“And any other faction that might gain leverage from it,” Danach agreed, “won’t be able to use that leverage against Hwae so easily. Zat wasn’t just spending her own money on this—she was rich, but not that rich. She’d been granted Federacy funds.”
Surely the Federacy knew those funds would ultimately go to Netano. “They thought if they could help Mama become a prolocutor she’d owe them favors,” Ingray suggested. Did the Omkem Federacy—or a wealthy faction in the Omkem Federacy—really think that Netano as one of Hwae’s four prolocutors would help them bring their fleet through Hwae’s gate to Byeit? “Among other things.”
“Among other things. Mama was certain Zat wouldn’t find what she thought she’d find. She wouldn’t have agreed to any of this otherwise. But maybe someone from the Federacy wasn’t so sure, and didn’t like the idea of Zat finding any proof the Ewet Omkem were the first people here.”
“So aside from Hwaeans who seriously objected to the parkland being dug up …”
“There are some number of those,” Danach put in.
“Of course. But if any of them had been near the parkland yesterday the deputy chief would have brought them in. So, besides them, the only people who would have wanted Zat dead were from the Omkem Federacy.” And likely only people from the Omkem Federacy could have operated Zat’s Uto. But there wasn’t yet proof that Uto had been involved, and Ingray didn’t bother saying it to Danach. “Hevom was the only other Omkem anywhere near.” And the Federacy consul seemed strangely anxious to get Hevom off the planet. “So why hasn’t the deputy chief brought him in?”
“If you ask me,” said Danach carelessly, “it’s because Deputy Chief Veret is Hatli, from Lim District. They still claim that some of the Arsamol vestiges in the System Lareum were stolen from them. It wasn’t Netano who put them there, and they don’t have the Aughskold name on them, but they’re still associated with us, and you know how the Hatli love to pretend they’re disadvantaged.”
Every year a delegation from Lim District arrived to ask for the return of those vestiges, and every year Netano refused to bring the matter to the System Lareum. “So you think the deputy chief is just being difficult, delaying arresting the one real suspect, just to give the Aughskolds trouble? But it’s trouble for us no matter what e does about it, or when.”
Danach gestured unconcern. “In the end e’ll let Hevom leave.”
“But if it was Hevom who killed Zat? And if we protect Hevom and the consul takes him out of the system …”
“The deputy chief will just pin it all on Pahlad. Which will hardly make any difference to Pahlad emself, considering. So it’s let a murderer get away with it in the hope that Zat’s money will still be coming …”
“It won’t, if what you say is true,” interrupted Ingray.
“Or arrest and convict Hevom and send him to Compassionate Removal. And make enemies with the faction that’s apparently protecting him—and which might be on its way to pushing the faction that supported Zat out of power, now she’s gone.”
“We should talk to Nuncle Lak,” Ingray said.
“We?” asked Danach. “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to meddle in this. After all, I don’t imagine you warned either Nuncle or Mama that you were going to Planetary Safety. That conversation can only go badly for you. And besides, I’m the one of us who actually knows something about this situation. And you’re going to have your hands full once Prolocutor Budrakim realizes that you were the one who brought Pahlad back to Hwae. I don’t think Mama’s going to like the results of that, not just before campaign season.” He smiled maliciously.
Before Ingray could reply to that, an orange emergency alert flashed in her vision, and something thudded against the door to the sitting room. The door opened, and in stepped a spider mech, a terrified-looking servant right behind it. “Ingray Aughskold,” whistled the spider mech. “Where is Tic Uisine?”
Ingray blinked, and stared. “Ambassador?”
A pause; the Geck ambassador motionless for nearly a second. Then she knocked one claw against the floor, a gesture Ingray had seen on the docks at Tyr Siilas. “Where is Tic?”
“I … I don’t know where the captain is, Ambassador. I haven’t seen him or heard from him since we … since I left his ship, days ago.”
Another second passed. The ambassador struck her claw against the floor again, three times, hard. “Where is the other one? Where is Garal Ket? I cannot find em.”
“Ambassador, how did you get here?” Ingray asked. There didn’t seem to be anyone with the Geck ambassador except that one frightened and worried Aughskold servant standing anxious in the doorway. No Planetary Safety officers, or diplomats, or politicians, or anyone who might be the ambassador’s own security, though Ingray supposed security wasn’t so urgent when it was only a bio mech and not the ambassador herself.
Another motionless second. Of course—the ambassador herself was in orbit, far enough away that there was a delay between her and her mech. “Do not concern yourself with how I came here,” whistled the ambassador. “Where is Tic Uisine?” She raised one weirdly jointed, hairy limb and pointed it at Danach, who sat speechless and staring. “Who is that?”
“That,” said Ingray, “is my brother Danach. Danach, may I introduce the Geck ambassador.” She blinked, silently summoning the groundcar again. It had just dropped her off at the front entrance; it couldn’t have gone far.
“What,” said Danach. After a pause, the ambassador turned all but one of her stalked eyes to look at him. “Ambassador,” he said, recovering himself and rising, “an honor to meet you.”
Pause. The ambassador’s eyes swiveled back to Ingray. “Take me to Tic Uisine. He stole those ships. You know. You were there, on Tyr Siilas. I have been in the company of humans many times and I see you now, I see you. You will try to tell me a thing that is not so and maybe you will succeed and maybe you will not. I see you.”
“Danach, give me your jacket,” said Ingray.
“What have you gotten this family involved in, sis?” Danach demanded.
“I do not care about a jacket,” whistled the ambassador. “I want Tic Uisine.”
“Toss me your jacket, Danach,” Ingray insisted. Hoped frantically that this would be one of those occasional moments when Danach behaved like a brother and not a competitor.
Every one of the ambassador’s eyestalks strained toward Ingray. “Captain Uisine.” She knocked her claw against the floor again. “Where is Garal Ket? Garal Ket will know.”
“Truly, Ambassador,” said Ingray, “I don’t know where Captain Uisine is. And I think your being here without any escort”—or likely any permission—“may be a breach of the treaty. Danach, the jacket.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said Danach. And pulled off his jacket.