Alain saw Groveen's eyes focus on the air directly before her, her hands making those odd gestures before her. "I can't detect any human presence in that house or the surrounding structures. She's not here." The woman from Urth gave them a triumphant look. "My son is missing and so is your daughter, the same girl who asked to see him again! Do you think I don't know what's going on?"

"What is going on?" Alain asked, keeping his voice almost toneless, before Mari could reply.

"You convinced my young, idiotic son to steal an important item in the hopes of gaining favor with your daughter," Groveen said. "It's so obvious."

"And so wrong," Alain said. "Have you not overheard every word we have spoken to your son?"

"What—?" Thrown off balance by the realization that her opponents knew they had been spied on, Talese Groveen fumbled for a reply.

"We have every reason to be concerned about your son," Alain continued, still letting little feeling enter his voice, knowing that his speaking style would further discomfit the woman from Urth. "We will contact Queen Sien, and conduct a thorough search of Pacta Servanda."

"That would be a good starting point," Mari agreed, regaining her composure. "We should work together to—"

"I am not interested in delays that might imperil…my son!" Talese Groveen insisted. "He needs to be returned to me before he…" Alain saw suspicion appear on her face. "Just what has he told you?"

"About what?" Mari asked.

"He has nothing of value! Except what he might know," the woman from Urth said. "And even he may eventually figure that out. Time is of the essence."

"Yes," Mari agreed. "We will contact Queen Sien-"

"I intend crowd-sourcing this search," Talese Groveen informed them. "Far faster, and more efficient, and more likely to quickly locate my errant son and your daughter." She paused, eyes on that place before her nose, her hands moving rapidly before her.

Alain leaned to whisper in Mari's ear. "She lied about Jason having nothing of value. She is not certain that he knows the value of what he took, and I do not think she suspects he already told Kira or us the truth about it. But she fears that he will. Should we stop her?"

"We don't even know what she's doing! And how can we stop her without attacking her?" Mari mumbled in reply. "Not that I wouldn't like to at the moment."

Finishing whatever she was doing, Talese Groveen smiled triumphantly at them. "I have ordered my ship to send transmissions on the frequencies used by the primitive radios on this world, telling them that my son and your daughter are unaccounted for and must be found. I also offered a significant award for their-"

"You did what?" Mari shouted. "You told the entire world my daughter is out there? Do you have any idea how many people still want revenge on me?"

"If that concerned you, you should have-"