“I can propose toasts if I want,” Kiem said. “Toasting your partner is practically de rigueur. It’s what you do at dinners. Totally unexceptional.”

“That is an absolute lie,” Jainan said. “You are trying to sell me a blatant

untruth.” His hand tightened on Kiem’s arm. “And giving me that smile isn’t going to help you get away with it.”

“I’m not smiling,” Kiem said, but as he said it, he realized he had been, and must have been for a while. “I’m having a good time.”

“I can tell,” Jainan said. There was a thread of something in his voice, everything proper and controlled except this odd—affection? Kiem decided it was affection and felt warm all over. “You may want to steer away from that colonel up ahead,” Jainan added, in a more neutral tone. “She knew Taam. She’s probably read the interview.”

“She won’t say anything,” Kiem said cheerfully, escorting Jainan in a slightly different direction. “Not after you eviscerated that politician who mentioned it.”

“I was polite.”

“You froze him dead,” Kiem said. “I felt the temperature drop and I wasn’t even the one you were staring at.”

“Well, you somehow steamrollered him into volunteering for the Municipal By-Laws Subcommittee.”

“He clearly doesn’t have enough to do, if he’s going around reading interviews in newslogs. Someone’s got to … by-law those municipals. And everyone says it’s the committee nobody wants to be on.”

Jainan stifled a laugh, trying to disguise it as a cough. “You’re incorrigible.

You’re abusing the system.”

“Very badly,” Kiem agreed. He recognized Ressid on the other side of the room, but since there were dozens of people between them, Ressid only gave them an acknowledging wave. Kiem and Jainan stopped to greet the Thean Ambassador and a small circle of dignitaries; Prince Vaile was also there, fashionable in a dress made of some floating, mist-gray Galactic fabric. She seemed to be hatching something with the Ambassador.

“Your Grace!” the Ambassador said, with more pleasantness than Kiem had ever seen him display. “Good news. We’ve secured the Kingfisher operation for you.”

“Excuse me?” Jainan said.

“The Emperor has generously transferred all the mining equipment to Thea and offered a team of specialists,” Vaile said. “Kingfisher did have some real mining engineers to provide it with the cover Taam needed. I believe you’ve met some of them.”

“Run … the regolith mining operation?” Jainan said. “Run Taam’s operation?”

“On a temporary basis,” Vaile said. “You could do a trial period of six months to start.”

“I don’t—I—”

The Ambassador coughed genteelly. “It would be advantageous to have someone in your position publicly attached to it.”

Jainan glanced at Kiem. Kiem almost said something but realized he didn’t have to. Jainan was already turning his attention back to the Ambassador. “I.

Yes. I’ll do it on a trial basis.” Kiem squeezed his shoulder, which was all the delight he could politely show in company. “I have some ideas. That catalytic intensifier Audel and I were…” Jainan trailed off, apparently in thought, and then focused on Vaile again. “I would like Professor Audel and her students on the operation.”