Matriarch Ck'Trrk'Ka scrolled through yet more tedious forms on her datapad, and her implant electronically signed them with a swift efficiency resulting from long practice. That was unfortunate, since it gave her mind ample time to fixate on her Path's current predicament. The cover story was holding...barely. The backlog of petitions to see the Claw kept piling up, and she couldn't use the 'they're checking safety protocols, please give us time' excuse much longer.

There was a soft chime at her office door.

"Come," she chirped without looking up.

The door slid open, and Ter'yeik poked his head in. "|You sent for me, Reverend Mother?|"

She motioned him in with her free hand. "|Yes. Please close the door behind you, will you?|"

The Second Claw did so, and stood in front of her table with folded claws. "|I sense I'm about to be asked a question.|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka set down the datapad and sighed. "|Your intuition is correct. The [Dorarizin] are still performing their investigation, but in the course of their searching they have uncovered several holes in our internal security.|"

"|And one of those holes is me, eh?|" Ter'yeik tilted his head. "|That infuriating little [Human] insinuated as much. Very well. I will tell you now, I never laid a single finger on that Claw or its case. I have no idea where it is.|"

The Matriarch stared fixedly at Ter'yeik's head while he spoke. The Second Claw's mental patterns flared and pulsed in her soul-sight. As she stared, he spread his arms and bowed his head. "|If I knew where it was, I would tell you. I wish nothing more than for this matter to be over and our sacred property returned to its rightful location.|"

She leaned back. "|I see that you speak the truth.|"

Ter'yeik raised his head. "|And since we are speaking truth to each other, I want to make it known that I don't trust that [Human]. The Senate team is relying on him too much, and he is too eager to please them.|"

Ck'Trrk'Ka tapped a claw on the table. "|Are you accusing him of fabricating evidence?|"

The Second Claw shrugged his crest. "|I merely call your attention to the fact that, in spite of hard material evidence of [Maria's] complicity, they continue to poke around looking for other suspects.|"

"|Sutra Three Twenty Six: A thoroughness in all matters of one's life is the same as an eternal prayer to the Great Mother. The Senate team is merely being thorough.|"

Ter'yeik bowed. "|I will do as the Most Reverend Beacon-of-Light decrees. I merely point out all possibilities. Sutra Six Hundred and Twenty: It is the duty of the disciple of the Path to speak the truth as they see it.|"

"|Very well. Thank you for speaking your truth. Now I fear I must retire, it has been a very long day.|"

The Second Claw gave another bow and backed away through the door. After he left, Ck'Trrk'Ka stared at the closed door for a long while without really seeing it. Her mind paced back and forth between the two possibilities. Either she had unknowingly allowed a group of thieves into her Path's most sacred place, or the one Karnakian she needed to rely on was...

Her fretting was interrupted by another soft chime. "Enter."

This time Rgrarshok squeezed herself into the small office, making it feel that much smaller. "[Our biomonitoring showed no deception. He was telling the truth, or thought he was.]"

"|And my soul-sight also showed no fear. It seems that your [Human's] supposition was incorrect.|"

The Captain smiled. "[I wouldn't say so just yet. There are a few things we've uncovered. I fear I have a request to make of you. It's a strange one, but trust me when I say it's very necessary...]"

The trio of investigators stood around the display in the Claw's recreational lounge. At the moment that display showed a diagram of their best guess as to the theft's timeline. At the moment there were several large question marks alongside the image.

Rgrarshok let out a soft, thoughtful hum. "[We've scanned for it, but the temple's too big and there's too many small hiding places for a physical search to be effective. Plus I'm not sure it even exists anymore. Surely he'd have burned the sample?]"

Oscar shook his head. "Normally, I'd say yes. But he only had that one chance to get at the source material. We've got everything in our custody now, so he can't get more if he needed to, heh, 'enhance' the case with more evidence."

"[It is quite the risk for him, mon ami,]" said Bgrarh. "[If we were to discover it, zhat would collapse his whole attempt to falsely accuse [Maria].]"

Rgrarshok's ears rose. "[There is one spot he knew we wouldn't check.]"

"[Is madame perhaps speaking of a situation like in zhe 'Purloined Letter'?]" asked Bgrarh. "[Hide zhe incriminating evidence in plain sight?]"

