Bechimo
In which there is a free and frank exchange of views.
In all the excitement, I don’t think anyone got around to reading the emergency pinbeam message. It should be okay, though; most likely it was just a heads-up about the thing that happens at the end of the chapter, which went okay anyhow.
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Bechimo
Minot Station
In which Win Ton considers the future.
I wonder at the passing mention of “a local intrigue having to do with a weather prediction”. Again, it might be just a detail thrown in to add richness to the scene, but I find that I wouldn’t mind learning what that was about.
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Bechimo
Aubernet System
In which Bechimo arrives in a new place.
Lots of technical details in this chapter, which is impresive but not the kind of thing I personally find most entertaining to read or talk about.
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Bechimo
In which the ambassador greets Grakow and his attendants.
Between Hevelin petitioning for Tree Junior to be included in crew meetings, and the seed pod it gave Theo a little while back, I’m beginning to suspect that when they do eventually hand over Spiral Dance to Korval, Tree Junior is not planning to go with. That makes sense, come to think of it; unlike its parent, who’s had centuries to get used to being in one place, this tree still has fresh memories of travelling around having adventures with Jela and Cantra, and might want to stick with Theo and have more adventures.
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Bechimo
Wyrd Space
In which Bechimo‘s crew find a solution to a problem.
In the first proper chapter, we return to the crew of Bechimo, who are still where we left them, in the wyrd space with the mysteriously-appeared ship Spiral Dance.
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Dutiful Passage
Andiree Approach
In which there may be trouble ahead.
We get quite a few new names in this chapter. There are the characters who have not been specifically referenced before, such as the crew of Pale Wing, and also characters who have been mentioned before but not named, such as Dutiful Passage‘s third mate and the woman whose actions resulted in Hazenthull being brought along by Tocohl and Tolly.
Tocohl has a bit of a new name, too: this is the first time her surname has been mentioned. I wonder if it signifies anything, the way her forename does. (I wonder if it’s actually her surname, or just part of her cover?)
The third mate has the surname Tiazan, which is, as Padi recently reminded us, the name of Miri’s Liaden relatives. I did briefly entertain the amusing notion that Miri had for some reason joined the crew for this voyage, incognito, and that Shan’s comment about the third mate being “a bit stiff in the honor” was a joke. But of course we know that Miri is still back on Surebleak.
Dutiful Passage
In which Padi tends to the growth of the garden and Shan tends to the growth of his heir.
That’s an interesting word choice by Padi in response to the suggestion that she might have Healer abilities coming on. Not that she hasn’t seen any evidence of it (and I notice she doesn’t say that she hasn’t), but that she’s determined not to be a Healer — as if determination has ever made any difference in the matter. I wonder why she’s so firm on the subject. It surely can’t be that she thinks being a Healer would prevent her becoming a Trader, since her own father is proof that a person can be both.
Possibly there’s a clue to be had by considering Shan’s timing in raising the matter: He does it as an apparent tangent off the discussion about Padi’s motivation in her self-defence training, which suggests that he sees some connection. Perhaps he’s thinking that a Healer might be reluctant to harm others and that this could lead to overcompensation.
The interlude with the Uncle places the timing of this story with some precision, within the timespan of Dragon in Exile, and raises the prospect of the Uncle and Dulsey playing a larger part in this novel. And perhaps their two guests as well?
Jemiatha’s Jumble Stop
In which the Galactic Trade Commission makes Theo an offer she can’t not refuse.
Something funny here: the outfit that gave Theo trouble in Ghost Ship was the Federated Trade Commission, not the Galactic Trade Commission. Maybe its name comes out differently in Trade than in Terran? Anyway, Theo says it’s the same group, and she’d presumably know. If it is the same, then it’s beginning to look like it has some kind of ongoing connection with the Department of the Interior, and Tokeoport wasn’t just a one-off case of a Department agent taking their name in vain.
Is this the first time B. Joyita has allowed anyone to see him stand up?
Jemiatha’s Jumble Stop
In which Theo goes shopping and Kamele has an adventure.
The people watching Kamele are presumably agents of the Department of the Interior – apart from it being the most obvious conclusion in context, the peculiarly inflexible face is an established signifier – and they’re doing the invisible-in-plain sight thing that Daav did and Theo picked up from him. I had thought it was a Scout thing, then the people at Chaliceworks made a big deal about it and I thought maybe it was something rare that Daav had picked up on his travels, but this inclines me back toward it being a Scout thing. Unless it is something rare that the Department have also picked up in their travels, they having a habit of picking up things they’re not entitled to.
If it is the Department, then it’s probably not the case that they’re simply after the reward being offered for Theo’s apprehension; more likely they intend to apprehend Theo for themselves, which will be rewarding in its own way. The reward does, however, give Kamele a reason to comprehend her own significance in respect to Theo – and us the readers a reason to start wondering who else might be tempted by the reward.
Hoselteen
In which Kamele receives news of her daughter.
I like that the news of Theo’s activities comes from news sources that show a range of degrees of reliability and accuracy, where a writer less committed to worldbuilding might have just had one. (I particularly appreciate the detail of the biased summary on the Eylot situation saying “Eylot threatened with interdiction; vessel destroyed”, which makes it sound like somebody threatened Eylot for no reason and then destroyed a ship, instead of Eylot destroying a ship and being threatened with consequences.)
Joyita has acquired a fourth ring since last time they were mentioned, which was at Velaskiz Rotundo, just before Kara signed on as crew – and putting that way makes me wonder if that’s the key. Perhaps the fourth ring represents Kara, and the original two represent Theo and Clarence… or Theo and Win Ton, the holders of the first two ship keys, and the third was added at the point when Bechimo accepted Clarence as a crew member and not just a temporary nuisance. (It appears, I think, at about the same point that Bechimo stops objecting to being addressed as “Chimmy”.)