Spoiler: Macharius Only
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Later, Macharius was able to read the note Alia had dropped privately. It wasn't long.

Lady Kindjal,

I apologise for the impersonal nature of this message, but I have many arrangements to make at the estate, and must move quickly. Bad news is the fastest thing in the galaxy, as they say. The Lady Aurica Sinclaire Kindjal's health has failed her. Please return home at once, you need to consolidate before the sharks start circling.

Yours,
Isaiah
The note had been written in a cramped, precise hand. Having it sent by courier was a little strange, but paper was much harder to tap than a personal vox link. Perhaps it was simply a security measure.


Spoiler: Anika
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The best source of information on Selene was the information package they'd recieved from Alia. The traditionalists were among the largest of the subfactions within House Denaire, and no small part of that was due to Selene's ship. While the Augur was only part of the house fleet, and wasn't even the flagship, it was still a cruiser. The info packet contained a list of its known components and capabilities, compiled from Navy records some time ago. It was possible the ship had undergone modification since then, but based on what Anika saw they could expect to face a heavily-armed capital ship.

Looking around in other places turned up a little more. Selene had a list of accomplishments attributed to her name that were matters of public record. Served as a Navy officer when she was younger, probably pushed through the academy on her family's thrones. Handful of postings across Battlefleet Calixis. Anika found an account of her career in the university library, in a collection of officer biographies. Competent, but largely undistinguished until her tour of duty finished, which was where the biographies ended and Alia's packet pickup up. Apparently Selene got out of the Navy, went home to her House and started cleaning shop. Her ascent once she got back was rapid, and a fair number of other more prominent scions were passed over in her name - Isaiah suspected blackmail. By his accounting she was quite ruthless, but preferred subtlety to rocking the boat too hard. Instead of angling for promotion and stepping on toes while she was in the Navy, she'd forged connections, made friends, and saved her ambition for her triumphant return. The Absalom coup had been part of that, and had contributed significantly to her rise to power.