It was all over the news. It was all reporters could talk about, all across the Imperium. Well, that and the war. There had been more altercations between the Imperial fleet and the Qevahri. Each time, the latter had won.

But that was not what he cared about. He cared about the Regencies. Two of them had been destroyed. The one here, on Bernice, and another on Assalin. The latter stung more—at least to the Emperor. It was like a slap in his face. Taunting him. Wreaking havoc right under his nose.

Halden wondered if there would be more bombings. Would other Regencies be targeted? He was not the only one wondering. Reporters interviewed citizens on millions of worlds, and all of them admitted to being frightened.

It was strange. The war was a bigger and more serious issue, but people cared more about the Regencies. Halden could relate. The war was distant, affecting only the rim—he did not feel concerned. But the Regencies were everywhere. Each large city had one—and even some of the smaller towns. Attacking one of them felt so much more personal, intimate. Everyone had souvenirs connected to these places. Weddings, celebrations, childhood memories...

Who could have done this? It was inconceivable to him. So many lives taken—innocent lives. These had not been soldiers. The victims were civilians—fathers, mothers, even children.

Halden took a deep breath and tapped on his wristpad to bring up the information Olan Rash had given him. He had waited a couple of days to cool off. It would not have been wise for him to speak with the visor when the news of what had happened to his daughter was still so fresh in his mind. The wound was too deep, too painful. Knowing this man might be responsible...

He needed to be sure, though. He’d figured that much out. Once things had settled a bit and he’d had time to think, he’d realized there was nothing he knew for certain. Oh, he was sure enough Lucy had been murdered, but how and by who?

Her glider had crashed. That was the official story. Due to a thilium leak. But thilium leaks did not just happen. And creating one would take... He frowned at the thought. The government could pull it off, for sure. But who had given the order? And, more importantly, how could he find out?

He scanned the HoloID with his eyes and the vircell implanted in his brain initiated the holocall.

It was the visor’s private line. He had told him to use it when he was ready to start working.

Rash’s face appeared against his retina. The man nodded.

“Prof. Roche. I take it you’re done with the personal matters you needed to attend to?”

“Almost,” he said. “I still have one small thing to do. But it should be done by tomorrow.”

“Splendid. I’ll have a shuttle sent to pick you up. Would noon work for you?”

“That would be fine. But, sir...”

“Yes?”

“How is this going to work? I cannot go there alone. The camp is empty—except for those watchers. But we’ll need to have them removed. Then, I’ll need people I can work with over there. And equipment. And—”

The other man made a dismissive gesture.

“You’ll have everything you need. This project is of vital importance, professor, do you understand what that means?”

Halden wasn’t sure he did. The visor must have guessed it from his expression.

“Your budget is unlimited, professor. Whatever you need, ask for it, and you will receive it.”

“Oh.”

“I will send a security team ahead of you, so the premises are vacated by the time you get there.”

He shifted in his seat, frowning. “Alright.”

“Something still troubles you.”

“I don’t know what to make of it, sir. Those men were obviously out of their minds. And yet... Where did the scientists go? According to the watchers, they’d all been dead for years. Which doesn’t make sense. But if they’re not dead, where are they?”

“Your point?”

“If... And I’ll grant you it’s a big ‘if’, but if they are right and those men have been dead for years, then there is a time distortion affecting the base around the Fault. It might not be constant, or stable, as I obviously was not affected—aside from my experience within the Fault.” He paused as a thought crossed his mind, then dismissed it and continued. “But if this is the case, then whatever men you send could have been dead for years by the time I get there.”

Rash said nothing for a moment, tapping on his chin with the tip of a finger.

“Do you have any suggestions?” he finally asked.

“We know the Fault is really raw thilium. We’d need some way to contain it...”

“Wouldn’t anyone who tried to contain it be affected by this distortion?”

“Yes. Which is why we need special suits made.”

Rash quirked a brow. “Special suits?”

“We already have the technology. There is raw thilium aboard every spaceship in the universe...”

“The core.”

Halden nodded. “The core of a ship holds raw thilium and keeps it contained. It’s what we’d ideally need to build around the Flaw. But to even try something like that, we would first need something similar—made of the same material—to protect us.”

“Good thinking,” said the visor with a slight smile. “It might take time to make these, though. Stay a while longer on Bernice. I will get back to you when we are ready.”

Rash cut off the communication, and Halden leaned back in his chair.

Now he needed to speak with Rees.