Tak still wasn’t getting it, but xyr cheeks went wary yellow.
Sidra pushed on. ‘The Reskit Museum is a registered GC cultural institution. That means that any citizen affiliated with any likewise registered group can have access to their archival materials, provided they sign a waiver against damages, and that sort of thing. Museum exhibitions count.’ Her pathways skittered, gathered, made the jump. ‘You never finished your studies. And at Ontalden, there’s no expiration date on an unfinished track. You’re still technically a university student.’
Tak got it. Xe leaned back, staring at Sidra with a silence that spoke volumes. ‘You’re serious.’
The kit nodded. ‘I’m serious.’
‘I—’ Xe rubbed xyr face and looked to Pepper. ‘Why don’t you just ask them?’
Pepper blinked. ‘Ask them what? If I can go into their museum and take home some of their stuff?’
‘But it’s your stuff, right? Surely, if you explain the situation—’
Pepper gave a brittle, incredulous laugh. ‘Stars. I’m sorry, Tak, but – stars. Yeah, if you went in and explained, maybe you’d get somewhere. I mean, look at you. You’re as respectable as it gets. You’re an Aeluon, you went to school. There is no door that won’t open for you. For me? For us?’ She pointed between her and Blue. ‘Humans aren’t much out here, and we barely qualify to begin with. You think if I stroll into some curator’s office with my monkey limbs and tweaked face, xe’s going to give a single solitary fuck about what I have to say? What would I even say? That they have a ship I used to live in? That someone I owe everything to has been stuck in it for ten years? Ships are property, and as far as the GC is concerned, AIs are, too. My home was confiscated, and that was legal. My family was taken from me, and that was legal. And the museum, the museum probably bought the ship at auction, which is totally legal and binding and all that shit. The law forgot to make space for people like me. People like her.’ She pointed at Sidra. ‘It doesn’t matter what sob story I lay out. If they say no – and they would – there is no chance of me ever getting in there again. There is no chance of me ever getting Owl back.’
Tak frowned. ‘If this is a matter of legality, you’re planning to steal something. Yes, I get that we’re talking about someone, here.’ Xe gave Sidra a small nod. ‘But to them, Owl is something, right? So that’s stealing. You’re going to steal something, and you want me to help. You want me to be an accessory.’
Pepper shrugged. ‘Yeah, pretty much.’
Blue leaned forward. ‘It’s not like that. All you’d have to do is g-get us in the door. If we wander off from there, you w – you wouldn’t be held responsible. That’d be on us.’
‘It wouldn’t have to be us,’ Pepper said to him. ‘You don’t have to go with me.’
‘Bullshit,’ Blue said.
Pepper almost smiled.
‘Tak,’ Sidra said softly. ‘I know you don’t know Owl. I don’t, either. What if it were me? What if—’
‘Don’t,’ Tak said. ‘Don’t ask me that. I don’t have an answer.’
The hanging question bothered Sidra, but she understood. Sidra reached the kit’s hand out and laid it flat on the table. ‘I know we’re asking a lot. But it’d be easy, honestly. All you’d have to do is a bit of formwork – some reactivation procedures with the university, a request form for the museum. And you’d have to take some time off work, which isn’t so bad. You’ve been saying you want a vacation.’
Tak gave her a look. ‘This is not a vacation.’
‘We’d pay you back for the time off,’ Blue said. ‘That’s not a question.’
‘That’s not my concern,’ Tak said.
The table fell silent. Sidra doubted anyone was going to eat cake by this point.
Tak exhaled. ‘I need to think about it,’ xe said. ‘That doesn’t mean yes.’
Pepper started to say something; Blue touched her shoulder. ‘That’s fine,’ he said. Pepper pressed her lips together. She was disappointed, Sidra knew, and impatient, too. Pepper didn’t like not having a plan. She didn’t like leaving things unfixed.
‘We’re planning to leave for Kaathet as soon as possible,’ Sidra said. ‘If you don’t come along, I understand, but—’
Pepper cleared her throat. ‘Sidra,’ she said, drawing out the syllables to delay what came next. ‘Blue and I are going. You can’t come with us.’
Sidra’s pathways balked. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Someone needs to watch the shop.’ It was a weak reason, and Pepper looked like she knew it. She sighed. ‘That, and . . . and the fact that yeah, there’s a chance we’ll get caught. And if you got caught with us . . .’ She closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘You have to stay home.’
‘But I did the research.’ Sidra tried to hold her voice still. ‘I brought Tak here. This was my idea.’
‘And I am really, truly grateful for that,’ Pepper said. ‘I am. But this isn’t up for debate. You can’t come with us.’
‘But I can help! What if Owl’s unstable? What if her files have been corrupted? I can edit Lattice! I can—’