'I mean mean the prodigiously equipped s.e.x toy you keep squirrelled away there for those special, private moments, Dakota. I didn't tell you, did I? I got one for myself ' the prodigiously equipped s.e.x toy you keep squirrelled away there for those special, private moments, Dakota. I didn't tell you, did I? I got one for myself '

'Really? I-'

Milligan's expression had become slightly dreamy. 'Sebastian's been rather sullen ever since. Now, I'm sorry, I've been interrupting your story. So please continue.'

'It was meant to be a regular pick-up. I don't ask questions, Yi and Lin don't either. Except this time they went and stole something, and now the original owners want it back. They also tried to steal my ship just so they could get off-station.'

Sebastian reappeared, carrying a silver tray which he placed on the low table positioned between Dakota and Milligan. Two china cups and a teapot sat elegantly on the tray. Sebastian then left, and Milligan began to pour.

'Never fear, no spores in here,' he informed her in his singsong voice, nodding towards the teapot. 'Anyway, it all sounds very unfortunate indeed. But I did hear just before you got here that they'd been taken into custody by the station authorities, pending a special investigation which, in my experience, most often precedes a quick trip out of an airlock minus a s.p.a.cesuit.'

Dakota drank from her cup. 'Which leaves me.'

'Which leaves you,' Milligan repeated, something feral in his eyes as he leaned back and regarded her once more. He began putting on what appeared to be a pair of surgical gloves. 'Of course I myself have a vested interest in helping you, because if they find you, they find me too, and that isn't good for business.'

Dakota tried not to shrink away from his suddenly menacing gaze. 'They won't find me,' she protested. 'You've known Quill longer than I have. And I know you, you, and that you're good for your word.' and that you're good for your word.'

'That I am. Which brings me to this.' Milligan leaned over to one side and opened a small bra.s.s case resting on a side table next to his chair. He reached into it and lifted something out.

At first, Dakota thought what he held was something living. Something black and shiny and wet-looking writhed slowly in Milligan's hands. It appeared segmented, like a caterpillar, and between five and ten centimetres in length.

Dakota's throat felt suddenly dry. 'And that is?'

'This, my dear, is what Lin and Yi got their grubby hands on; a form of artificial skin or armour of some kind. Pretty, isn't it? And quite, quite alien.'

Dakota put her cup down carefully. 'You know, maybe you shouldn't be telling me any of this.'

'In an ideal world, perhaps.'

Dakota tried to stand up, but two pairs of strong hands suddenly pressed her back down and held her there. She twisted her head around and saw Sebastian and another of Milligan's lovers standing behind her. She tried to twist away, but felt suddenly drowsy. The cup slipped from her hand and rolled across the floor, its contents staining the fine carpet.

As she slumped to one side, suddenly Milligan was sitting on the arm of her chair, one hand resting on her thigh as he leaned in close to the side of her head. 'If there's one thing I want you to remember, Dakota, it's that this is not personal. Mr Quill really needs to find himself a better quality of thief than either Yi or her idiot brother. I'd say his game was slipping, so I'd say it was time we both both found a new employer.' found a new employer.'

'You drugged me.' She slumped further against Milligan's shoulder.

He patted her head. 'Yes, I did, my dear. It's time we were both moving on. You back to the Sol System, if you must, and me to somewhere my business can't be easily threatened.'

The rich, thick velvet of Milligan's bathrobe felt luxurious against her cheek, and she snuggled against it. 'I'll kill you, you miserable f.u.c.ker,' she murmured, a drowsy half-smile on her face. 'I'll hunt you down and feed your p.e.c.k.e.r to your boyfriends.'

'I like like you, my dear, contrary to all appearances. Nevertheless, I require you to draw attention away from me before the Bandati decide to turn up on my doorstep. And ours is a business where trust must frequently be sacrificed in the cause of survival.' you, my dear, contrary to all appearances. Nevertheless, I require you to draw attention away from me before the Bandati decide to turn up on my doorstep. And ours is a business where trust must frequently be sacrificed in the cause of survival.'

Milligan was gently stroking Dakota's hair now, but, deep in her drug-induced warm and snuggly mental coc.o.o.n, her thoughts were full of images of merciless vengeance. 'You know what?'