"[Not quite, Specialist Bgrarh.]"

Oscar knew from Rgrarshok's smug expression that she'd thought of something. And he wasn't about to underestimate the wily captain; after all, she'd gotten him to expose his original undercover assignment in about five minutes flat. "I gotta say, I don't get what you're driving at, Captain."

"[Let me be more specific. It's the last spot where Bgrarh or I would look]"

After a moment, Bgrarh's ears perked up and he got an equally smug smile on his face. After another moment, Oscar gave an annoyed growl. "Aw shit, I must be goin' senile. Of course!"

The door slid open and Egrweh entered holding a certain object in gloved hands. "Fresh out of the fabricator," she said. "Is this what you wanted?"

Oscar trotted over and looked at what she was holding, but was very careful not to touch it or get too near it. "Oh yeah, that looks perfect! Thanks, Emma."

"[Thank Kgrashak, she did most of the hard work. My part was easy. Now what exactly do you want us to do with this?]"

"You're probably the best one for what I have in mind, but you'll have to head back down to the temple to do it, and you'll have to do it right now. Time is of the essence, unfortunately. I guess Gertie's going to be grumpy at you."

"[Grawfren always looks grumpy, but in honesty she loves getting any excuse to fly.]"

Oscar looked surprised. "Really? Every time I ask for a lift she gets all annoyed."

Egrweh smirked. "[So the master detective has some weak spots in his perception. That's good to know. What should I do when I get there?]"

The workshop area was quiet, as befitting the late hour. Shadows seemed to follow Ter'yeik as he crept into the room. He didn't dare turn on a light, but one of the side benefits of having two pairs of eyes is improved night vision.

With no more noise than a wisp of smoke, The Second Claw crept towards his goal, the workbench in the center of the room. His nostrils twitched as he smelled the faint metallic tang of blood. Yes, it should be on one of these tools...

He lifted up a chisel and saw the faintest streak of red along its cutting surface. Ter'yeik sniffed it just to make sure, and his lips pulled back in a feral smile.

Yes, this would do nicely.

Tri'rrit, known to his [human] friends as 'Frack', started awake thanks to a poke in his side from his friend and fellow guard Irr''kttz, AKA 'Frick'.

"|The [human's] coming!|" Irr''kttz whispered.

Tri'rrit yawned, then uncoiled himself out of the feathered red ball he'd rolled into during his sleep. He blinked the crusty bits out of his eyes as he focused on the little alien walking up to their shared nest. Even in a post-scarcity society, waking up would forever be a pain in the tailfeathers.

Irr''kttz smiled at the [human]. "|Good morning! Um, is it morning?|"

"[It's very morning,]" replied [Oscar]. "[Sorry for waking you guys up so early.]"

"|It's no problem!|" said Tri'rrit as he leaned closer to the [human]. He put on his most welcoming smile. "|Did you require some feather therapy as well?|"

[Oscar] leaned back from all of the teeth in that Karnakian smile. "[Er, not right now. I need to ask [Irr''kttz] a question, but I warn you it's going to sound stupid. And I need to ask it while I have your vital signs monitored.]"

The blue Karnakian became damn near spherical. "|I will assist in any way I can!|"

[Oscar] pulled out a small drone and set it to hover nearby. "[Thanks. It's about the time when you visited the Claw.]"

"|Yes?|"

The [human] hesitated. "[Like I said, it's going to sound stupid...]"

Irr''kttz waved a wing. "|Sutra One Hundred and Eight: One must ask the obvious questions to reach the interesting ones. Please, go right ahead.|"

"[Fair enough. When you visited the Claw, was it there?]"

Irr''kttz's crest raised halfway up, indicating puzzlement. "|I don't understand. Was what there?|"

"[The Claw. Was the Claw actually in the Sanctum when you went in there?]"

"|Of course it was!|"

[Oscar] nodded and held out his hand. The drone thumped gently into his waiting palm, and he tucked it away. "[Got it. Thanks!]"

"|What was the point of such an obvious question?|" asked Tri'rrit.

"[Just getting the timeline figured out. Speaking of time, later today we're going to get everybody back down in the temple to present our findings. Here's what I'll need from you guys...]"

