Still in Joseph’s suite, a call comes in… from Kerri Lansing. She offers a deal to keep the crew’s good name intact, which is reluctantly accepted. From her, they learn that Ysala Rho had already visited the vault. Joseph reveals that his condition has worsened. He will stay in Tribon while Hadley goes to Bauble with the others.
The vault is swiftly located. Unfortunately, its contents have already been looted. The crew do find a gearwerk, thought to belong to Ysala Rho, which they rescue. More unsettling is the discovery of two klick artefacts, along with evidence of a potential klick installation nearby.
They hightail it back to Lison and inform Ambassador Cynthia Veil at the embassy in Tribon. She makes arrangements for a strike force to depart for Bauble the following day. The crew agree to accompany the expedition and proceed to make preparations and get some rest. Conrad arranges a safety deposit box with the local branch of a Bluefall-headquartered bank. He also convinces Sasha to stay behind with Joseph this time.