Books in the EMPIRE Series by Richard F. Weyand: EMPIRE: Reformer EMPIRE: Usurper EMPIRE: Tyrant EMPIRE: Commander EMPIRE: Warlord EMPIRE: Conqueror by Stephanie Osborn: EMPIRE: Imperial Police EMPIRE: Imperial Detective EMPIRE: Imperial Inspector by Richard F. Weyand: EMPIRE: Intervention EMPIRE: Investigation EMPIRE: Succession Books in the Childers Universe by Richard F. Weyand: Childers Childers: Absurd Proposals Galactic Mail: Revolution A Charter For The Commonwealth Campbell: The Problem With Bliss by Stephanie Osborn: Campbell: The Sigurdsen Incident Other books by Stephanie Osborn The Division One Series: Alpha and Omega A Small Medium At Large A Very UnCONventional Christmas Tour de Force Trojan Horse Texas Rangers Definition and Alignment Phantoms Head Games Break, Break, Houston Tourist Trap Mega Moth Coming soon: Byegones Everywhere Signs Shake, Rattle and Roll Die Glocke Diplomatic Catfight Forming Terra Popular Science: INCOMING! The Chicxulub Impactor Kiss Your Ash Goodbye: The Yellowstone Supervolcano Rock and Roll: The New Madrid Fault System The Weather Out There Is Frightful: Solar/Space Weather Sherlock, Sheilas, and the Seven-Percent Solution: Victorian Era Drugs A New American Space Plan, with Travis S. Taylor EMPIRE Imperial Inspector by STEPHANIE OSBORN Copyright 2020 by Stephanie Osborn All Rights Reserved EMPIRE Universe and characters used with permission ISBN 978-1-7340758-4-7 Printed in the United States of America Cover Credits Cover Art: James Lewis-Vines Back Cover Photo: Fritz Ling Published by Weyand Associates, Inc. Bloomington, Indiana, USA September 2020 CONTENTS First Impressions An Ally Arrives Things Start to Move Problems, Baby Exposed! The Return War! Déjà Vu All Over Again Heads Up Take Down Life Goes On…Sometimes Chasing the Threads Timetable Glitches Loose Ends Digging Deeper Moving On Epilogue – Endings and Beginnings Author Notes First Impressions Nikolas Lindberg was mopping one of the side corridors in the Annalian consulate, and had just reached the main corridor, backing into it as he swiped his mop over the last of the flooring. There had been an influx of new consulate staff after the Sintaran intelligence efforts had uncovered a major spy ring in the consulate; most of the previous staff had fled back to the star nation of Annalia before they could be arrested by the Sintaran Imperial Police, and their replacements were currently arriving. Unfortunately, the moving firm being used to assist had tramped mud from the previous day’s rain all through the consulate, and Lindberg was currently attempting to eradicate evidence of that event. He had already placed markers to warn the staff of the wet floor, and as he sponged away the last of the muddy footprints, he stepped back to survey his handiwork and make sure he had not missed a spot. But just as he did so, he felt an impact, followed by a grunt, as someone ran into him, and Lindberg staggered to the side. “Umph! Blundering oaf! Watch where you are going! Pay attention to what’s going on around you!” a voice declared, and Lindberg, having managed to regain his balance without falling, turned to see who had run into him. The man who stood there glaring was reasonably tall – roughly Lindberg’s own height – but considerably thinner. He must have been walking at speed to have nearly knocked me over, Lindberg considered. I’ve built some good muscle over the years, and I’m not a small man. The man was dark-haired, with patches of white at the temples, lending him a distinguished air; Lindberg put him at around fifty, give or take. His skin was pale, his eyes blue, and there were worry lines in his forehead and slight crow’s feet around his eyes, though the laugh lines around his mouth bespoke a sense of humor. He was dressed in an elegant, expensive suit, and carried himself with authority. All this took a matter of fractions of a second for Lindberg to observe before he responded. “Oh! I’m sorry,” Lindberg said in a contrite tone. “I got started early this morning, so as to have the mud the movers tracked all over wiped up before the start of business; I heard the consul was due to arrive at some time today, and wanted the consulate looking nice for his arrival. I didn’t know anyone else was even here yet! But you’re right, I should have looked before I backed out into the corridor, and I apologize, sir. Be careful walking around; the flooring is wet in some places, where I had to mop away the mud.” “You are the janitor?” “Yes. Nikolas Lindberg.” “You just finished that hallway?” “Yes, sir.” “It was muddy?” “Very.” Lindberg held up his mop so the other man could see the traces of red clay on it. One of two water buckets nearby was more like muddy water; the other was clear and showed signs of soapsuds. “What, one bucket for rinsing, the other for clean water?” “Yes, sir.” “You did a very good job, then. The floor looks pristine.” “Thank you, sir. As I said, I did want to have the consulate looking nice for His Excellency the consul.” “You did well, then. I am Abelson Niebecker, the new consul.” “OH! Your Excellency!” And instinctively, Lindberg bowed. “Please rise, Mr. Lindberg,” Niebecker said, as a pleased smile spread over his face. “You are nothing if not polite, and you are obviously a man of honor and dedication.” “I try, Your Excellency,” Lindberg said, easing back to an upright position. “In whatever circumstance I find myself, I try to do the right thing.” “When did you come in this morning?” “Uh,” Lindberg thought for a moment, then glanced at a clock down the hall. “It’s eight now… I got here around three-thirty or four this morning, so I could mop all the floors. I started with the foyer and worked my way down this main hall first, then branched out to the secondary corridors, plus cleaning some carpets in the rooms. I’m afraid I haven’t been
