Irene Seda, Lyon reflected, almost seemed to have a little bit of android in her, so far as her appearance went. She must have had several identical copies of the white-and-green outfit she wore like a uniform; the inefficiency of washing it daily would not have suited her personality and the idea of her not being immaculately turned out was basically unthinkable. Indeed, Lyon actually did know several androids who did change their appearance more than Irene, despite the expense of a carapace refit.

Idly, she wondered if there was something in that which helped explain why the hunter and the Principal's secretary and chief aide got along so well.

In any event, the blonde woman looked every bit as pressed, primped, and tidy at 875.9 beats as she did at 350 in the morning, despite putting in over four hundred fifty beats at the office.

Lyon didn't mention any of that. She knew her friend well enough to know that it was a matter of professional pride, not something praiseworthy but what she considered part of her duties as Colin Tyrell's right-hand woman.

"You make it easy to play hostess," Irene said, stepping back from the door to allow Lyon into her residence. "I never have to worry about offering you any refreshments."

The foyer and the main living area behind it, though, were not harsh or professional, but reflected a soft comfort. Cream, lemon yellow, and pale sky blue were the dominant colors, holo-panels on the walls displayed images of abstract art, and throw pillows were scattered in the corners of the sofa and soft chairs.

"Just don't invite my partner unless you want to get stuck in a bad joke about it not being a secretary's job to make coffee," Lyon said, and was rewarded with a small smile.

"I'll try to watch out for that. But come on in. From what you said on the link, this sounded like business rather than a friendly chat. Speaking of which, I am sorry I had to cancel our handball match last Thursday."

Lyon shrugged.

"Work happens. I've had to cancel on you often enough. And for pretty much the same reason. There can't be much difference between a rabid Booma attack and a Council session."

Irene made a face.

"The sad part is that I think you're right."

"Honestly, given the options, I'll take the Boomas. At least with them, they come after you in straight lines instead of circling around to your back, and if things get too out of hand, you can just go ahead and shoot them."

Irene laughed.

"I won't mention that to Principal Tyrell. It might be too tempting one of these days!"

"Especially since it would also help out with any problems Resource Distribution is having!" Lyon joked, but this time it fell flat, the grin wiping itself off Irene's face in an instant.

"Lyon, where did you hear about that?"

"Where did I hear about what?" Parsing her last sentence, she picked out the obvious probability. "Do you mean, Resource Distribution having problems?"

"Yes, that. Who told you?"

That was certainly a surprising question.

"No one. I was just using it as an example of something extra in the joke, that's all. I thought it was just common knowledge that there are issues."

Irene's eyebrows went up.

"Common knowledge?"

"Of course. Supplies of certain goods are growing scarcer, prices are going up. I think everyone takes it for granted that there are problems. I mean, Pioneer 2 was supposed to take us on a two-year trip to Ragol, but we've been here in orbit two and a half years beyond that. It's only logical that there would be problems sooner or later."

She reflected that she'd sounded an awful lot like Ryland there, perhaps illustrating the "come to resemble your long-term partner" theory.

Ryland-like or not, the explanation produced a deep sigh from Irene.

"I spend far too much of my time among the same circle of people, I think."

She walked over to the couch and settled on one corner, turning sideways. Lyon followed her and took the chair which best filled Irene's line of vision.

"It's funny when you stop to think about it. We government officers are scrambling around trying to keep a secret, work behind the scenes to solve a problem before it gets out, and it's so obvious that people already know all about it."

"You didn't realize that the news was out?"

She gave a rueful little chuckle.

"No, I didn't. Sad, isn't it? When you brought it up, I was sure that there had been a leak in our security. It only goes to show how insular my life can be, away from the everyday reality of the general population." She frowned then, her mouth pinched as if she had tasted something bitter. "I hope that this doesn't reflect the attitudes of the Administration as a whole."

"You mean, it's one thing for political factions to work towards differing goals that suit their individual needs, but something else entirely to be making their decisions out of ignorance."

