Reclamation

"We could if the Emissary's council changed the policy," suggested Ji, and Kiv wondered how united the Voice really was.

"We must not overreach ourselves," said Shim reluctantly. "We are emissaries to the Kethran Diet, not the Vitae."

"We need to know if the Emissary's Council has been approached by the Vitae and what their decision is before we do anything in this matter," agreed Ji.

Gov pressed his primary arms against his sides. "The Vitae have already made their policy clear. Even should there be merit in Kivere's proposed risk, we do not have the time to dither about."

"The Vitae cannot deny our need to consult with the Emissary's Council," said Ji. "They are a highly organized political body, they understand the concept of service and supervisors."

"Perivar and I can open a channel for you in an hour." Ere took her old position on Kiv's shoulders. Frustration squirmed through Kiv. Of course Ere would bring Perivar into this. She didn't understand that this whole bizarre situation was caused by him.

Gov snorted. "It will take the embassy staff three hours."

"Perivar and I can open a channel for you in one hour," said Kiv. I will talk to Ere, but not in front of a Si-Tuk.

Gov swung four eyes toward Kiv and Kiv saw the tremor in the stalks and the way his teeth showed through this slit of his open mouth. Gov did not like the mention of Perivar. He did not like Kiv. He did not forget that Kiv should have been his property and his anger burned to see Kiv acting independently with the support of his free children. Kiv knew it with a searing certainty, and found time to wonder if Ere had known it too.

"You have bought time, Kivere," said Gov. "What do you intend to do with it?"

Kiv stiffened his spine. "Find out if Perivar is willing to come work in our home," said Kiv. "We need human contacts. Perhaps it is time we hired some."

Gov closed his eyes. "We could never give your kind a finger's length."

"No," agreed Kiv quietly.

"Go open the channel then," said Ji, and there was a hint of approval in his voice. "We will be ready in one hour. The Voice will tell the Vitae that they will have to wait until we have official word from the Emissary's Council to make this contract with you."

"Thank you, Emissaries all." Kiv folded his arms respectfully and turned himself and Ere all the way around to leave the room.

You can give my kind a finger's length, just be careful which finger's length it is.

Frustration seethed inside Paral as he climbed back into the transport. Ordeth wasn't even looking at him, and he was glad, because he knew his face betrayed his mood. She was speaking softly into her torque. Her disk was still in place in her ear, so the signal wasn't going very far. The children waited in the side seats, doing very good imitations of Ambassadors. Paral didn't know how she got them off her ship, and he didn't really want to. All he wanted to know was how he was going to be able to tell Caril something other than that he had failed.

"Thanks for the news," Ordeth said. She tapped her disk twice and turned to Paral. The transport's internal lights turned her skin a sickly yellow. "You're going to have to get online to Basq. The station's pinpointed Stone in the Wall."

"Then we should go after her." Paral reached for the control boards.

Ordeth snatched at his hand. "With the children? It's bad enough we risked them away from the ship. You're being too open, Paral."

He yanked his hand away, amazed and infuriated by the affront. "Too open to whom? Monsters and babies! It's time to stop hiding ourselves." He rubbed his wrist where she'd grabbed it. "Isn't that what the Imperialists are all about?"

"The Imperialists have only made it this far by slipping through the cracks," she hissed at him. "When we have a stable power base of our own, then you can play petty dictator to your heart's content!" She stopped and visibly pulled herself back. Whether from her own sense of propriety or from what she saw in his eyes, Paral couldn't tell. "Let Basq pick the artifacts up. Uary will get a chance to study them and we'll know what we need."

"And so will the Assembly." He stared at the blackened windscreen. "No."

"And if you don't report in, you're going to have the Witness really wondering about you," she pointed out coolly. "You can't tell me she doesn't already have the satellite data."

Paral was silent for a moment. "All right." He bowed his head and stared at his hands on his lap.

Think, he ordered himself. There's still got to be a chance.

"It's possible that Basq won't be able to hold on to Stone in the Wall," he said, looking up at Ordeth again. "She has a resistance to confinement, and he doesn't know where she's headed yet…" He waited for confirmation.

"Not unless you tell him," replied Ordeth.