"We can try to always have someone in the bar but -"

"We left it empty when we came up here."

"And Bar can't tell you if he already did, the confidentiality policy -

you can totally find the room, can't you."

"No, I actually can't!"

"Can you check if there's another Maitimo in here anywhere -"

"That I can do."

Maitimos in Milliways besides this one:...

Yep.

Cam looks at his mini basement dweller and scowls.

"Oh, fuck. I should have thought of that sooner - should have thought of it immediately - I even said you treat people under an oath like that as hostile and then I was just too careless to think it through -"

"I thought he took me seriously enough when I pointed out that any time with the door open was time his Melkor could spend continuing to torture people, whoops." And he sends out a message To Whom It May Concern, attn: evil Maitimo has entered the building.

"It wouldn't be a question of how seriously he took it, just of whether evil me would care- 

 -what are we going to do -"

"I'm going to go talk to Nechar and see if he can break oaths, I should have done that in the first place."

"...good idea."

So Cam goes and does that and presently Maitimo has a message: He doesn't know if he can till he tries it and doesn't want to try it on a non-consenting subject which I assume is not going to be an option.

I'm happy to swear never to say the phrase "dreaming pineapple sandwich'" and see if he can clear it or something - can we explain the situation with the non-consenting subject - are we inclined to negotiate with evil Maitimo -

You have chipbased oaths, results might be different. I explained, he says that sounds terrible but Milliways is neutral territory. I'm sort of guarding the door now.

Do you want me to come down.

Up to you but I don't know what I'll actually say if either of them shows up.

There is a pounding on the door of Cam's room.

Me neither but I think I'll come down. And he opens the door.

"I got Cam's message."

"This is my fault," he says, starting to walk downstairs, "I know the procedures for handling someone under oaths like that and I didn't want to insist because - well, because there was already one of me keeping him a prisoner - I was prioritizing being unobjectionable over his actual well-being -"

"Is there any reason I should not attempt to intimidate him with phrases like 'I'm the same thing as our world's Valar'? I'm assuming it's a bad idea and you should talk me out of it but I can't quite think of why to talk myself out of it..."

"Security will probably step in if threats are made - you will hear no complaints from me if you just kill him faster than Security can do anything but depending on the exact wording of the oaths that may not help -"

"I was thinking more of implying things than direct oaths--you actually seem madder than keeping someone a prisoner unjustly would warrant, am I missing context?"