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V Dietz

Veronica

Mona went through all of the present workgroups, and again and again, all through the studies, it appeared Whatever discoveries Xi-Tamyan made in their facilities on Auberon, Veronica Dietz was contractually entitled to a cut Each one was sh to make her fantastically wealthy People had been murdered for much less money than her liaison made in a month And that was before her salary

Mona went through again, this ti for the justification for the payments Some service that Veronica did for the researchers thatapart fro to ot a slice

When her system chimed, she flinched Veronica’s voice came from the speaker, as friendly and casual as ever It was only the intensity hich Mona listened that made it seem fake as a carnival mask

“Hey, Dr Rittenaur I’et you anything?”

The steadiness of Mona’s voice surprised her She would have thought that soer But she only said, “No, I’m fine,” and let the connection drop

Biryar had only ever been to two executions The first time, he had been a child, and Laconia had still been more wilderness than civilization One of the soldiers who had co Maybe even intoxicated, it was hard to reinal scientific expedition had been struck and killed Duarte himself had overseen the punishment, and attendance at the death had been mandatory

Before they killed the man, Duarte had explained that discipline was critical for thele systeration to draw frou one seemed wasteful

Later he understood that the preciousness hat made the sacrifice profound The soldier had died quickly, and while it didn’t undo the man’s crime, it showed the members of the civilian scientific expedition that Duarte and his followers valued their lives and the lives of their children If the driver had lived, bringing the two populations together would have been difficult or impossible

The second ti construction worker in the capital who used the wrong proportions when s No one had died, but the error, if it hadn’t been found, could have led to hundreds of deaths when the structure collapsed Duarte had held a cereain mandatory—so that everyone could understand the severity of the proble sent to the Pens Biryar hadn’t watched her die, but he still rey to the community

Laconia had always been the few and the pure against the many and the corrupt Like the Spartans from whoroup, both to forge the iron discipline that had led them to victory and to demonstrate to others the sincerity of their beliefs

It was hard, but it was necessary

Now the Laconians present in the courtyard stood at attention, representing the e resolve Biryar had his place of honor at the front of the assembly

“I apologize,” the prisoner said, “for the sha I have done to h Consul”