Bechimo
In which the pathfinders seek context.
I have a feeling Clarence’s tale-spinning may be intending to convey information beyond the obvious, and perhaps a warning about the inadvisability of getting on the wrong side of Theo and her crew. In which case I don’t think the warning has been heard, or perhaps it’s been heard but laid aside as insignificant in the face of necessity.
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Bechimo
In which the Captain speaks to her guests.
I like how the Pathfinders remain cautious of Theo and the crew; it makes sense for their position, but an author might have fallen into the trap of forgetting that and letting them trust easily just because we know the crew to be trustworthy.
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Bechimo
In which Bechimo’s crew welcomes the survivors.
That’s a nice wielding of melant’i Kara does toward the end of the chapter, reinforcing her recommendation by giving it, with appropriate variations, from under several different hats.
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Seebrit Station Speakeasy
In which hospitality is extended.
So of course instead of proceeding to the explanation, the story cuts to a completely different scene.
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Beneath the Laughing Cat
In which preparations are made for docking.
I appreciate the discussion of the distinction between a “Pathfinder” and an “Explorer”.
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Repair Bug
In which the Pathfinders offer assistance.
…or the other thing could happen, which is that they think Theo is a pirate. Which I can see how that might seem like a reasonable consideration, from their point of view.
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Orbital Aid 370
In which Chernak and Stost arrive at their destination.
Well, that prediction was correct. It probably wasn’t a very difficult prediction, to be fair.
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Orbital Aid 370
In which Chernak and Stost are in space.
Well, now. This is interesting.
I thought for a moment our characters were Yxtrang, when it started mentioning the Troop, but no: the mention of the sheriekas makes it clear that this prologue goes all the way back to the last days of the old universe, and Chernak and Stost are the old kind, that were ancestors of the Yxtrang. And Pathfinders, which are presumably the forerunners of the Explorers.
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Langlastport
The Torridon Hotel
In which there is conversation after dinner.
I don’t know if it’s significant that Shan describes the Liaden tongue as “the language of home” when speaking to the jeweller, after all the reminders there have been that the children of Korval need to stop thinking of Liad as home. Probably it’s just that that’s a conventional phrase and the situation is not appropriate for a more precise description.
I also don’t know if it’s significant that we’re getting a reminder now of Master Moonel, who appeared in Local Custom. That was back when Shan was a small boy, and Moonel was already the most respected jeweller on Liad, so it is not a surprise to learn now that he has since died. (Shan mentions that his shop stands empty; I wonder if that’s a sign that it happened recently, or perhaps that he was so respected nobody wishes to try taking his place.)
Possibly it is the death that matters — it makes two scenes in a row where the subject of death has come up in proximity with Padi, which helps things remain ominous even as her conversation with her father seems to be going well.
Tarigan
Jemiatha’s Jumble Stop
Berth 12
In which an alliance of equals begins its work.
Tolly’s got a job on his hands, here. It will be easier to set Admiral Bunter straight once he’s in a proper installation where he can think properly and has more room for new ideas, but I suspect Tolly’s going to have to manage some straightening out before he can even get the Admiral to agree to the move. If I were the Admiral, I’d be suspicious about being moved into a new body, and worried about what might happen while I was in the middle of moving and not able to concentrate. Not to mention that what ships Inkirani might find to move him into presumably aren’t armed, or Bechimo would have stuck the Admiral into one of them in the first place, and the Admiral might object to being put in a body that makes it harder for him to carry out what he knows to be his job.
I wonder if it would be possible to do a partial move to begin with — say, perhaps just the bits that are crammed into extra and unsuitable computers like the commissary computer someone mentioned, so that he went from being split between thirteen comps on seven ships to being in eight comps on eight ships. That way he’d still have access to all the capabilities of his existing ships, but be less fractured, and have room to think in the new ship, so he could properly consider what he wanted to do next.
It strikes me that there’s a commonality of theme across the two halves of this chapter, speaking of being suspicious about being moved into a new body. Daav has been moved into a new body without being consulted first, and he’s suspicious of what might have been lost — or added — in the process.
(I keep thinking of the pilot who visited Tinsori Light, and who destroyed his ship and himself with it because he couldn’t trust either not to have had any nasty surprises installed in them, and hoping Daav’s situation is not going to come to a similar end.)