"That…expresses it a bit bluntly, but yes."

Lyon shrugged.

"You know how it is better than I do. If it's any consolation, most people I know figure that the government is made up of political hacks who lie, steal, and cover things up for the sake of their own careers, instead of incompetent boobs who don't know any better."

For a moment, Lyon thought that Irene was going to be offended at that, but the blonde just gave up and laughed.

"Better to be corrupt and shortsighted than stupid, then?"

"At least if the problem is corruption, there's a chance they might get their act together and do the right thing if self-interest says so. If they're just stupid there's no hope at all."

"And if they're both corrupt and stupid?"

"Then I'd say we've got some problems."

"I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Lyon."

"I'd smirk, but that's too depressing a thought to smile over."

"They're just so short-sighted!" Irene exclaimed, her cool cracking at last. "It isn't even that they're politicians, but that they're always interested in the immediate benefit. So many of them would rather have a hundred meseta today than a thousand next week."

"I'll remember that if I ever need to bribe someone."

Her joke worked; Irene chuckled, breaking the flow of her building rant.

"But you didn't come by to hear me complain about the politics of Pioneer 2, though it's too bad you didn't, as it seems I could go on all night. What did you want to ask?"

Lyon folded her hands in her lap.

"It's to do with a job that Ryland and I were working on this morning."

"Oh? Did you need something by way of follow-up?"

"Well, yes and no. That is, we did our job, and it's over and done with, but we're concerned about the circumstances. A rival hunter was killed on Ragol."

"I'm sorry to hear it." She was being sincere about it, too, Lyon knew, not just giving the stock answer. Principal Tyrell would have agreed; Irene and her boss alike saw hunters fighting hunters as a tragic waste. The Guild represented Pioneer 2's best hope to them, people who could be heroes, and those with the strength to fight but weren't beholden to any particular political faction.

Knowing that, it made Lyon feel bad that she'd mentioned it.

"We're worried that it might be the beginning of something, more than just politics as usual."

"Is that actually possible? I mean, politics as usual is kind of a catchall term, right up to and including the disaster with Leo Grahart's mini-rebellion."

"You're turning into a very cynical woman, Irene."

"It's a hazard of the job, I think. But in all seriousness, what's bothering you?"

"On the job we just finished, the other hunter I mentioned, Selfas Kane, killed himself in order to prevent my team from retrieving certain target data. He took it with him to the bottom of the sea."

"I see. Can you tell me what it was about?"

"No, and without even getting near the ethical questions; I just don't know. In fact, that's what Ryland and I are trying to find out."

"Can you tell me whom you're working for, then?"

"No one."

Irene's eyebrows raised.

"I'm not sure I understand. You said that you were on a job when this Kane killed himself."

Lyon nodded.

"We were, but that's over now. We're acting strictly on our own, now, because what happened didn't make sense, at least not in the context of what we currently know, and it bothered us. Primarily, it bothered me. Ryland enjoys the mystery aspect of it, of course, but he's mostly participating out of friendship."

Simply speaking of the fact—that it had been important enough to mention to a third party outside the immediate context—triggered a fractional increase in the emotional impact of Ryland's act.

"I see, and you're telling me because the passion to sacrifice one's own life for the job, especially in a hunter, suggests a kind of passion that might mean serious trouble for Pioneer 2."

"And because being at the heart of the Administration, you would have as good an idea as any what factions or political interests might be building towards that kind of passion. There's a big difference, sometimes, in what can move people to act and what can't."

"True," Irene allowed, then turned away, not actually turning her back on Lyon but not facing her, either.

"What is it?" Obviously, she had thought of something, but just as obviously she was having trouble deciding what, exactly, to say.

"Lyon, do you remember how the Resource Distribution problems were general knowledge and that surprised me? Well, there's something else, something that I don't think is yet public knowledge, at least not outside the circles that are directly involved."

"What?"

