Aren took it in his stride when they found him in the main office. “Nothing to hide and nothing to fear, eh?” he said. “At least let Jainan stay to talk to the Systems team.”

“I must go,” Jainan said. He had the odd, choppy rhythm that meant most of his mind was on something else. “We must both go.”

“Can’t disobey the Imperial Voice, you know?” Kiem said. He tried to make it casual, because it was that or admit to a growing frustration with the whole palace establishment that his mother would have dubbed sulking. “Thanks for your help. If the Auditor asks you, tell him we’re trying to get him some answers.”

The first five minutes after leaving the base, Kiem and Jainan sat in the flybug in total silence. The buildings grew smaller in the tundra underneath them. Kiem bit his tongue every few seconds, aware that being annoyed at Internal Security wouldn’t help and that Jainan probably wanted space to prepare for the interview. He took one hand out of the steering mesh to file their new flight plan.

“How long will it take us to fly back?” Jainan said abruptly.

“We’ll be back by midafternoon,” Kiem said. “If we take the fastest route, that is.”

Jainan’s profile was very sharp in the pale, snow-reflected light. He stared

straight ahead, expressionless. “Do we have to take the fastest route?”

So this was what Jainan looked like when he was angry. Kiem, caught off guard, made a thoughtful noise. Taking their time would at least tell Internal Security that Kiem and Jainan weren’t their subordinates to order around. They could stay within the letter of the law and still make a point. “The freight routes are pretty dull, really. Didn’t you want to see more of the mountains? It takes longer, but I’m sure Rakal has time in their schedule.”

“I could see some mountains,” Jainan said.

Kiem adjusted the steering mesh settings to give them more sensitivity, his bad mood fading, and veered their direction setting to the east. A spine of mountains marched between them and Arlusk, pure and clean and a long way away from bloody Internal Security and their bloody interviews. “Course changed!” he said. “Let them wait.”

The atmosphere in the flybug shifted. Jainan’s shoulders relaxed. Kiem leaned forward, gleeful over their small rebellion, and scanned the foothills ahead. It would do Internal Security good to remember they couldn’t just snap their fingers and summon them.

The flight turned into a long, aimless meander deep into the mountains, dipping into valleys and investigating anywhere that looked interesting. Jainan had never done proper mountain flying, so Kiem handed over the helm and showed him how to use the updrafts and wind patterns that snaked around the crags. They found a frozen waterfall; Kiem was at the controls, and he brought them close enough that they could have opened the dome and touched it.

“Gonna take us down a bit,” Kiem said. “This thing wasn’t built for hovering.”