Jase

Jase’s place in the crisis is defined by what he can safeguard: the household on the ground, its connection to the station, and the young guests caught up in court life. When Bren Cameron prepares to enter a dangerous situation, Jase asks how he can help and accepts a direct assignment to protect Tabini, Ilisidi, Lord Tatiseigi, and the children. Later, his bodyguards’ presence is part of the plan to keep Tabini’s household safe and to preserve a line of communication that cannot be cut off through ordinary channels.

Security and Responsibility

When Bren Cameron explains that his own bodyguard cannot accompany him through the door he needs to open, Jase asks what he can do. Bren assigns him to guard Tabini, Ilisidi, Lord Tatiseigi, and the children with his weapons and every resource available. If the household is attacked, Jase is to contact Lord Geigi, request help, and tell him everything they know. Bren adds that Jase may then be paidhi-aiji, making the contingency part of a larger plan to keep the government functioning if Bren does not return.

Jase does not simply accept the danger without question. He warns Bren against taking foolish chances, while Bren explains that the entry is necessary, that his credentials can open a door without costing lives, and that legal grounds exist if those in charge try to stop him. Jase’s promise of backup matters to Bren because it means the people left behind cannot be attacked without resistance. Bren’s confidence in the plan rests on both parts: his own ability to act and Jase’s protection of the household.

Tabini recognizes the logic of Bren’s choice even as he objects that caution has little to do with undertaking such a risk. He agrees to prepare a document concerning the Dojisigi matter and to apply the seals of several departments, hoping that the document’s strategic usefulness will not need to be tested. He then gives Bren his seal ring. The episode places Jase’s defensive role alongside Bren’s official authority: Jase helps secure the people and position that make the dangerous mission consequential, while Tabini equips Bren to act in his name.

A Link Between the Household and the Station

Ilisidi describes unexpected resources that can protect the foreign guests, Tabini’s son, and the others during the operation or a second coup. Bren confirms that Jase understands the danger and has promised to help. Jase’s bodyguards can prevent a hostile operation from reaching the floor where the household is gathered, though Bren carefully distinguishes that protection from a guarantee for the entire building.

Jase can also contact the station without relying on the Messengers’ Guild. If Lord Geigi is told that Tabini, Ilisidi, the young gentleman, the guests, or the spaceport is threatened, Geigi has both the means and the will to respond. Bren reports that Geigi has substantially fortified the spaceport over the preceding year. Jase is prepared to defend Tabini directly and, if necessary, move Tabini, Ilisidi, and Cajeiri to safety at the port. The arrangement gives the household a route out and a way to communicate beyond systems the attackers might disable; Tabini is urged to remain alive and in command of the network rather than risk another seizure of power.

At Court with the Young Guests

Jase’s protective presence also reaches beyond the immediate security crisis. He arrives at Cajeiri’s gathering in court dress, escorted by Madam Saidin, after leaving his bodyguards in the foyer. Their armor is unfamiliar in this setting to Cajeiri, who remembers that Kaplan and Polano did not wear it aboard ship; he understands that their equipment may be governed by rules about where it is used. Jase’s entrance is measured: he bows to Great-uncle, Cajeiri, and the guests, then says they will wait briefly in case a last-minute difficulty arises. Seeing the group in good order, he is pleased with what he finds.

Later, after Tabini and Cajeiri have finished signing cards and can speak with well-wishers, Jase catches up with Bren and the children. He asks in ship-speak whether they are enjoying themselves. Gene says they are; Irene likes the clothes and notes that they have received cards of their own. Jase tells them to treasure the cards because such items will not come again in a lifetime and are valuable onworld. His advice turns an unfamiliar public occasion into something the children can keep and understand.

Artur asks whether Cajeiri should now be addressed as Cajeiri-aiji. Bren turns to Banichi for guidance, and Banichi explains that young gentleman remains appropriate, while Cajeiri-aiji is for formal occasions and nand’ aiji is the same form of address used for his father. Jase’s conversation with the children sits beside this explanation of rank: he helps them take part in the ceremony while the adults clarify the meaning of Cajeiri’s new public standing.

Escort and Return to Private Company

When news comes that Damiri is giving birth, Tabini tells Cajeiri that she has chosen not to go to the Bujavid clinic and is giving directions, with Bren Cameron beside her. He reassures his son and orders a senior bodyguard to go to Jase, assist him and the young guests to Lord Tatiseigi’s apartment, and advise Ilisidi to take his place in the hall. Cajeiri immediately raises the question of his guests, and Tabini’s instructions make their safety part of the family’s response to the news.

After the festivity breaks up, Jase returns. Madam Saidin has made it home and taken over, and Jase is willing to exchange news over brandy. Kaplan and Polano remain in the hall, where atevi guards know who they are and have instructions to bring them upstairs once the event has ended. In the sitting room, Bren, Banichi, Jago, Tano, Algini, Narani, Jeladi, and Bindanda gather in privacy to debrief. Jase’s return closes the sequence not with another formal appearance but with news shared among allies: the protection he provided at the edges of the gathering leads back into the group’s work of understanding what has happened.