Maria tapped her fingers impatiently on the table-top. One nice thing about being on board the Claw was that they already had human-scale seating, even if the seats looked a little too much like a toddler's high-chair. Hrathra sat next to her with a much more serene countenance and with her hands laced together on the same table. Resh'ssk coiled behind them both with crossed arms and a glowering expression.

The door slid open and Oscar came strolling in, carrying a tall chair of his own. He plonked it down on the other side of the table and hopped up into it with a theatrical grunt of effort.

He smiled at the trio. "Whoof! Sorry I'm a bit late, folks. Big ship, short little human legs, you know how it is."

"[What I know is that you're stalling to make us nervous,]" said Resh'ssk. "[It's an old tactic.]"

Oscar shrugged, his pleasant smile never wavering. "Fine by me if you wanna think so. Is your advocate on the line yet?"

Hrathra's red eyes narrowed. "[Not yet. And as I said, we will not answer any questions unless he is present.]"

A soft chime sounded around them, and at one end of the table a sky-blue Jornissian suddenly appeared. The hologram was almost perfect, with only a slight transparent shimmer to let everyone know that the advocate wasn't physically there.

"[Esstrass'har,]" said Hrathra with a nod.

The advocate gave a nod of his own. He was rail-thin even for a viper-style Jornissian, and Maria wondered if he was the snake equivalent of a marathon runner. "[Hrathra, always a pleasure. Before we begin, do you have any complaints about your treatment thus far?]" He turned his bright green eyes towards Oscar. "[I apologize for the question, but it's my duty to ask.]"

Oscar gave a casual 'fuggedaboudit' wave with one hand. "No problem, my man."

Hrathra's peaceful face clouded in anger. "[I have no complaints about our treatment from [We Who Hunt Between The Spaces], they've been very accommodating...apart from the confinement, of course. But I cannot say the same for the [Thirty-Third] Path. We were in their custody for several days, during which time they did not allow my apprentice her required solitary time.]"

The advocate's hood flared out a little. "[That is serious. We'll lodge a formal complaint at the very least. I know the [OIH] won't pass up a chance to sue some Karnakians, but the [Thirty-Third] Path is pretty powerful in this region. They can tie up the complaint in the courts for a while.]" Esstrass'har looked at Oscar. "[But that can wait for later. When is the Captain joining us?]"

"She isn't," replied Oscar. "I'm performing this interview."

That news seemed to shock the advocate. "[What? This is very unusual. Does she consider you qualified?]"

Oscar put his elbows on the table, leaned forward, and smiled at the hologram. For just a moment, Maria saw his pleasant mask slip as his eyes turned steel-hard. "She sure as shit does, bucko."

He turned to the three actually present. "This interview is of course being recorded, and anything said here may be used in future trial proceedings. Your advocate is present as required by Senate law. You may refuse to answer any or all questions, whether by your own decision or upon consultation with your advocate. Do you all three understand your rights as I've outlined? I'll need a verbal response from all of you."

Maria now realized that Oscar was very much not the bumbling goof she'd took him to be during their first meeting. "Yes."

"[I understand,]" said Hrathra.

Resh'ssk gave a little huff at first, then finally said "[Yes.]"

Oscar smiled, and now he was back to Mr. Cheerful. "Good! I don't think you'll object to any of my questions, but like I said feel free to consult with Mr. Esstrass'har before responding." He nodded toward the advocate. "As for you sir, feel free to sing out if you don't want your clients to respond to any particular question."

"[Rest assured, I won't be shy,]" replied Esstrass'har.

"My first few questions are for Maria. When and how did you hurt your elbow?"

Maria cleared her throat. "During our expedition to an abandoned temple of the Seventh Path. It wasn't serious, just a little scrape from crawling through a crevice."

"And you arrived here on Krr'gritz about five days after that, correct?"

"That's right."

"I'm assuming you were wearing clothes when you were going through that crevice."

Maria crossed her arms. "That's not a question."

Oscar gave a little sheepish nod of his head. "Fair enough. Were you wearing clothes when you sustained that injury?"

"Of course."

"Where is the shirt you were wearing at that time?"

"I put it in my duffel."

"And you didn't wash the shirt or throw it away?"

