Gairad sat on a flat couch under the window, staring disconsolately at the alien beach. There was nobody else in the room.

“Did you want the professor?” she asked, without bothering to look up.

“She’s out.”

Kiem shifted one of the desk chairs and sat down facing her. The room was so small that he took up most of the available width between the desk and the opposite wall, cutting off the route to the door. Gairad’s eyes finally flickered to him.

“No,” Kiem said amiably, “I don’t want the professor.”

“Jainan?” Gairad said. She straightened up from her slouch, putting her feet on the ground. “He went to the control room to check my refinery data.”

Kiem leaned back in the chair and brought up one ankle to prop on his opposite knee. “Did you know Professor Audel was under investigation?”

“No,” Gairad said. Kiem kept his eyes on her face and noted how quickly that answer had come. She added belatedly, “Why? What for?”

“Internal Security is saying she compromised Kingfisher’s systems.”

Gairad’s hands curled around the edge of the couch seat. “Why would she do that? Kingfisher already gave us the data she asked for.”

Kiem lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. “Did they? Too technical for me to understand, really.” He leaned forward a fraction. “Internal Security thinks she used your account, though. As well as her other students’ accounts. That’s a shame. Jainan didn’t want you involved.”

To give Gairad credit, her expression had the same low-key hostility she’d shown Kiem when they’d first met. She wasn’t giving anything away, and Kiem wasn’t sure of anything, not yet. “She didn’t use my account,” Gairad said. “She didn’t do anything.”

“No,” Kiem agreed. “She didn’t use your account. You’d barely trust the average Iskaner to pass you the salt; I can’t see you handing your teacher your private keys. On top of that, you’re clever and technical enough to keep up with Jainan; there’s no way you wouldn’t notice if Professor Audel was using your account in secret.”

There was no trace of a slouch in Gairad’s posture now. “What do you mean?”

“You broke into Kingfisher’s systems,” Kiem said bluntly. Gairad laughed outright, short and incredulous. Kiem waited for her to finish before he carried on. “What were you after?”

“This is bullshit,” Gairad said, squaring her shoulders as if she might start a physical fight. “I don’t know where you got that idea from. I’m here to pass my study program and get my shipping license. I already had to come all the way to Iskat for it. Why would I take a risk like hacking an Iskat army system?”

“Good question,” Kiem said. “May I use your screen?”

Gairad frowned, looking for the trap, but after a moment she waved permission. Kiem gestured to his wristband and threw up the picture of the young Thean who had died in the accident.

“I don’t know who that is,” Gairad said.

“Fairly sure you do,” Kiem said.