"Thank you, Miss Conley." It was only a few seconds before the screen cleared, to show a human operator.
"Palace Comm," the man said. "How can I help you?"
"I am Colonel Joan Cortin, High King's Inquisitor for the Kingdom Systems. The crew of your scoutship Columbus is in my custody—"
"One moment, please, Colonel," the operator interrupted. "His Majesty left orders that any communications about the Columbus be transferred directly to him."
The screen blanked for several seconds, then cleared to show a lean, gray-haired man Cortin recognized from intercepts as Emperor Charles Davis. "I understand you have information about one of my ships," he said calmly.
Cortin repeated her introduction, then went on. "I don't intend them any harm, Your Majesty, in spite of the fact that they intruded in our space and I fear what their arrival means for our Systems. Since we cannot resist you, I ask that you send Ranger Medart to ease your annexation of the Kingdom Systems; he seems to have done that quite well for the Sandemans."
"It isn't as inevitable or as horrible as you seem to think," the Emperor said mildly, "but if you have that kind of misapprehensions about us, I agree that sending a Ranger in would be a good idea. And James Medart is our cultural specialist, so he's the logical one; he'll be on his way within the hour. Should he talk to you, or one of your Kings?"
"That is something I cannot answer at the moment, Your Majesty. That is up to High King Mark; I do not know who he will choose to handle it." Probably her, she thought, considering she was acting Protector as well as High King's Inquisitor and Archduchess of High Teton—but she couldn't be certain.
"You're doing this without his knowledge?"
"Yes, because I believe it to be the least bad of the options open to us, now that contact has been made."