Jainan didn’t have time to think about that. The Resolution deadline was tonight. “The Auditor has his remnants back,” he said, frustrated. “What’s the problem? Is the Thean embassy refusing to sign the treaty?”

“No, at this point your embassy says they’ll sign anything,” Bel said bluntly.

“But everyone on Thea is furious and the newslogs are out for blood. If the Auditor needs implied popular consent, Saffer has managed to royally screw us all over. You can’t change the opinion of a whole planet in six hours.”

Jainan needed allies. He needed Kiem. “Why is Kiem under arrest?”

“He broke into a classified facility.”

“To get me.”

“Yes,” Bel said. “Well. That’s where it gets a bit murky. They’re reading all our communications, so we don’t write much. He said to tell you he’s sorry.”

Jainan’s tongue felt dry. Kiem clearly hadn’t told anyone about Taam and Jainan’s history. “You’re free, though?”

“I’m out on Imperial sufferance,” Bel said. “And only because Kiem confessed to all the actual crimes and sent the Emperor a clemency plea for the rest of us. The Emperor now has the real version of my career history,” she added. “Kiem says, and I quote, ‘It probably tickled her.’”

“The real version,” Jainan said. He struggled to pull up his tattered memories of the Tau field. “Kiem said something about … raiders?”

“Raider,” Bel said. “Singular. Ex-raider.” She was watching him carefully.

Jainan felt a long-ago stir of suspicion rise again and take shape. “That’s how you knew the leader of the Blue Star group.” Bel nodded, only slightly. “Why are you pretending to be an aide?”

“I’m not pretending,” Bel said sharply. “I wanted to go straight. I applied for this job, I got it, and funny thing, being in the center of the Empire’s power base means any of my old colleagues who might want to argue find it very hard to get to me.”

“So it’s for safety?”

“No,” Bel said. “Well, a little. But no. I’m good at this job. I enjoy getting respect that doesn’t come at gunpoint, and I don’t want to make a living out of screwing over merchants and freighters. I don’t like shooting people. I was born on a Red Alpha ship, you know, I didn’t pick it.” She added, defensively, “I like it here. At least I get more career options than ‘raider captain.’”

“And all those times you solved our technical problems—?”

Bel spread her hands. “I didn’t hurt anyone.”

Jainan longed to press his knuckles into his eyes but held back. Kiem apparently knew all this already. And Bel had saved their lives, and there was really no time for this. “Thank you,” he said, at last. “I did wonder how Kiem had broken in. It makes much more sense now.”

“Don’t get arrested again,” Bel said. There was an odd undercurrent of relief to her voice. Had she really cared what Jainan thought of her? “I can’t get an Imperial pardon twice.”