Aequitas
Hel’s Gate
Rannibic Station
In which Sleak has things to say.
Shout out to Lute and Moonhawk, whose story continues to be told even when the Temple would prefer it to be forgotten. I wonder if the version Sleak knows includes the two things that must without fail be said. (I would bet good money that whatever version the Temple currently tells doesn’t include either of the two – if they tell the story at all.)
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Aequitas
Hel’s Gate, Rannibic Station
In which there is a change of plans.
There are a couple of resonant names in the dateline of this chapter.
Wikipedia describes aequitas as “the Latin concept of justice, equality, conformity, symmetry, or fairness”. Also, I see from my notes, in the Liaden Universe aequitas is the name of those tokens used by traders to ensure a fair exchange of information. So Aequitas is a plausible thing for a trader to name her ship, and it also echoes the broader issues of justice in the situation in which Lomar finds herself in this story.
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Melepomine Court
Alpraise City
Dayan, in the Irrobi System
In which Lomar Fasholt makes her move.
This, also, I read a few months ago and have been putting off because I didn’t know what to say about it. Apart from, obviously: Hurray! It’s good to see Lomar Fasholt again after all this time.
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In which we learn the fate of the second-last Admiral.
I’ve been putting off posting an entry for this story for months, because I wasn’t sure I had anything to say about it. The arrival of Salvage Right seemed like a good time to give it another shot, since it’s likely that this is going to feed into the backstory somehow.
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In which Sinit safeguards the clan’s treasures.
I’m always pleased to have another opportunity to spend time with Sinit, who’s one of my favourite characters in the series.
It’s also (speaking now as the presumptuous author of a suggested chronological reading order) something of a relief after the last few stories to have one that says up-front exactly where it fits chronologically.
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In which the bakery goes forward.
I had forgotten that we already knew of a character called “Our Lady of Benevolence” until I was re-reading the earlier bakery stories in preparation for this new one. (Well, actually, the authors’ foreword gave it away, but if not for that it would have been re-reading “Fortune’s Favors” that did it.)
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In which the crack team of Kilsymthe and yo’Dira deal with some unfinished business.
Being that this story involves an entirely new cast of characters at an entirely new location, it’s a bit short of indications about where it fits in relative to the main series. It’s more recent than the Jethri books, since the team-up of a Terran spacer and Liaden is unpopular in some quarters but not considered a remarkable innovation. The bit about “the asterisked end-notes in the ven’Tura Tables” might indicate that it’s before the Tables were properly revised. Caerli uses the technique called the Smuggler’s Ace; the earliest mention we have of that is in Scout’s Progress, but I don’t think we know how old it already was then, so that doesn’t help much.
The list of customers at the drinkery includes two women in “librarian’s robes”, which I’m not sure what to make of.
In which Bjarni helps see in the New Decade.
Major Lizardi, from Surebleak, with the knack for recognizing the right person for the job at hand, has to be Miri’s friend Liz at an earlier stage in her career.
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In which two men decide what they will do with their lives.
It occurs to me that several of the people in the ARTS accommodation have names that resemble musical terminology. In particular Joolia Tenuta and Femta both have names resembling terms (tenuto and fermata) indicating that a note is to be held for its full length or longer, appropriate for people whose lives are on hold. It may even, considering Port Chavvy’s policy of letting people choose their call-name and the fact that there’s a musical contingent among the ARTS residents, be deliberate.
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In which two men demonstrate their utility.
The scene after the comet enters its transition phase gives us the title drop for the book, and a key theme for this story.
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