It turned out that Investigator Oran's testimony was about all the loose ends left.

Mtak belonged to M-taran brood that still held many high positions across Tamare society. M-taran saw Ktak's existence as an utter insult to herself and product of something that had rightfully belonged to her. Mtak's mysterious career changes had been all orchestrated by M-taran through her brood-children to place him under Ktak's command and from that position find a way to destroy her. His attack on Ames was a mistake on his part that had foiled the whole plot.

When news got around about Ktak having babies M-taran saw an opportunity to "reclaim" what was stolen from her and used a low ranking brood-child still left on board to bring one of the babies to her.

The M-taran brood-mother was to be tried back on Tamare for her deeds and all M-taran brood-children had been retired from their positions.

Investigator Oran presented this evidence in the hopes, that the Council would acknowledge that individual Tamare who were behind any recent attempts to violate the injunction were properly handled by the Tamare themselves and no further penalization of Tamare as a whole was necessary.

Council session closed for deliberations. They were all to wait for the verdict in the next few days.

Ames had worn his Tamare ceremonial robes, stilts and all to the hearing to make a point. When they finally met up in the hallway outside the Counsil Hall, Ames performed the greeting that Ktam had taught him at Investigator Oran. The exceptionally rude one. All Tamare within sight stopped to see the fight that was sure to ensue. Investigator Oran blinked all his six eyes slowly in turn and responded with one that Ames did not know but had the effect of all Tamare around them to try to be somewhere else, if not in body then in mind and Ktak burst out in an uncontrollable fit of laugher. Ames still clearly had something to learn from Investigator Oran. Simeon seemed to watch him with interest acute enough to make Ames uncomfortable.

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The verdict read out was very much as expected - Ktak and her brood were aquited and it was left to Tamare to deal with M-taran.

Finally they were done here and could leave this place. When they were boarding the passenger shuttle to Tamare home-world they found that Investigator Oran and Simeon would be traveling with them. While Ktak was privately glad for the opportunity to get to know Simeon better she and Ames both wondered why he was not leaving for Earth instead. Maybe he too just wanted to get to know his distant relations and had no hurry back to Earth.

His true motivation, as many things are, was revealed by accident. Ames was walking back to their quarters after dropping the girls off at the ship's playroom for a few hours when he heard oddly familiar irregular thumps. Like someone was faceplanting into the floor over and over. The sound pulled him couple corridors off course and lead him to Simeon. Simeon was trying to learn one of those complicated Tamare greetings and failing spectacularly. His stilts weren't modified either.

When he was done up-righting himself and swearing he finally saw Ames looking at him.

"Want to tell me exactly why are you engaging in this act of self abuse? For fun?" Ames asked.

Simeon looked at the ground. "Ktag asked me to stay with her as her consort." he responded. "I have nobody waiting for me on Earth so I agreed."

Apparently they had gotten close when he was coming to interview Mother and was now struggling with many challenges Ames had already mastered. He also pointed out with almost straight face and with his "professional" monotone voice that there was actually no reason to get hitched in some shady temple. A notarized marriage contract was just as valid. Ames laughed, showed him the modifications on his stilts and told him he knew a perfect teacher for him.

Investigator Oran was quite amused by his first pupil bringing him another and just so he would not be bored on the trip he promised to teach him the outright indecent one. It was quite complicated and Ames spent some amusing afternoons learning to REALLY insult people in Tamare while Simeon was learning basics much faster than Ames had. His excuse was apparently circus lessons as a kid.