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With complete recall, I could say with certainty, I hadn’t broken any laws. Would my say-so be enough to convince Ospra?
“Lomax never did anything bad. We never left the ship until we landed here,” Kat said. “That’s my statement.”
“I can vouch the prince hadn’t engaged in any criminal activity while under the influence of the GJW,” Da’an said.
“That is welcome news and will expedite matters. I still must hear from the prince himself before he can be cleared.”
“Now?” I wished to get it over with.
“No time like the present.” She eyed the body. “Perhaps we all could move to the other side of the temple?”
His face stoic, his posture rigid, Da’an nodded. “Certainly.”
“Get someone to move Seeher’s body to the ship, and then join us,” she directed Dovano.
“Right away.” He unclipped his handheld.
The rest of us followed Da’an to the other side. I kept a firm clasp on Kat’s hand, unwilling to be separated from her.
“Where is your ship? I didn’t see any other spacecraft,” Kat asked Ospra.
“At the base of the mountain near where you landed. You can’t see it because of shimmer technology.”
The LOP got here first and set a trap for Seeher. The League of Planets did have a handle on things. Maybe not all the time, maybe not perfectly, but they were doing the best they could. Their goals were fair and just. That’s what I’d always believed. I remembered now.
The room on the other side mirrored the one we’d left. We settled on cushions around another low table mimicking the temple’s shape.
There were five cushions, one for each of us, and, from Ospra’s double take, I guessed that was a change from what had been there moments before. I had a hunch Da’an had used his telepathy to signal a robo to adjust the seating. Having firsthand experience of what he could do, I suspected he had powers we could only guess at.
Kat, Da’an, and I sat on one side. Ospra positioned herself opposite us.
Dovano entered and seated himself next to his partner. “A self-propelled litter is on the way.”
“Excellent. Let’s begin. The session will be recorded.” Ospra set her handheld on the table. “If you would, Your Highness, start at the beginning. When did you first encounter Sandria Seeher? Tell me what you remember from that point forward.”
Kat squeezed my hand in support. It humbled me how she’d stood by me after what I’d put her through. As my father, in his blunt way, had said, I hadn’t been in my right mind. Anyone else would have—probably should have—given up on me.
Viq ogurk qat. I remembered how Seeher had used a declaration of love to trigger me. What sweet irony that one of the anti-triggers had sounded like Kat’s name. All triggers were gone now, thanks to Da’an.
I took a breath. “Two years ago, while on a goodwill tour of the galaxy, I took a hiatus and stopped at Star Planet. I needed a break from the whirlwind of events and people. One evening, I ditched my bodyguard and an aide and slipped away to a little bar at the resort.
“That’s where I encountered Sandria Seeher. I’m certain now she planned the meeting, but at the time, it appeared happenstance. She said she was a tourist. We chatted about our respective travels, the resort attractions we’d experienced or recommended. But, gradually, the conversation shifted. Little by little, she seeded ideas in my head…”
I spoke for over an hour, pausing to take sips of tea brought by another robo. I left nothing out. I outlined the propaganda points I’d been coerced into buying into, the coded words that triggered me, how I’d landed on Aurelia ostensibly to attend an anti-trafficking meeting but instead had intended a raid on its capital city. I recalled how I’d balked at executing Nadir and Millie.
“You’re not a killer,” Kat interjected.
I squeezed her hand and smiled.
I told them how Seeher had shown up at the palace claiming to be an anti-programming expert but instead had mentally worked me over. Then came the banquet. Aeon had triggered me, and I’d taken Kat hostage and rendezvoused with Seeher.
Kat and I both relayed what had happened on the ship from our different perspectives.
“Seeher ordered him to kill me, but he didn’t do it. We airlocked a dummy instead.” Kat twisted a strand of her short hair around her finger.
“Is everything he said accurate and truthful?” Ospra asked Da’an.
“One hundred percent.” He nodded.
