Chapter 4

And indeed, his nakedness doesn’t seem to have been noticed. A nameless Services Officer, in the classic Republic-approved identity obscuring field, puts a holodisk on the table and steps back. He doesn’t greet or otherwise interact with Zach, which probably means the officer is from some Secret Service or another.

From the disk, a hologram of a squat man comes up. The redness of his face is not something that’s usually seen these days with the people adapting to a capricious climate and says more about his level of frustration and anger than words ever could. His judicious use of a handkerchief only serves to reinforce that image.

“Good afternoon, Advocate Miller,” the man says in a sonorous voice. He doesn’t offer a name, probably believing that Zach already knows him. He doesn’t.

Zach nods.

“We are aware that you’ve aided a fugitive,” the man says. “You are hereby arrested by the power the Republic invested in me.”