to Concordance. She got it; his caution-bordering-on-paranoia had kept him safe for a long time.

She was about to offer him further winning arguments when she picked up the background whisper of the ship's internal comms systems waking up. One of the bulkheads shimmered, flickered, and switched to showing images. Some aspect of the Dragon's Mind emerging to converse with them? The ship had never done that before, but it wasn't impossible.

Except, it wasn't an avatar of the Radiant Dragon that appeared on the display. The figure staring at them was, however, very familiar. A slight smile played across her purple skin.

Godel.

“Hello, Ondo,” she said. “It's been too long since we talked properly. This little game of ours is getting so boring now; it really would be easier for everyone if you just died. I have much more important matters to attend to.”

Panic surged through Selene's mind. Despite her alarm, she heard herself responding with dismissive sarcasm. “And I'm beginning to think you're following me because you find me so attractive. What is it, the forbidden fruits of the augmented individual? You're wondering what erotic feats I'm capable of?”

Godel's smile had faded from her features, now, the effort of maintaining it too much. The Augur turned her attention onto Selene. “Your forced humour is a clear attempt to blot out the mental anguish you've been through. I'm sure it has been a difficult road, although really only what you deserved. And, no, I do not find you appealing in any way. You are an abomination. I pity what you've been lowered to.”

“Yeah,” said Selene, “you say that.”

Godel's neutral expression didn't waver. “I suppose I should be impressed that you survived your escape through the tunnel network from the world you claim is Coronade. Although, I'm not surprised you left everything behind and fled, Selene; you have a habit of abandoning those who love you. Your family and friends on Maes Far left to suffer and die while you fly off for your wonderful new life among the stars. You betray everyone in the end. And now here you are, dead in space, about to hand over your new comrades, too. We will come for you when we are ready. The information you gained from your experiences in the tunnels will be a useful addition to everything we are about to rip from your little ship.”

Selene felt the familiar rage welling up inside her, but, before she could respond, Ondo stepped forwards to address the Augur.

Her features on the screen dwarfed him. His voice shook as he spoke. “You will learn nothing from us. You won't find the Refuge, and sooner or later we will track down the truth of your rise to power, and we will destroy you. You aren't omnipotent, are you? You sneer at us for scrabbling around in the dust of crashed starships, but you're little better. I've watched you searching through ruins and hulks, just as we do. You claim to be all-knowing, but it's a charade. If you ask me, Concordance is an empty shell; a deception upon a grand scale. I do not doubt the power of your ships and the miraculous technology you wield, but you're not in control of it. I think you're in fear of it a lot of the time.”

While Ondo was talking, Selene sent a mental message to both he and Surtr. “How is she talking to us? Where is she talking from?” At the same time, she hit the trio of nanosensors, looking for signs of Concordance ships circling in local space. If they couldn't get the Dragon back online rapidly, their only hope was in using Surtr's vessel once again. The good news was that it was still there, apparently not under attack.

Surtr replied after a few moments. The Aetheral's words threw her. “This is not a communication. No data is flowing into or out of the Radiant Dragon, I am making sure of it. The device that infiltrated your ship is attempting to communicate over the nanotube mesh, but I am preventing it.”

“This isn't Godel?”

“It is a representation of a person, a synthetic avatar. The name of the original does appear to be Godel, yes.”

Relief flooded through Selene, although it was tempered with anxiety that the ship was more compromised than she'd feared. She also felt a bit ridiculous at having been fooled. “The incursion device implanted an alien AI into the Dragon.”

“I am attempting to expunge the contamination now,” said Surtr.

“The AI must know it's cut off. Why is it bothering to threaten us?”

“For the sheer pleasure of it, I suppose,” said Ondo. “Or because it's simply following some script.” He, too, sounded slightly embarrassed at having been caught out. “How, exactly, are you blocking their communications, Surtr?”

“I am willing it to happen.”

“By what mechanism? What specifically are you doing? And what's the nanotube mesh?”

Selene interrupted them. “In a moment, Ondo. Let's just be absolutely clear. Surtr, can you be sure you're preventing all their communications from getting through?”

“Yes.”

The brain-to-brain conversation had taken only microseconds. At the same time, the latest telemetry from the nanosensors flashed into Selene's mind. The devices reported no sign of Concordance activity in local space.

“Have you been doing so since we came here?”

“Yes.”

“You didn't think to tell us about that?”

“I was not clear that the communications were unusual.”

“Why did you block them, then?”

“I am still acquiring data about the true nature of the people you call Concordance.”

Godel's face was still on the screen, patiently watching them. It was already flickering and glitching as the Aetheral disentangled it from the Dragon's systems. Selene turned away. “They're evil bastards, trust me. What else do you need to know?”

“Would they call you evil, though?” Surtr asked. “Would they consider themselves on the side of what you might call good? What once seemed so simple, a binary position, now appears much more complicated. That was why I hesitated.”

“Actions are what matter, not words and thoughts,” said Selene. “They've killed billions of people, and they want

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