Chapter 197: (Empire)

La'amo'o and his daughter Alma'ana sat in the grass of the park, tossing torn free chunks of bread to the birds that swam across the surface of the pond. They were largely quiet, still both shy around each other, despite the fact they were father and daughter. For the majority of her life Alma'ana had been raised in a creche, taught and nurtured by robotic nannies.

Now she sat next to her father in the afternoon sunshine. They had spent the suggested half hour doing non-exacting shape association exercises, which her therapist, Nightingale, had recommended. It had a funny name "cloud watching' that made her giggle when her father suggested it. She was sipping a fizzy drink from a colorful squeeze bottle, holding both of her father's right hands with her left ones.

"Do you love me?" Alma'ana blurted out. She started to flinch, her crests inflating in embarassment.

She was startled when her father turned at the waist and pulled her close, squeezing her in what her therapist called a 'hug', making sounds of distress.

"More than anything," La'amo'o said, tears streaming down his face. "I love you so much I came looking for you in the middle of a battle. Even the drugs couldn't dull my love for you."

To Alma'ana's shock she started weeping to, holding onto her father. She felt like she was going to drown from the emotions.

She had never really realized that her father had gone out on the streets, had gone looking for her during the fierce fighting when Grand Moth Hektor and Lord Darth Harmonius conquered their planet.

After a bit they let go of one another, wiping their faces.

They were unaware that Red Prince, a Digital Sentience who had been watching out for La'amo'o since Prince had scared the Lanaktallan at a public assistance kiosk, had watched the entire byplay from a nearby camera, taking notes.

Prince had been worried when their implants had reported distress spikes, but when he had seen what it was and replayed the conversation, he had been relieved.

Personally, Prince hated the fact that for the time being the entire Lanaktallan surveillance system had to be left in place, personally felt dirty that he had recommended that it stay in place. Still, with the population of an entire planet detoxing from a lifetime of drugged emotional suppression, sometimes there was only a few minutes, a few hours, warning of an emotional break.

Prince had just witnessed Alma'ana and La'amo'o have an emotional break, but it had been a mutual break that had helped forge paternal and familial bonds.

Prince went back to monitoring other data streams as La'amo'o and his daughter looked out at the birds paddling around the pond.

"Did you love my mother?" Alma'ana asked the question she had been fearing.

Her father stiffened slightly then relaxed.

"Very much," he said. "I would gallop home from work to see her. We would stay up late laughing and talking. I once tried to write her a description of how I felt about her."

Alma'ana took a drink, reached down inside of herself, and summoned up her 'courage', which she had learned meant the will to do something that you needed to do even if it might be uncomfortable.

"What happened to her?" She asked her father, holding his hands.

La'amo'o was quiet for a long time. Alma'ana watched him count to ten. Then again. Then again. Then he inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled it, repeating it four times.

"She was very beautiful," La'amo'o said softly, staring at the rippling water. "Her laugh made me laugh with her. When you were born she loved you very much. She loved you so much."

He was silent for a long time. "You were a beautiful baby. You'd wobble around out little apartment and wanted us to hug you. She loved you so very very much."

La'amo'o went silent.

"Daddy, please tell me," Alma'ana said quietly.

"She got in trouble. She broke the law. They came for her, one night," La'amo'o said. He pressed against his forward and side eyes with his upper hands. "It was foggy out. It stunk of chemicals, the plasteel plant was venting their tanks and the fog had covered out neighborhood."

Alma'ana rubbed her father's back, seeing him quiver.

Red Prince detected the anxiety spike and checked on his patient. He reviewed the security recording, then checked the records, having the eVI that was sorting the records run a fast check.

It came back before La'amo'o started speaking and Prince read it quickly, feeling the equivalent of horror fill him as he read it all.

"We thought it was LawSec, but it was Corporate Security that broke down our door, charged into our room," La'amo'o said. "You started crying, frightened by the flash grenade they threw in the bedroom. Your mother tried to fight them when they grabbed you."

Alma'ana put her upper hands over the end of her mouth, her eyes widening.

"I tried to fight. They broke one of my legs and I fell. They trampled my ribs," La'amo'o said softly. He knew he was crying but didn't care. "They dragged you and your mother out of the apartment and left me on the floor after disabling our house comlink."

The breeze seemed to get suddenly cold to Alma'ana.

"They told me that she didn't want to see me any more. Told me that while I was in the hospital," La'amo'o said. He looked at his daughter. "I knew it was a lie. I knew what had happened to her. When I got out of the hospital I went to my plant Most High's home. The Most High laughed at me."

