Part 14 (2/2)

She stopped in front of the two men. ”Mark,” she said, by way of greeting, and then looked at Holloway. ”And Mr. Holloway. Good to see you again.” She held out her hand; Holloway took it and shook.

”Interesting new species you've found,” Meyer said.

”They are full of surprises,” Holloway said.

”Has Mark here explained to you how today's inquiry is going to work?” Meyer asked.

”He has,” Holloway said.

”It's not a trial,” Meyer said. ”So remember that there's no need to feel hesitant about answering the questions I'm going to ask you.”

”I promise to tell the whole truth,” Holloway said. Meyer smiled at this, which made Holloway wonder if she knew anything about Aubrey's secret trip out to his compound. She turned to Sullivan, nodded, and entered the courtroom, a.s.sistant trailing behind.

”As a boss, she's ambitious,” Sullivan concluded.

”It's not bad for you,” Holloway said. ”Ambitious bosses leave vacant jobs behind them.”

”True enough,” Sullivan said, and then smiled broadly as he saw another person down the hall: Isabel. She smiled in return and when she came up to Sullivan, gave him a warm but publicly decorous kiss on the cheek. She turned to Holloway.

He held out his hand. ”Jack Holloway,” he said. ”I'm your fellow expert witness.”

”Very cute, Jack,” Isabel said, and gave him a peck on the cheek. ”Are you nervous about this?”

”No,” Holloway said. ”Are you?”

”I'm terrified,” Isabel said. ”What I tell the judge here could mean the fuzzys are recognized as people. I don't want to screw it up. I don't think I've been this nervous since my doctoral defense.”

”Well, that turned out all right, didn't it?” Holloway said. ”So you have a track record.”

”When did you get in?” Isabel asked.

”Carl and I landed about an hour ago,” Holloway said.

”Where's Carl?” Isabel asked.

”He's in the skimmer,” Holloway said. ”Relax,” he added, catching Isabel's expression. ”The skimmer has autonomous climate control. He's cool as a cuc.u.mber. You can see him after the inquiry just to be sure.”

”Speaking of which,” Sullivan said, ”it's time for the two of you to get in there. This thing starts in a few minutes, and Judge Soltan isn't the sort to be kept waiting.”

Judge Nedra Soltan came in and took her seat without preamble; there was no bailiff to announce her arrival or to tell everyone to stand. By the time everyone had stood up, Soltan had already sat down.

”Let's get through this as quickly as possible,” Soltan said, and then looked at her inquiry timetable. ”Dr. w.a.n.gai?”

”Yes, Your Honor?” Isabel stood. Holloway sat next to her, at the table generally reserved for the defense. Janice Meyer and her a.s.sistant sat at the table usually reserved for the prosecution. Not a trial my a.s.s, Holloway thought. The audience portion of the courtroom was empty save for Brad Landon, in the back row, whose expression was one of polite boredom, and Sullivan, who sat directly behind Isabel. Holloway thought. The audience portion of the courtroom was empty save for Brad Landon, in the back row, whose expression was one of polite boredom, and Sullivan, who sat directly behind Isabel.

”Our schedule calls for you to give an overview of the research materials,” Soltan said.

”Yes, Your Honor,” Isabel said.

”Is there anything new that you're going to add to the materials that wasn't in the package you sent to me?” Soltan asked. ”Because if there's not, I'd just as soon skip it.”

Isabel blinked at this. ”Skip it?” she said. She glanced over at the large monitor that had been brought in for her presentation.

”Yes,” Soltan said. ”Your report was comprehensive to the point of exhausting, Dr. w.a.n.gai. If all we're going to do here is get a recap, I'd rather not.”

”The point of the presentation was to give you time to ask any questions you might have on the material,” Isabel said. ”I'm sure you have questions.”

”Not really, no,” Soltan said, blandly. ”So, shall we move forward?”

Isabel glanced over at Holloway, who arched his eyebrows an infinitesimally small amount, and then back at Sullivan, who was utterly blank. ”I suppose,” she said finally, turning back to Soltan.

”Good,” Soltan said. She looked over at Meyer. ”That's fine with you as well, Ms. Meyer?”

”Not a problem, Your Honor,” Meyer said.

”Excellent,” Soltan said. ”Two hours off the schedule already. We may be out of here before lunch. You may sit, Dr. w.a.n.gai.”

Isabel sat, looking a little numb.

”Now-” Soltan picked up her schedule again. ”-Ms. Meyer, I believe it's time for you to question the experts. Which would you like to question first?”

”I believe Dr. w.a.n.gai is the first on the schedule,” Meyer said.

”Very well,” Soltan said. ”Dr. w.a.n.gai, go ahead and sit in the witness stand.” Isabel got up from the table, walked over to the witness stand, and sat down. ”Normally I'd place you under oath, but this is an inquiry and thus more informal,” Soltan said. ”You are however still required to tell the truth and to answer questions as fully as possible. Do you understand?”

”I do,” Isabel said.

”You're on,” Soltan said to Meyer.

Meyer stood. ”Dr. w.a.n.gai, please state your full name and occupation.”

”I am Dr. Isabel Njeru w.a.n.gai, and I am the Zarathustra Corporation's chief biologist for Zara Twenty-three,” Isabel said.

”And where did you receive your doctorate, Dr. w.a.n.gai?” Meyer asked.

”The University of Oxford,” Isabel said.

”I hear that's a good school,” Meyer said.

Isabel smiled. ”It's all right,” she said.

”And so you studied xenosapience there,” Meyer said.

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