Mirandas bottom lip dropped. 'Can we contact some of them? They would take us aboard, surely? Were refugees!

'Our signal will pinpoint our position, said Balbao. 'And its unlikely theyll come for us. Everyone with any sense will be leaving as quickly as they can. Theyre all refugees.

A glum silence fell over the cabin as Ra and Balbao went back to concentrating on their tasks.

Miranda laid her head on Jises shoulder. 'I wonder where Tekton is? she said softly.

'Being carnal somewhere, no doubt. Why?

'He always was lucky, she sighed. A tear trickled down her nose and plopped onto her hand.

Jise squashed it with his thumb and squeezed her wrist. They hunched together in mutual support.

Opposite them, Labile Connit closed his eyes and mouthed something prayer-like.

Whod have imagined this? Balbao mused as the ships computer ran shift-algorithms. Though someone should have. The Extros fled quickly from the Stain Wars. OLOSS should have guessed they were rebuilding. No wonder Sole has disappeared.

Disappointment stabbed him. The ent.i.ty had not bothered to warn the tyros of the danger. Whatever the nature of its sentience, compa.s.sion surely did not feature. Or perhaps the timing was mere coincidence. Perhaps Sole had no foreknowledge.

He considered that notion for a while, then discarded it. Sole knew all right. 'Your G.o.d abandoned you, he said aloud.

Jise lifted his head. 'Pardon me?

'Sole. He didnt warn you, and he left you to die.

'What evidence leads you to believe Sole knew what was about to happen? demanded Connit.

'What evidence is there that Sole didnt?

Any answer was stalled by a sudden vibration.

Miranda sucked in a noisy breath. 'Whats that?

'Rock showers from the dust, said Ra. 'We should activate the buffers.

'But they wont protect the ship enough, said Connit.

'Do you have any useful comments to make? snapped Balbao.

Connit glared at him. 'Do you understand the forces at work, Balbao? Ra cant dodge the remains of an entire planet.

'I dont have to be a geneer to know that.

'Then change direction and head away from the dust cloud.

'It will catch us anyway, Labile, said Ra.

'For Crux sakes, ask for help, pleaded Miranda. 'It has to be better than disintegration.

They all stared at each other. Doubt laced their moment of mutual agreement. Was it?

Ra sighed. 'Ill 'cast a distress signal and buffer the cabin. At least the planet fallout will make it harder for the Geni-carrier to notice us.

Within moments of his words the vibration stilled.

'How long will the ship hold together? asked Jise.

Balbao shrugged. Hed done everything he could, and it hadnt been enough. It seemed so unfair that his brilliance should be wasted on such an untimely death. 'Impossible to say.

Miranda grasped Jises hand and then reached out for Connits. 'Then I think its time we prayed.

'Who to? asked Ra.

'The Ent.i.ty, said Miranda. 'Surely if we concentrate our thoughts, it will hear us.

'And you truly think it would care? Ra again.

Miranda rebuked him with a stare. 'You, of all of us, should be the closest to Sole. You could at least try.

Ra sucked his thin lips inside his mouth and nodded. He removed the pilot interface, loosed the safety web around him and twisted around so that he could reach the others hands.

Balbao watched them with despair. What nonsense were they on about in the face of their own demise? He bared his teeth and let loose a small growl. His frill stiffened in agitation. If only they would use their supposed intellects for something helpful.

Alarms dragged his attention back to the ship information flow. The scanners told him that they were heavily mired in the fallout from both Belle-Monde and Min Minor now; data was escalating; stress limits approaching. Among the confusing accretion of information, he nearly missed the response to their SOS.

Breath on hold, he sent a pingback before alerting the others. When it confirmed itself as an OLOSS ship, sweat oozed out from under Balbaos scaly skinplates. He sent their coordinates immediately, and was rewarded with an estimated rendezvous of less than an hour.

Balbao opened his mouth to share the joyous news with the others, then promptly shut it again. The four tyros were still communing silently.

He leaned back in his seat and took a deep relieved breath. Let them keep working for it. Let the annoying b.a.s.t.a.r.ds work for it.

TRIN.

'Do you see them, Principe?

'Si. Trin struggled to keep irritation from his reply. Of course he did; the night sky was filled with them, yet Joe Scali had still deemed it necessary to ask, like a child repeating unnecessary things to a parent.

Trins patience with his friend had been short since he had seen him standing so close-so intimately close-to Djeserit on the darkened beach.

