Aquillon ignored him. ‘She was assisting allies of the Wraiths.’

‘She was not!’ Ryan said. ‘Reckon it’s you who needs the think-scan—’

‘Prisoners will not be insolent.’ Aquillon kicked Ryan in the chest with a front hoof. Ryan was thrown back against the wall, lost his balance and collapsed into the water trough with a clatter. Water went everywhere. The Legate clopped closer, raising her hoof again.

‘What d’you think you’re doing?’ Graham shouted.

Thank God, it seemed Centaurion Masst agreed; he quickly placed himself in front of the dazed Ryan, squaring up to his own CO.

‘Is this who we are now, Legate Aquillon?’ Masst said quietly. ‘The Astingir, trampling lesser races underhoof because it pleases us to?’

You could almost see the steam hissing from Aquillon’s nostrils. ‘The boy is—’

‘The boy is still a boy,’ Masst said quietly. ‘And we are old, and we are tired.’

Aquillon snorted. ‘Stand aside, Centaurion.’

‘I say again, is this who the Astingir are?’

The Legate glared at her subordinate, but Ryan could see the anger dimming in her eyes. ‘We have chosen who we are.’ Aquillon’s voice was quieter now, restraint asserted. ‘We stand vigilant and vengeful until our end.’

‘Until our end,’ Masst echoed, as if this was something learned by rote. ‘Yes. So we have pledged.’

Graham watched and waited anxiously.

Then Masst moved away and gestured to Graham. ‘Assist the boy.’

‘I’m all right.’ Ryan tried to rise, staggered forward. He didn’t notice his shirt gaping at the neck, enough to show a flash of the red metal device attached to his collarbone.

‘Wait.’ Aquillon pushed forward again, her white-hide fingers tearing at Ryan’s shirt. ‘What technology is this?’

Masst sniffed, as if he could tell the tech by scent alone. Perhaps he could. ‘It is not of local origin,’ he announced.

‘It’s not, but I am,’ Ryan insisted. ‘I’m from Earth. So is Graham. You need to put us back.’ He looked at Masst, hoping for more mercy, but the Centaurion was waving a wand with a bulbous gold eye that clicked and whirred, scanning him, perhaps. ‘Please, just put us back on Earth. What can we do to you? Nothing!’

‘This technology does not come from Earth.’ Masst’s black eyes narrowed, and he flattened his ears to his skull. ‘It is a military-grade life-beacon used by the Peace Corps on Hondopel.’

‘So!’ Aquillon reared up in anger. ‘All this time our prisoners have been summoning help?’

‘It is emitting a test signal, not a distress call,’ Masst clarified.

‘Yeah, she didn’t want them Hoodoo Pels to break off their own Search and Rescue missions to go after Ryan,’ said Graham. ‘It was just so the Doctor had something to follow, so she could find where everyone was being sent on to by that station place. If she was working with the Wraiths she’d already know where they were going, wouldn’t she?’