Aldeborahnn is gone! Stolen from the Imperial Palace. The young Princess that has been widely acclaimed as "the best hope of the fractious Empire" has vanished, and nobody knows how it happened.

But everybody has an opinion about why.

The great grandaughter of Emperor Trægen, Aldeborahnn is the last surviving pure-blooded member of the ancient ruling Line of Aureleous, the founders of the Aureleous Imperium, which began on day 0 of year 0 of the current cycle of the ImperialGalacticCalendar or IGC. Though rarely seen even by reporters inside the Imperial Palace, Aldeborahnn is reputed to be "a young lady of stunning beauty and unbelievable charisma," according to one journalist who was granted permission to observe the young Princess working a crowd of Senators on behalf of her Great Grandfather.

What has stunned everyone, and most especially the Palace Thavan is that it wasn't supposed to be possible! But it has happened anyway. And now everybody is racing to find the Princess, or news of her. Each hoping to find news that will implicate the other political factions in her abduction — or better yet, her murder!

Such a result, no matter who matter who brings the news, and no matter who else they implicate, would most certainly shatter the fragile alliances that now hold the Empire and surrounding systems together in peace. If the Empire loses its hegemonic grip, feudal chaos would certainly take its place. Many fortunes would be made and lost as a result, and there are many factions within and without the Empire and surrounding systems that look forward to that eventuality. There are many more who have little to no political influence who would also be harmed, even exploited, in the aftermath of an Imperial collapse.

But unknown to the major players, there's another that quietly sits at the table of this complex game of Imperial galactic politics. That unlikely player has an equally unlikely objective, and therefore mission — and also a StarShip for the PCs. They'll be out-classed in almost every way conceivable by IPOL, PAC, and MERC, all of whom have more money than even the PCs very rich employer. But that doesn't mean there is a lack of resources. Sometimes the most valuable assets aren't listed among the fleets of battleships, fighters, and secret agents in one's possession!