"No, I had plenty of spare clothes and I kind of...forgot about it." Maria felt a bit of embarrassment and shrugged. "We'd just spent a couple of years trying to get access to the Claw, and it was finally happening. I had more important things to think about."

"Understandable. I just have another few questions for Hrathra'sstah."

Hrathra leaned forward and gave Oscar the full force of her fierce, unblinking gaze. The human's smile still didn't waver.

"[Ask.]"

"The Matriarch of the Thirty-Third Path made her final decision about two months ago, correct?"

"[Yes.]"

"And during your negotiations with her, did any of the other disciples of that Path contact you directly?"

"[No, everything was handled through the Reverend Mother.]"

"Were you contacted by representatives of any other Path?"

"[No. I did hear that some of the Thirty-Fourth Path were taking an interest in my request, but that was second-hand and third-hand rumors."

"Got it. Um, just to satisfy my own curiosity...how many Paths do the Karnakians have?"

Hrathra sat back on her coils and thought for a moment before replying. "[A lot.]"

Oscar leaned back. "All right! That was all I had in the way of questions."

The advocate looked puzzled. "[That's it? You're not going to ask them about the theft?]"

"I don't need to. We know they didn't do it."

Resh'skk shoved his way in between Maria and Hrathra and slapped his substantial hands on the table. "[Then what the [HELL] are we doing here? We've been cooped up for days...]"

"You've been cooped up for your own safety," interrupted Oscar. His smile was gone as he faced down the angry Jornissian. "You three have been the target of an attempted framing, and we had to make the thief think that his attempt was successful. Otherwise he might have tried something more desperate."

Hrathra put a hand on top of Resh'ssk's. "[It's all right. Let's hear them out.]"

Her touch made the furious ex-soldier's hood deflate a little, but Resh'ssk still clenched his hands into fists. "[You said 'he'. Do you know who the thief is?]"

"We have a very strong suspicion as to their identity, and it's not any of you or anyone you know."

The ex-soldier's gaze was even fiercer that Hrathra's. "[I swear, if you're just trying to fool us I will make you pay.]"

Oscar held up his hands, palms out. "I don't doubt it. But why would I do such a stupid thing? After all, your advocate is here and witness to my previous statements regarding your innocence. If I was to pull a fast one and accuse you anyway, his testimony would be a severe blow to our prosecution."

Esstrass'har gave a thoughtful purring hum. "[He speaks the truth, Resh'ssk. I could make a very good case for entrapment or straight-up incompetence. And Captain [Rgrarshok] has a spotless reputation. If she or her crew say something, they mean it.]"

Resh'ssk leaned back from the table, but didn't reply otherwise.

Oscar gave the advocate a little bow. "Thank you kindly, sir." He turned to the trio across the table. "I did have one more question related to the case's background. Can you tell me the cause of the divide between the Thirty-Third and Thirty-Fourth Paths? I tried asking a couple of the Karnakians but it got real confusing real fast."

Hrathra looked over at Maria. "[Would you mind educating him?]"

Maria felt as if she'd been suddenly put under a spotlight. "Me? You've been deep in it for longer than I have."

"[True, but I'm not a [Human]. You can put it in terms which are easier for him to understand.]"

"Yeah, I'm kind of a dummy sometimes," said Oscar with a grin.

Maria didn't smile back. "Somehow I doubt that, Mister Williams."

Oscar relaxed even further. "Not the first time my cover's been blown. Go ahead, tell me what you can."

With only a quick glance at Hrathra, Maria took a deep breath and began.

Once upon a time (said Maria) there was a wise Karnakian monk named Ta'irrl'qc. This wise Karnakian spoke a lot about what constitutes proper Karnakian behavior, what is the nature of truth, what do we define as beauty, all of that stuff. The resulting pile of Sutras became the teachings of the Thirty-Second Path.

More importantly for our story, Ta'irrl'qc lived in the pre-Contact days when Karnakians thought themselves alone in the universe.

One of this monk's most famous sutras revolved around the ability of Karnakians to see sapient brain activity. Ta'irrl'qc decreed that this ability along with sapience itself were gifts from The Great Mother. These gifts in turn meant that the Karnakians had the responsiblity and duty to care for The Great One's creation. After all, they'd been given the tools to do so.

