By the time everyone returned to the embassy, Yu Lian learned that Lady Lina Wilbert and several senior embassy officials had already set out ahead of them.
Major General Oswood, the chief military attaché, was still there anxiously waiting for everyone. When Colonel Silva gave him the good news, he broke into a genuinely grateful, joyful smile. He clasped Yu Lian's hands and shook them for a full half minute, coming within a hair's breadth of dropping to his knees and declaring, "You're a savior sent from heaven!"
"Actually, this arms deal has been dragging on for over a year, and we've held more than twenty meetings with the Alliance. But those people are really hard to deal with! By the spirits of the universe, we really have done our best. But if things keep going this way, the bigwigs back on Earth will be very unhappy with the embassy's work. The ambassador's wife and the counselor have powerful connections, so they'll be fine, but I'm the one ultimately responsible. I'd be in a pretty awkward position—might even get transferred to New Shenzhou to serve as an adviser to the garrison."
What, did New Shenzhou steal your lunch or something? You made it sound like a place of exile. Besides, if you really had done your best, you wouldn't have been so frightened by a single assassination attempt that you stopped attending meetings altogether, would you?
"But no matter what, thanks to the spirits of the universe, you've finally arrived. Now that you're here, ordinary people like us—bullied by the bigwigs back on Earth and pushed around by Alliance profiteers—finally have someone we can count on."
Yu Lian couldn't help thinking that, though they were both chief military attachés stationed in major powers, Oswood was leagues behind Major General Watt