‘Did you know the derelict sent a transmission the exact same moment we lost contact with you?’

Corso was clearly taken aback by this.

‘The signal was very tightly focused, aimed towards the inner system,’ Dakota explained. She nodded at his workscreen. ‘Any ideas?’

Corso glanced down at the workscreen, clearly confused. ‘I don’t know anything about a transmission. They didn’t…’

He stared up at her dumbly.

Dakota decided there wasn’t any more time to waste.

‘We’re going to have a long talk, Lucas, somewhere where we can’t be found. A lot has happened over the past couple of hours, and that’s why they’re keeping information from you.’

She put a hand under his arm and tried to guide him off the cot. Indicators flashed red on the wall behind him and he jerked his arm back.

‘Hey-’

‘Do you want to get out of here alive or not?’ she hissed. ‘I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but the fact is we’re both as good as…’

She glanced to one side, seeing Kieran was still unconscious in his bay. Even so, speaking seditiously like this anywhere near him made her deeply uncomfortable. She grabbed Corso’s arm again, this time violently wrenching him sideways across the cot until his feet slid towards the ground. He pushed her away.

‘Shit,’ he said with a grimace. ‘What the fuck is the matter with you?’ he scowled. ‘Just… wait a minute.’ He stood up, carefully.

‘No time,’ she replied, pulling him towards the door. He stumbled after her in a daze. She shoved him through into the corridor beyond and pushed him up against a wall. ‘Now listen,’ she said, her voice still a low whisper. ‘I’ve been monitoring tachyon-net traffic between the Agartha and Redstone, and if what I’m nearing is true you and I might be as good as dead. Now tell me: who exactly is Senator Martin Corso? Is he a relative of yours?’

Corso stiffened, his eyes growing wide.

‘How about Mercedes Corso?’ she tried.

‘Where did you hear those names?’ he demanded.

‘You once told me the Senator and the rest of them were your enemies. You also said you were coerced into coming here. Care to elaborate on that?’

Corso made a move to grab her by the throat, but she caught his arm and held it away. ‘I’ll tell you how I know, but first you need to calm down,’ she hissed. ‘I think you’re in almost as much trouble as I am, and I can prove it.’

He laughed, the sound bitter. ‘You’ve barely said a truthful word since I first set eyes on you. You came on board under a false ID-’

‘And you know why? Because I’m a machine-head. I trained to be one all my life. I come from Bellhaven. It’s a job that came with serious prestige, until everything turned to shit and the Consortium shut down the development programmes.’

She swallowed hard. This wasn’t easy for her to talk about. ‘And, ever since, I’ve had to deal with people who treat me like I’m some kind of monster. I wasn’t responsible for what happened on Redstone but every machine-head in the Consortium, most of whom probably hadn’t even heard of Redstone, got punished for it. Every single day that I wake up, I remember what happened there. In detail. So yes, Lucas, I came on board under a false ID, but that’s mainly because I was getting on board a ship filled with Redstone Freeholders.’

Corso reached up and gently prised Dakota’s remaining hand away from his shoulder. ‘Senator Corso is my father, and Mercedes is my younger sister. They’re all the family I have, and they’re hostages to a faction within the Freehold government that’s headed by Arbenz. If I don’t do exactly what Arbenz wants, they’re both as good as dead.’

‘You’re being blackmailed?’

‘Yes.’

Dakota felt the blood drain from her face. In a moment, everything had changed. Everything. She glanced back through the door to where Kieran still lay comatose. Colour-coded displays of his nervous, respiratory and muscular systems flickered from moment to moment.

‘There’ve been some recent events back on Redstone,’ she explained. ‘I don’t think Arbenz or the rest of them were likely to go out of their way to tell you.’

‘What happened?’ Corso demanded, pushing her away. ‘Shit, is it my father?’

Dakota realized Corso was already heading for a comms panel by the medical bay’s entrance.

‘Lucas! If you talk to Arbenz, he’ll be aware I have a way of getting around his censor blocks. And there’s more news besides. Some kind of fleet is on its way here.’

One hand up to the panel, Corso turned and stared at her. ‘What?’

‘Just listen to me, will you. I’ve been tapping into what’s supposed to be an encrypted tach-net transponder on board the Agartha. That’s how Arbenz is staying in touch with Redstone, but they’re incredibly sloppy with the encryption.’

Corso was fully facing her again, a hard look on his face. Everything she said to him sounded stunningly incriminating, she knew, but she didn’t have any choice. It was a drastic way to gain an ally.

Corso turned back to the panel and touched his fingertips to its surface. Ident codes and authorizations flickered briefly, before several screens appeared in response.

‘I can’t access any tach-net transmissions more than a few days old,’ he said after a moment. ‘Yet the networks aren’t down.’

‘I told you, they’re trying to keep something from you. I can prove it.’

He glared at her balefully. ‘I’m finding less and less reason to trust you an inch.’

‘Then who do you trust?’

He didn’t answer at first. ‘I don’t know,’ he finally admitted.

‘The only reason I can think of for any fleet turning up here is because they know about the derelict. They aren’t here yet, but they will be soon, on board another coreship. Maybe it’s the Uchidans, or maybe it’s someone else. Either way, they get here in less than a couple of days, which means this whole salvage operation is in deep, deep trouble.’

‘You know, it’s funny, but I believe you. Or at least I think I do.’ He had a faraway look in his eyes that made Dakota realize his anti-shock medication was beginning to wear off.

‘Can you walk properly?’ she asked.

‘Sure, I guess so.’

‘Good-because I meant it when I said you’re in as much trouble as I am.’

‘Are they dead?’

‘Who?’

‘My father and my sister.’ He took hold of her upper arm, gripping her painfully. ‘Tell me.’