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‘Oh, that,’ said the witness with bored assurance. ‘It’s been missing for two days.’

* * * *

MIRA

‘Cheap,’ said Rast suddenly.

Mira had thought she was still asleep. Indeed, her eyes remained closed.

Below them smoke snaked from Malocchi’s building along and up the range to the Studium and the Principe’s palazzo.

‘This is a cheap invasion. No AiV capacity other than what they commandeered. Basic weapons. Lots of groundwork done, though. All those little accidents beforehand. Distractions. Get the local Carabinere running around stamping out groundfires and they don’t see that the forest’s about to be burned down.’

Mira didn’t understand the mercenary’s odd analogy. ‘Other than the climate, Araldis would not be a difficult planet to plunder,’ she allowed.

‘Yes. One minimalist fleet and a toothless enforcement agency.’

‘That is why you were here?’

Rast gave a mocking salute. ‘Touché, Baronessa. Yes, we hire out as security. Obviously the Principe had cause to worry.’

Mira returned her attention to the scan. Sprawling out along the bottom of Pell, Dockside looked normal enough. ‘It’s overrun with Saqr, according to what I’ve been told.’ She stopped short of using Trin Pellegrini’s name.

She felt Rast’s gaze on her. The mercenary sensed that she had been about to say more.

‘You look different, Baronessa. Where did you get this AiV? Catchut saw you and Mulravey take some women out of Ipo on a barge. What happened then?’

‘We were caught in the dust storm. There are some survivors hiding out among the smaller mines. One of them found us after the storm. We were fortunate, I suppose.’

‘Fortunate? Hmm.’ Rast lapsed into a moment’s silence. ‘So who did you kill to be the only one getting off this planet?’

‘I-it was agreed. I am the only one who can fly Insignia.’ Again, she avoided mentioning Trin’s name. ‘If she is still intact. If I can get to her.’

‘Her?’

‘The biozoon is not inanimate. Only a fool would treat them as such.’

‘If she is intact, I’ll get you to her,’ Rast said grimly. ‘But I want out of here. If you try and blow me off, Baronessa, I’ll kill you. Is that clear? I lost most of my crew and only got part of my payment. I’m not feeling generous.’

Mira nodded. What absurd impulse had made her stop to help the mercenary? Because she can kill and I might need her to do that.

* * * *

As they descended towards the royal palazzo Mira saw that the main landing pad was strewn with debris, as though an AiV had exploded on take-off. Chunks of metal and melted plex spread in a wide, relatively even circle. Saqr crawled over the remains.

‘I cannot land there.’ Mira climbed again until she could execute a more horizontal sweep of the palazzo. The alternative pad on the mountainside had collapsed and torn a chunk out of the foundations.

‘Crux. It looks like the entire palace is cracking away from the side,’ said Rast. She and Catchut had their faces pressed to the cabinplex, peering below. ‘Where is this res-ship?’

‘The Tourmaline Islands. It’s the Principe’s Insignia craft. It’s kept separate from the rest of the Fleet.’

Rast fell back from the window and turned to Mira. ‘Then what in the Crux are we doing here? The place is crawling with Saqr.’

‘It can’t be flown without the Insignia lozenge. And that is in the Principe’s vault.’ Mira banked the AiV in an unnecessarily steep turn just to see the mercs clutch their seats. ‘I think.’

‘You think.’ Rast closed her eyes.

‘It is possible that the Principe had it with him when he died. He may have removed it from the vault,’ said Mira. ‘Anything could have happened to it, really-’

‘Really.’

Rast’s mimicry irritated Mira.

The mercenary expelled a deep breath. ‘I think I know why the little aristo stopped to pick us up, Catchut,’ she said in a raised voice.

Catchut grunted. ‘Capo, Latourn’s bleeding won’t stop.’

‘The Insignia craft has comprehensive automedic,’ said Mira quickly.

‘Where are the Principe’s rooms?’

Mira could see what Rast was thinking. ‘I will