Somehow, no one outside of their inner circle guessed what they were really doing. Life, to any outsider, appeared to go on as usual. Mara watched in joy and amazement at the way security very quietly tightened around her family and friends. She hoped that if would be enough to save them.
Her husband was a born conspirator. She stood by him, smiling and carrying on small talk as a beard for the General as he held meetings within meetings. At what outwardly appeared to be simple meals in her house, loyal Senators were kept appraised of the changes in their situation.
The funny thing was that even Hawk Senators had children in the Junior Guard. Mara saw to it that those children never suspected the true motives for its formation. The Hawk children were in separate units from the Loyalist children. Assignments were created that appeared to meet Mara’s strategy and teaching goals. When the outcome of an exercise was benign, the units were merged. But, somehow, the Loyalist children had the most time practicing with Jump Tubes. She believed that this skill was most needed by her charges for the quick exit that they would have to make. Jump Tubes were secretly constructed at every school and ball field for easy exit.
Since there was always construction going on through out the capital buildings, nothing unusual was noted with the new Jump Tubes being installed. But getting the tubes installed in schools and ball fields was trickier. General Z had them built into a new locker facility that he dedicated to the new Emperor at the ball fields. School was easier. Every school is a maze of halls and rooms, so under cover of darkness, several basement corners got some tubes disguised as piles of boxes.