties to the Karinnes that had to be upheld, the utmost of them to remain as the keeper of secrets. But, he had to admit, he would be a terrible human being if he could find a way to either stop or delay what was coming, and did nothing about it. Dahnai had threatened to trap him into that position to force him to make a decision, and though it was pretty drastic, her action showed him how desperate she was and how serious she felt her vulnerability was.

Dahnai didn't seem like a weak monarch, but that was his personal sense of her. She was a strong woman, but that's not what this was really about. This was about the top houses of the Highborns getting so powerful that they had the military and political clout to challenge the Merranes for the throne, and that would lead to civil war. If the Dorranes and Shovalles allied, they could do it, but both houses wanted the throne for itself, so they were as much enemies with each other as they were with Merrane. Trillane proved that. They had been on the brink of making a gambit for the throne all by themselves, without any alliances or help from any other house. Trillane wouldn't just be facing the Imperial military, but the militaries of all the houses loyal to the throne. That was _very_ gutsy, but it proved Dahnai wasn't being overly silly or cautious. A single house was going to take on the entire Imperium, and Maeri may be ambitious, but she wasn't stupid. She had to believe she had a viable chance at victory. She probably believed that the Dorranes and Shovalles would capitalize on the Trillane rebellion to try to take the throne themselves, which was why they'd been working on hamstringing the other two houses, getting them out of the way.

Any way you looked at the Trillane scenario, they all ended the same way: civil war.

Any way you looked at the situation with the Dorranes or Shovalles, it always ended at the same result: civil war.

The political infighting between those three houses was probably the only reason there wasn't already a civil war being waged right now. Each house knew it had to eliminate the competition for the throne once they took Dahnai off of it, so they were busy fighting each other. This was giving Dahnai precious time to get ready for it, to try to muster the Merranes, build the Imperial fleet, and get as many houses as possible to commit to stay on her side.

And he promised to try to help. He really couldn't see what he could do. He had no military, just the technology of the Karinnes... which he had solemnly vowed never to hand over to the Imperium. He had to keep that promise.

The more he thought about it, the fewer ideas he had. He eventually had to admit that he was stumped, and needed some advice. And there was only one person he could trust enough to ask for that kind of advice.

He didn't know how to go about contacting Denmother Zaa, so he asked Kiaari to try to get in touch with her and let her know that Jason needed to talk to her. Kiaari told him she'd take care of it, and boy, did she. Two hours later, an Imperial Marine shuttle secured permission to land, and a lone Faey woman wearing the uniform of the Marines disembarked. Jason only had to take one look at her to know it was a Kimdori. She was brought to him immediately, and when she spoke, it was with Zaa's voice. "I bring a message to you by courier, your Grace," she told him with a graceful bow. "And instructions to deliver it to you only in private."

Naturally, Zaa would know how to play the game.

In his apartment, Zaa resumed her normal form, sat down with him, and they talked. He told her about what happened, and ruefully tried to convey the way he felt about the situation. "I'm trapped, Denmother," he said helplessly. "I want to help, but I can't go back on my word, and I really don't want to arm the Imperium and let them loose. That would be a crime of cataclysmic proportions. But I can't just let them destroy each other. That's something I couldn't live with. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. What do I do?"

She just smiled at him. "Every day, I am more certain that we could not have found a better man to place on the seat of Karinne," she told him with a warm, toothy smile and a pat on his shoulder. "Your compassion is as much a credit to you as your resolve, and your adherence to duty. But this is not a hopeless situation, my friend. The Kimdori have seen the very same thing as Dahnai, who is a clever and capable woman whom I respect. We have had many debates on the matter, and have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to change the Faey. They are an immature, arrogant, violent species. They have their bright spots, but they are also too dangerous to be left unattended. That is why we interact with them. The Kimdori work to keep them under control, to prevent them from boiling forth from their borders and waging war on everyone around them. By keeping them focused inward, it keeps the rest of the galaxy safe from them. It may seem cruel, but understand that as we keep them focused on each other, we also try to mitigate their activities, preventing them from warring with each other, holding a shifting peace within their species. Since the failure we suffered that was the Third Civil War, and the loss of our Karinne cousins, we have debated our methods and have decided to take a more active hand, should this situation rise again.

"And it is about to rise. There is much you can do to help without betraying your duties to the house, Jason. The first of which is to know that the Karinnes _can_ take sides. Always before, their obsession with the Program blinded them to the realities of the Imperium. _You_ are not so blind as they. If you do not want to give them Karinne technology, then _use_ Karinne technology _for_ them, but also keep it _away_ from them."

"The warships."

"The warships," she nodded. "The _Defiant_ himself is more than a match for any Faey battle cruiser. He could probably battle an entire squadron and have an even chance of victory. Karinne armor technology was _highly_ advanced, they utilized automated damage control in the form of roaming robotic repair units that could respond quickly to any battle damage, and they developed shields using Teryon technology, which are resistant to metaphased weaponry. And of course, his weaponry, even by today's standards, is highly advanced, beyond the Imperium. His particle beam projector will penetrate any armor the Faey possesses, and that is but the strongest of his weapon systems. If those who wish to plunge the Imperium into civil war understand that the Karinnes will side against them, and bring to bear the ancient secrets entrusted to the line to aid the Empress, they will be much less inclined to make an attempt. It will require you acknowledging that you hold those secrets, and will require you to take a stand that will put you in personal danger, but it would frighten the other Highborns into thinking twice about declaring war. We have learned over the years that one of the few stimuli to which the Faey will respond is overwhelming force. That is how Dahnai maintains her position, with the threat of force. But her force no longer frightens the Dorranes, Shovalles, and Trillanes. You must add to her force, Jason. Only then will the other houses back down."

"So, I should make an open declaration of support?"

"At the very least. Then make it clear that the mystery ship that saved you from the attack was _yours_, and hint that you have more that will join the Imperium to combat any challenge to Imperial authority."

He had to laugh. "I've hated the Imperium ever since the subjugation, and here I am, about to openly support it. What a fucked up world."

Zaa smiled. "Reality is often a living paradox," she told him. "I would also make another suggestion."

"What?"

"If you are to openly support the Empress, you make all those who hate her your enemy. You must not follow the path of your ancestors and ignore that threat, Jason. You need an army, and a navy. Build more ships," she told him. "Build a house fleet. Three ships may be enough to cow the Highborns for a few months, perhaps a year, but it will require _real _force to maintain that fear."

"We don't have any money or facilities for that, Denmother. And I don't have anyone to put in them."

"Silly boy, the Kimdori will help you," she smiled. "The Kosigi lunar base includes a shipyard fa