"I'm trying to decide whether or not to tell you."

"Oh." She hadn't quite considered that possibility. She should have, since she knew full well that Irene was not only an Administration employee, subject to all of its rules concerning confidentiality, but owed her personal loyalty very strongly to Principal Tyrell over and above her job. She would not disclose confidential information to Lyon just out of friendship, not unless she believed there was good reason, and a nebulous, speculative terrorist threat was only good enough for paranoids.

Or for people who had a lot more information about what might actually be going on.

"And you can't tell me who your client was or what the nature of the data you were after was?" Irene verified.

"Can't in the literal sense of the word. Like I said, I just don't know."

Irene frowned. Lyon sympathized; obviously Irene wanted to help but felt herself bound by the regulations. And honestly, Lyon wasn't inclined to complain despite the inconveniences; it was nice that somebody in Pioneer 2's government was actually doing her job according to the rules.

"Ah!" Irene took out her PDL and started typing briskly. In a moment she put it back away and smiled—no, smirked was closer.

"You said that you're investigating this on your own, that you don't presently have a client?"

"That's right."

"Well, now you do. I just registered the quest with the Guild, with a specific request for your and Ryland's services."

"You're a genius."

Irene shrugged.

"It isn't the first time. Remember the White Day bombing last year?"

"Oh, good point. Well, you're still smart for remembering." Lyon took out her PDL and contacted the Hunter's Guild. Sure enough, the listing was there when she logged in. She quickly registered her acceptance of the job.

"One hundred meseta?" she couldn't help but tease Irene.

"A nominal fee seems appropriate for a job you're already doing for free, plus it's justifiable on our end for following up on a tip that's nothing more than speculation. Consider the terms: 'Investigate the suicide of Selfas Kane and determine if it implicates a threat to the security of Pioneer 2.' If there's a necessary follow-up, we can actually negotiate that later. Besides, it's not every day an informant pays you to give you information."

"Well, that's true enough. So, now that I'm officially working for the Administration to fight a possible terrorist threat, why don't you tell me what I might be potentially involved with?"

"Independence."

"For whom? And from what?"

"There have been serious discussions about Pioneer 2 breaking away from Coral."

Lyon wished for a moment that she had organic-model eyes, so that she could widen them and stare in shock.

"Wait, but…how…is it even possible?"

"We're two years away from Coral by FTL spaceflight. The only thing we exchange with people back home is talk. And all that seems to do is destabilize things more, inspiring factional strife that has nothing to do with our attempts to settle on Ragol. There are so many people here, seeking a new home, new hope for the future, and we're burdening them with political infighting that's not even from this planet!"

She made a sour face before she continued.

"Of course, not everyone making those arguments is as high-minded as they make it sound. After all, if Pioneer 2 becomes independent, it'll upset the political applecart here. Any person or group whose power base is centered around its links to Coral would find their influence drastically reduced, while those who have significant presence here would gain correspondingly. And then there are valid counterarguments as well. Aren't we supposed to be the leading edge of a colonization wave? There's at least a possibility of that happening in the future, though we still have a long way to go, especially with the ongoing Dark Falz problem. What happens if the next ship arrives—and if it contains a punitive military expedition? Do we have the right to threaten the long-term survival of our homeworld over political grievances, even if those grievances are serious and legitimate?"

Lyon shook her head, not in disagreement but to indicate confusion.

"It's all too much of a mess for me to sort out. I would have to assign values to the abstract concepts such as the right to liberty and the importance of loyalty, then have reliable data as to the probability of various outcomes and their consequences both in terms of abstract values and in more practical, tangible results. I'm literally returning an 'insufficient data to determine' result when I try to decide for myself if pursuing independence is or isn't a good idea."

"And that is why we need more androids, or for that matter any androids, in our political bodies."

