Empire of Light

'But we're not all here,' said Nancy. 'The Commander's still on ice and your other guy's still in recovery. Don't you think maybe we should wait until they're out of the med-bay?'

'Martinez'll be out of there sometime in the next several days, and Mr Lamoureaux isn't going to be taking up any duties until at least then either. So we'll fill them in when the time comes,' said Corso. 'Look, we're all from different places, some of us from Redstone, some not. The only thing we've really got in common is our reason for being here, and that's the Mos Hadroch.'

He glanced over at Dakota. 'Nathan's filled everyone else in about what we found inside the Atn, while you were still up on the bridge. I can't think of a better time than the present for you to tell us just exactly what it is the Mos Hadroch can do.'

They all looked at her expectantly.

'Okay.' She cleared her throat. 'The main thing you need to know is that every new superluminal drive-core produced by a cache is quantum-entangled with that same cache. That entanglement means any changes you make to the cache can affect any ships carrying those superluminal drives, regardless of how distant they may be.'

Dakota looked around them and noticed that, apart from Driscoll, their expressions ranged from uncomprehending to suspicious.

'Where did you get all this?' asked Schiller.

'From the swarm,' she lied. 'What you need to understand is that the Mos Hadroch is like a key. Take it into a cache and plug it into the cache's drive-forge – that's the device you need to manufacture a superluminal drive – and it gives you control over every one of the superluminal drives that ever came out of it.'

'And what happens then?' asked Willis.

'My understanding is it's possible to trigger a destruct sequence that will destroy not only the drives seeded from the forge, but also the ships carrying them.'

She watched them absorb this information for a moment.

'How quickly does it act?' asked Driscoll.

'Given the entanglement, I'm guessing it's as near as damn instantaneous.'

'What about the Tierra cache?' asked Perez. 'Couldn't the Mos Hadroch be used on that, too?'

'It could,' said Corso, leaning forward. 'That makes it particularly important not to allow it to fall into the wrong hands.'

'And the Shoal?' asked Olivarri. 'Surely it's a threat to them as well.'

'If you can find the cache from which the drives for the majority of their starships were manufactured, then, yes,' said Dakota.

'What concerns me,' said Schiller, 'is how well defended this Emissary cache we're heading for must be. If it's as old as I've been told it is, then they're going to want to keep it safe.'

Dakota shook her head. 'Not necessarily, because they have no idea that a threat of this nature even exists. Our destination is a relative backwater close to what used to be the heart of their empire, but the main centre of activity moved on a very long time ago. They rely far more now on much more recently discovered caches.'

'Then why don't we try and destroy those? asked Schiller.

'Because, historically, the vast majority of their fleets use drives that were created in that less well-defended, older cache we're heading for. Any ships using drives taken out of those newer caches won't be affected, of course, but we'll still be able to shut down or even destroy over eighty per cent of their existing fleets.'

'But that still doesn't tell us how the hell we're going to get close enough to the cache without being blown to shit!' Schiller insisted.

'I've seen footage of the battle with the godkiller in Ocean's Deep. How the fuck do we defend ourselves against something like that?'

Dakota nodded towards the star-simulation hanging just above the surface of the table. It faded and, then, for the next few minutes it played back the destruction of the corvettes and missiles by Meridian drones.

She made sure, however, to leave out the part where she destroyed her own ship.

'Those things…' Willis started, as the images faded.

'Are weapons created by a race called Meridians,' Dakota said. 'They're long gone, but these drones are self-maintaining and extremely powerful. They're going to be our defence while going in. Believe me, I was barely using a fraction of their total power.'

'Any other questions?' asked Corso, looking around.

Dakota studied their faces. Some looked fearful, but most of them appeared awestruck by what they had just been told.

'All right,' said Corso, standing. 'We have preliminary reports of drive-spine failure in three separate areas of the hull. We're going to be spending most of our journey time repairing this ship, and none of us gets out of working on those repairs.'

He turned to Schiller. 'Nancy, we're going to have to do the repair work in shifts, so draw up an initial rota and I'll check it over with you in an hour from now. Put Ted and the Commander in there as well – soon as the med-bay says it's okay, they're going to be doing the same work as the rest of us.'

He turned to fix Dakota with a stare. 'I'd like a word with you in private.'

She nodded and followed him out of the meeting room. He kept going, following the deck as it curved upwards. He didn't stop until they were almost at one of the spoke-shafts, before turning to regard her with his arms folded.

'Whatever it is you're up to, it's time to start talking,' he said. 'You didn't tell me everything I needed to know back in the med-bay, did you? Those weapons didn't just materialize out of nowhere. It's not just that you obviously know the exact location of the cache we need to hit, or even that you've got a shitload of intel about the swarm and the Mos Hadroch, but how the hell could you know all this about the Emissaries?'

He raised a silencing hand as Dakota opened her mouth to speak. 'Stop,' he said. 'You can't try and fob me off by telling me you got all this from the swarm, because I just don't buy it. Do you remember when we were stuck together in that tower on Night's End?'

Dakota nodded. 'I remember.'

'You said you knew whenever I was lying: you could see it in my eyes, the whole way I acted. Well, here's back at you.'

Dakota folded her arms around her chest, hugging herself as if she was cold. 'I'm sorry I haven't been more straight with you,' she mumbled. 'I guess this is as good a time as any.'

He leaned in towards her. 'For what?'

She drew in a breath, then exhaled, letting her shoulders sag. 'Trader's coming along with us. I got the information about the Emissaries from him, and he also led me to the Meridian drones. He's also the reason I know exactly what the Mos Hadroch can do. He'll rendezvous with us just before our next jump.'

Corso's mouth worked helplessly for a couple of seconds before he could get anything out. 'What? Are you fucking crazy?'

She stared back at him defiantly. 'See, this is why I didn't tell you straight away.'

'No, why would you not want to do that?' he yelled, throwing his arms wide. 'Because I'd have said you were out of your fucking head!' He was shouting, and the sound of his voice reverberated from the bulkheads around them.

'At least hear me out,' she said quietly. 'I haven't failed you yet.'

Corso stood, staring off down the long corridor, then shook his head before looking back at her directly. 'All right, then, go ahead. Tell me why that murderous fucking fish is coming along with us.'

'Remember how I told you I could only go where the Magi ship wanted me to go?'

Corso nodded.

'It took me to Trader. I didn't have any choice.'

'Why him?'

'Because he has the key to awakening the Mos Hadroch. Without that key, it's useless, like a bomb without any explosives.'

'Everything he says is a lie, Dakota.'