1. Lord Calcite was reading over reports from the front when a runner came in with a sealed bag, orange in color. He tapped his keyboard and went to various nonexistant sites, and discovered what today that bag meant. He thanked the runner and sent him off, and then went to a carefully-prepared room.
All around it, wards inscribed in every language known in the finest spirtually-prepared papers, stones and metals hung. Many of them faintly glowed with power. Other, more mundane technological methods prevented others from planting a bug in the room or listening in with powered sensors. The designers almost need not have bothered -- the facility was in one of the Crystal Palace's sub-basements and thus quite secure from scrying. But the Kingdom was paranoid, especially the nonexistant department that had it constructed.
The aged CNO then read the report.
Her Majesty's Hidden Directorate of the Secret Intelligence Service reports to our CNO.
Four days ago, a Kzinti-flagged passenger ship visited Enigma. It was not confirmed at the time, but we believe agents of the Triad were able to slip past security and customs, likely with their darker arts. At this point, they were next seen leaving the building housing the Zodiac.
One day ago, we felt Destiny and Life wrenched un-naturally from its flows. The ancient arts were used, yet no-one alive knows how to use them.
Today, the Zodiac have convened to replace Gemini. We believe that he is dead. With Mercury in retrograde, it appears he may have attempted to break the Oath, with predictable consequences. It is now our belief that the Triad has infiltrated and neutralized the Zodiac as a threat to Triad Organization.
The Hidden Directorate thus requests additional funding to increase surveillance on the Triad Organization both foreign and domestic.
In addition, predictions of the ouija board and the Eight Ball have moved into correspondance. In particular, the Board has responded with "K1," which we have interpreted as the initials "K. A." The Eight Ball has also favorably responded to our divinations and questions.
2. There were many secret orders in the Milky Way. The Hidden Directorate of Her Majesty's SIS was one of them. But they were not the oldest. That honor belonged to the Secret Order of St. Ignatius, a Jesuit order that reported directly to the Pope in the Vatican. Their abilities were legendary in the intelligence communities across the Galaxies (at least those who knew about them), and they cooperated with some of the other secret orders in some ways.
Fighting demonic beings was one of them. Someone in the Hidden Directorate was getting a "dark vibe" off the Triad (in other words, he probably rolled a pair of dice and checked the computer for the daily report) and sent word higher up. Someone there then consulted the stars for action over many days (in other words, he flipped a coin and then took a short vacation) before deciding to contact the Vatican (meaning that he took a dartboard to decide who to contact in what order).
And so, an anonymous agent of the Hidden Directorate travelled to the Vatican -- still it's own nation, technically, though under the protection of the Terrans -- to meet with the Secret Order about what level of cooperation should be achieved.
/OOC: Ball's in your court, Kyle.
