The dust eaters allow us to rest while the creature they insist is Duv is led out. If follows like a spoiled pet, lashing out with powerless strikes of its tendrils. Its handlers, or retinue, tolerate the outbursts with gentle chiding. Thankfully they leave Mos Bruen with us.

  Some lucky, low-ranking Pel gain the right to carry in a table as well as two chairs suitable for the alien physiques of Eva and Yosip. Bruen and the others are comfortable digging themselves shallow grooves within which they might relax. Only one thaumatist remains behind, her green robes swirling about her as she sways around the clearing. The casteless servants clearing away the wreckage of the pavilion pay her little mind.

  I would feel honored to have such lavish attentions paid me, were I not being offered up for sale like some prize grelld. I would expect no less from Mos Bruen; to act in service to the Empire is the greatest calling of our kind. But for Eva Chel and Don Yosip to so easily give me up is disturbing.

  They do take the time to return me to my travel case. It is during the installation that a person I barely recognize draws near.

  "Young Gol, is that you?"

  "Pah! None call me that, Old One," she remarks after coming to a halt at the table. "Not for many seasons now."

  "It has not been so long," I say before realizing that it has indeed been many years. "But you look well. The plating suits you."

  "You here to negotiate?" Eva glances sharply at the much larger female. Mos Gol makes even hulking Bruen look small. Beside the plated elder, Eva looks like she should still be dripping with the brine of her spawning pool. "Or just flirt with my employee?"

  Yosip laughs loudly from his place at the table, nearly upsetting his chair. The look he gives me promises future trouble.

  "Flirt?" Bruen twists his tendrils together. "This word does not translate."

  "Don't worry 'bout it, kid," mutters Yosip. He struggles visibly to keep a smirk from his face, succeeding only in looking slightly uncomfortable. "I'll have Han explain it when you're older."

  "Right," announces the Ship-Mother, retaking control of the conversation. "Let's clear the gau shit. We aren't here so Denn can be punished, are we?"

  Mos Gol stiffens noticeably at the slight to myself. When I do not speak up insisting on proper address, Mos Gol twitches her pedipalps. I believe she might be amused. Her plating makes it difficult to guess.

  "That was but an excuse," admits Gol with some relief. "There has been talk of putting Mos Denn back into an active role. What this entails, I do not know. Only that the d-", Somner Zek's robes rustle loudly, causing Gol to hesitate slightly. "The thaumatists are very interested in seeing your capabilities," she finishes, directing the last remark at me.

  "Especially after your most recent feat," adds Zek.

  Turning to look at my case, which sits on the pebbles between her and Yosip, she focuses on the camera facing her. I think she's asking me something, but the question evades my grasp. Yosip seems to understand her meaning, however.

  "We need him," he states bluntly. "But beyond that, I can tell you from experience that trying to study him won't get you anything."

  "And knowing that," resumes Eva, "we're willing to offer you the option of observing him while he functions, at Kalibern."

  The two of them are silent for some time, watching the faces of Gol and Zek for some reaction. I focus my front facing camera lower, watching the females communicate silently with minute twitches of their tendrils. A single brief flash of my indicator light draws Yosip's attention. Quickly spelling out an abbreviated version of the supposedly secret communication brings a grin to his face.

  Bruen sits silently at the table, idly toying with a blood smeared pebble. A pair of young soldiers clean him of the dark residue of our brief contest with damp rags. He barely seems to notice them. Nor does he respond at all when Mos Gol silently asks his opinion through sign. He perks up when Yosip calls his name.

  "Mos Bruen, you still awake?"

  He raises his lower tendrils briefly rather than answer verbally. Bruen still requires another treatment session later.

  Yosip draws attention to Bruen in an obvious display of his side's position of strength. Mos Gol acknowledges his unspoken threat by praising Bruen.

  "Mos Bruen is here to continue his training. Learning the negotiation tactics of your people will prove valuable if he lives long enough to teach others." She shifts her weight slightly. Her armor plating scrapes softly against the small stones. "So, forgive him if he remains silent."

  "What kind of access do you refer to, Ship-Mother?" Zek leans forward. The light from above glints off of the vials strapped to her bandoleer. Another softly hinted at threat? "How many, for what number of days?"

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  A predatory leer replaces the normally polite smile on Eva's face. "How about three. One from each caste. Place them under my command for the duration of their stay. For as long as we maintain this agreement." She crosses her arms and leans back. "They should have plenty of time to make observations that they can send back to you."

  "Four," counters Gol. "Two Jurer and two Somner. Svost are too valuable to give to aliens." Not to mention the danger they represent. "As well as four servants each. Additionally, we would like to purchase permanent quarters for those assigned to your city."

  "Station," corrects Yosip.

  "Twenty is too many," argues Eva, ignoring Yosip. "Three servants each. If I receive reports of any mistreatment then we end the agreement. Housing is already sparse enough as is, but if you'll share whatever insights you gain with us," she trails off, uncrossing her arms and shrugging.

  I do not know if I like this compromise that she proposes. So far, each side looks to gain from the exchange. The only true loser in this situation is myself; if things progress, I will be under much closer scrutiny.

