Humoring a Child

"Why did you think I was thriving on Mars, swaggering through crowds of people?"

Quadrant asked.

At that moment, surrounded by the Custodes, Qin Xa and Quadrant sat cross-legged on the floor facing each other.

There was not even a second chair in the laboratory. The Custodes had been standing the entire past few months.

"The Emperor told me that he had put you in charge of the operation to find the ancient cargo ship," Qin Xa explained. "And a priest told Varius that he had been ordered by you to find the cargo ship. So I assumed you had built up your own power base on Mars and were overseeing the progress of certain work."

Quadrant sighed and shook his head.

If I were really leading an operation like the Emperor said, Kelbo would not have been able to casually place me under house arrest.

Qin Xa, meanwhile, was thinking about the priest searching for the cargo ship, as well as the Emperor.

The first time Qin Xa heard the Emperor say what Quadrant was doing, he had not believed it. He thought the Emperor was lying.

As for that priest, he had clearly only used Quadrant as a pretext, hoping Varius would hand over the cargo ship. He had not actually been assigned by Quadrant, much less acting on Quadrant's orders.

"Tell me what you've been doing these past few days." Qin Xa smiled as he asked, as though making casual conversation. "The Librarian fleet had only just reached Calasta when I hurried to Mars. The moment I saw you through Psychic Sight, I rushed here. I had no time to investigate anything."

So Quadrant told him about coming to Mars, then being placed under house arrest.

"What did you do during the months you were under house