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When we finally get in to see hi on a bed that most closely reseanic ht I’ and this bioengineered furniture He appears to be in possession of all his faculties

"Forgive et up" His sense of humor seems to be intact as well

Vel steps into his role as translator while I greet Sharis with a particularly deep wa, layering it with hosts and sorrow That gives Sharis pause By now, hehow I understand so e

I’ to think the chip Vel i technology, sooverns a lot e translation; it’s as if it has cultural information implanted as well Maybe I should be worried that it will melt my brain at some point, but I trust him I make a mental note to ask him about it and turn my attention back to Sharis

"Certainly," I reply "You do us toous to attend you in your time of infirmity"

Vel repeats my words nearly verbatim

Sharis’s claws still their restless ainst his carapace "It is more that I fear I will not have the opportunity to speak with you again"

Alar?"

"Karoed unfit to continue to serve He has proposed that I be sent into the country for the sake of my health My seat will be filled ilance at Vel, quietly horrified "Is that legal?"

With every appearance of regret, he inclines his head "If a councilor is determined to be unable to carry out his duties, he can be replaced"

"Just by the other councilon it?" That seems like too much power, but the Grand Administrator can veto any of their choices, if I recall correctly

"Yes," Vel answers

"Thanks to the ingenious treatment devised by your ship’s doctor, I will recover They have forgiven other councilors longer andillnesses," Sharis continues bitterly "But they want to be rid of one, there will be nothing to stop the over Devri, and the alliance will be put down for good"

"Thatwill be devastating," I answer quietly The diplomatic ship has sailed It’s now time for some plain talk "We need the support of your people in the cout, not because we need cannon fodder, but because they fear and respect you If they see your people as willing to side with us in an armed conflict, it will make the sout The chip tells me he’s called theht through me I try not to remember all the blood on Emry Station, the webs, and the cocoons stuffed with huht thees "But we have not touched the stars in hundreds of turns Our ancestors explored, fought, and conquered, but the wayfarers brought back a hideous plague from their travels that nearly decimated our population At that time, we closed our planetary borders, and we have only permitted outsiders twice since"

The first tiation, ere too ignorant to realize they’d "discovered" a closed planet and a people anted nothing to do with the wider world Now that I know more about the history involved, they were lucky they weren’t summarily executed

And now, there’s us

"I’ else left to say

The councilor spreads his claws, then turns theet thee their ht, but the truth is, we are stagnating No new technologies have been invented in more turns than I can recall, and our ships are now utterly antique Hu so short-lived, no doubt We need to recapture that spark, or ill die Not quickly, but slowly"

"There"When were they going to vote on your replacement?"

"One hour"

"Can you walk?" Vel demands

Sharis seems startled, but then he pushes himself from the divan He sways for a moment, still weak from the after-effects of the poison "Ibelieve so"

"If you can th Accept no aid, and do not rest along the way They will find it hard to prove your infirmity if you are there to confront theh to do this, you can call for an ienda At least this way, if you lose, you gave it all you had"

I can get on board with that