"Do you really think they might attack here?" Rosaria asked Solae and Rene once she was certain they had been left by their Kalderi hosts to converse privately. She was so used to the tactics employed by Thorne that she had not yet escaped the mentality that someone was always working an angle to their benefit. That she was even questioning the diplomat and soldier was a testament to the effect their character was having, however; in the past she would have assumed she was correct, but because she viewed them as people of higher integrity, she was torn between what she knew and what she hoped to believe.

"Like Rene said, I don't know, but he's right about the pirates. I still hope they help us," she clarified, "and the greater empire as a whole. With their support we could not just win a war but stabilize our government. Forging diplomatic relations would reflect positively upon the empress, and it would empower her, as well as give her good reason, to grant more rights and freedom to the Syshin as another alien race we share the universe with. They are lofty dreams but.. we have a responsibility to warn them about Tan regardless. We warned the empress of his treachery, and we'll continue to warn anyone and everyone else we can, and pray to the cosmos that it will save lives." Solae sank back her in her chair as her last sentence seeped into her mind. New Concordia had not published the true death toll when they left. With his propaganda firmly in place, he had guaranteed the numbers could be whatever he wished, but now she pondered how many he would ruthlessly sacrifice in his campaign. Historically periods of civil unrest had culminated in mass graves and obfuscated data as to the real toll.

"Miss Solae," Yarue interjected, looking at her evenly from over her plate. His expression was, as far as a human could discern on any Syshin's features, pensive and thoughtful. "You are familiar with our customs, yes?" he inquired, already knowing her response, but needing to pave the way for what he was about to propose. Dasin bobbed his head slightly in silent agreement of whatever it was they were on the precipice of unveiling.

"I am, Yarue. Is there something troubling you?" the duchess replied quizzically.

"Then you know that our people lead in pairs. Many lead with their birthmate, but when they separate for a long time, a bond may form between others, friends or mated couples. Your people lead by one, but you are better when you lead as two. The Syshin would trust you more if you tried to lead them as two, not one," he suggested in slightly halting common tongue.

It took a moment for her to fully realize what he was trying to impart. By Syshin tradition, they always lead in pairs, and in the case of the settlement on New Concordia, they were twins. From her reading she knew that was not always the case. Forced estrangement or death could result in one twin finding someone else to bond with in the same capacity, and if one became a leader, the other did as was functionally needed. Romantic pairs sometimes became leaders as the case arose; in fact, couples who outlived their twins would become such a tight-knit unit that there was not a human adaptation of the relationship, for that deep understanding, and the best of linguists were unable to translate the concept properly. What the guards were trying to relay was that presenting Solae as the aristocrat and Rene as her attache did them a disservice if they wanted to appeal to the Syshin and, perhaps, the Kalderi. Before the Syshin they would have to be peers, independent and dependent, of equal voice and power, or else there would be cultural barriers.

Comically neither Solae nor Rene seemed particularly inclined to lead. Solae was doing so because she must to achieve her goals, because she was available and fit for the duty, because it had been thrust upon her. Rene seemed to be even more reluctant to assume a mantle of status. Both of them had spent such a long time feeling distant to the power they now wielded it undoubtedly felt nearly blasphemous. Temptation lingered to shuck it all and try to return to a simpler time.