Eris turned away, tamping down the traitorous remnants of pride from those images of her ancestors’ conquests. As royalty, she’d escaped the Oracle’s programming, but that didn’t mean Tholosian propaganda didn’t leave its own marks. It means nothing, she told herself. Don’t forget Xander. Never forget Xander. Don’t—

“Holy silt,” Clo breathed beside her. “Is that the Legate?”

Eris forced herself to look at the body. The fine clothing of gold, black, and silver. Those gleaming boots. That flawless, shining hair missing its pounded-gold circlet. It was a few feet away, crushed. The gaping red-black of his cut throat, the cooling blood already congealing on the metal floor.

“Whoever took the ship was willing to risk murdering a diplomat,” Eris said, keeping her voice cool, detached.

“Evoli?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. They may not be at peace with Tholosians, but relations have been relatively stable since the Battle of the Garnet.”

“Yeah? Didn’t your da just lose most of his agriculture when a giant fluming asteroid crashed into one of his planets? Tholosians are always fighting war over more resources.”

Eris let out a dry laugh. “Fair enough. But losing Charon doesn’t explain why his Legate is dead. The Evoli are fierce fighters, but it’s always been in self-defense. The Oversouls don’t start war.”

“Then we have to leave,” Clo said. “The last thing we need is to be caught in the middle of whatever this is.” Clo’s gaze flicked upward. “Where are the killers?”

“Hopefully, distracted enough not to notice the two unexpected stowaways checking out whatever was worth murdering Legate Atkis.” Eris gestured to the storage containers.

“Kyla said they’re probably weapons. I’ve decided I like that answer, so let’s go. The mission is sunk.”

Eris gave Clo an irritated look. “The Legate refused to let me in here. He wouldn’t do that if they were just standard weapons, not during a routine inspection. He must have come down to protect whatever is in these containers and then—” She drew a line across her throat with a finger.

Clo let out a breath and shoved the heavy lid off one of the containers with a small grunt. Alarms blared, high and piercing. Clo clapped her hands over her ears until Eris shot the speaker. Her ears still rang in the heavy silence.

Eris grimaced. “That was—”

Clo’s mech cuff vibrated. She twisted it, eyes going blank as the ocular display synced to her Pathos. “Reseal it,” Clo told Eris sharply. “Whatever’s in there is setting off the hazard detector.”

“Does it say why?”

Clo scowled at the cuff and tapped it. “No.”

“Then so what? Your suit has protection.” Eris plucked a pair of gloves out of her pocket and put them on. “I’m just getting a closer look, then we can go.”