  "We've also got some questions," adds Yosip. "Like why the rock says that wasn't a Duv."

  All three of them rise from their seated positions, but it is Mos Gol who speaks. "It is only your foreign nature which causes me to forgive your insult. Denn, do not utter such falsehoods in my presence. I had thought more highly of you than to speak such lies."

  When Gol presents her honest conviction, I start to doubt myself. Could I be mistaken in this?

  "He's wrong about a lot of things," offers Eva, "but he ought to know whether he's in the presence of his leaders or not. Right? If he's wrong, could you give an explanation for why he wouldn't recognize a Duv?"

  Zek answers, "It might be for the same reason that we may not record the voice or form of our leaders. No two can agree on the precise details."

  "Wars have been fought over misrepresentations of them," adds Mos Gol quietly.

  Yes. I remember leading extermination missions against hold out cities. No doubt these type of mission are what she refers to. Very few of those cities remain, after the wars of unification. I look again at the images stored in my case's memory banks and recognition begins to grow. The pictures resemble heretical works sometimes hidden away in secret places by hold outs.

  Yosip and Eva exchange looks. They seem confused or perhaps disbelieving. Better that I not mention my discovery for now.

  Eva returns her attention to the representatives of the Spanless Empire. Mos Gol, observing the attention, seats herself heavily. Bruen and Zek sink back down as well.

  Eva nods. "Alright. And the accusations against Br-, Mos Bruen and Don Yosip," the side of her mouth twitches but she keeps her voice steady. "Dropped, yes?"

  "Yes," confirms Mos Gol.

  "Wonderful," Eva continues, polite smile already back in place. "Now, let's talk about living expenses."

  The rest of the meeting involves the boring details of running a small independent neighborhood within the larger settlement. Food, water, air, and living space will all need to come from somewhere. It is recompense for the use of these that Eva seeks. She receives it in the form of favorable trade deals. Gol manages to include a group of three Sha among the list of residents by conceding to Eva's requests for additional discounts on imports.

  When the meeting breaks up, it is Bruen who picks up my case. Gol, after a brief exchange with him, returns to her own duties. The others follow Zek through the compound. Bruen trails behind the group before eventually halting, promising to meet them at the portal.

  Eva and Yosip agree to wait for us there. Bruen then finds a quiet garden in which we may speak privately. He sets down my case upon the trimmed yard and reclines against an artful rock formation.

  He looks uncertain of what he wishes to say. His tendrils twist, revealing his agitation.

  "Whatever you wish to say, please do so. I will do my best to answer, if you have questions of me."

  Somewhat relieved, he relaxes his tendrils. When he speaks, his voice rattles painfully. "Yes. Thank you. I do have questions."

  Yet he does not ask them. He looks at me, mouthparts moving silently. In order that he might seek proper healing, I attempt to hurry the conversation along.

  "Well?"

  "Sorry. I have much to think about. You have seen the spawning pool in Sba City?"

  "Yes." A small pool, I remember. Its purpose remains mysterious to me. The aviaformes build nests when they wish for young.

  "It is now full of my spawn."

  "This is good. Soon there will be more generals to serve the Empire."

  "Yes. Though not all will be going to the academies."

  What nonsense is this? "Do they think to separate out some of your brood, to return the least worthy to the casteless masses?" Were I still capable of it, I would be chewing salt right now.

  He winces back from the harshness of my response. "No. That is not the problem. I am to select one of the young to train. As you trained me."

  I do not answer right away, so he hurries to explain.

  "It goes against our people's traditions, I know. I also do not think myself equal to the task. If you could aid me in this, when the time comes, I will owe you a great debt."

  "Very well." There exists already a debt between us, though to which of us it is owed cannot be stated with any clarity. "Though I find it insulting that you believe I had denied you proper training." Truly, he knows as much as I about his own training.

  He bobs in a quick apology. "I misspoke. What I mean is that I would be grateful for any ruminations you may have reached that you have yet to share with me. Surely your time among the aliens has given you fresh insight."

  "Ah. This I can do. Pick me up and let us catch up with the others. You already know that I selected you out of the brood because of your size." He grasps my travel case in his strong lower tendrils, just as he had once done my failing body, and lifts me with ease. "Your keen intellect was harder to identify, but that you survived at all from such a spawning marked you as worthy."

  He pauses, obstensibly to place my travel case upon his back. I cause the device to clasp onto his sturdy exoskeleton.

  "This spawning also differs from the standard," he says while adjusting his uniform. "The pool is very small, and filled with only spawn from a single female and myself."

  Bruen slides across the pathway with balance that would be comforting to a body wracked with infirmities. I no longer require such delicate treatment, yet I appreciate it more now than ever.

  "That is unusual. It means they wished to control the outcome, rather than leaving it to chance. Do you know her name? Tell me later, if you do." He clacks an acknowledgment with his pedipalps, so I continue to prattle on while he carries me. He clicks and clacks at appropriate times as I tell him tales of the various youths aboard the station.