Tag Archives: bellaquesa

I Dare – Chapter 49

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Day 54
Standard Year 1393

Solcintra
Liad

In which Anthora is boxed in.

Well, that’s one way to prevent Nova sorting things out by going in front of the Council and accusing the Department: send someone in front of the Council to accuse Korval of everything the Department has done.

Interesting that it’s Aragon who’s been maneuvred into making the accusation. Aragon has been mentioned several times as an old and respected High House, so an accusation from Aragon will be taken seriously; it’s a significant step up from the last time we saw somebody make an accusation in Council at the Department’s instigation, when it was an ambitious clan hovering around the border between the high and mid levels. Also interesting because the most recent of the Agents of Change that have been named to us, earlier in this book, was a chel’Mara, and chel’Mara looks to Aragon — so it might even be her specifically that Aragon is about to ask about when he’s interrupted.

Because of course there’s an interruption: having Korval called before the Council to answer an accusation might be an effective way to force Anthora out of Jelaza Kazone, but letting things run on long enough for her to actually answer would be risky. I presume the interruption was part of the plan, for that reason and because it provided the excuse to hustle Anthora into the room where the trap lay ready, but I wonder how the Department managed it. Did they know their targets so well as to be able to predict that attacking dea’Gauss at a particular time would result in a Master Accountant interrupting the Council hearing? Worrying thought, that.

Having done this re-read, paying more attention to names than I usually do, I recognize everyone in the list of Korval’s allies and friends. Justus is the clan of Ken Rik, Guayar is the clan of Clonak, Ixin is the clan of Jethri and of Aelliana’s prize student Rema, Reptor is the clan of Aelliana’s space pirates, and Mizel is the clan that produced Aelliana herself. (The fact that it’s counted now among Korval’s friends is a pretty clear sign that Aelliana’s mother is no longer delm.)

The date issue is compounding itself: if the chapter heading was wrong about it being Day 53 when Anthora was told to present herself to the Council the next day, this chapter must also be wrong about it being Day 54 when she presents herself to the Council. But I still think that’s more straightforward than the alternative.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 49

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Master’s Tower, Theopholis
Witch’s Hour

In which Balance is achieved.

Not the usual sort of settling of accounts one might expect at the end of an adventure story, but one which suits Priscilla’s character, and also helps demonstrate that “Balance” is not necessarily the same thing as “revenge”.

On which note, Delm Plemia clearly expects Korval and Priscilla to demand more in balance of Sav Rid’s follies than they actually do. It speaks to his melant’i that he doesn’t try to argue his way out of anything; he’s seen the evidence and he knows it’s a fair cop.

Conflict of Honors – Chapter 6

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Shipyear 65
Tripday 130
Fourth Shift
18.00 hours

In which Priscilla meets Shan yos’Galan.

Contrary to what I said last week, this must be where I first learned about Liadens and faces. It must be. Conflict of Honors was the first Liaden story I ever read, and certainly Gordy’s recital is the most detailed and explicit statement of the case to be found anywhere in the series. I don’t remember it, though. There is a difference, perhaps, between being told about a thing in the abstract and coming to comprehend it through being shown examples of it in action.

The dateline on this chapter is not consistent with a 28-hour day divided into four 7-hour shifts, in which 18.00 hours would be deep in Third Shift. It would, on the other hand, fit a 24-hour day divided into four shifts.

Trade Secret – Chapter 11

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Wynhael, Sater System, Orbit

In which Bar Jan chel’Gaibin wishes to take command of his own affairs.

Bar Jan chel’Gaibin is showing as a rather ambitious young man; more ambitious, I think, than is quite wise. I think it may be within his power to gain the Delm’s ring as he plans, but I remain unconvinced he has it in him to hold it and use it well. It’s clear that he, unlike Jethri, has never been taught that an effective trader needs to have some understanding of people and things outside his own particular sphere. (Not that he seems much interested in being an effective trader, either, but it would have been a useful lesson for a Delm-to-be, as well.)

We are introduced to a new member of the conspiracy, Rand yos’Belin, who presents as a courier, but has rather more influence over the making of plans than that might suggest. Bar Jan notices the amount of influence she has with his mother, but seems less aware of her influence on himself; by the end of the chapter, she’s got rather more from him than he apparently has from her.

Courier yos’Belin is a former Scout, flying a top-of-the-line ship such as a Scout Pilot might be expected to fly (but an ex-Scout might, perhaps, not). She speaks of a determination to preserve Liad’s natural supremacy over the Terrans. I find myself wondering if perhaps she’s an agent of that “internal agency” of which we’ve lately heard.

The Terran plan of which she speaks seems likely to be connected with the politics Paitor has been discussing with Khat. The proposition that its progress has been kept off the record by a secret cabal doesn’t ring true to me; I suspect, given what Paitor said, that it just never got off the ground. The question is, does yos’Belin (or whoever’s behind yos’Belin) actually believe in the secret cabal, or is it just a convenient hook to pull in conspirators with?

On a side note, it’s interesting that the former employer of Wynhael‘s captain was Ixin, of all clans, considering how things stand between Ixin and Rinork. Just coincidence, or has Rinork been actively poaching Ixin’s employees when it sees profit in doing so?

And now Bar Jan is looking toward Franticle. Who else do we know who was headed in that direction…?