Tabini Sends Bren, Ilisidi, and Cajeiri into Space

Tabini Sends Bren, Ilisidi, and Cajeiri into Space was both an investigation into a dangerous revelation and a political act of succession planning. Tabini dispatched Bren Cameron, Ilisidi, and his son Cajeiri with the departing ship to learn what was happening beyond the world, keep atevi involved in decisions made in space, and place key members of his household beyond the reach of enemies. The mission was a wager made with little knowledge of the distances, communications limits, or dangers involved—and one that changed the balance of power on the ground as well as in the heavens.

Causes and Objectives

The decision followed a series of admissions by Phoenix. The most alarming was that Reunion Station’s library contained the location of the atevi sun: if the station fell, hostile strangers might be able to reach the atevi world. Tabini was angry at what the ship-folk had concealed and suspected that neither atevi nor Mospheirans had been told the whole truth. Rather than accept the captains’ account, he chose to send trusted representatives to find out for themselves.

The mission answered a political danger already visible at home. Building the shuttle fleet had brought rapid change to the mainland. Wealth flowed into previously poor regions, while society grew increasingly unstable. Tabini nevertheless considered the alternative—allowing decisions about atevi’s future to be made in space without atevi participation—unacceptable. The expedition was therefore not simply a response to a possible threat from beyond the world. It was also an assertion that atevi must have a part in governing the new circumstances the fleet had created.

Tabini gave each member of the party a distinct purpose. Bren Cameron understood humans and could assess their actions and explanations. Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, was not someone who could be diverted with lies; her presence made the search for the truth harder to evade. Cajeiri was sent to gain knowledge, understand humans, and learn from the woman who had taught Tabini. The assignment joined inquiry and education to the more immediate need to move vulnerable members of Tabini’s household out of danger.

A Risky Departure

The choice was explicitly a desperate gamble. Tabini did not know the scale of the universe, did not understand that the ship could not communicate across the distance, and could not know how difficult or dangerous the journey would be. These limits matter to the mission’s character: he acted decisively without the information that would ordinarily make such a deployment predictable or safe. The departure was a way to discover what could not be established from the ground, but it also meant accepting a prolonged absence and uncertain contact.

The decision shocked the Aishidi’tat and overturned political calculations. Tabini sent out a scattered part of his household: Cajeiri, Ilisidi—who had ruled the Aishidi’tat more than once—and Bren Cameron, the paidhi-aiji who could understand humans. The ship left the station with all three aboard, and they would not return for two years. Their absence removed them from immediate danger at home, but also put them far away from the institutions and allies they might need if the mainland crisis worsened.

Succession and the Heavens

Tabini’s dispatch of the party belonged to a wider plan for preserving atevi control. Lord Geigi governed a technologically adept atevi population in the heavens and could reach Earth if given a target and an order. The people sent away were therefore not merely travelers outside the reach of their enemies: their presence in space placed Tabini’s grandmother and heir where they could acquire influence and knowledge beyond the mainland.

Tabini considered what should happen if he himself were killed. In that case, he reasoned, Ilisidi and Cajeiri could gain power in the heavens, return, and take back the Aishidi’tat. If they could not return, Lord Geigi and the atevi in space could declare an aijinate, contact reliable lords on Earth, and reshape the Aishidi’tat as necessary to preserve atevi control of the world. This contingency made the mission an extension of political authority: even a successful attack on Tabini would not necessarily decide who ruled or whether atevi could govern their own planet.

Tabini did not intend to die, and the mission also changed how he managed his personal exposure. With two members of his household away, he became more cautious and traveled far less often, reducing opportunities for unstable people to threaten him. He expected that Filings against his supporters might emerge, but the Guild reported only familiar people, statements, and activities, none reaching Shejidan. He relied on that information and on ship-paidhi Yolande Mercheson, although she may have failed to understand a quiet warning from an unsigned letter.

Consequences and Significance

The party’s departure intensified uncertainty at home. Rumors multiplied: some people believed that humans had kidnapped Ilisidi and Cajeiri; others said the ship had never left and that its passengers were dead. The mission thus created a political absence that could be filled by speculation, even as its planned purpose was to protect Tabini’s household and establish a presence beyond the world.

Within a year, conspirators attempted to assassinate Tabini at his residence and found that he was not there. They correctly guessed that he might have gone to Taiben and tried to reinforce the assault there, amid confusion over the fact that Murini of the Kadagidi had already proclaimed himself aiji while Tabini remained alive. The attacks also targeted the shuttles, the Shejidan airport, and the dish at Mogari-nai. By seizing shuttles under service and taking the radio station, the conspirators believed they had removed Lord Geigi as a threat and cut off communication with the heavens. Their assumptions—that there were no mines in space and no way to communicate once they held Mogari-nai—show how directly the mission’s strategic logic had become entangled with the struggle on Earth. Tabini’s dispatch could not prevent the coup attempt, but it ensured that the fate of his household and the future of atevi rule were no longer confined to the ground.