"How is your practice going?" Dante turned back to Candi once Slate and Poppy had signed off.
"I couldn't really practice," Candi admitted. "I kept thinking about all the dangerous situations that have been happening around me."
"It is true that much of the dangerous situations have increased dramatically since the Avgo Events started, but that's been true each time the Avgo showed up."
"What causes the Avgo to show, or don't show?"
Dante shrugged.
"I had always thought it was just to keep the royal family from getting too inbred."
He and Leonardo laughed.
"I'm not sure if that's the real reason," Leonardo shrugged, "but it does achieve that purpose. All the royal families would rather just to keep things nice and tight. No hybrids or halflings allowed in their family."
"And here's the Emperor's lineage, repleted with all sorts of people of every race known in the galaxy."
Dante turned to Candi with his warm green eyes. "And now we will have human blood mixed into the family gene pool."
Candi grinned.
"You guys make me sound like a breeding sow."
Leonardo grinned.
"It's really not that way. There are so many of us brothers that the chance of the Empire not having enough candidates to run the throne is very low."
Leonardo gazed at her with adoration. "But the man you marry will want to have children with you."
Candi smiled. "You're assuming I'm going to win First Place."
"No Candace." Dante waggled a finger. "It doesn't matter what place you take."
=======
For the rest of that evening, Candi spent the entire time inside the dance studio. Whatever was happening with Olivia and Poppy and Slate, she could not afford to focus on.
Dante had immediately called for a piano to be delivered to the Moon, but even with his considerable resources, it would take more than a day for one to be transported.
A piano would not be in the cards for Candi's Avgo's Abilities and Expertise event.
Six hours later, an alert came through Dante's War Room.
Even though it was past midnight and Candi had already turned in for the evening, he was still working in the War Room and had been waiting for this call.
"Speak!" He barked at the virtual screen.
"I could not retrieve Olivia." Poppy bluntly laid out.
"Of course you couldn't." Dante harrumphed.
Poppy's violet eyes were stormy.
"We always need to start with diplomatic efforts before we pull the big guns out."
"Of course we do. Has Slate left for Devolu Space?"
Poppy nodded. "He left fifteen minutes ago with several starships in pursuit of the renegade Devolu Pirate ship."
"Were you able to get any word on the condition of the Princess of Laroche Gardens?"
"They assured me she is being treated with kid gloves. They do not want to deliver damaged goods." She sneered. "It's bad for business."
"Have you found out anything more about the people behind Candace's attackers?"
Poppy pressed her deep burgundy lips together and gazed at him with a strange expression.
"For someone who's a plebeian—in fact a lowest common denominator female, from a no-name planet that only has one claim to fame, its guerrilla no-holds-barred war tactics, Earth seems inordinately interested in getting its hands on her."
"Are you sure she's not of royal birth?" Dante pursued.
"Absolutely. I dug back over twenty generations. Her family is peasant level all the way back for hundreds of years."
"Then explain to me the Avgo's preference for Candace Farrah." Dante's green eyes glinted in the semi-darkness.
Everybody knew that Avgo gemstones only fell into the hands of royalty.
Or did they?
Poppy's eyes narrowed in thought.
"Could it be that the Avgo gemstones have a different criteria for seeking out the possible Avgo contestants?"
Poppy shrugged. "There is also the possibility that Candace is someone like me."
Dante put a finger to his lips.
"Shhhhhh." He shushed Poppy. "All in due time, my dear. All in due time. Patience is your only virtue right now."
Poppy nodded. If there was anyone she trusted to do exactly as he said, it was Dante. This was the one thing that delineated Dante from everyone else that she had ever met.
He always said what he meant, and he always meant what he said. Furthermore, he had the ability to turn what he said into reality. In essence, his words were worth the weight of his financial empire.
Once Dante finished his conversation with Poppy, he placed a call to Slate.
"What is it?" Slate's face looked grim.
"I hear you deployed your troops into Devolu Space."
Slate nodded. "I don't like invading Pirate Space, but when they invade our territory and prey on our people, they should expect swift and retaliatory responses."
"Especially if it's the Princess of Laroche Gardens."
"Olivia's Planet is in an uproar over this. If we cannot get this resolved, we could see a serious intergalactic war over this incident."
"That could be what they've been angling for all this time. War ships from the moons of Coraline have been taking pot shots at Laroche Gardens all this time, and you saw how Olivia got attacked by Bethany even before the first Event began."
Slate's blue eyes glowed with fury.
"The birds are trying to start an intergalactic war with the bugs, using the Avgo Events as an excuse. When their Princess was still in the running, they held back because they did not want to damage her chances of winning."
"But now that she's been kicked off the glass platform, they don't have to hold back any more." Dante finished the thought.
"We have to nip this in the bud before it deteriorates any further." Slate voiced his agreement.
Dante nodded. "I concur. If you need any of my guard ships, just let me know and I'll transfer their command codes over to you."
Slate nodded.
Once Dante finished his conversation with Slate, he leaned back agains the seat and heaved a huge sigh. They had too many enemies from too many directions.
Control of the Erenveil Empire was slipping day by day and the Avgo Events were, in and of themselves, catalysts for further change.
With a huge show of reluctance, Dante placed a third call.
"I'm here." Leonardo's face appeared onscreen. He looked as if he'd been up and waiting for this call the entire time.
"It's time, Leo."
"Are you sure?" Leonardo furrowed his brows.
"Yes. Switch all the hospital ships over to full-fledge Military warships."
"What of the Avgo Event tomorrow?"
"It will continue as scheduled. Everything must still remain as normalized as possible until the Avgo is concluded." Dante's eyes glared with intent.
"We have to give Candace every opportunity to win, and we have to give our enemies every opportunity to strike first. Remember what I said."
"Yes." Leonardo nodded grimly. "The side that strikes first loses the ability to declare self-defense as their excuse for massive warfare."
"Yes. It's all perception. Good guys versus bad guys. We never want to be seen as the 'bad guys'. We have to rule the galaxy after the war is over and it's easier to be seen as the good guys who won the fight against evil."