“But you wouldn’t know that,” Grayland continued, to Nadashe. “So you and your family worked from the assumption that End would become the new center of the Interdependency. You worked so that when it happened, you, and not the House of Wu, would be the ones to control Flow access. You promoted rebellion on End, sent your brother Ghreni there to administer it, developed an agricultural virus to exacerbate it, and blamed it on the House of Lagos to cover your tracks and to get back at an enemy house.”

“Here at Hub you pushed for military aid to End’s duke and then used pirates to take those weapons for your family, pushing the duke to more desperate action,” Marce said. “And you kept the pressure on for more military intervention by planning and executing terrorist attacks here and in the rest of the Interdependency.”

“That’s a lie,” Nadashe said.

“We have Che Isolt in Guard custody, Lady Nohamapetan,” Grayland said. “Your man at customs and immigration. He gave you up almost immediately. He told us how he identified and acted as a go-between between you and immigrants from End. How you would either use them or frame them for the terrorist events. He even told us about the attempt yesterday. How he gave an unwitting immigrant a transmitter that hacked into the shuttle through a maintenance program and sent it into your own ship. Do you know why he gave you up so easily?”

“Because he found out you intentionally killed your brother to make it look like an attack on the Nohamapetans,” Marce said.

Grayland nodded at this. “Apparently fratricide was too much even for him. Although he did approve of you attempting to frame the House of Lagos for all of this. He said it was a clever move.”

“The House of Lagos isn’t happy about it, however,” Marce noted.

“No,” Grayland agreed. “No, they are not. And neither are we, Lady Nadashe. About any of this.”

There was dead silence around the table as the entire executive committee stared at Nadashe Nohamapetan.

“I am grieved that you would believe any of this, Your Majesty,” Nadashe began.

“Oh, cut the shit, Nadashe,” Grayland said, irritated. “It’s over.”