“No, it was honestly quite a relief when they kicked me out,” Audel said. “I was more than ready to go. The military doesn’t nurture intellectual freedom; I imagine that won’t come as a surprise, but I was seduced by not having to write grant applications.”

“Ah,” Kiem said, with a wash of relief. He didn’t particularly want to get one of Jainan’s friends in trouble. “Professor Audel. I don’t suppose you have a …

copy of that resignation? Before Taam’s complaint?”

Audel thought, frustratingly not seeming to give it much weight. “Yes, I suppose so, somewhere,” she said. “Why do you want it?”

“It would be really helpful,” Kiem said. “Resolution business—don’t ask, it will do your head in, and I think it’s confidential. But right now would be good.”

Jainan looked a little less ill when Kiem ended the call. He sat on one of the room’s two stools and raised one finger to his temple, rubbing a tiny circle. “I don’t like this,” he said tonelessly.

This, Kiem was starting to recognize, was the equivalent of a less controlled person sinking to the floor with their head in their hands. “No,” he said. “I’m not a huge fan either. At least this stops Internal Security from going after you, I suppose. Or it will when Aren sends them the evidence. You didn’t try and hack into their systems.”

“It absolutely won’t stop them,” Jainan said, his voice strained. “They will want to investigate both possibilities. And we have not been cooperative. They will find out I didn’t tell them about Taam’s secret message account. They will find out we have been here.”

“Then what do you want to do?” Kiem said. “Just call up Internal Security and have a friendly chat about everything we know?”

Jainan didn’t answer. His wristband flashed with a message, and Kiem’s did at the same time. Kiem looked down long enough to see it was Audel’s note, then looked back up at Jainan.

“You do, don’t you?” Kiem said slowly. “You think we should do that.” He dropped onto the bunk mattress and swung his feet up onto the other stool.

“Okay, let’s be good citizens. I’ll give Rakal a buzz.”

Jainan raised his head, startled. “You will?”

“Now that sounded like a dare,” Kiem said. He couldn’t quite believe he was at the point in his life where he had Internal Security on his regular contact list, but here he was. “Agent Rakal, ” he said expansively, as their face flickered up on screen. Rakal, a now-familiar collection of sharp angles and hostility, gave him an impressively stony stare from behind their desk. “How are you? How’s the secrets business? Have we got some exciting things to tell you.”