William
Lakehall was a swirl of chaos as dozens of staff of his father went about their tasks. Such business was normally taken at one of the companies own by his father. At his large office in the largest building in Greendowns. That building was a buzz as well, and his father had brought staff to Lakehall to be closer to home.
The violence had spread on other worlds, and more protests had covered Karthmere, but none had turned to violence. William wondered how close they were to violence though. His father was locked away in his home office with his trusted advisers, and minor lords sworn to him. System-lord Karth had even come and remained locked behind those doors for several hours.
William had met the System-lord several times. He was an old man, but pleasant. He always remembered William’s name, which surprised him, and they never met for long. His kids were grown, but had several grandchildren William’s age and younger.
House guards had been called in, and William knew that security Bots were patrolling the estate. He had asked Samantha to come to Lakehall, but her own father had wished for her to remain at home. The Rodgers had arrived on Karthmere with Lord Karth along with the Stouts. They had been granted large estates, and continued to rule as minor lords of Karthmere sworn to System-lord Karth, but their wealth and influence had not grown like that of the Stouts, and no Stout had grown so strong such as his father.
The guards were something new. There had been scares and worries before, but they had always come to nothing as far as William could remember. They were few and far between. He could remember guards in such display at Lakehall once or twice in his childhood. One of those times had been a few years past when King Oswald had declared war against the Lord of the Furmann Sector across the Dralan Trade Route. That war had ended badly for the king, but he was now married to that lord’s sister.
William showed his brothers and sisters there was nothing to fear, although they did not display any fear if they held any inside them. Karthmere was strong, and the guards were a last resort. The vast fleet of Lord Karthmere would have to be destroyed before those guards would be needed. Even his father had a fleet of several starships, the most of any minor lord of Karthmere, and even more than some minor system-lords of the Commonwealth. He had built the forces of Clan Stout when he became lord, and those forces belonged to System-lord Karth. There wasn’t anything to fear when almost a hundred and fifty warships served in Lord Karth fleet, and few could match that.