'Yes, my dear?'

'If you go anywhere near my ship, I'll make sure it b.u.g.g.e.rs you to death, slices and dices what's left, and sells the remnants to one of those long-pig restaurants I hear Alexander Bourdain's running.'

'If you're anything, Dakota, you're certainly consistent. But, in the meantime, I'm really, really curious to see if this thing can do what it's supposed to.'

She heard him shifting beside her. 'Sebastian, have you finished programming the medbox? Oh, very very good. Now, help me lift her up.' good. Now, help me lift her up.'

'Milligan?' Dakota felt herself lifted from her chair. 'What're you going to do?'

'I'm going to see if this . . . device device can really do what it purports to,' he told her. 'And if it can, well, I like to think you'll thank me one day . . .' can really do what it purports to,' he told her. 'And if it can, well, I like to think you'll thank me one day . . .'

'And you escaped from this man Milligan?' the Queen of Darkening Skies asked Dakota as she finished.

She had slowly shifted herself to a sitting position as she spoke, though constantly aware of the weapons still aimed at her. 'Not exactly. I woke up in a medbox with scars up and down my back, and my implants told me maybe twenty-four hours had pa.s.sed. There was no sign of Milligan, and he was gone for good from the orbital port. I knew straight away that he'd installed the filmsuit tech inside me. He obviously wanted to know if it really worked, or if it could be placed inside a human body. I'm guessing the medbox's a.n.a.lytical systems confirmed that it could. I still don't know how he got hold of it or if there was more than just the one filmsuit.'

Another Bandati, one of several others who had arrived while Dakota told her story, now turned to the Queen and spat out a rapid series of clicks and trills that went untranslated. The newcomers all wore long, coloured rags suspended from a fine mesh encasing their upper bodies. None of them, however, appeared to be carrying interpreters.

'This isn't a trial,' the Queen said, by way of reply to the Bandati who had addressed her. 'We won't, therefore, have another opportunity to gather evidence we can file away for later. But, yes, the Magi starship is of much greater importance.'

She turned her attention to the same Bandati who had s.n.a.t.c.hed Dakota from the surface of Night's End. 'My dear Days of Wine and Roses,' she said, 'tell me, is the cease-fire holding?'

'Only just, my Queen. We've allowed Immortal Light's negotiators to believe our field generators are on the verge of failing. They'll stop short of launching a full-scale attack as long as they think we're trapped here.'

'You know,' Dakota said, staring around the chamber, 'There's no reason for me to even be here. I told you everything I can about the filmsuit. But I destroyed the derelict. Surely there's nothing for you to be fighting over any more?'

'Apart from what little knowledge still remains in your head?' Roses suggested. 'Perhaps we should dig that out the hard way'

'An unnecessary violation of corporeal matters,' boomed Trader. 'We have the other starship to consider.'

' "Other starship"?' Dakota echoed, genuinely puzzled.

Trader's manipulators writhed in malicious pleasure. 'Indeed, another Magi vessel intact, manifestly not destroyed, a mere smidgen of light-years removed from our present location, yet far from the beaten track of Shoal trade routes. A starship whose existence might yet have remained unknown, unrevealed, and hidden within these tideless depths of s.p.a.ce - if not for the aid of the dear Queen who graces us with her presence.'

Dakota wondered when she was going to wake up, and also when that stony cold feeling in her gut was finally going to go away. 'Another Magi Magi ship?' ship?'

'Whose deep and precious secrets we request your aid in hiding for ever from the voracious attentions of a species known as the Emissaries,' Trader continued. 'They, like us, have ships that swim the depths of the universe at speeds greater than the fleeting photon.'

'Rivals to the Shoal's hegemony,' Roses added. 'Certain restricted technologies, it appears, may in fact have originated from these Emissaries. The supposedly mythical Giantkillers, for instance, and the filmsuit technology as well.'

'How do you know know all this?' Dakota shrilled at Roses. all this?' Dakota shrilled at Roses.

