"You have a call, Derec," Thales said. "Ambassador Ariel Burgess. "
Derec considered telling Thales to say he was out. Instead, he went to the comm and pressed his thumb on the ACCEPT. "Hello."
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Derec, but are you busy right now?" Ariel asked crisply.
The visual was off, so Derec allowed himself a wry smile. "Nothing pressing."
"Would you come up to my office? I need-I'd appreciate your opinion on something."
"'Something.' For instance?"
There was a pause. "Please."
Derec blinked. Please…? "I'll be right there."
"Thank you. "
The connection broke and Derec stared at the comm, baffled.
"Thales, I'll be in Ambassador Burgess's offices for a while," he said, moving to the door. "In case anything comes up."
"Very well, Derec." Ariel's offices consisted of four large chambers in the main diplomatic quarter of the Auroran Embassy. The lone robot at the reception desk magnified the impression of emptiness: Only one robot, out of a staff of four robots and eleven people a year before.
"Ambassador Burgess is expecting you, sir," the robot said as he entered. "Go right through."
"Thank you. "
Derec pushed open the door to Ariel's personal office.
He hesitated. Hofton stood behind and to the left of Ariel's chair, hands folded appropriately before him, posture straight and attentive, looking as if he had not been absent for most of the last year, transferred to another office. He inclined his nearly hairless head in greeting but otherwise said nothing, face professionally expressionless.
A man sat in one of Ariel's highback visitor's chairs. He stood as the door closed behind Derec. Tall, wide-shouldered, with short, gray-flecked hair, dark eyes set deep below pale eyebrows, and a too-straight nose that hinted at cosmetic retouch, he looked familiar to Derec.
"Mr. Lanra," Ariel said, "this is Derec Avery, special attachй to my department. "
Derec gave her a sharp look.
"Derec, " she continued smoothly, "this is Coren Lanra, head of security for DyNan Manual Industries."
Derec gripped Lanra's hand. "I've heard of you, of course. Mia Daventri said you helped her out during the Managin…situation last year."
"Indeed, " Lanra said. "And you 're the head of Phylaxis Group. "
"Once upon a time."
Lanra frowned.
"I've asked Mr. Avery," Ariel said, "to sit in as an impartial witness. He's attached to my office but he doesn't work for me, unlike Hofton."
Lanra sat down. "I'd hoped to confine this meeting to just you and I, Ambassador Burgess. "
"Humor me, Mr. Lanra. The past year has made me wary of private meetings."
Lanra almost smiled at that. "Very well. I have a problem which may interest you. I'd like to enlist your expertise."
"In what capacity?"
Derec moved to the other visitor's chair and sat down. Lanra seemed to be deliberating, lips pursed, hands pressed together meditatively.
"You must understand," he said slowly, "that this has nothing to do with DyNan. This is a private matter concerning Rega Looms and myself."
"If you say so," Ariel said dryly.
Lanra sighed wearily. "Rega Looms' daughter was found dead less than twenty-four hours ago on Kopernik Station. She was involved in running baleys and was apparently accompanying a group of them. All fifty-two are dead."
Ariel winced. "I'm terribly sorry. But how-"
"She had a robot in her possession."
Derec sat forward, startled. Hofton moved his hands behind his back, which made him seem even more attentive. Ariel stared at Lanra, openly amazed.
After a long silence, Ariel cleared her throat. "This hasn't been on the newsnets."
"Not yet," Lanra said. "I hope to keep it that way for a few days. Longer if possible, but sooner or later someone is going to make some connections, find a source-something."
"That's…unique, Mr. Lanra…"
Lanra said nothing.
"The daughter of Rega Looms," Derec said, as much to break the silence as to confirm what he had heard, "had a robot."
"Yes, Mr. Avery."
"Her own?"
"I presume so."
"And where is it now?"
"On Kopernik, under security lock."
"Forgive me," Ariel said, "but I still don't see how this concerns us."
Derec frowned at her. "This robot, it was collapsed?"
"Uh…yes, " Lanra said. "Frozen up, unresponsive. But there's activity-at least, there's current still running through it. I don't know enough about them to know if that means anything."
"Well-" Derec began.
"I repeat," Ariel interrupted, "I still don't see how this concerns us."
Lanra shifted uncomfortably. "Forgive me, but it was my understanding that you are the liaison from the Calvin Institute here on Earth."
Ariel pursed her lips, inclining her head as if to say And…?
"This is a robotics issue," Lanra said. "Your field. Positronics." His expression darkened. "I don't know anyone else here. If there are other specialists, I'm not aware of any-at least, none I can get access to."
"And none you'd want to confide this to in any case," Ariel said. "I suppose you want us to try to recover its memories, if possible. "
"Something like that."
Ariel laughed sharply. "How much do you know about our situation, Mr. Lanra? Mia surely told you something about our current problems. I can't believe you'd come here like this without having done a little background work."
Lanra straightened in his chair and the hint of a smile tugged at his lips. "I know that you aren't held in very high esteem by your own people. Last year's events with Senator Eliton-"
"Ex-Senator Eliton," Ariel said crossly.
"-didn't come out in your favor, as perhaps they should have."
"That's generous of you, Mr. Lanra," Derec said. "
Generous? No, Mr. Avery, merely fair. Ex-Senator Eliton's duplicity cost us all a gram or two of flesh. We were both under scrutiny for things Eliton engineered."
Faking his own death to discredit positronics, Spacer diplomacy, ruin a long-overdue reconciliation with Earth, Derec thought bitterly, and wrecking my own ambitions as a side-effect…yes, that was an expensive experience.
"Involving ourselves in Terran affairs," Ariel said slowly, "cost us perhaps a bit more than you know."
"I may be able to help you defray some of those costs."
Ariel shook her head. "Based on the chance that Rega Looms will be elected to the Terran Senate? You have to know how ironic that would be to us." She stood. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lanra, but I don't really think there's anything we can do to help you."
"You haven't heard everything yet, " Lanra said, rising.
"I'm not interested."
"Then why did you agree to see me?"
"Simple courtesy, Mr. Lanra. You were helpful to us last year. I'm sorry we can't return the favor, but the situation is too complicated just now. If you'll excuse me."
"But-"
Derec watched Ariel end the interview with a firm shake of her head. She glanced at him, then left the office, leaving Lanra staring after her.
The door closed and Lanra sighed heavily. He looked at Derec. "I don't suppose you can do anything?"
"Like what? Talk her into something that I agree is a bad idea?"
"I thought you'd be interested in the problem. I thought you might welcome a chance to-"
Derec shook his head.
"You're not interested?"
Derec laughed. "Of course I'm interested. That's beside the point."
"You're a private citizen, Mr. Avery. Would you consider taking the job as a consultant? I imagine Ambassador Burgess could order you to stay here, but would she if you took this up of your own choice?"
Lanra's eyes danced knowingly, as if he knew something about Derec no one else did. Under other circumstances, Derec decided, Coren Lanra might be an interesting man to know.
"We misjudged you, " Derec said. "You knew exactly what our problems were before you came in here, didn't you? I'm not exactly a private citizen, not in any way that gives me the freedom of movement to do what you ask. Aurora's entire policy is one of wait and see, don't move, stay still and maybe the situation will change. So even if Ariel might want to help you, it's doubtful Ambassador Setaris would allow it. But you knew all this. Why pretend otherwise?"