"Zash paid me a visit here a week ago and behaved civilly, though failed to return what she had robbed me of. It looks like she is truce-minded as well for the time being, though her own apprentice says she hasn't really mellowed, just refocused."
"Let's speak briefly of allies then. I spoke to the Queen in the morning. I asked her to vouch for me before your master in my bid for the seat, just in case there's any Council in the aftermath. She agreed to do so." She nibbled on something. "There's more to the Massassi affairs though that may come important. Do you recall the platoon that wandered off and was subsequently written off? I recovered three survivors. Their account pointed to a sabotage: their jammer was tampered with to lure them off into a monolith lair. While this was the most grievous incident, it was not the first one when some chicanery has been attempted against the modified Massassi in the Bex Company, and they think the leads go to their captain, Thuriza. Magara-sha has been informed of this and she wants the captain's head. I had informed Public Security too, they have all the recovered evidence, the case is being handled by one Major Nox."
She washed her throat with sticky bloodwine. "I don't know if or how it can figure in the grand things to come soon, but I assumed you wouldn't like to be oblivious on anything related to the Massassi since it's been your project."