'They know what they know by employing the standard protocols of inter-Hive diplomacy,' Trader answered on behalf of the Bandati. 'Espionage, murder and deceit, all flavoured with additional knowledge, courtesy of myself. The Emissaries most quietly seek to flood our client species with dangerous cache-technology, so that the authority of the Shoal might thereby be gradually undermined. It is most unfortunate, Dakota, that you and Corso shared your knowledge of the Magi with the Queen of Immortal Light. You are aware, of course, that this is the deadliest of knowledge - knowledge that can kill entire worlds.'

'I'm aware,' aware,' Dakota retorted, 'that you committed an act of genocide and stole the Magi's drive technology for yourselves. I'm Dakota retorted, 'that you committed an act of genocide and stole the Magi's drive technology for yourselves. I'm aware aware that you've used me from the moment you set eyes on me. I'm that you've used me from the moment you set eyes on me. I'm aware aware you made me murder people I cared about, when you weren't just making me run around doing your dirty work for you. You you made me murder people I cared about, when you weren't just making me run around doing your dirty work for you. You raped raped me, you motherf.u.c.ker! And now I've done your work for you by destroying the derelict, so frankly, I don't know just how far those tentacles of yours reach, but go f.u.c.k yourself!' me, you motherf.u.c.ker! And now I've done your work for you by destroying the derelict, so frankly, I don't know just how far those tentacles of yours reach, but go f.u.c.k yourself!'

She stopped, pushing her hands down on the deck and steadying herself. This is not the time to lose control. This is not the time to lose control.

'Trader has a proposal,' Roses informed her, 'that would allow the Shoal to conveniently ignore our attempts to acquire cache-technology. His proposal contains a solution not only to your and our present predicaments, but to a conflict whose roots reach far back into the past of our own species.'

Don't trust Trader, Dakota wanted to say. Dakota wanted to say. Kill him, do anything you like, but don't trust him or any of the rest of the Shoal. Kill him, do anything you like, but don't trust him or any of the rest of the Shoal. But, at the same time, curiosity overwhelmed her, and she really wanted to hear just what it was Roses had to say. But, at the same time, curiosity overwhelmed her, and she really wanted to hear just what it was Roses had to say.

She looked back up. 'Go on, then,' she urged quietly.

'Several millennia ago,' Roses explained, 'our Queen was closely allied with her sister the Queen of Immortal Light. Bandati Hives, by their nature, compete for resources - yet at that time the Fair Sisters were renowned for working together to an unprecedented degree.'

In the centuries following first contact with the Shoal and gaining access to their coreships, the Bandati had soon learned the hard lesson that the cost of developing and then settling any one system was so enormous that their Hives had no choice but to band together if they were to effectively exploit that new system's resources.

In many respects the Fair Sisters had led the way, being amongst the first to pool their resources and capital in order to develop and settle the Night's End system. The result had been a flowering of both Hives, which swiftly became amongst the most powerful of all the Bandati Hives. But this period of cooperation, although lasting some centuries, would ultimately prove short-lived given the entire spectrum of history.

The Fair Sisters - Roses then explained - had their own secrets to keep, carefully hidden both from the Shoal and from all other Hives.

'Before our species made contact with the Shoal Hegemony,' Roses continued, 'we had already been contacted by the Atn. The Atn's collective memory goes back more than a billion years, and there are a hundred theories about where they came from and whether there's any purpose to their wanderings across the galaxy. Most of them still travel the Milky Way at sublight speeds in hol-lowed-out asteroids, and over time they've visited almost every corner of our galaxy.' Roses' gaze turned to Trader. 'Even the Shoal have had no control over their comings and goings.'

'Our ships generously offer sanctuary within their bellies to those little fish that desire it,' said Trader. 'Those that choose to swim alone in the vastness, becoming prey to time's sharp teeth, do so entirely outside our influence.'

'The Bandati first learned of the Shoal from the Atn, when a fleet of their asteroids arrived in our home system,' Roses continued. 'But, even after contact with the Shoal, we continued to make use of the Atn's own ships to secretly explore unpopulated systems immediately adjacent to those we had already settled under contract with the Shoal.'

'At sublight speeds?' Dakota shook her head in disbelief. 'But that could take-'

'Centuries and longer, in most cases,' the Queen broke in. 'And sometimes a great deal longer. It was always a long-term strategy, but one that offered solutions to certain questions the Shoal clearly preferred to leave unanswered.'

