Whatever had gone wrong, at least it was over. Dakota finally let out a long, shuddering sigh, and tasted the sweat on her upper lip.
The Hyperion continued to drop slowly down towards a landing cradle, from which grasping, cilia-like constructs reached upwards like hungry anemones. The frigate rumbled again as the cilia moulded around its hull, cradling it with ease. One or two other ships-not quite on the same, grandiose, old-fashioned scale as the Hyperion-were similarly cradled a few kilometres distant.
Dakota shut off her dataflow and stared into the darkness surrounding her. Throughout the whole docking procedure, the Hyperion had practically become an extension of her body. It would have taken a crew of at least half a dozen non-machine-head technicians and engineers to carry out the same rendezvous, but Dakota had done it on her own without so much as moving a muscle.
She reached up with one hand and tapped the manual release button, standing as the petals surrounding the interface chair unfolded around her to reveal the bridge.
‘Did you cause that glitch?’ she asked the Senator. ‘Or do you let just anyone mess with the engine systems?’
Arbenz grinned. ‘You coped very well.’
‘Do you have any idea how dangerous it is, altering base routines like that?’
‘There were backups, just in case. I could have shut the engines down in a moment, no harm done.’
‘Because you wanted to see if I screwed up?’
Arbenz shrugged, looking smug and self-satisfied. Dakota felt a deep urge to violence.
‘But you didn’t screw up,’ said Arbenz. ‘You did very well. I’d even say you’re about as good as Josef Marados said you were.’
‘Don’t ever try something like that again,’ she spat at him. Gardner listened impassively to their exchange, with arms folded.
Arbenz spread his hands in an open gesture. ‘No more surprises, I promise.’
She nodded in silence. As satisfied as Arbenz seemed with her performance, she would have loved to be able to see the look on his face when he realized she wasn’t going to stick around.
‘Let me get this clear,’ Dakota railed, several hours later. ‘Unless I heard you wrong, I can’t leave the Hyperion at all for as long as we’re on board this coreship?’
She had tracked Gardner down in one of the mess halls in the gravity wheel, where he’d been engaged in conversation with the Senator while Ascension news feeds scrolled down one wall. The other walls of the mess were decorated with Spartan images of valour that fitted in appropriately with the whole Freehold value system. Broadswords certainly appeared to be a popular motif.
Gardner looked up at her with the kind of expression normally reserved for unruly children. ‘We made it clear from the start that we’re on very sensitive business. As long as we’re on board this coreship we’re wide open to the outside scrutiny of anyone who’s curious to know what we’re up to. Remember, there are mercenary fleets who specialize in jumping contract claims by keeping tabs on the movements of frigates like this.’
‘So you need to keep me locked up in here, because that way there’s less chance they’ll figure out what you’re up to when they see a giant fucking warship sitting on the horizon.’
Gardner’s face was blank for a moment, while Arbenz merely chuckled without looking up.
‘Listen,’ Gardner replied angrily. ‘You’re a valuable asset, one we paid a lot of money for. There are people out there who’ll happily snatch you off the streets of Ascension and take your skull apart to find out what you already know about us. We also paid to have this core-ship make a special diversion to our destination, which is as good as advertising the fact we’re trying to set up a new colonial contract. Do you have any idea how expensive all this has been? How much it cost me personally, and also the Freehold?’ Gardner waved at Arbenz with a fork. ‘It’s your job to protect us against anyone who gets too interested.’
‘Then perhaps you’d care to tell me exactly where it is we’re going? Or are you saving that for a birthday surprise?’
Gardner glared at her. ‘You’re just being dramatic.’
‘I’ve just found out I’m being literally held prisoner here, and you’re surprised by my reaction?’
‘Miss Oorthaus, you’re not a prisoner,’ said Arbenz mildly, finally putting down his fork and leaning back.
‘Then why did Kieran Mansell just stop me on my way to the airlocks, and tell me I’m not allowed to leave the ship?’
Gardner wiped his mouth with a cloth and pushed his plate to one side. ‘Look-’
‘No, it’s all right,’ said Arbenz, studying Dakota keenly. ‘You can go-but not alone.’
Gardner turned red. ‘Senator-’
‘No, Mr Gardner. We’ll attract even more attention by never disembarking at all. Are there other machine-heads here, Mala?’
‘Yes.’
‘Because you can sense them from a distance, and they can sense you?’
Gardner looked nonplussed.
‘So really, anyone who wants to know we have a machine-head pilot on board already knows. Our secret is already out, Mr Gardner.’
Gardner remained unpersuaded. ‘It feels like too much of a risk.’
‘Only if she goes out alone.’ Arbenz turned back to Dakota. ‘Yes, you can go, but only with Kieran. We’ll all be operating under a strict curfew when it comes to departing this vessel. I have some business to conduct here too.’
‘Udo, not Kieran,’ she insisted.
Arbenz held her gaze for several seconds. ‘Any reason for the preference?’
‘He’s marginally less ugly.’
‘I’m surprised by that.’
‘Why?’ Dakota replied.
‘I heard about what happened on the bridge.’
‘I don’t recall receiving an apology from any of you.’
Gardner leaned forward. ‘If you’re thinking of trying to get back at him for attacking you, then I’m afraid it’s not up to you to decide what-’
Arbenz put up his hand to shush Gardner, an amused look on his face. He thinks this is funny, Dakota reflected: Udo getting into fights with some skinny little girl.
‘No, it’s not her decision,’ Arbenz agreed, without even looking at Gardner. ‘But it would be good to have Udo off the ship for a while, don’t you agree?’
Gardner looked caught. ‘What exactly is your business in Ascension, anyway?’ he asked her.