“Alright, we got lucky one more time.” admitted Lynn, though she was still fuming. “What Harpoon was doing with one of his arms detached when Ambassador Griffin caught him in bed with Mrs. Griffin, I’m sure I don’t want to know, but at least now they’re looking for a one armed man with an unintelligible accent for the assault, instead of our resident Rooster! Do you know how long his Eminence will be in medbay? Two weeks! The Emperor’s shiny new emissary to the Consulate, visiting Glisten on his way to his new post, is laid up for two weeks just when relations between the Imperium and the Consulate seem to be breaking down again! And what’s this I hear about Hamster? You’ve only been back from New Rome for a couple of weeks and he’s gotten himself into trouble too?” demanded Lynn.

“Well,” began Vera defensively, “that wasn’t entirely his fault. Those Assholes at the grocers shouldn’t have laughed when he counted out the change on his fingers! I told him to do that, too many merchants were taking advantage of him when I sent him shopping. You can’t blame him! When the leader asked him ‘How many fingers and toes do you need to count to stupid?’, it was only natural for Ham to make a fist and reply ’Let’s stick ‘em in your face and you can count for me, smart guy…’.”

“I wouldn’t have cared if it was a normal fight, Vera, but the report I got said the ‘leader’ was the twelve year old son of a local magistrate, and that the average age of the ‘Assholes’ was eleven!” thundered Lynn.

Holding up two fingers to silence Vera’s reply, Lynn continued, “I think I’ve found a solution. As you know, your cover has been that of an independent mercenary company. We’ve even provided you with a fully legal charter. But to continue to base you on Glisten risks both your cover and my sanity. So, for everybody’s peace of mind, I’ve decided to offer you some new digs. It recently came to my attention, through a trusted informant, that an island stronghold on Pagaton has just come on the market.”

Pausing for a moment to look meaningfully at Vera, Lynn went on, “You’ll be leaving on a fast chartered ship for that island tomorrow…”