They touched down on the smooth surface of the rock. It was tumbling lazily about its long axis, and Surtr put its ship into an orbital pattern that at least ensured it always had line-of-sight.
Selene extended all her senses, feeling extremely exposed. She was getting too used to living in her EVA suit, hearing the wheeze of its oxygen valves opening and closing, the slight creaking sound it made as she flexed and extended her elbows and knees. She envied Surtr, standing calmly beside her, utterly unconcerned by the void. Perhaps she would take that next evolutionary step one day, cast off her flesh.
The spin of the rock sent the blaze of stars and nebulae around her into a constant swirl of movement. Once she would have found it dizzying, but now she felt no nausea. She was becoming used to living off-planet. But, if they were attacked there, they had very little they could fight back with. The surface around them looked blue-grey in the light given off by Surtr, its composition predominantly iron and silicates. The rock had insufficient gravity to hold them in place, so Selene had set her suit's reaction thrusters into ground-contact mode, exerting a slight but constant downwards force.
She was seriously considering the possibility that she'd been duped, that Hessia had deliberately separated the two of them from the Dragon in order to capture or destroy it, when the attack drone array materialized.
They snapped into position all around the rock, sixty-four of them in tight formation: a halo of impressive-looking kill weaponry targeting the spot where the two of them stood. The spotlight beams from the devices were bright enough to outshine the aura from Surtr, washing away all shadows. Could she and the Aetheral survive the combined blast from all that firepower? She had no real idea of the capabilities of the fields and shields that Surtr propagated, and this was not how she would have chosen to find out.
She had to work very hard to keep her hands still, not draw her own blaster and start shooting.
After a few moments of stand-off, a figure descended from above, appearing through the blinding light from the drones. Her microreaction thrusters fired to land her gently on the ground in front of Selene and Surtr. Glints of light from the drones reflected off the newcomer's visor as she studied Selene, head cocked slightly on one side. Did empathic senses work through suits and the short distance of void between them? Selene had to assume they did. She kept herself calm, breathing slowly. She requested comms contact to allow them to talk which, after a few moments, was granted.
“You are Hessia Aperion?”
The woman's voice sounded amused when it spoke in Selene's head. “I am, but you are not Ondo Lagan.”
“He is on our other ship, the Radiant Dragon. He'll recover, but he was hurt in the attack we suffered. I'm Selene Ada.”
“Oh, I know exactly who you are. Despite what you may think, I keep up to date with galactic developments. Another dangerous terrorist joining forces with Ondo; Concordance have made sure we all know about you. The question is, should I be afraid of you?”
“Why do you need to ask? Don't your empathic senses tell you what my intentions are? And you're the one with the battery of high-energy beam-weapons under your control. I've come unarmed, as agreed.”
“Unarmed apart from this miraculous giant standing beside you. What is it capable of? Are you in any danger at all from my weapons?”
“If it's any help, I don't know. I'm not entirely sure it does, either, come to that.”
Hessia hopped closer so that her head was only a few centimetres from Selene's. The interior of the Periarch's helmet was illuminated, which was a good sign. It meant that she was prepared to reveal her features, show herself rather than hiding away in the forbidding darkness. Selene was glad she'd done the same. She could see the olfactory slits on the side of Hessia's neck ruffling open and closed as she breathed, see her green eyes as she studied Selene. There was a pause as if the empath were listening to something.
Eventually, Hessia said, “Interesting. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to read anything off you, given your … divided nature. I admit I was worried you might be closed to me.”
“And what can you read?”
“Do you really want me to say out loud? Do you want our mysterious friend here to know the dark secrets lurking in your mind?”
“Sure, why not. His life is one big journey of discovery right now.”
“I get a lot from you, Selene Ada. Your aura is very clear even though you're wearing an EVA suit, which I actually didn't think was possible. Such strong emotions. There's an undercurrent of rage bubbling away in your mind, but that's shot through with notes of sadness and loss. There's a clear desire for revenge burning away, but also, you're fascinated by everything that's happened since leaving Maes Far and the wonders you've encountered. Then there's the guilt: you survived, and it troubles you that you occasionally find yourself having fun when that was taken away from everyone else on your world. Oh, and there are also bright sparks of light that can only be sensations of love. Or lust. Or both. Does that about sum it up?”
“It sounds about right. And do you get anything from my left brain?” She found herself asking the question that she'd vowed to herself she wouldn't.
“As a matter of fact, I get no divide in your mind. Your whole head is haloed by colours. I don't think you have an artificial and an organic half anymore. I think the two have become … fluid. Intertwined. Which, actually, I don't think is that unusual. Once, if my family records are
