Silas had been one of those people. Had known it, probably — Silas had assessed the political situation in Ashmar months back with the unsentimental clarity of someone who understood that he was a piece on a board. But knowing you were expendable and being expended were different things, and the gap between them was where Silas currently was.
Bessia said, "If Silas is on Federation soil when the Republic moves its militarily against the Federation—"
"He's a Republic national in an adversary territory during an active conflict," Adam said. "His status becomes complicated."
Complicated was doing a great deal of work in that sentence and everyone in the room understood what it was carrying.
