Basq didn't say anything. He was ever mindful of the Witness, even more than Paral was. The camera set over her right eye gleamed even blacker than her skin. Paral's palms began to sweat, but there was nothing to do but wait while Basq weighed propriety against emergency.

Just a little nudge, thought Paral, drawing justification from Caril's comments about how susceptible Basq was to prodding.

"I recognize this is irregular, however, Amaiar Gardens may attempt to transfer her, or she may desert the premises…" He let the sentence trail off.

It had been enough. "Proceed, Beholden."

Paral made obeisance, partially so he did not have to look at the Witness. "Yes, Ambassador."

Paral made his escape as coolly as he could manage. One of the station's enclosed private cars waited out on the street. He had an hour to spare, maybe two before Basq wondered what had happened to him. It would take that long for Basq to put together the documentation for Zur-Iyal ki Maliad, in case he could find no legal discrepancies in her conduct and was forced to proceed on her terms. Paral could relay his improper request to the station en route to the Shessel Embassy. The plan was in motion. All was working smoothly.

He just wished he could shake the feeling of the Witness's eyes from off his skin for one moment more.

…for when humans see freedom, they lose the will for slavery."

—Zur-Ishen ki Maliad, "Upon Leaving Kethre"

"They asked specifically to be allowed to deal with you." Shim, the Third in the Emissary Voice, stretched both secondary arms toward Kiv.

Kiv rippled and sagged and wished for his siblings. He'd thought himself ready for the isolation of off-planet work, but it was not so. The old-timers had warned him. The comfort of his children was not the same as having his siblings and nieces and cousins around him. Even with Ere draped around his shoulders, he still felt alone. Shim, a grounded priest, was a fifth cousin Kiv had never met until he had volunteered to hatch out his children on Kethran Colony. The relationship was not close enough to provide any security. It was frightening to realize he knew Human Perivar better than he knew the cousin in front of him.

We serve, and service has never needed the weak, he reminded himself. My daughters will understand these humans who live like priests and act like madmen, even if I never do. They will carve out lives safe from the possibility of bondage with them.

Among the human enclaves, the Rhudolant Vitae were particularly insane. The thought of them wanting to meet with him specifically was nerve-racking. The embassy environment, lovingly designed with its arched ceilings and varying textures in subtle shadings of blue and violet, was not relaxing him at all, because he kept thinking about Aria Stone, and about Perivar's impossible promise that nothing would touch Kiv or his family.

"We have been in touch with our embassies on Kethre and on seven of the stations," Shim was saying. "The Rhudolant Vitae are withdrawing everywhere. The matter of this planet is of the greatest import to them. We need to understand how it will shift the power balances of their 'family.' You may be able to garner some information about this."

"I will…"

"Do my best," finished Ere for him.

Shim withdrew three of his eyes. "That is all we ask, Kivere. They are waiting in the visitor's chamber."

Ere tightened her grip with her feet on Kiv's back as he bunched his muscles against his inner trembling. They moved through the series of bubble-shaped rooms that linked the audience chamber with the visitor's chamber. Perivar had once expressed his surprise at the fact that the Shessel, with their horizontal torsos, did not like long corridors, until Kiv pointed out to him that humans, in general, did not live in high-ceilinged closets.

Ere's hands kneaded Kiv's shoulders. She was plainly excited by this new game. Kiv worried sometimes that Ere loved intrigue a little too much, especially for someone who had not even started her second growth yet.

The visitor's chamber had been placed under one of the largest domes. The room was framed with interlocked hexagons of steel struts. Between the struts hung membranes like the one that separated Kiv's room from Perivar's. The inside of it held human-style amenities and the outside held the Shessel.

Under the membranes waited two Vitae. Kiv blinked all his eyes and Ere's grip tightened. Two red-and-white children, bald as the adults, flanked the Vitae. The children stood as close to their chaperones as they could. Their eyes were wide and round, a sign of Human fear, Kiv knew.

"What game do they play, Father?" murmured Ere. "Humans do not bring their children to transact businesses."

Kiv stroked her back. "Thank you for the reminder, my first named. What game is an excellent question."

Kiv extended himself all the way; eyes, ears, and head alert and towering over the visitors. The Vitae made no move.

"I am Kivererishakadene. With me is my first named, Ere. I say you welcome and ask to what end you have come?" The construction was formal in the extreme, but the Vitae were not to be greeted lightly.

"I am Ambassador Ordeth and here stands Ambassador Paral. With us are our children Iolphian and Tala. We are come to offer payment for a service you can provide us."

"If you need some communications work done…" began Kiv.

"My partner and I have an office…" Ere finished for him. Kiv laid one of his primary hands on Ere's mouth. This was not Perivar they dealt with. They would act in the Human fashion here, with either the parent or the child speaking the thought. Not both,

"It is not communications support we need," said Paral. "It is a separate service, and we will pay twice the amount of your average annual income for it."

Nervousness closed down Kiv's ears. He forced them open and whistled. "So much? For what service?"

"You have heard our announcement of claim to the world designated MG49 sub 1?"

"We have."

"On that world there are artifacts which endangered our Ancestors and finally forced them to flee their home. It is imperative that we know all we can of them before our children walk on the Home Ground. Otherwise, the danger will be the same for us as it was for our Ancestors. To mitigate this, we took one of the artifacts to a ship for study. It was stolen from us. We now know that your partner Yul Gan Perivar assisted in the marketing of the artifact…"

"You are speaking of Aria Stone?" Kiv shrank back, sheltering Ere a little in the curve of his neck.

"I speak of an artifact," said Ambassador Paral. "One that might come once again into Perivar's hands. If this is the case, we ask that you return it to us." Paral laid a hand on Tala's shoulder. The child jerked reflexively, but the adult held on. "Two years' pay is a small thing compared to giving my child a safe home. As soon as you agree to the service, you will receive a year's pay. If you enact this service, you will receive another year's pay, which will be given directly to your children if you so wish."

"Why are you not speaking to Yul Gan Perivar?" Kiv asked.

"He has worked against the Vitae in the past," said Paral, without even pausing to consider the question. "We have no reason to expect him to do differently now. Your contract of service will mean that you are ready to respect the laws of the world where you do business, where your partner is not."

"It will mean more yet," said Iolphian. Under the voice of the translator, Kiv heard the piping of an immature human and, against his will, something inside him softened. "It will tell the Vitae that the Shessel are better allies than many of those who call themselves human. Once grounded, the Vitae will have to build a new life and we will need a great deal of help."