"Perhaps," Thrr-gilag said, feeling his midlight pupils narrow with annoyance. "I would remind the Speaker that one of the Human's first actions was to try to reach the pyramid of our observers and communicators. That would imply some knowledge of its purpose."

"Coincidence," the Speaker said. "Or simple curiosity."

"Was it also coincidence that the Human warcraft who found Study World Eighteen immediately sought out and attacked the observers' pyramid with Elderdeath weapons?" Thrr-gilag countered. "Or coincidence that the Human forces on Dorcas deliberately stole a fsss cutting?"

He paused for breath... and as he did so, he suddenly noticed that all eyes in the vast chamber seemed to be frozen on him. He glanced at the Prime, back at the first row of speakers, settled on the thunderous expression of Speaker Cvv-panav...

He looked back at the Prime, feeling his tail begin to speed up. Was Prr't-zevisti's disappearance supposed to have been a secret?

"Your initial testimony is hereby at an end, Searcher Thrr-gilag," the Prime said, his voice and face still unreadable. "You will stand down and await further examination. The Overclan Seating thank you for your time."

"The honor is mine, Overclan Prime," Thrr-gilag said, a sinking feeling at the base of his tongue as he stood up from the couch. His words were long gone into the air, with no way to retrieve them. If the expression on Speaker Cvv-panav's face was anything to go by, Thrr-gilag might soon wish he could vanish along with them.

The other testimony was finished, and the Speakers were filtering out for the midarc meal, when the summons Thrr-gilag had been dreading finally came.

"You are called to the private office of the Overclan Prime," the Elder told him, his voice and manner short. "Follow me."

Thrr-gilag sighed silently. "I obey," he said.

It was a long, lonely railcar ride—nearly half a thoustride long, in fact—down the deserted underground tunnel that led from the rear of the Overclan Seating chamber back to the two main office buildings of the complex.