'What do you think, Principe? asked Juno Genarro. 'OLOSS, perhaps?

Trin stared at the hundreds of lights floating across the night sky, high enough, it seemed, to be in outer orbit. 'I would like to say they are our salvation, but something tells me not.

The three men stood on the peak of the mountain. From the same vantage point he and Djes had seen the circular-shaped ship descend several days before. He had not told his people about it, but the appearance of thousands of satellites changed things.

Now a deeply troubled feeling beset him. 'Juno, go down and call everyone together. I will follow soon.

As he had since the early days of the invasion, Juno complied without argument or question. In many ways, aside from Djeserit, he had been Trins best ally and aide. Trin felt Junos respect and their common desire to keep the old ways alive.

'What concerns you, Trinder? asked Joe Scali, when Juno had left.

Trin meant to dismiss the question. Instead, he found other words coming out of his mouth. 'You have developed strong feelings for Djes.

Under the glow of the thousands of satellites he saw Joe shrink a little, as if punched. The man had never really regained his equanimity since the Saqr had killed Rantha and her unborn child. Nowadays, Scali wore his emotions openly, and with less control than a young girl. Trin saw him weeping often.

'I... we all... have great regard for her. He stumbled over his reply. 'Djeserit has saved us. Kept us fed. Brought us here.

'That is true, Trin allowed. 'But it would be foolish to mistake your feelings of grat.i.tude for anything else. Wouldnt it?

Joe Scali bowed his head. He shifted away from Trinder in obvious discomfort.

'I am clear, signor? asked Trin softly.

'Si, Principe.

Trin had expected meekness and embarra.s.sment, but Scalis tone held a trickle of stubbornness.

Should he say more?

No. He would speak with Djes. At the moment there were more important things to address. 'We should join the others.

He turned his back on his friend and made his way back down the shoulder of the peak to the caves.

The group was a.s.sembled outside. Over the previous days the women had swept and moved rocks to make a s.p.a.ce that would accommodate them all, while the men had begun fashioning beds and tables from the small bushes that cloaked the mountainside.

Trin had instructed them to take the brush selectively, so as not to plainly show their presence. Djeserit had returned to the sea, taking Tivi Scali to wait on the beach and help her carry her catch. For several meals now theyd dined on white fish and roots that Ca.s.s Mulravey had identified as safe to eat. The food was still raw, but their bellies were almost full, and many of them had brush cots to sleep upon. Given time, they could make themselves even more comfortable.

Trin glanced into the night sky. But would they have that time? He stepped into the circle of bodies and crouched in the middle. The division between Mulraveys women and the rest had lessened since their encounter with the giant ligs-as though Trins warnings of imminent danger had finally brought real acknowledgement of his authority to lead their group.

The women sat interspersed among his men, and already he could see pairings beginning to develop. Juno Genarro and his cousin Josefia, Tivi Scali and Tina Galiotto. Ca.s.s Mulraveys brother Innis kept close to his sister and the tall outspoken woman Liesl. His surly expression rarely changed, and of all of the survivors Innis Mulravey made Trin the most uneasy.

They quietened as one, waiting for him to speak, but their excitement was unmistakable. He wanted to reach out and take Djeserits hand for rea.s.surance, but she was next to the korm, and now wasnt the time for a physical display of need.

He took a breath. 'You would all be hoping that the lights that we can see are the precursor to an OLOSS rescue. He glanced up. 'I would too... but you must know that its not so.1 Everyone spoke at once, a clamour of questions and protests.

'Quiet! he cut across them sharply. 'On the day of our arrival at the caves, Djeserit and I climbed to the peak. From there, while you rested, we saw a craft enter the atmosphere and land. It was alien in shape to anything in OLOSS.

'Could it be an ally still, Principe? asked Tivi Scali.

Trin regarded Joes younger cousin. He had a quick resourceful mind, and had not been affected-disturbed-by the Saqr invasion in the way that Joe had. 'It is possible, Tivi. But unlikely. The look of the craft-it was round like a disc, but deep as well.

'How would we know whats out there, stuck on this backwater planet? Could be OLOSS has a whole fleet of ships shaped like that. What makes you so sure its not them? I say we start a fire on the beach. Let 'em know were here, said Innis Mulravey.

Trin shot him a quelling look, but its impact was lost in the moonlight.

'I saw the ship as well, said Djeserit. 'And I agree with the Principe.

'Yeah, but you would. Inniss laugh was deprecating, almost dirty.

