At the Dia Khovaria headquarters...
Monsignor Rogelio Cena was obviously unhappy with the Cardinal’s choice of walking speed, but of course there was little he could do about it. No doubt this stalling is yet another of his petty mind games, always trying to keep me off-guard. He absently wiped his large, red nose with a truecotton kerchief.
Despite the latest Interferex treatments, Rogelio invariably developed sinus problems when in the vicinity of blooming flowers. The Curia Headquarters of the Tabernacle on Hanaan IV, with their many courtyards full of gardens, especially aggravated his nasal passages. And it was spring, no less! Yet another trick by Dederu, I’ll wager. Cena angrily stuffed his kerchief up a sleeve of his (relatively) plain vestments. Even their flowing lengths did not conceal his portly frame.
“Things are moving very quickly now, Rogelio.” The Cardinal spoke the way he walked, his baritone voice pronouncing every word with deliberate, infinite care. “His Holiness has advised me that there are substantiated reports of a fabulous archaeological find on one of the planets in the Thessel system.”
“Indeed, Your Eminence?” Rogelio did not know whether or not to be pleased. If there were Old Ones artifacts, and the Holy Tabernacle could gain possession of them, the Church’s power base would be that much stronger. The reputation of the Dia Khovaria, especially in the esteem of the Emperor, was not what it once was, and control of powerful Althan artifacts could very quickly reaffirm their authority.
On the other hand, Rogelio knew that the Cardinal did not call him halfway across the Empire to the Khovaria headquarters on Hanaan just to tell him this information. No doubt there was some odious task involved that ‘only dear, loyal Rogelio’ could perform. Poor Rogelio! The Monsignor retrieved his kerchief just in time to contain a thunderous sneeze.
“Yes, my son. If I understand the communication correctly, the Emperor’s Archaeological Institute has already dispatched a ship to perform a general survey. The Institute team is apparently using Imara as headquarters for their expeditions.”
“Imara? That is the Carlisle capital planet, is it not?”
“True, my son. Family Carlisle rules Imara — and Thessel falls within their jurisdiction as well.”
“I have heard that Duke Toren Carlisle is a very ambitious man, Your Eminence. Surely he will not easily surrender the Artifacts once he gets his hands of them.”
“True, my good Rogelio. We certainly cannot depend on the tenuous power of our esteemed Emperor to keep Lord Toren honest. Even though all such artifacts are technically the property of His Highness, Carlisle would try to find a way to claim them. There is added complication as well.”