Lucian was fed senses that revealed flaws in the blueness, a constellation of dark splinters surrounded by a green haze of exotic energy: the Ocisen warships. He directed the Yenisey until it was holding station a kilometre away from the command ship.

'Are we ready? he asked quietly.

'Yes, sir, Kylee replied.

'Excellent. Gieovan, you have fire authority as of now. Keep scanning for any anomalous activity — just in case. Toi, I want total systems availability, high-status. He scanned the Ocisen ship. It was two hundred and fifty metres long, a fat ovoid shape, with thin edges like curving wings. The hull was rough, strewn with irregular lumps, as if it had somehow become encrusted with barnacles during its flight. Although the scan couldn't perceive its colour, he knew it would be a dull metallic shade, dappled by furry green patches. All Ocisen starships were like that after they developed their semi-organic extrusion technology.

'Pull it out, he told Kylee.

The Yenisey's energy manipulators produced wildly fluctuating waveforms that intersected the exotic energy cascading fluidly around the Starslayer. Instabilities immediately started to skitter along its wormhole. Kylee analysed the modifier effects which the warship's drive exerted in an attempt to regain control, and simply overwhelmed them with the raw power available to the Yenisey's systems. The rest of the fleet shot away from them as the wormhole's pseudofabric broke down. Within a second they had vanished into the blueness.

Spacetime reasserted itself, swamping the blueness with infinite black. Stars shone with unwavering intensity. Eight hundred metres away, the massive Ocisen warship started a laborious tumble. Its protective force fields flickered dangerously as uncontained energy pulses swept out from the ruined drive.

'Attention Ocisen ship, Lucian broadcast. 'This is the Greater Commonwealth Navy ship Yenisey. You are hereby ordered to turn your fleet around and return to—

'Oh, shit, Gieovan gulped.

A smooth spherical starship appeared from nowhere a kilometre ahead of the Starslayer. Its force fields were impenetrable. The Yenisey couldn't even get an accurate quantum signature scan to determine what kind of drive it used.

'Admiral, Lucian called urgently. 'We can't—

The unknown ship fired.

'What the fuck was that! Gore yelled as the secure link abruptly vanished.

Kazimir took a second to review the TD link data, he was so surprised. His tactical staff had produced a number of scenarios, mostly incorporating the Ocisens utilizing weapons technology they'd procured from a more advanced species. This hadn't been a remote consideration.

'I don't recognize that design at all, Ilanthe said. 'Do we have any spherical ship on the Navy's intelligence registry?

'There are some species that utilize a sphere, Kazimir said slowly as his u-shadow supplied their most highly classified data. 'But we don't list anything that can disable the River-class star ships quite that quickly.

'Disable? Gore snapped. 'What is that, the new politically correct term for blowing it to shit?

'All we know so far is that the Yenisey's TD link has failed— Kazimir began.

'Come on!

'I'm afraid I agree with Gore, Ilanthe said. 'That was not a warning shot. Yenisey is a warship, one of the best we've got, and designed to operate at long distances. The last thing that fails is the communication. After all, we kept in touch with Justine until the Void swallowed her.

'My staff will run a full analysis, Kazimir said. 'It should help define the nature of the attack.

'The weapon, you mean, Crispin said. 'I'm with Gore on this, Admiral, you can't start hiding behind language. All of us here today are long past that.

'You are correct, Kazimir said, knowing that they were right, the Yenisey was lost with all hands. It was hard, he hadn't lost a starship in combat in six hundred years, not since the last Ocisen expansion wave. The crew would be re-lifed, of course, but still he had to endure the fact that he'd sent them out there into a hostile environment, while they were woefully under-equipped. It was a classic command failure, deploying your people on the

basis of bad information under political pressure. The wonder of hindsight.

'In the light of this catastrophe, I propose we send our deterrent fleet to intercept the Ocisen Empire ships, Ilanthe said. 'I don't believe we have any choice. Following the loss of the Yenisey, we are seeing a very real and credible threat to the entire Commonwealth. Who knows what that unknown ship is capable of.

'They are still a long way off, Kazimir said. 'We can use that interval to discover what their full potential is.

'You're playing God with our future, Creewan said. 'I for one won't tolerate that.

Kazimir gave him a withering look. 'I hardly think one unknown warship constitutes an end to our civilization.

'You don't know it's just one, Ilanthe said. 'You don't know if that was their best weapon, or their equivalent of a bow and arrow. Kazimir, what is wrong with you? You are charged with defending our entire species. Will you please act as if you care?

'I care very much indeed. I continue to maintain we need intelligence on the ally which the Ocisens have found themselves. I would like to propose that we send at least one more scout mission to determine what we can of the threat level. We do have time, and I am reluctant to formulate a final response without greater intelligence.

Ilanthe glanced round the table. 'I will support that on the condition you at least mobilize the deterrent fleet. If the next interception is destroyed, then the deterrent fleet must be deployed against the Ocisens.

'I second that, Gore said.

The other three gave their assent.

'I will dispatch four Capital-class ships, Kazimir said. 'They should be there within five days.

'I'm not familiar with Capital-class ships, John Thelwell said. 'Are they part of the deterrent fleet?

'No. They are a grade below that. But I am confident they will be able to hold their own, at least until we know more about the Ocisen's allies.

Gore and Kazimir remained in the perceptual reality after the others left. Outside the window, the ice meteorites fell in silent splendour, triggering vast electron webs across the dark sky.

'You know, in all my time, and for all my clout with ANA, I've never managed to get a single hint out of it concerning the deterrent fleet, Gore said.

'I would hope not, Kazimir told him. 'It is our ultimate defence. Its nature should not be available for scrutiny and discussion, however well intentioned. It is enough that we have it.

'Now there's the thing, see. Down at my most basic level, I'm an old fashioned boy, rooted in the physical and distrusting of politicians. I'd hate to think our entire survival prospects are based on a cosmic-sized poker bluff. His golden face looked straight at Kazimir. 'Do we actually have a deterrence fleet, son? Is it real?

'It is real, Grandfather. And if the Ocisen allies prove stronger than our Capital-class, I will personally lead it into battle against the Empire's fleet.

'All right then. Forgive an old man his quirks.

'Of course.

'So what do we do about your mother?

'Wait until she contacts us.

'You think she will?

'I think she's probably Mayoress of Makkathran by now.

'Yeah, Gore grunted. 'You're probably right. But how will we ever know?

'Ask the Second Dreamer.

Aaron was making good time. He'd already retraced the entire route back to the Olhava camp. Now it was just a simple jog across nine hundred kilometres of a dead planet's broken, frozen, radioactive ground, and he'd be back at Jajaani. Which the impact would have reduced to a fractured nightmare of geology where the few survivors from the outlying camps would be mounting futile rescue attempts. Still, it was his only chance. Not that cheating death meant anything to him. This way was the only possible way to salvage his mission. He was still furious at himself for being so gullible. Inigo must have been playing him from the moment he walked into the excavation chamber. Leaking weak thoughts and meek emotions into the gaiafield, lulling him to a level of trust. Stupid. I would never have let it happen if I was thinking straight.