'Innis! Ca.s.s Mulravey placed a warning hand on her brothers shoulder.

'There will be no fires lit. It is more imperative than before that our presence goes unnoticed, said Trin. 'If the ship that landed is part of the Saqr invasion, then it is only logical that the lights we can see in the sky are more of the same.

Innis pushed Ca.s.s away and stood up. 'You just wanna keep us here, so you can play lord. Well, Im sick of takin orders from Your Highness of Nuthin and your half-breed missus.

Trins body went rigid at the insult, his mind narrowing to a single point of fury. He stood up slowly and took a step towards Innis.

Tivi, Juno and Joe all jumped to their feet as well, but Kristo, Mulraveys man, beat them all. He threw a quick hard punch at Innis, which sent him sprawling backwards.

'Shut yer stupid mouth, said Kristo. 'If it hadnt been fer the both of them, youd be dead. Like as much, wed all be. I dont hold to their royalty, or whatever it is, but like it or not hes made good decisions. Id listen to him and quit yer mouthin. He kicked Innis in the thigh for good measure. 'And dont badmouth women. Last time you treated a woman bad, you nearly got yourself killed. That mere was gonna rip yer guts out. Woulda thought youd learned from that.

After his long and vehement speech, Kristo turned and stalked back into the mouth of the closest cave. He stood there staring at the sky, arms folded and legs apart.

Innis climbed groggily to his feet and backed away into the darkness.

Ca.s.s Mulravey didnt move from where she sat, nursing Mira Fedors adopted baby Vito. Trin couldnt see her expression clearly, but her inaction was enough for him. She did not support her brother. And what did Kristo mean by 'last time? What had Innis done to a woman? He would tell Juno Genarro to find out. His trusted carabinere had become friendlier with Kristo over the last few days.

Trin shifted back to the centre of the circle and executed a slow turn. 'We must take great care to be sure nothing of our presence can be seen from the air. Hide the entrance of the caves and keep water and food supplies inside. We need be able to survive several days without leaving the caves, in case the island is searched.

'How do we hide the caves? Thats impossible! said one of the miners.

'Then we must make it possible, said Josefia Genarro. She sat at Junos side, her hand resting on his leg. They were a good couple, Trin thought, resilient and clever and not easily defeated. It didnt matter that they were cousins, not now that their numbers were so few.

'We could hide the openings with boulders, suggested Ca.s.s Mulravey. 'Make it look as though theres been a rockfall. Well need to stop treading the same route outside, though. Our feet are flattening the ground and making a path.

'It would be c.u.mbersome, but we could make a rope entry from the rocks above, suggested Juno.

'Not all of us would be able to negotiate such a thing. This came from Jilda Pellegrini. Trins mother had spoken little at group gatherings so far, her energies spent on keeping up with the others and watching her son. It seemed hardly believable that his fragile madre had survived the Saqr invasion when his powerful vigorous padre had not. It was true that her servant Tina Galiotto had cared for her, yet even so Jilda had showed an ability to endure.

Trin had always thought of her as weak, in mind and in deed. Perhaps hed been wrong. Or perhaps her suffering had made her stronger in some way. It had done that to many of them.

'The principessa is right, said Djeserit. 'Not all of us could do that. It would be better if we scatter small rocks around the boulders to hide the entrance, and simply climb over them.

'We need weapons, said Kristo from behind them. 'Hidin wont be enough. And what if therere other things on the island-like them giant lig? We got to be able to protect ourselves.

A murmur of agreement went up from most.

The enormous ligs that had attacked them down on the flat of the island had been chasing the nectar of the night flowers. They had not ventured further up the mountain. But Kristo was right-hiding wasnt enough. They had stopped running, and now they must secure their position.

'Juno, pick a group to find the strongest branches, to sharpen and make into spears. Joe Scali will take the rest and begin placing the rocks around the entrance to hide our footprints. Those that arent strong enough for either will see to the food. Trin turned to where Djes sat, near the korm. 'Tivi and the korm will carry your catch from the beach to the caves. Make sure some fish is dried, for storage.

'Anything else? said Ca.s.s Mulravey.

'Collect more roots. And we need more receptacles. Some for drinking water and others to store the energy pods. They are more potent when they are kept wet.

'That means more trips back to the spring, said Juno.

Trin nodded. 'Its the only place weve seen fresh water. Once youve made some spears or clubs, take two others down there with you. Bring as much water as you can carry.