As the NSLICE-00P visited the court, Agedia slithered down into the sewers below Corvanus. She arrived at a particular spot where one of the walls seemed a bit off. She knocked on the wall in a rhythmic pattern.

After a few minutes, part of the wall slid open. Agedia moved inside to find a dark hallway, lit by dim, infrequent torches shaped like skulls.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here, Agedia the failed knight.”

Agedia shrugged.

“And you have a lot of nerve being alive, Acorrex the disgraced Brother.”

Several spider legs stepped out of the shadows. A man with a human torso on top of a giant spider body emerged.

“It’s Dark Father now, thanks to you. And after what you did to our family in Elteno, tell me why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand?”

Agedia smirked.

“Because if you could, I’d already be dead. Besides, don’t pretend you were sad to become the last remaining member of the Dark Family, the only one left to sit at the Table.”

Acorrex went silent at that. Agedia grabbed a flask from her pocket and took a long swig.

“Now, as to why I’m drinking in the sewers instead of a tavern. I’ve got crap to do here and you’ve got an army of assassins to run. I know the whole ‘take care of the Family’ crap but let’s be real, you don’t care save for the fact that you didn’t get to kill them yourself. So the way I see it, there are two ways this can go down. Option number one: we pick off where Dark Family and I left off in Elteno and I rampage through your little murder-club a second time. Option number two: we both accept that you are a different organization from them and that you weren’t involved in that fight. You don’t try to stab me, and I don’t tear down everything you’ve ever built.”

She narrowed her eyes on the man.

“So what will it be, ‘Dark Father’?”

Acorrex held her gaze for a moment before he scoffed.

“You are right about one thing. I do have matters to attend to, far more important than one failure who tangled with those fat and lazy weaklings. But take care, Agedia the Scalespear. I may defer the vengeance the Dark Family is due, but that does not mean you are welcome in my city.”

Agedia shrugged and took another swig.

“I’ve heard that before. Well, enjoy living in the sewers. ‘Sitting at the Table’, more like sitting under the toilet.”

With that, Acorrex faded back into the shadows and Agedia made her way out of the sewers.

Agedia sighed when she heard what had occurred in the Court. Ateia and Taog were panicking in the guest villa’s dining room, while NSLICE-00P sat in silence.

“Well, it was well played by the Emperor. Since NSLICE-00P has no personal or family history to speak of, the factions probably couldn’t decide what to do, whether to treat her as a potential ally or rival. So the Emperor went and swept her out from under them before they could come to an agreement, and since she put down a rebellion personally as an Imperial Friend they can’t really complain about him moving to reward her quickly. And now the Emperor holds the key to NSLICE-00P, maybe the first real asset he has to his name.”

Ateia gulped as she trembled.

“W-What do you mean by that?”

Agedia looked both of them in the eye and then pointed at the pair.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“NSLICE-00P vetoed any titles or official connections with the Empire, and as she’s an Imperial Friend they can’t force the issue. But there’s a way around that. Give ranks and rights and privileges and most of all duties to the two people she cares about, and you can control her through them. And now, as Inquisitors and Patricians, the Emperor can command you directly, while the Senate cannot interfere with you openly. So, as far as the Court is concerned, the Emperor now controls NSLICE-00P through you.”

Agedia glanced at NSLICE-00P and shrugged.

“Well, whether that’s actually true is up to the shiny girl but what matters here is how the Court perceives it.”

Taog rubbed his chin. On the one hand, he knew NSLICE-00P wouldn’t care about the Emperor’s orders. On the other hand…

She had gotten into fights with the Dobhar and Magister Vibius, mostly on their behalf. She had specifically stated ‘their survival was a major directive’.

“So we’re her vulnerability?”

Agedia nodded.

“All attention and focus is on you two, now. The Emperor will try to use you to make waves in the Court. The factions of the Court will attempt to either sneak you out from under him, get an angle on you, or else eliminate any threat you could pose to them.”

Ateia gulped.

“What do we do?”

Agedia crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

“First and foremost, you work things out with the shiny girl. The one thing you possess that everyone wants is NSLICE-00P’s ear, and official mandate to do anything you need to if it has to do with her mission. That means NSLICE-00P can be both your greatest weapon and your greatest weakness, depending entirely on how she reacts. Let me demonstrate.”

Agedia turned to NSLICE-00P.

“NSLICE-00P, if I said I had a lead regarding one of the people you’re looking for, and wanted to take Ateia or Taog with me to show them, what would you say?”

“Hypothetical Response: Provided no extenuating circumstances that would increase risk to the friendlies beyond reasonable limits and no higher priority tasks, this unit would request an investigation of the lead.”

Agedia turned back to Ateia and Taog and held her hand out.

“See? Now I have permission from the girl herself to take you off alone. And since NSLICE-00P agreed to it and it has to do with her mission, I can argue that your mandate now requires you to comply. And once we’re off alone, I can do whatever I want to you. So you all need to figure out how you’re going to approach ‘the mission’ and how you’re going to respond to different situations, so that someone can’t just manipulate you like that.”

NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered.

“Revelation: Potential for deceit has revealed possible loopholes in this unit’s protocols. Adding factor to calculations comparing probability of local leads possessing relevant intel versus the potential threat to the friendlies.”

Agedia shrugged.

“Well that’s a start.”

And so NSLICE-00P, Ateia, and Taog discussed different scenarios and laid out procedures they would follow. Agedia oversaw and offered advice on occasion, though she tried to let the bunch figure it out for themselves. Estrith technically was participating but mostly just stood to the side.

Meanwhile, NSLICE-00P also conferred with her other subordinates.

“Query: This unit requests intel regarding stealth measures for covert units. Stealth drones failed to avoid detection in a prior case, this unit has identified a need for additional intelligence to avoid threats to the friendlies.”

Lilussees turned over in her hammock. Her armor moved one of her legs to rub her mandibles.

Now that she had regained the ability to sleep, she found she loved this armor. She didn’t even have to move anymore, she could just send the command to the armor and it would move her body for her!

But as regards the question…

“Well, that’s, like, because they don’t have a sneak skill, or something. It, like, applies to all senses, or something.”

“Query: How would this unit apply a sneak skill to autonomous units?”

Lilussees shrugged.

“Don’t know. I’m, like, not a golem expert, or something.”

But NSLICE-00P did, in fact, have a golem expert, and so redirected the question. Melion bounced in their own room.

“Hm, sneak on a golem, huh? That’d be tricky. Your golems are super neat, Master, but their cores are pretty basic. I think they’re more like equipment than monsters, so they don’t really get skills. But you found a way to enchant them! So couldn’t you do that again?”

“Query: Are there enchantments that can defeat mana detection?”

“There should be! I don’t know what they are, though!”

“Acknowledged.”

NSLICE-00P analyzed the situation. From Agedia’s warnings, searching the local area for the persons of interest could be dangerous due to the political situation, which she lacked the protocols or data to parse effectively. In the end, NSLICE-00P simply agreed not to allow Ateia and Taog to follow-up on any such leads until they acquired more information, and so could guarantee the safety of any such lead. But if no local contacts were fully trustworthy, it fell on NSLICE-00P’s own intelligence network to determine the danger levels.

And her intelligence network was revealed as lacking. Her drone-golems had been spotted by an Exploratore with ease in Velusitum. She needed to upgrade their stealth capabilities if she was to rely on them.

Fortunately, she had a clear response to both of these situations. A way to make progress on her primary directive and investigate stealth upgrades for her drones at the same time.

As the Emperor had offered to her, it was time to visit the Imperial Mages’ Academy.