'You mean the Maker caches,' Dakota replied, regarding Trader with a stony expression. 'And you know about those now?'

'We do,' said Roses, 'now that Trader has done us the favour of enlightening us. We realized the Shoal were looking for something, so as we settled each new system we explored the neighbouring region of s.p.a.ce in case we could discover just what it was they were looking for.'

'And what you found was another derelict Magi starship?' Dakota said into the silence that followed.

'Barely three and a half light-years from here, in a system known as Ocean's Deep,' the Queen picked up the thread once more. 'Unfortunately, that ship has proved overwhelmingly resistant to our attempts to breach it over the intervening millennia.'

'Wait a minute,' said Dakota, pulling herself to her feet. n.o.body made a move to push her back down. 'You had your hands on a derelict for thousands thousands of years and you didn't manage to get inside it?' of years and you didn't manage to get inside it?'

s.h.i.t, she thought. No wonder Immortal Light had reacted that way when she and Corso appeared out of nowhere, with another, identical, starship. she thought. No wonder Immortal Light had reacted that way when she and Corso appeared out of nowhere, with another, identical, starship.

'We believe Immortal Light faced greater difficulties than you did,' Roses informed her. 'Even discounting the damage caused by the exploding nova, the ship you arrived here in was in much worse condition than the one at Ocean's Deep.'

'So I'm still alive only because you think I can get you inside this other derelict,' Dakota muttered. 'Great.'

'That's right,' Roses replied. 'However, it may interest you to know that Immortal Light still believe Lucas Corso can help them gain entry to it.'

'You still haven't told me what he's he's doing here,' Dakota protested, pointing at Trader. doing here,' Dakota protested, pointing at Trader.

'The Emissaries are aggressively expansionist,' Roses ignored her comment. 'They won't have to accept Immortal Light's word that the superluminal drive could be used to destroy star systems. Before very long, they'll have the full text of your forced testimony, and the destruction of Nova Arctis will provide all the proof they need. We now know an Immortal Light contingent is currently on its way to rendezvous with an Emissary superluminal fleet that will then transport them to Ocean's Deep and the derelict hidden there.

'In return, Immortal Light would gain their own small superluminal fleet, though controlled by the Emissaries, an Emissary tactic to further destabilize the Shoal Hegemony's control over this part of the Milky Way. And the first thing the Queen of Immortal Light would do with her new-found power would be to destroy the Hive of Darkening Skies utterly'

Roses moved closer to his Queen before turning to face Dakota once more. 'In the face of what we know, we have no choice but to offer our help to the Shoal and thus stop Immortal Light from handing the derelict - as well as your friend Corso - over to the Emissaries. In return for our help, the Shoal will grant us significant technological advantages over rival Hives, as well as allowing us to retain our colonies, despite our smuggling activities.'

Slimy, fish-eyed b.a.s.t.a.r.d, thought Dakota, staring hard at Trader. thought Dakota, staring hard at Trader. What else have you dangled in front of them? What else have you dangled in front of them?

'What exactly are the Emissaries?' Dakota asked, trying to keep her voice even.

'According to Trader, they took their superluminal technology directly from a Maker cache. It might just be luck that they haven't worked out yet what else the superluminal drive is capable of. Even if they already suspect, all the evidence very strongly suggests they are no closer to understanding or being able to implement the process causing the nova effect. The data inside the Ocean's Deep derelict, however, would save them the trouble of discovering it independently. And then, Miss Merrick, we would have a nova war on our hands.'

'You act like I'm just going to go along with you on this, but you're forgetting something,' she replied quietly. 'Didn't it occur to you to wonder why why I destroyed the derelict that brought me and Corso here? Trader wanted to destroy it so badly himself he blew up a star to do so. But he failed. The knowledge is dangerous enough that he'll kill all of you too, and I can tell you right now that you can't trust one word he says.' I destroyed the derelict that brought me and Corso here? Trader wanted to destroy it so badly himself he blew up a star to do so. But he failed. The knowledge is dangerous enough that he'll kill all of you too, and I can tell you right now that you can't trust one word he says.'

