Move 22 Recap

Alaric, Remi, Yehan, the moth, and the mothlings

Alaric asks Yehan how the station authorities are delivering the mothlings. Yehan checks her slate and reports that they have been loaded into individual canisters and sedated: "I hope you can explain that to our...ride." Alaric says, sarcastically, "It's not like they'll apparently just fly along behind anyone who can keep a decent tune, or stay inside a duffel bag." He instructs Yehan to seal intermediate doors just in case, and meet him at the dock. There, they encounter two Nirai with coffin-like mothling canisters. The Wasp's moth hums in distress, and one of the Nirai jumps. Alaric signs for one of the mothlings, asserting that the sound is an Andan art project: "Between you and me, it still needs a lot of work." The Nirai leave, somewhat regretful at missing the art installation; Alaric manages to get the sedative formula before they disappear.

Alaric and Yehan move the canisters to the newly converted mothling bay, where Remi meets them. "Are they alive?" he asks, furious. Alaric says, "There has not been an explosion of fury and murderous rage from our engine room, so I'm guessing yes, for now." He shows Remi the formula for the sedative; Remi says, "They must have gotten that from Vana," still enraged. He suggests an antidote which can be applied topically. Alaric says he'll try to explain the situation to the adult moth while the equipment in the medbay synthesizes the antidote. Remi, now friendlier, asks whether he can observe the communication. Alaric is happy to tell Remi all about the discoveries he and Sasha have made. He constructs a message telling the moth that the mothlings will make more noise once they receive Remi's antidote. The moth's distressed humming quiets, and it sends back a cartoon of mothlings and human "meatsacks" playing tag. Meanwhile, Remi admires the communications progress, and remarks, "I wonder, are all moths educated in math and physics, or do they specialize the way we do?" Alaric says that the moth's knowledge of chemistry strikes him as evidence that the moth has received some sort of education or other intellectual socialization.

Fluffy, Gerae, and Virmad

Virmad asks for and receives permission from Gerae to enter his room. Virmad finds Gerae lying on the floor petting Fluffy. He suggests creating a bed for Gerae, who approves of the notion: "I know we're supposed to be all about asceticism as a way to hone the mind, but between you and me, I don't mind a little in the way of comforts." He also asks about the noise the moth is making. Virmad says the noise is nothing, offers Gerae a hand up, and has the grid create a bed. Gerae expresses his gratitude, then says, "I realize I have put you all into a difficult position, but--I can behave myself. Or make myself useful." Virmad says that things are "a little...tense right now." He promises to argue for letting Gerae out of his room once the moth leaves the station, though he's not actually sure whether this will make Ashari, Sasha, or the situation with Mikodez less tense. He changes the subject by observing that Gerae seems to have found a friend in "the foreign scientist".

Ashari, Iawa, Mikodez, Sasha, and Sulen; sounds from the moth

Sasha asks, "Why didn't you report that Istradez was hurt, Mishka?" Ashari, whose eyes are entirely rose-blue, makes a tiny, approving nod. Mikodez smiles, squinching up his eyes, and declares, "Oh, that. Because I was. Trying to murder him! You see, he reminded me of a school rival of mine, who I wanted to one-up, so I tried shooting him with a pattern from the matter printer that Sasha lent me. When afterwards it turns out he'd hit his head, I took him to the visitor quarters to rest, and monitor, just in case he turned out to be an alien from foreign parts who would eat my face." He then asks Sulen, "Are you planning on letting the moths stay in the heptarchate?" Sasha tells Ashari, "He didn't have any ammunition. So he's either lying or mind-numbingly incompetent." Ashari says, with some curiosity, "Lying I can almost forgive, but mind-numbing incompetence is another matter." Mikodez simply says, "Yes," adding, "Then I yelled at him until he fell over." Sasha explains the ammunition problem, then asks, "When did Istradez tell you he was your brother, Mishka?" Sulen, who has been scrying, points out that Mikodez is lying: "Didn't you learn in school not to lie to Rahal, Mikodez?" Ashari warns Mikodez, in their gentlest and thus most threatening voice, that he has one more chance before they enthrall him into answering questions and doing some chores. Mikodez, who thinks he has created sufficient confusion, simply remarks, "I'm great at arranging placemats." Sasha reflects that Ashari's treatment of her has demonstrated comparable restraint.

Meanwhile, Iawa is watching the others and thinking, "WHEN will you LEARN that you are never, ever right about a situation?" Iawa observes that Ashari is toying with their dagger in a way that indicates increased stress, and suggests to them that it's a bad idea "to handle a weapon near someone who can grab it," then worries about whether giving Ashari Vidona advice was a good idea. Sasha fears that Ashari will react to this advice by throwing the dagger at Iawa. She decides to invoke her own exotic power by telling herself a Kirrish folk tale about a woman traveling in the snow, with the goal of deflecting the dagger if necessary. Mikodez protests that he isn't going to be the person with the dagger: "I am minded to be extremely cooperative. Just not with Sasha, because that wasn't any fun." Iawa answers, "I think everyone here wants to listen and understand, Avrayen." Mikodez says, "I'm sure that's not what Sasha is here for." Sasha asks Mikodez, mildly, how he joined the rebellion; he says he was curious and bored. Sasha then asks, "How did you find us?" Meanwhile, in the folk tale she's remembering, the woman climbs out of mist onto a broad plain.

