Ba Lura was a personal servant to Cetagandan Empress Lisbet Degtiar and assistant to Rian Degtiar, working in the Star Crèche. It had been heavily involved in Lisbet's plans to expand the haut class, but was suborned by haut-governor Ilsum Kety when it brought the Great Seal to him for copying. Ilsum Kety told it to take a copy of the Seal to the newly-arrived Barrayaran delegates and give it to them. Shortly after it completed that mission, Kety had it killed to eliminate all witness to that action and to the fact that the copy was a non-functioning duplicate instead of the true Seal.