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Venn was giving him a most peculiar stare. He shook his head, slowly, from
side to side.
Uh... A young quaddie patroller Miles had barely noticed enter during
Guppy's urgent soliloquy held out a small, glittering object to his chief. I
have the fast-
penta dose you ordered, sir... ?
Venn took it and gazed over at Adjudicator Leutwyn.
Leutwyn cleared his throat. Remarkable. I do believe, Lord Auditor
Vorkosigan, that is the first time I've ever seen a fast-penta interrogation
conducted without the fast-
penta.
Miles glanced at Guppy, curled around himself in air, shivering a little.
Smears of water still glistened at the corners of his eyes. He... really
wanted to tell somebody his story. He's been dying to for weeks. There was
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just no one in the entire Nexus he could trust.
Still isn't, gulped the prisoner. Don't get a swelled head, Barrayaran. I
know nobody's on my side. But I missed my one shot, and he saw me. I was safe
when he thought I was melted like the others. I'm a dead frog now, one way or
another. But if I
can't take him with me, maybe somebody else can.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Chief Venn said, So... this Cetagandan bastard Gupta here is raving about,
that he says killed three of his friends and maybe your Lieutenant Solian -
you really think this is the same as the Betan transient, Dubauer, that you
wanted us to pick up last night? So is he a herm, or a man, or what?
Or what, answered Miles. My medical people established from a blood sample
I
accidentally collected yesterday that Dubauer is a Cetagandan ba. The ba are
neither male, female, nor hermaphrodite, but a genderless servant... caste, I
guess is the best word, of the Cetagandan haut lords. More specifically, of
the haut ladies who run the
Star Creche, at the core of the Celestial Garden, the Imperial residence on
Eta Ceta.
Who almost never left the Celestial Garden, with or without their ba
servitors.
So what's this ba doing way out here, eh?
Miles hesitated, then went on, This ba appears to be conducting a cargo of a
thousand of what I suspect are the latest genetically modified haut fetuses in
uterine replicators. I don't know where, I don't know why, and
I don't know who for, but if Guppy's telling us the straight story, the ba has
killed four people, including our missing security officer, and tried to kill
Guppy, to keep its secret and cover its tracks.
At least four people
.
Greenlaw's expression had grown stiff with dismay. Venn regarded Gupta,
frowning. I
guess we'd better put out a public arrest call on Dubauer, then, too.
No! Miles cried in alarm.
Venn raised his brows at him.
Miles explained hastily, We're talking about a possible trained Cetagandan
agent who may be carrying sophisticated bioweapons. It's already extremely
stressed by the delays into which this dispute with the trade fleet has
plunged it. It's just discovered it's made one bad mistake at least, because
Guppy here is still alive. I don't care how superhuman it is, it has to be
rattled by now. The last thing you want to do is send a bunch of feckless
civilians up against it. Nobody should even approach the ba who doesn't know
exactly what they're doing and what they're facing.
And your people brought this creature here, onto my station?
Believe me, if any of my people had known what the ba was before this, it
would never have made it past Komarr. The trade fleet are dupes, innocent
carriers, I'm sure. Well, he wasn't that sure - checking that airy assertion
was going to be a high-
priority problem for counterintelligence, back home.
Carriers... Greenlaw echoed, looking hard at Guppy. All the quaddies in the
room followed her stare. Could this transient still be carrying that...
whatever it was, infection?
Miles took a breath. Possibly. But if he is, it's too damned late already.
Guppy has been running all over Graf Station for days, now. Hell, if he's
infectious, he's just spread a plague along a route through the Nexus touching
half a dozen planets.
And me.
And my fleet. And maybe Ekaterin too.
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I see two points of hope. One, by Guppy's testimony, the ba had to administer
the thing by actual touch.
The patrollers who'd handled the prisoner looked apprehensively at each other.
And secondly, Miles went on, if the disease or poison is something
bioengineered by the Star Creche, it's likely to be highly controlled,
possibly deliberately self-
limiting and self-destructing. The haut ladies don't like to leave their trash
lying around for anyone to pick up.
But I got better! cried the amphibian.
Yes, said Miles. Why? Obviously, something in your unique genetics or
situation either defeated the thing, or held it at bay long enough to keep you
alive past its period of activity. Putting you in quarantine is about useless
by now, but the next highest priority after nailing the ba has got to be
running you through the medical wringer, to see if what you have or did can
save anyone else. Miles drew breath. May
I offer the facilities of the
Prince Xav
? Our medical people do have some specific training in Cetagandan
bio-threats.
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