Even so, Ariel was surprised to see so much business being done. Perhaps the entire mission was shutting down. She had heard nothing that would have suggested so drastic a move, but then she had been kept out of most embassy affairs.
Sen Setaris looked up from a flatscreen on her desk when Ariel entered. She appeared as elegant and austere as ever: thick, silvered hair forming wings around her narrow head, eyes large and brilliant green, and the ideal set of lines on her otherwise smooth face to give the impression of experience and intelligence without pointing up age. On Earth she was an anomaly in that regard, as were most senior Spacers: Terrans lived relatively short lives, aging quickly until death at around a hundred, while Spacers tended to live to two or three centuries. Ariel did not know Setaris's exact age, but it was well on toward two hundred.
She wondered if Setaris slept anymore.
"Ariel," Setaris said, smiling thinly. "How good of you to be so prompt. Sit down, I'll only be another minute or two. "
Ariel suppressed a sarcastic smile and sat on the long sofa to the left of Setaris's desk rather than in one of the visitor's chairs. If Setaris noticed the small breach of protocol she gave no indication. She continued working on the flatscreen, touching it from time to time, until finally she picked up a stylus and dashed her signature on the screen. She shut the datum down and turned toward Ariel.
"What do you know about Nova Levis?" she asked.
Ariel raised her eyebrows. "Only what I've seen on subetheric. It's a Settler colony that's been blockaded. They refused inspections for pirate bases or something. "
"That's essentially correct, though, of course, there's much more to it. Earth has requested Spacer cooperation. Ships have been provided to patrol the perimeter of the system, but they want more. They want an intervention. "
"You mean an invasion."
"Exactly. It's out of the question, of course, but we haven't said no yet. They're offering us a chance to recoup our losses diplomatically. If we could give them something to mollify their paranoia we might actually recover ground from…" Setaris let the sentence drift off, her eyebrows raised suggestively.
"What do we have to do with Nova Levis?" Ariel asked.
"Nothing directly. But it has been a transfer point for a good deal of black market trade. That's what started the Terrans on this ill-advised military operation. Solaria is still providing a limited amount of access, though, and Earth has accused the Fifty Worlds of acting in collusion to thwart their legal mandate to investigate and control piracy. "
"Do they actually have such a mandate?"
"They have ships around Nova levis. The finer points of law are so much wind under the circumstances. It's in our interest, however, to be seen as supporting legality in this case. And because Solaria has elected to ignore requests to cease any and all transport to Nova levis, it falls to us to represent Spacer adherence to law."
"And in return, Earth gives us what?"
"We gain credibility," Setaris replied.
The true currency of diplomacy, Ariel heard her finish. She wondered if the Solarians believed that. She was not sure she believed it herself, but certainly her own credibility was no longer bankable.
"Why would Solaria be so…uncooperative?" she asked.
Setaris grunted. "Do they need a reason? But seriously, we don't really know. I've asked Chassik and he keeps promising to look into it."
"Is Nova levis hosting pirates?" Ariel asked.
Setaris frowned thoughtfully. "Probably. I'm afraid they may be involved in something worse. But that's speculation. Whatever they're doing, it seems they think it necessary to hide it. "
Ariel waited. When Setaris remained silent, she asked, "What does this have to do with me?"
"Two things. ITE has suggested to us-without providing much proof-" she gave Ariel a dubious look as if to say as usual, then continued "-that Spacer businesses here are connected to the illicit shipments going to Nova Levis. It seems that-they suggest-baley-running and contraband travel the same routes and that we are colluding in all this."
"That's ridiculous."
"I agree, but can you say for certain? Do you know what our people are doing these days?"
Ariel stiffened, fully aware of the implied criticism. She had been lapse, she had let things slide. She could not remember the last inspection she had administered through the Auroran manufactories on Earth. She found the idea that Aurorans would be tangled up in running baleys as well as contraband ludicrous…but she could not make a case based on current knowledge.
And of course it was her responsibility. She was still Trade and Business liaison…"
"And the other thing?" she asked.
"You had a visitor yesterday. Coren Lanra, security chief for DyNan Manual Industries."
Ariel managed to keep both surprise and disgust from her voice when she answered. "Yes, I did."
"May I ask what he wanted?"
Don't you already know? "He wanted my help. He has a problem with a robot."
Setaris pursed her lips.
"You're not surprised?" Ariel asked.
"Did you know that the daughter of Rega Looms is a baley runner?" Setaris asked instead. "She's been operating a successful underground emigration avenue for nearly five years." She nodded at Ariel's silence. "I just learned this myself recently. I was quite surprised. "
"Did you know that she's now dead as a result?" Ariel asked.
Setaris frowned at that. "This…robot problem-"
"Relates to her death. "
"Interesting. Did you agree to help him?"
"No, of course not."
"Why not?"
"Under the circumstances, I thought minimizing our involvement in what seems to me a Terran police matter would be the best course. Was I mistaken?"
Setaris folded her hands on the desk and seemed to study them. "Not entirely, no." She drew a sharp breath and looked up. "But…there are certain limitations official status imparts which can be very frustrating. All circumstances have boundaries. Mine may be more constraining than yours in some cases."
Ariel frowned. "Are you suggesting that I help Mr. Lanra?"
"The Terrans are very concerned with their baley problem. A growing fraction of them seem to be heading for Nova Levis. The place has acquired a certain status since the embargo, a faux romantic patina making it seem more attractive than other…less notorious colonies. It may be also that Nova Levis has the facilities for trans-shipping them to other colonies more efficiently than trying to get direct routes from here. That's one of the suggestions I've heard. "
"You sound dubious. "
"Most baleys get to where they want to go without a terrible amount of trouble-there are plenty of freelance pilots with ships for hire to take them. And, frankly, I'm not convinced Terran authorities really want to stop them. But Nova Levis is different. It requires blockade runners. This is a problem on an order of magnitude higher than simple illegal emigration. "
"You think Solaria is involved in getting them past the blockade."
"It's one of those certainties one can't prove without creating an incident. It might be possible to prove it from this end with less incident."
"And you've been asked-unofficially-by Earth to see if you can do something about it."
Setaris almost smiled. "You know, you're very sharp, Ariel. I've always admired that about you…even when you're suffering the effects of alcohol poisoning. Imagine what you can do with a clear head and a purpose."
The sarcasm sank through Ariel like a wave of muggy heat. Ariel felt herself start to bristle, but checked it before she said something impolitic.
"I'm not entirely clear how rendering assistance to Mr. Lanra would help us with any of this," she said instead.
Setaris frowned. "Now you're being obtuse. Nyom Looms and Coren Lanra had a relationship once. We don't know why it ended or if it did. In either case, it seems logical that if she's running baleys then her father-or someone in her father's organization-is helping her."