Ashari hands their dagger to Sulen; Sasha is astonished that they have taken Iawa's suggestion, and stops trying to invoke her exotic power. Ashari catches Mikodez' gaze and tells him, "We need to find a better way to use your...talents. To do that, we need to debrief properly. Answer Sasha's question." Mikodez describes the three individuals who called him from class and told him that they could use his Shuos signifier, failing to mention the threat against his family for non-cooperation. He states he was then taken to a boxmoth, where he met two people dressed as Rahal, and continues, "The only person I saw after that didn't answer my questions, brought me to a holding room where I stayed for three days or so..." After a bit more description, he concludes, "Sasha knows what I did from there. Believe me as you like, but I didn't actually get instructions. It must be enough that I'm here. Or at least not there." Mikodez is disturbed that he has provided more interpretation than necessary.

Sasha says, "I don't understand about the signifiers," adding a few more questions about Mikodez' movements. Mikodez explains his visit to the mission briefing, with some tangents, then says with regret, "I can't control my variable signifier." He tells Sasha more facts about signifiers in an attempt at distraction. Sulen expands, "His signifier was Ninefox Smiling before. It's Ninefox Crowned With Eyes now." They continue, "Crowned With Eyes suggests he's more intelligent than his actions up till now would suggest, and the fact that it changed implies his sense of self is flexible." They insist silently that Ashari is in control of their signifier and mentally flexible, too. Sasha asks, "But why would that matter? He's a fox either way." Mikodez explains that it only matters "for faction postings" or "in hexarchate space." Sasha asks Mikodez to tell her about the person who escorted him off the boxmoth. Meanwhile, she queries the grid for information about Mikodez' signifiers, and variable signifiers under the hexarchate in general. She learns that Shuos Academy cadets displaying Ninefox Crowned With Eyes are usually purged, due to the signifier's association with the infamous Jedao, and concludes that Mikodez' presence is a more elaborate method of purging him; she instructs Mikodez to continue with his account, now slightly more sympathetically. Mikodez describes his escort as "About Ashari's height, dark eyes, didn't say much," which means this person is about Quill's size but appears to have different eye color.

Sasha asks, "Did you have a timeframe for your return, or a contact for retrieval?" Mikodez scoffs: "When they ask like that, it's not for volunteers. I was surprised when I wasn't immediately shot following the interview. What this batch of interviewers at the Academy said was that everything was 'pending Rahal review'." The subsequent boredom seemed calculated, Mikodez thinks. He says, "I fucking hate this scenario," adding a critique of the ways that, as a Shuos training scenario, the situation would be unbalanced and ill-designed. Sasha thinks this sounds like her father's critiques of Naxorian explanations of theodicy; Iawa asks for clarification. Mikodez says that either this is a compelling but unsubtle training simulation, with ham-handed references to Liozh classics, or he has been let loose on the past: "Isn't someone inventing the mothdrive soon?" Sasha finds his analysis inconsistent: "I thought you didn't want to hurt the mothling, and now you want to research how to bind it into a starship?" Mikodez says he has never encountered a voidmoth, nor has he seen the moth Alaric claims is on board. The moth's humming, due to its concern for the mothlings, interrupts. Mikodez spreads his hand on the floor to feel the vibration, then reacts with enthusiasm, asking how to communicate with the ship's moth and where to find Crowned-With-Eyes. Sulen objects that the conversation has veered off topic, and Ashari tightens the enthrallment.

Sasha asks Mikodez about his siblings, and he provides dry autobiographical detail; Sasha is unnerved by this demonstration of Ashari's enthrallment powers. She asks Mikodez about his "sister" Istradez. Sulen objects to the tangent; they don't want to be a hexarchate inquisitor any longer, and believe people's feelings about their families should be private. Mikodez says, "It's been years since I last saw her"; Sasha assumes that this is an evasion referring to time travel. She asks what the current Istradez told Mikodez, when they met on the station. Mikodez says, "After I tried to shoot him, he said he hadn't thought that I hated him to that extent. And I don't hate him, just suspicious people who claim to be my family from the future." Sasha asks when Mikodez decided not to hate Istradez; Mikodez says he will resume hostilities if this is a simulation, or if Istradez turns out to be an impostor. Sasha glances at Sulen for confirmation; they glare at her, but confirm that he is telling the truth as he now understands it, though his assessment may change when not under enthrallment. Ashari asks whether there are last questions, and Sasha shakes her head. She wonders why Mikodez' file said to keep him safe, but doesn't want to tell Ashari that she read the command files.

Recruitment and Realignment

Alaric builds rapport with both Remi and the moth through his efforts to awaken the mothlings. Meanwhile, Gerae appears quite ready to make friends with Virmad. The team as a whole will have to decide whether containing Gerae or welcoming him poses greater risks.

The interrogation of Mikodez showcases the way that Ashari and Sulen work effectively together, despite the usual rivalry between their factions. Sasha's respect for Ashari is growing. However, Sasha and Sulen don't know or trust each other well enough to coordinate, which means Sasha can't access Sulen's expertise on the conduct of interrogations. Sasha does learn about Mikodez' dubious signifier and glean a few details about the contacts who introduced him to the Rebellion. However, she does not turn up information related to his role as hexarch in Istradez' timeline. Sasha and Sulen respond differently to the revelations about Mikodez' interactions with the Shuos, as well. Sasha is more inclined to be sympathetic to him now that she assumes the Shuos view him as disposable. Sulen is inclined to treat him as a criminal.