 Not all is going poorly for Barin, however; he has gone broke paying for the refugees from Our Texas who had attached themselves to him, and is deeply relieved when the professor specializing in Texan history suggests that they be sent to Excet-24 where their skills and handicrafts are deeply needed by the colony and especially Ron and Raffaela.The new commander of Three Stacks on Copper Mountain has not been idle during these events.Methlin Meharry's little brother was stationed there when Bacarion was appointed; Gelan Meharry realizes after a little research turns up Bacarion's connections to Lepescu that a mutiny is imminent (as Bacarion could have no other reason to seek appointment to a maximum-security prison) and that as Methlin Meharry's little brother, his days are numbered.