probably during the transition between states. She may have hit state three, converting a small chunk of her ship to pure white light. A small photo-leptonic explosion.’ ‘It looks survivable,’ Scorpio said. ‘Are there life-signs?’ Antoinette asked. Clavain shook his head. ‘None. But there wouldn’t be, not with Nightshade . The prototype’s designed for maximum stealth. Our usual scanning methods won’t work.’ Scorpio adjusted some settings, causing the colours of the image to shift to spectral greens and blues. ‘Thermal,’ he said. ‘She still has power, Clavain. If there’d been a major systems blow-out, her hull would be five degrees cooler by now.’ ‘I don’t doubt that there are survivors,’ Clavain said. Scorpio nodded. ‘Some, maybe. They’ll lie low until we’re ahead of them, out of sensor range. Then they’ll kick into repair mode. Before you know it they’ll be on our tail, just as much a problem as they ever were.’ ‘I’ve thought about that, Scorp,’ said Clavain. The pig nodded. ‘And?’ ‘I’m not going to attack them.’ Scorpio’s wild dark eyes flared. ‘Clavain…’ ‘Felka is still alive.’ There was an awkward silence. Clavain felt it press around him. They were all looking at him, even Sukhoi, each of them thanking their stars that they did not have to take this decision. ‘You don’t know that,’ Scorpio said. Clavain saw the lines of tension etched into his jaw. ‘Skade lied before and killed Lasher. She hasn’t given us any evidence that she really has Felka. That’s because she doesn’t have her, or because Felka is dead now.’ Calmly, Clavain said, ‘What evidence could she give? There isn’t anything she couldn’t fake.’ ‘She could have learned something from Felka, something only she would know.’ ‘You never met Felka, Scorp. She’s strong — much stronger than Skade assumes. She wouldn’t give Skade anything Skade could use to control me.’ ‘Then perhaps she does have her, Clavain. But that doesn’t mean she’s awake. She’s probably in reefersleep, so she doesn’t cause any trouble.’ ‘What difference would that make?’ Clavain asked. ‘She wouldn’t feel anything,’ Scorpio said. ‘We have enough weapons now, Clavain. Nightshade is a sitting duck. We can take her out instantly, painlessly. Felka won’t know a thing.’ Clavain reached for his anger, forcing it to lie low. ‘Would you say that if she hadn’t murdered Lasher?’ The pig thumped the railing. ‘She did, Clavain. That’s all that matters.’ ‘No…’ Antoinette said. ‘It isn’t all that matters. Clavain’s right. We can’t start acting like a single human life doesn’t matter. We become as bad as the wolves if we do that.’ Xavier, next to her, beamed proudly. ‘I agree,’ he said. ‘Sorry, Scorpio. I know she killed Lasher, and I know how much that pissed you off.’ ‘You have no idea,’ Scorpio said. He did not sound angry so much as regretful. ‘And don’t tell me a single human life suddenly matters. It’s just because you know her. Skade is human, too. What about her, and her allies aboard that ship?’ Cruz, who had been silent until then, spoke softly. ‘Listen to Clavain. He’s right. We’ll get another chance to kill Skade. This just doesn’t feel right.’ ‘Might I make a suggestion?’ Remontoire said. Clavain looked at Remontoire uneasily. ‘What, Rem?’ ‘We are just — just — within shuttle range. It would cost us more antimatter, a fifth of our remaining stocks, but we may never get another chance like this.’ ‘Another chance to do what?’ Clavain asked. Remontoire blinked, surprised, as if this was entirely too obvious to state. ‘To rescue Felka, of course.’ CHAPTER 29 Remontoire’s calculation had been unerringly accurate; so much so that Clavain suspected he had already costed the energy expenditure of the shuttle flight before the rescue operation had been more than a glint in Clavain’s eye.
Three of them went out: Scorpio, Remontoire and Clavain. There was mercifully little time to make the shuttle ready. Merciful because had Clavain been granted hours or days, he would have spent the entire time convulsed in doubt, endlessly balancing one additional weapon or piece of armour against the fuel that would be saved by leaving it behind. As it was they had to make do with one of the stripped-down shuttles that had been used to resupply the defence shuttle before they had brought the laser-powered shield sail into use. The shuttle was just a skeleton, a wispy geodesic sketch of black spars, struts and naked silvery subsystems, it looked, to Clavain’s eyes, faintly obscene. He was used to machines that kept their innards decently covered. But it would do the job well enough, he supposed. If Skade mounted any serious defence, armour wouldn’t help them anyway. The flight deck was the only part of the ship that was shielded from space, and even then it was not pressurised. They would have to wear suits for the entire operation and take an additional suit with them for Felka to wear on the return leg. There was also room to stow a reefersleep casket if it turned out she was frozen. But in that case, Felka’s return mass would have to be offset by leaving behind weapons and fuel tanks at the halfway point. Clavain took the middle seat, with the flight controls plugged into his suit. Scorpio sat on his left, Remontoire on his right; both could assume control of the avionics should Clavain need a rest. ‘Are you sure you trust me enough to have me along for the operation?’ Remontoire had asked with a playful smile when they were deciding who would go on the mission. I guess I’ll find out, won’t; I?‘ Clavain had said. ‘I won’t be much use to you in an exoskeleton. You can’t put a standard suit over one, and we don’t have powered armour ready.’ Clavain had nodded at Blood, Scorpio’s deputy. ‘Get him out of the exoskeleton. If he tries anything, you know what to do.’ ‘I won’t, Clavain,’ Remontoire had assured him.
