A Murder of Clones: A Retrieval Artist Universe Novel Read Online Free PDF

slightly—a Peyti sign of disgust—and translated for her. Apparently it didn’t approve of “good neighbors,” which she didn’t consider slang at all.
    The Eaufasse ambassador brought its arms down again. She wished now that she had left this on audio. The movements were distracting. It turned its head away from her for just a moment. She got a sense that it was not alone. She wondered if it had another translator or if it had someone of higher rank just off camera.
    Then it turned toward her and spoke.
    “They needed supervision in their first year as they built their enclave,” Uzven translated. Then it added in a more confidential tone, “You should know that the ambassador may have used the word ‘crafted’ here. I chose ‘built.’”
    Gomez nodded.
    Uzven continued its translation. “The supervision included monitoring the materials they brought to Epriccom, transporting them to their location, and overseeing their building. They have a dome, although they do not need one because Epriccom’s atmosphere suits humans, but the Eaufasse appreciate the dome nonetheless.”
    She expected Uzven to continue, but it didn’t. She glanced at it, then at the Eaufasse. Apparently that was all it had said.
    “Why do you appreciate the dome?” she asked.
    “Because the humans have landing ships. Those ships go into and out of their dome, and do not do anything except transverse our airspace.”
    Uzven started to explain all the words it changed, but she didn’t care.
    “You don’t mind the ships?” she asked, feeling cold.
    “They are small. They must be scanned for weaponry. They have none. We see no threat.”
    “Weaponry?” She turned toward Uzven. “Does the ambassador mean external or internal weapons?”
    Uzven asked and received a quick answer. “The ships are weaponless. The interior scans, done in a cursory manner, do not show weapons either. But you know that part means nothing—”
    “Was that ‘means nothing’ thing your editorial or the ambassador’s?” she asked.
    “Mine, of course,” Uzven said.
    Of course. She didn’t like this. She knew more about weaponry than any Peyti translator could, and she knew that weapons could be built onsite of components that many governments thought harmless.
    Once again, she was at a disadvantage. She didn’t know enough about Eaufasse culture to know what they considered harmless.
    “Do you use Earth Alliance protocols for ships that land on Epriccom?” she asked the ambassador.
    “For Earth Alliance ships, yes,” the ambassador said. “As best we understand the protocols.”
    “Do you consider all human ships to be Earth Alliance ships?” she asked.
    “Are they not?” the ambassador responded.
    She wasn’t going to answer it directly. It was fishing for more information on humans, and she wasn’t about to provide it. Sometimes, the Earth Alliance did not tell Frontier members that humans were scattered all over the sectors, and were not always members of the Alliance.
    Some, in fact, were enemies of the Alliance.
    It was better for the Frontier members to remain in the dark about such matters and to call the Earth Alliance when they had a human problem.
    Like the Eaufasse had.
    “Your ship protocol is correct,” she said. “Thank you.”
    The Eaufasse moved one arm outward. Uzven did not comment on the gesture, either as a translation or as an opinion.
    “Mr. Ambassador,” she said, “these attacks the humans performed on each other. Is this the first time such a thing has happened?”
    “We do not monitor the dome,” the ambassador said.
    “Again, sir,” she said. “The information I am asking for is to allow me to deal with the enclave. If we need diplomats to discuss human-Eaufasse relations, I am happy to provide them. But my job here is strictly judicial, and concerns the humans in that enclave only.”
    Uzven translated that. Then the ambassador spoke, and Uzven answered.
    She felt left out, which she most definitely did