As is usually the case, the wise Karnakian collected a large following of devoted disciples during his long and distinguished life. But in spite of his wisdom he was a mere mortal, and eventually Ta'irrl'qc died peacefully in his bed while speaking his Last Sutra. The only ones present at his death were his two most senior disciples.

Of course, right after Ta'irrl'qc's death those two most senior disciples promptly went and had themselves a furious row. At the end of that argument they (of course) wound up telling each other to fuck right off. The Thirty-Second Path split itself into two descendent sects, the Thirty-Third and Thirty-Fourth.

The most common reason given for their argument was that they disagreed on how exactly the disciples of the 32nd Path should reveal Ta'irrl'qc's Last Sutra. The 33rd said that one should only be exposed to the Last Sutra after many years of internal meditation and soul-searching. The 34th, in contrast, claimed that such an honor should be allowed only after many years of external demonstrations of piety.

The two sects never reconciled. They grew and developed over many years in adjacent Blessings; while they never clashed openly, their attitude towards each other became that chilly silence of family members who are not on speaking terms.

And then First Contact happened.

The fact of other sapient beings existing in the universe was a great shock to many Karnakian religions, including the two Paths under discussion. After a while, the Karnakians settled down and figured out how to incorporate this new fact into their dogma.

This is where the two sects split further. The 33rd Sect interpreted the monk's famous sutra to include the other races. Jornissians, Dorarizin, Karnakian...the body did not matter. All three sapient races were equally responsible for caring for the universe.

The 34th Sect, on the other hand, rejected this interpretation. None of the other races had the soul-sight of the Karnakians, which meant that they were still lesser beings. The Karnakians should still be the only ones bearing the responsibility of caring for the universe. This care, of course, would include lording it over the other two sapient races.

"So that's the basic gist of it," Maria said as she finished.

Oscar stared into space as he thought. "I can see why the Senate wanted to get involved in this," he said. "I can imagine the Thirty-Fourth Path is not too popular among the other races, seeing as how they want to take over everything."

"That's an extreme way to put it," said Maria. "The Thirty-Fourth Path would be the first to gasp in horror at the notion of using something as crude as physical force to achieve their goals. But they do make life annoying for the Senate."

"[And the [Thirty-Third] Path has the added benefit of possessing Ta'irrl'qc's Claw,]" added Hrathra. "[It gives them more legitimacy in the eyes of the Karnakian Diarchy.]"

"And now the Claw is gone," said Oscar. "From what you've said, the Thirty-Fourth Path would be very interested in broadcasting such a fact far and wide."

"[That's correct,]" said Hrathra. She tilted her hood. "[Now that I think of it, it's curious that they haven't done so...if they were the ones behind the theft.]"

"So it was an inside job?" asked Maria.

Oscar hopped off of his chair and picked it up. "I'm not sayin', at least not yet. Oh, by the way we'll be presenting our findings in a few hours. We'll need you there, of course. Let us know if you need fresh clothes or whatnot."

Maria had taken up Oscar's offer of fresh clothes, but now she regretted it. The new blouse and trousers fit well, but they weren't 'hers', which gave an uncomfortable alienating feeling to these already-stressful proceedings.

It could have been worse; she could have been Ti'krrh. The Keeper looked actually distraught for the first time. He tapped his clawed fingers together and held his head low to the ground as he approached the Matriarch. "[This is quite improper, Reverend Mother,]" he said. "[We're allowing them in without signing!]"

"[No one is proceeding into the Sanctum, Keeper,]" she replied. "[We extend the same courtesy to the Second Claw, do we not?]"

"[Yes, but that's only one person. This is at least ten!]"

Part of Maria wanted to just claim illness and go find a corner to hide in. Her fretting eased as a big scaly hand settled on her shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. She looked up in surprise at Resh'ssk, who replied with a human-like smile and slithered off to talk with Hrathra.

The Matriarch turned to Oscar and Myyreh, who stood next to the entrance door. "[Is your Captain joining us?]"

"Eventually," said Oscar. "She's just collecting someone."

The entrance door slid open and Rgrarshok entered, followed by the sputtering figure of Ter'yeik. He was followed by Frick and Frack, although from their postures it looked more like the two guards were keeping the Second Claw from bolting.