'We're aware of the risks,' said Roses. 'We've disseminated what we know far and wide, to trusted sources and secure stacks across dozens of Bandati systems. I can't speak for Immortal Light, but I suspect they'll have done something similar.'

Dakota shook her head. 'You still don't understand what you're dealing with. Trader's been doing this for a long time. He's a f.u.c.king master of deception. Trust me, you'll all be signing your own death warrants.'

'For you to not not act, dear Dakota, would allow blackest of secrets to fall into hands of dread Emissaries,' said Trader. 'And would allow them to spread across all our worlds like a great black tide'. act, dear Dakota, would allow blackest of secrets to fall into hands of dread Emissaries,' said Trader. 'And would allow them to spread across all our worlds like a great black tide'.

'But perhaps you are right,' he continued, moving his field-bubble closer to her. 'Perhaps you are instead fit only for acts of cowardice and betrayal. And yet you have a rapport with the Magi fleet that for the moment may well be unique, and may well prove our one advantage in the coming conflict.'

Dakota stared at Trader with undisguised loathing. 'So you think I'll just up and destroy the derelict in Ocean's Deep because you want me to?'

'If necessary. Or, better yet, steal it,' Trader replied, 'that being a skill in which you obviously excel. Once we arrive at the other system, you will also find Corso and bring him back from the Emissaries.'

'Will she really be able to destroy the other derelict?' asked the Queen.

'Perhaps,' Trader replied. 'But it would be in her best interests not to.'

'Pray elucidate,' said the Queen.

Trader swivelled in his field-bubble until he faced the Queen, moving closer to her. 'Current events are preceded by woeful discovery of ancient artefacts lost in stellar wilderness, when it was believed the very last of such had long been destroyed or lost. And now the revelation, alas, of yet another another Magi starship, its existence known to your Hive these long millennia. Perhaps this is the very last of them, but I now have reason to believe more may lurk in unseen depths, yet unfound. The details of their location may even lie within this last derelict - and possibly the locations of the remaining Maker caches dispersed throughout our galaxy.' Magi starship, its existence known to your Hive these long millennia. Perhaps this is the very last of them, but I now have reason to believe more may lurk in unseen depths, yet unfound. The details of their location may even lie within this last derelict - and possibly the locations of the remaining Maker caches dispersed throughout our galaxy.'

'I've got no intention of helping you in anything, Trader,' Dakota spat defiantly. 'The whole lot of you can go to h.e.l.l.'

'And without your help we surely will,' Trader replied, 'along with your entire species, should the Emissaries discover the means to build their own nova weapons any time soon. Or perhaps you really are the cowardly, deceitful murderer your people believe you to be. Perhaps I myself did nothing more than draw out your true nature, Dakota; and perhaps I helped you find your true vocation.'

Dakota leapt up, taking her guards by surprise. She got halfway to Trader's suddenly retreating field-bubble before something heavy slammed into the back of her skull. She hit the deck hard, curling up into a ball as the pain hit her.

'My apologies, my Queen. I should have been more prepared-'

'That's enough, Roses,' Dakota heard the Hive-Queen say. 'Trader, you have custody, as agreed. I hope you can persuade her to cooperate.'

Dakota lifted her head, and found herself staring down the barrels of two lethal-looking weapons from a distance of only a couple of centimetres. She didn't even struggle when someone started to lift her up by the shoulders.

Trader floated nearby. 'Antic.i.p.ation of failure, my Queen,' she heard him say, 'is unknown within my vocabulary'

Sixteen.

For a long time, Corso lay on the floor of the train, next to the gurney, wondering just what options he had left.

Honeydew had opened a connecting door and disappeared into another part of the vehicle, leaving Corso to ponder the question of what would happen to him once the Bandati agent returned. And, as he pondered, a deep and overwhelming sense of regret began to seep through him every time he thought about Dakota.

The more he thought about it, the more he was forced to confront the very real possibility that he'd just been a staggering idiot.

He finally took hold of one edge of the gurney and pulled himself back upright. He slumped over it and waited until Honeydew reappeared, accompanied by another Bandati brandishing a shotgun, and with a variety of weaponry secured in the loops of his harness. The guard kept the shotgun trained on Corso's head as Honeydew addressed him.