Throughout the ship. It was like a small bomb going off.
Note113
Skade… ?
Note114
And the testing programme?
Note115
Clavain.
Note116
Sit in the seat, Clavain.
Note117
All in good time, Clavain. Do you appreciate that with the burden of knowledge comes the additional burden of holding that knowledge secure? That once you have learned Closed Council secrets, you cannot jeopardise them by risking enemy capture? That even communicating these secrets to other Conjoiners cannot be tolerated?
Note118
We just want to be certain, Clavain. You cannot begrudge us that.
Note119
He’s said he’s ready, Skade. That’s enough.
Note120
Thank you, Remontoire.
Note121
Then prepare yourself. Your mind is about to be allowed access to previously excluded data.
Note122
It’s done.
Note123
You’re not.
Note124
Before you came here, before you made this decision, we permitted you to know that the reason for our seeking your assistance was a matter of recovering lost property. Isn’t that true, Clavain?
Note125
That’s because you haven’t asked yourself the right question.
Note126
Ask yourself what you know about the hell-class weapons, Clavain. I’m sure you’ll find the answer very interesting.
Note127
Now you understand why we need your help. The location and status of the thirty-nine remaining weapons…
Note128
Didn’t I mention that one of the weapons has already been destroyed?
Note129
We can’t be certain at this range. The weapons slip in and out of hibernation, like restless monsters. Certainly one weapon hasn’t been detected since 2565, local Resurgam time. We presume it lost, or damaged at the very least. And six of the remaining thirty-nine weapons have become detached from the main grouping. We still have intermittent signals from those weapons, but they are much closer to the neutron star on the system’s edge. The other thirty-three weapons are within an AU of Delta Pavonis, at the trailing Lagrange point of the Resurgam-Delta Pavonis system. In all likelihood they are within the hull of the Triumvir’s lighthugger.
Note130
Local Resurgam time, Clavain.
Note131
This is wartime, Clavain. We’ve hardly been in a position to mount an extensive, logistically complex recovery operation.
Note132
Now the tide is turning in our favour. Finally we can afford to divert some resources. Make no mistake, Clavain, recovering these weapons will not be easy. We will be attempting to repossess items that were stolen from a stronghold that we would even now have grave difficulty breaking into ourselves. Volyova has her own weapons, quite apart from those she has stolen from us. And the evidence of her crimes on Resurgam suggests that she has the nerve to use them. But we simply must have the weapons back, no matter the cost in assets and time.
Note133
You have never flinched from accepting the costs of war, Clavain. That is why we want you to co-ordinate this recovery operation. Peruse these memories if you doubt your own suitability.
Note134
I know that you will help us, Clavain, or I would not have brought you this far. I’m right, of course, aren’t I? You will help us, won’t you?
Note135
Conditions, Clavain?
Note136
Of course. Forty years is a long time to be away. Is that all?
Note137
You’re right, Clavain. We will need ships; new ones, incorporating the refinements built into Nightshade . But you don’t have to worry. We’ve already started making them. As a matter of fact, they’re coming on nicely.
Note138
A little way from here, Clavain.
Note139
Clavain…
Note140
Yes, Clavain?
Note141
You’ll soon have the pleasure, Clavain.
Note142
We’re nearly there, Clavain. You appreciate that none of what you see here can be shared with the rest of the Mother Nest?
Note143
But we didn’t, Clavain.
Note144
Listen, Clavain.
Note145
There’s something you need to grasp: the war isn’t our main concern any more. We’re going to win it.
Note146
Oh, 1 won’t. But we must keep them in perspective. The only serious issue now is the recovery of the hell-class weapons.