"Daddy, what happened?" Alma'ana asked. "What happened?"

"She didn't want to be separated from you. From me," La'amo'o said. "The Most High had put you into a creche. Had told your mother that she could see you if she behaved."

"Why?" Alma'ana asked. "Why did he do that to my mother?"

La'amo'o was quiet. "Because she was beautiful and he wanted her. He wanted her like she was an ornament, or a piece of candy, or a new car."

"What happened to her, Daddy?" Alma'ana asked.

"LawSec found her. In an alley," La'amo'o said. "They said she took her own life."

Alma'ana knew she was crying. "Did she?"

Red Prince, watching from his digital office, mouthed the word as La'amo'o said it.

"No."

"How do you know?" Alma'ana asked.

"Because she loved you very much. She would have never," La'amo'o said quietly. "You were everything to her. You were her birdsong in the morning, the warmth during the cold, her sunshine on a chilly day."

"Oh," Alma'ana said. She made a note on her datalink that she was angry, closed her eyes, and did her calming mantras.

La'amo'o stared at the water, watching it ripple and sparkle. Red Prince alerted Sergeant Pierce-38248 of the Imperial Military Police Criminal Investigation Division to check all those files.

The Harmonus Empire had no statute of limitations on murder or depraved indifference.

"I love you," La'amo'o said to his daughter, breaking the long silence.

It broke through Alma'ana's reserves and she fell against her father, crying for a mother she had never known. La'amo'o held her, knowing how she felt. He had cried more than a few nights, even recently as the day before the invasion.

After a bit Alma'ana sat up. "Can we go home?" she checked her implant. "It's almost time for Uncle Mikey."

La'amo'o nodded, getting to his feet and holding out his hands, helping his daughter get to her feet.

Together they trotted home, it was only a few blocks, and they arrived quickly. La'amo'o went in and began selecting what they would have for dinner from the food dispenser. Gone were the days of cups of bland tasting paste. Now the food replicator made stuff that was indistinguishable from actual food.

He made sure to order his daughter up some star-fruit cups. She liked those.

They sat down together, turning on the Tri-Vee, watching as the infomercial reminding everyone that warm days were good for a short walk and to be friendly toward one another ended and the show came on.

The tune was catchy, tinkling, and Alma'ana clapped along with it.

The Lanaktallan dressed up in the funny outfit, spots on it, ruffles around the neck and at the wrists and ankles, with big red puffs on the chest in a line from top to bottom, trotted onto the screen.

"Hello, everyone," the Lanaktallan said.

"Hello, Uncle Mikey," Alma'ana and La'amo'o said.

"Uncle Mikey loves you all very much," the Lanaktallan said. "Did everyone have a good dinner?"

"Yes, Uncle Mikey," the father and daughter said.

Together they watched. Guessing at whether or not Mr. Giggles was being friendly or not to the other puppets, counting along with the dancing Lanaktallan female that clicked little chimes on her fingers in time to her counting.

After Uncle Mikey, they both embraced and Alma'ana went to bed while La'amo'o called Red Prince.

She could hear her father talking to Red Prince.

She knew what about.

Tomorrow she'd talk to Nightingale about it.

Before she went to sleep she wondered if the slight limp her father had hurt when he went with her on walks.

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FROM: SERGEANT Pierce-38248 IMP (CID)

TO: MOFF RED PRINCE

Sir. Investigation of files resulted in evidence sufficient to obtain a warrant. Investigation of the suspect's personal files has found evidence of high crimes against citizens of the planet. Suspect was arrested and held without bail after arraignment. Suspect has been given legal counsel, although it was difficult given the nature of his crimes and his former rank.

Sir, the suspect faces the death penalty for his crimes, which he extensively documented.

For the Empire

Sergeant Piece 38248

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IMPERIAL JUSTICE SYSTEM MEMO

For his guilty pleas, former Most High Kla'mato'o has been sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labor for a period of no less than 1,500 years with no possibility of parole. His wealth and property will be liquidated and dispersed to his victim's families as per Imperial Restitution Code.

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TO: La'amo'o

FROM: Red Prince

La'amo'o, my friend. I will be coming by tomorrow to speak to you. At Darth Harmonus's insistence and with Grand Moff Hektor's support, we have been reviewing old police files.

As your counselor and friend, I will be coming by tomorrow. It will be difficult, but I hope, welcome news.

Darth Harmonus and Grand Moff Hektor seek nothing more than to ensure that all citizens of the Empire receive justice. To that end, I will be explaining some things to you.

For the Empire

Red Prince