The Matriarch looked around the room. It was now nearly packed full of alien fur, scales, and feathers. "[Thank you for coming, everyone. We will be adjourning to the bathing chamber so that the [Doarizin] team may make their report.]"

"[I must protest, Matriarch!]" said Ter'yeik. "[If they have findings, they should provide a written report instead of using these theatrics.]"

"[Your protest is noted, Second Claw,]" replied Ck'Trrk'Ka. "[Now get your tail into the baths.]"

The bathing room was a lot less hot and humid today; Maria suspected they'd turned off the steam since there were so many warm bodies present. After they were all in, Frick and Frack stationed themselves in front of the entrance with a calmness that was unlike their uncertainty during their guarding of Maria a few days ago.

Before she could sidle over and ask them what was going on, Oscar stepped into the center of the room. He was in full-on 'good 'ol boy' mode, but Maria was not fooled for a second. "Thanks for coming, folks. There will be a few others joining us, but we can get started."

He tossed a small, spherical drone into the air above him and it started obediently hovering. "Just so y'all know, this is goin' on the record."

"[I have to agree with Ter'yeik,]" said the Matriarch. "[No theatrics, just tell me who stole the Claw. Right now all I know is that she is the primary suspect.]"

Maria felt a prickle of fear as Ck'Trrk'Ka pointed a claw right at her.

Oscar bowed towards the coppery Karnakian. "I hope y'all will indulge a simple country boy. This here's a somewhat complicated affair and I need to lay out our reasoning."

The Matriarch's crest flattened against her head, but she nodded.

"We broke it down into two possibilities," continued Oscar. "Either Hrathra and Maria were the ones who stole the Claw..."

Resh'ssk opened his mouth, but Oscar held up a hand before the Jornissian could protest.

"Hear me out, please. By using a drone, they could have snuck the Claw and its case out through the ventilation duct and then raised the alarm to avoid suspicion. Not that it helped, eh Ter'yeik?"

"[That's what they did!]" exclaimed the Second Claw. "[You yourself found evidence of such! They must have had an accomplice waiting at the end of the duct who spirited away the Claw!]"

Oscar chuckled. "We'll leave aside the question of exactly who this mysterious accomplice was, or how they got onto the temple grounds without bein' noticed. Let's focus on the one piece of physical evidence we have, that shard of crystal. Its type matches that used in the case, and it was covered in skin cells which matched the DNA of one Maria Vargas."

He nodded cheerfully in Maria's direction.

Maria hunched her shoulders and stared at the floor as she tried to ignore the weight of the stares from the Karnakians in the room. Frick and Frack looked more shocked than the others; they must not have been told about that particular bit of evidence.

"[What more do you need?]" said Ter'yeik. "[You know she was involved, so interrogate her and find her accomplices! Then interrogate them! That will lead you to the Claw!]"

Oscar stared without smiling at the Second Claw until the Karnakian looked away. Finally the human continued.

"As I said at the beginning, there were two possibilities. Either these three somehow pulled off the theft, or it was stolen before they arrived."

Ter'yeik spread his wings and let out a scoffing chirp. "[If there was some mysterious 'other' thief, then how did the shard get to where it was and have that human's DNA on it? She never went into that part of the temple!]"

"Because both the shard and the DNA were planted," said Oscar.

Rgrarshok touched her ear. "[We're ready, Bgrarh,]"

The big red Dorarizin loped into the bathing room, and Maria could not resist letting out a squeak of delight. Her Überduffel swung from one of his paws, and she wanted them to stop all this nonsense for a few moments so she could hug it and let it know that she hadn't forgotten about it. Bgrarh set the Überduffel down in front of the Matriarch, who looked at it curiously.

"Maria, would you mind telling the Matriarch where your shirts are stored inside that thing?"

"I could just open it myself..."

"It's better if you don't approach it."

She gave Oscar a minor glare, then turned to the Karnakian. "They're in the side facing you. Pull that top zipper open, and you'll see a closed compartment on your right..."

Within a minute, Ck'Trrk'Ka sure fingers found the garments in question.

"Matriarch, if you would please look through those and see if you find a shirt with a rip and bloodstain in the elbow region."

The Karnakian gave Oscar a double side-eye, but did as asked. "[Yes, there's one here with a minor tear.]"

"Do the edges of that tear line up?"

