Nava nodded. What she said was, ‘Your planet’s name means “accommodation?”’
‘Harbour. It’s one of those words that can mean several things. I don’t necessarily think “harbour” is better than “accommodation.” Anyway, we’re the House clan.’
‘Yes. You make a valid point. What does Garavain mean?’
‘It’s a corruption of Garavan,’ Courtney replied. ‘I think that’s French. Or Italian. I think there was a long, twisting path to get there, but the really early history of the clan isn’t something I was taught.’
‘And it’s at times like this that I’m happy I don’t have a clan name,’ Nava said.
‘Well, I’m not going to say I don’t envy you that sometimes. Being clanless isn’t exactly ideal in the Clan Worlds, but my life would be less complicated if I wasn’t in a clan.’
‘The grass is always greener,’ Kyle said.
‘The grass on my side is yellow, patchy, and it can’t afford the rent,’ Nava said. ‘So you must have really bad grass.’
~~~
‘I could get used to this,’ Kyle said on a sigh.
They were back in the sauna. Nava, Mitsuko, Melissa, and Rochester had assumed the same positions as the last two nights. Kyle and Courtney were sitting beside each other in between the other couples. Rochester had more reason to keep his eyes shut, but he did seem to be getting over it to some extent. Maybe it was because Kyle had a towel in his lap too; if someone as confident as Kyle needed to ‘conceal his feeling’ on the situation, then maybe Rochester was feeling less of a fool.
‘You’re just saying that because you’re surrounded by naked, sweaty women,’ Courtney said.
‘There is a degree of truth in that assertion. Damn, Chess, you’ve had two days of this already and you’re still functioning normally?’
‘No one has ever accused me of being normal before,’ Rochester replied. ‘I find this uncommonly relaxing. I wouldn’t have believed it myself without being here and the first night was embarrassing, but…’
‘After a day of nonstop computer work,’ Melissa said, ‘this is a great way to unwind.’ There was a short pause and then she added, ‘Oh, I got the name of the ASF person on the panel.’
‘Oh?’ Nava asked. ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s a First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton.’
‘She’s the one who came to arrest Tracey Spears Cook,’ Courtney said.
‘Oh. Well, according to the information I have, she’s some sort of liaison officer. Do you know her, Nava?’
‘We’ve met,’ Nava replied. ‘I believe she handles a number of liaison operations within the ASF and externally.’
‘What’s she like?’ Mitsuko asked.
‘Seemed like a nice enough person to me,’ Courtney said.
‘She’s not the most formal of officers,’ Nava said. ‘Fairly young. About my height. Pretty. Fit. Competent.’
‘Stacked,’ Courtney added.
‘That too. She’ll be pro-sorcery, though she’s not a sorceress. She was a marine before they promoted her, but she doesn’t seem to share their general dislike of support magicians.’
‘Okay,’ Mitsuko said, ‘not one to worry about.’
‘No, she’s not someone we need to worry over,’ Nava said. Sometimes, keeping secrets was harder than it needed to be.
235/8/8.
Mitsuko’s ketcom trilled and she checked the screen. ‘Oh,’ she said.
‘Something up?’ Nava asked. Having pretty much finished her work on the panel members, she was, along with Kyle, doing odd jobs. Fetching coffee was one of the major ones, but there were other small tasks to be handled too.
‘First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton is in the lobby, requesting to see us.’
‘I see.’ Nava kept her face as straight as always, but she was wondering what the woman was up to coming to see them like this. Sometimes, secrets were really hard to keep, it seemed.
‘Since you know her, would you go meet her at the elevator? I’ll inform the concierge to pass her through.’
‘Of course.’
Standing in the reception room and waiting for the elevator to arrive, Nava went through various iterations of why the lieutenant might be visiting. She was having a degree of difficulty coming up with anything especially positive. Speculation was not particularly useful, but she could not help herself. Still, she cut off that line of thought when the indicator above the door hit eighteen.
The doors opened, and Nava took a fraction of a second to determine that Fawn was in her standard uniform and that she was alone. ‘Good morning, First Lieutenant,’ Nava said.
Fawn winced before stepping out of the car. ‘How did you manage to get such a firm reprimand into a greeting?’
‘I wasn’t aware that I had. Perhaps you have a guilty conscience. Might I ask the reason for your visit?’
‘I’m an educational liaison officer.’
‘Among other things.’
‘Among other things, I’m an educational liaison officer and I’m here because Mitsuko Trenton is appearing on the same panel as I am at the symposium. Incidentally, I’m checking up on one of my students under the ASF’s grant programme.’
‘I was under the impression that our relationship was confidential.’
‘Confidential, yes. Secret, no. It’s perfectly reasonable for me to occasionally check in with you and everyone here is a friend of yours, correct? You don’t think they can be trusted with a relatively mundane “secret?”’ Fawn added air quotes and a grin.
Nava gave a small shrug. ‘I think they can be trusted with all of it, but it’s not my call. Very well.’ Turning, Nava led the way through the apartment to the meeting room. She checked that Fawn was through the door with her before saying, ‘Let me introduce First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton. I’m informed that I can also introduce her as the liaison officer assigned to me by the ASF under their grant programme.’
‘Uh, we did