"I'll tell you, though, you're completely right about one thing. The independence question is exactly the kind of matter that would lead to terrorism and violence. Those abstract concepts I mentioned are perfect examples of the kind of thing that you organics are inclined to put absolute values on. Slogans like 'liberty or death' or 'my country above all' are all too common in history."

"Yes, and those fanatics are prime fodder for politicians to give strength to their ambitions, the shock troops of a movement—right up until they end up driving the movement instead, and sweeping the tide of history ahead of it. Worse, there are two other problems pushing the independence question, issues that have forced it to the forefront of discussion. One we've already talked about, the resource situation."

"And the other?"

"The Ten-Nation Alliance on Coral is breaking up."

"What? But they're the backers of the Pioneer Project!"

"Exactly. And that leaves it as an open question just who or what is going to be the Coral government that we answer to. Dol Grisen is using this in a two-pronged attack to build support for independence behind the scenes: on the one hand, what help can we count on from a homeworld in chaos, and on the other hand, how much damage will we suffer getting caught up in schemes that have nothing to do with us but play out here?"

Lyon shook her head again.

"I can't believe it—and yet, when I compare the situation to historical data about the strife on Coral, it makes perfect sense."

Irene signed and bowed her head.

"I hate to admit it, but you are completely correct. Human history is full of violence. We seem to turn on each other at the slightest provocation, wreaking destruction upon each other, the very planet that we live on. Perhaps that is why we created Newmen and androids, so that we could trust our future to beings different than us, with better priorities."

"To improve the human race through technology where religion and philosophy have failed? I think I'll leave the existential questions up to Ryland, if you don't mind."

"I'm sorry to burden you with them. It's the frustration of the job, I think, that and seeing the same conflicts play out on the Council and between the Administration, military, and Lab. Sometimes it feels like all we're doing is just repeating the same old mistakes. They say that Dark Falz revives in a millennial cycle of destruction, and so often it seems like we're trying to imitate it."

Lyon made a mental note that she should never accept a political appointment should one come her way.

"I don't think it's that bad, Irene."

"Maybe not, but it's bad enough. There's good reason why I think it's worth following up your hunch about this Kane and sharing restricted information—which, by the way, you're not to spread. I understand that far too many people have their own sources and the rumor mill is what it is, but let's try not to make things any worse. We'd like to refrain from any official announcements until we've settled on a suitable response."

"Present the problem and the solution together, instead of as a separate incident, so as to prevent worry and trouble."

Irene nodded.

"Exactly, and at the same time build confidence in the government, to let people know that they were in safe hands, rather than being kept in suspense by the delay."

"I think the lack of an official announcement over the Ragol landing delay and the loss of Pioneer 1 sank that ship before it sailed," Lyon pointed out.

"The dissatisfaction with that among the people is one more reason for the factional strife," Irene admitted.

"Well, if what you say is true, and I don't doubt that it is, we're going to have a lot more going on here than factional strife. It could end up with all-out war in the streets if the government can't resolve things cleanly."

"I know. And there's all too many people out there who haven't made up their mind where they stand on any of the issues, or if they have they aren't telling. Foremost among them is Lab Chief Milarose."

Lyon felt her face tighten into a scowl in an automatic response to the emotion that had surfaced at the mention of the name. She'd done a job for the Lab once, the one where she'd met Ryland, in fact, where she'd been set up to "coincidentally" expose a secret military operation. Their subsequent encounters had been enough to convince Lyon that while Chief Milarose might not be the enemy, she was nonetheless a consummate schemer, twisted enough to meet herself halfway coming around corners, as it were.

"What about Principal Tyrell?"

"He favors a wait-and-see approach at this time. He was at least sympathetic to the independence movement, but isn't willing to commit without a better idea of what's going to happen on Coral and what it will mean for us. Not unlike what your own algorithms are returning, in fact."

"Well, I can't deny, then, that it sounds like good sense, except…are you sure that we're going to have that luxury?"

Irene's lips twisted into a half-smile, sardonic and a little sad.

"Well…isn't that the point of what you're going to find out for us?"