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Asad, welding his polite and appreciative mask back into place. He made a point of double-checking the video feed on his com badge in a way that caused a few others to follow suit.
    Thadius once more proffered his arm to Orli, and reluctantly she took it again. She saw from the look on Altin’s face that he did not approve this time. She didn’t want to upset him, or to distract him from his duties giving the tour, but she also thought it was still a good diplomatic exercise to be polite to the dignitaries from Kurr. She might have lost any official claim to ambassador status, but she still knew that her actions had consequences, particularly on an outing such as this. She promised herself she would make it up to Altin later tonight, when they would finally be alone. It was a promise she conveyed to him with a wink and a little airborne kiss as she slipped out the door.
    Altin smiled wanly back at that as he watched her pass into the hallway. He followed Roberto out, stopping long enough to close the door behind him in keeping with public teleportation rules.
    “Don’t sweat it, bro,” Roberto said, lingering while Altin locked the door. He’d noticed Altin’s discomfiture regarding Orli and Thadius. “She never talks about anyone but you.”
    Altin nodded. “I’m not worried about her,” he said. “It’s him I don’t trust.”
    Roberto nodded back. “He’s a big fancy bastard, I’ll give him that. But Orli can handle herself.”
    Altin let himself laugh, but kept it low enough that only he and Roberto heard. He clapped Roberto on the shoulder, and the two of them trotted forward to catch up with the group. When they did, Captain Asad was just asking Aderbury about access to Citadel .
    “So,” said the captain as they navigated what seemed a maze of corridors, “am I to understand that the only way in or out of Citadel is by that means back there?”
    “Correct,” answered the burly mage. “What better way to keep an enemy out than providing it no way in, eh? I’d love to see one of those Hostiles try to poke its pointy nose through that much enchanted armor as easily as that one did to the shield on Altin’s tower, and, as I understand it, as one did to your ship’s shielding as well, Captain.” He was clearly proud of the accomplishment, which was why the captain’s next remark caught him off guard.
    “So, you’ve essentially made it impervious to … as you call them, blanks.” He used the Prosperion pejorative for people without magic intentionally, then paused briefly for effect before adding, “Like us.”
    Aderbury’s mouth opened, and for a moment he looked as if he were about to speak, but he stopped and only a single note of sound escaped. Eyes wide, he snapped his mouth shut and glanced sideways to the Queen.
    “Yes, Captain,” she said as she continued to walk down the corridor, not bothering to look back. “We’ve made it so that we are the only ones who have access to our ships. I’m sure your ships don’t have an open-gate policy either.”
    “It seems your man Altin thinks we do.”
    The Queen, consummate diplomat that she was, kept her face forward, still walking to conceal the irritation that had settled there. In Altin’s explanation of his first contact with the Earth people a year and a half ago, he made it very clear he’d done everything possible to get permission to go aboard the first Earth ship he’d ever seen. He’d tried to communicate, realized his efforts weren’t working and, in the end, decided to take the chance and just teleport straight to the bridge. While that made perfect sense to her, she could understand how Captain Asad had interpreted Altin’s actions as a violation of etiquette and even as an act of aggression. Frankly, in the same situation she might have shot Altin too, just as the captain had.
    “Yes, Captain,” she said when her expression could be called passive again. This time she stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to