Ck'Trrk'Ka fumbled at the garment for a bit as she held it close to her front set of eyes. "[Not quite. It appears there is a small bit of cloth missing.]"

"From the bloodstains around the tear, is it safe to say that the missing fragment would also be blood-stained?"

"[Oh yes, I'd think so,]" she replied.

Ter'yeik shook his crest. "[This is pointless. This injury did not happen on temple grounds.]"

Oscar nodded. "You are correct. But it's also true that Maria was still wearing a bandage over that injury when she and Hrathra visited here. You were there when they took off their clothes. You saw her bandage. You realized that you had a golden opportunity to get ahold of her DNA."

The Second Claw crouched low, the feathers around his neck standing out in rage...and then he straightened up again as the space in front of him was suddenly occupied by a crouching Dorarizin. The alien's movement was so fast that Maria started back in sudden fear.

"[Calm yourself. Or I will calm you for sure,]" said Myyreh.

Ter'yeik's feathers subsided, but his eyes still held a fearsome rage. "[How dare he accuse me of...]"

"You're busted, shithead," said Oscar in a flat tone. "You had plenty of opportunity to go through Maria's bag during that whole foofraw after she and Hrathra reported the theft. You found that blood-stained shirt and snipped off a little sample. You used that sample plus the temple's own medical cloner to make yourself a lump of artificial skin containing her DNA."

Maria was quite unprepared for the rage that now filled her. "It was you! You lousy SON OF A..." She took one step towards Ter'yeik only to realize she was looking right down the barrel of Myyreh's unsheathed claw.

"[Just stay right there,]" said Myyreh. The ferocity of her unsmiling face broke for just a moment as she gave Maria a wink. "[Trust me, if someone needs a beating I'll attend to it.]"

"You'd better," replied Maria with a wink of her own.

"[Matriarch, you can't possibly believe this!]" exclaimed Ter'yeik.

Ck'Trrk'Ka shrugged and reached into a side pocket. "[Captain [Rgrarshok] asked me to bring a portable DNA scanner, one suitable for multiple species.]" She pulled out a small flat device that looked a little like a smartphone. "[I now understand why she made that request.]"

"You're right, Matriarch," said Oscar. "Ter'yeik used that lump of cloned skin plus a shard of crystal from the case to make it look like Maria was guilty. But after that he faced a bit of a quandary. By then we'd arrived and taken possession of Maria's duffel. So that lump of skin was all he had, and who knows? Maybe he'd need to plant more evidence."

Ter'yeik rolled his eyes. "[This is purest supposition!]" His anger now seemed to have evaporated, and Maria noted with unease that he seemed a hell of a lot more confident than he had a few moments ago.

Oscar gave a mirthless laugh. "If it's supposition, then how come I know that there's a lump of synthetic skin right in there?"

He spun and pointed at the huge brazier-like bowl at the entrance to the inner Sanctum.

The one that was filled with a mound of green powder.

"You heard that there was a Senate team on the way," said Oscar. "And you heard they were composed of Dorarizin. It was the perfect place to stash it, literally the last place they'd want to look."

Maria did not like the smug look on Ter'yeik's face. "[So go ahead and search it, [human]."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of being accused of planting evidence. Reverend Mother, would you please do the honors?"

After another double side-eye at Oscar, Ck'Trrk'Ka paced over to the brazier and dug a claw down into the green powder. Maria noted that each Dorarizin in the room gave a little shudder as the Matriarch did so.

"[Hmm...yes, it does appear that there is indeed something in here.]" She pulled out a pale chunk about the size of Maria's thumb and brushed a few errant grains of green powder off of it. "[This does appear to be synthetic skin. Do you wish me to perform a DNA analysis on it?]"

"If you would be so kind, Reverend Mother." Oscar's face was set in grim satisfaction. But Ter'yeik's expression became even more smug as he floofed himself out into a cream-colored ball.

At that moment, Maria knew.

She knew that the Second Claw had planned this all out, he'd wanted Oscar to find that lump of skin. The Matriarch's scan was not going to work; either it would return a null result or worse it would give someone else's DNA. Either way it would discredit the whole investigation.

Maria opened her mouth to yell a warning just as the Matriarch pressed her scanner against the lump of artificial flesh.