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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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 Kishara jit’Luso takes advantage of ambient conditions.
This is an oddity: a story retelling another existing story from another viewpoint. We’ve had stories that crossed paths before (“Quiet Knives” comes to mind), but usually that’s a case of two people on different paths that happen to intersect for a sentence or two. This is a special case, for reasons that are explained in the author’s note.
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Healspace
In which there is an exchange of gifts.
I don’t feel like I have anything new and insightful to say about the events of this chapter. And I don’t want to sit around hoping for an insight to show up, because I want to see what happens next.
Colemeno Port
Great Hall
In which it may be accounted misfortune to lose one kinsperson, but two looks like carelessness.
Betya seelyFaire’s account of her ancestor’s reasons for coming to the Redlands have a noticeable resonance with Dyoli’s reasons for doing likewise.
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Dutiful Passage
Rostermin Breakout
In which Shan yos’Galan reads his mail.
Shan’s statement about “our time in this space” implies that he thinks Lute can’t manifest on the ship while it’s in Jump. I can’t think of anything specific to give him that idea, and he may just be fishing, but on the other hand I don’t at the moment recall any specific event that contradicts it.
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Tarona Rusk
Daglyte Seam
In which Tarona Rusk has business elsewhere.
This chapter’s mostly filling in details that haven’t been mentioned in this book yet, without much in the way of new information.
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Volmer
In which yos’Galan makes connections.
I can’t remember the last book in which we had so many bows in so few chapters. The last few books have either been set on Surebleak or involved people being off having adventures among the Terrans, so there hasn’t been so much opportunity for Liadens interacting.
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Volmer
In which yos’Galan and Carresens begin an exchange.
The other thought I’d had about the people on the cover — in fact, the first thought I had on seeing it, and the only possibility I’d seriously entertained before Mar Tyn and Dyoli showed up — was that it was Padi accompanied by a new character we hadn’t met yet. I’d been becoming less confident about that possibility recently, as we got so far into the book without encountering any new character who fit the bill. I believe we have him now.
(I’ve commented before that I seem to have a tendency to ask questions and make guesses one chapter before the answer shows up. I consider that this says good things about how well paced the books are.)
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