Atheron dismissed the guards from the private archive's threshold, leaving Captain Roen posted beyond the open door.
Both court recorders signed the commission entry and laid fresh sheets beside the dossier before another sealed compartment could open. Their quills hovered above that witnessed line as Atheron faced his daughter, keeping his answer inside the inquiry's sealed evidence.
Hajin rested his wrapped left hand on the commission scroll beside Didi's chair, his right arm strapped in its sling.
'Rings shut, one arm useless, and the old man finally talking, so don't screw this up.'
Beyond the boundary, Eirwen watched Ferra lock the disconnected prayer fitting inside its frame while neither woman touched any equipment. The broadcast stayed off for the examination, keeping the opened covenant and every word in this room away from Earth.
Didi reached sideways and closed her fingers around his sleeve, above the wrapped wrist.
