Sanctum System
The office was well lit by an antique chandelier. Richly dressed people gathered at a solid wooden table. Luxurious camisoles were decorated with medals. One man sitting at the head of the table was dramatically different in appearance from them. A simple imperial uniform, dim cap and a mechanical watch.
“I’m extremely dissatisfied with you, officers,” — he said, — “Jericho managed to steal data from one of our archives dedicated to the Earth.”
— It won’t happen again! We’ll find and punish them.
— I’ll thoroughly investigate it. You will have a report on your desk tomorrow.
— We apologize. Where do we take the fleets?
“Enough,” - the man said calmly, and the officers fell silent in an instant, - “Fortunately, we have people more competent than a pack of sycophants. Now we know exactly what the Jericho was looking for. Iridium anomaly. All right, let me catch you up to speed. 66 million years ago, a meteorite filled with inactive iridium fell on Earth. Back then, of course, our ancestors didn’t know about the value of this material.”
“Dinosaurs?” — one of the officers noted.
“Yes, they went extinct around the same time,” — said the head of the assembly, - “So, officers, you must prove your usefulness to the Empire. Find out what exactly attracted Jericho to the anomaly. Apply all the available capacities of the scientific corps to solve the phenomenon. To track the actions of the Jericho, use mercenaries and the media. I need a result from you, even if it means burrowing into palaeontology, and digging there for days on end. I’ll give you three months, and I hope you won’t upset me anymore. Don’t forget that I’m also waiting for a report on the frigate codenamed Confessor from you.”
Meanwhile, in the Bartle sector
“Guardian, we’ve carried out the order,” — the pilot of the frigate spoke by video link, — “but we faced some difficulties. It looks like the Imperials have found out, or they are about to find out about the data leak. What will be our next orders?”
Not a single emotion flashed on the guardian’s face, and after a few seconds he replied: “You have been honest with me, brother. However, the fact that the Empire now knows part of our plan is not a hindrance. They will unintentionally help us. Have a rest, brother. Tomorrow you will go on a search.”