Colonel Edweso Asantewaa is an opportunist who has been put in a dead-end job. As part of the “cease fire” end of the Templar War, because it was never an official surrender, Lianmeng Central Branch maintains Liaison offices on Templar worlds/stations. These are cushy jobs with little responsibility or power, where the liaison acts as a go-between for issues that involve both the Templar System and Central Branch. Because there is little to do, there is little way for advancement. Unless you’re crooked. And clever.
Edweso sees an opportunity in this situation of the stollen 300 Avar. The political unease on Venus gives her visions of stepping into less than stable spheres of power around the world. She knows everything about the security companies, the mayoral systems of corruption, and the stranglehold rich corporations have over every practical aspect of life on the planet. A bunch of war criminals set loose? It could be the kind of catalyst that allows for her grab hold of power not just for Central Branch, but for herself.
She foolishly sees Arnaz as a washed-up cop with no teeth, and that oversight will be her main hindrance in accomplishing these goals. She normally would not be so that, but she mistakes his distain for authority as incompetence.