Ty sat down. ‘How do I know you’re who you say you are?’ he demanded bluntly. For some reason, he was not surprised that whoever he was talking to knew his real identity. ‘For that matter, why not just send someone real?’

The avatar ignored his questions. ‘We believe Dakota Merrick and Lucas Corso intend to instigate a new expedition, one aimed at penetrating deep inside Emissary territory.’

Ty stared at the image, stunned. ‘Why are you telling me this?’ he asked.

‘They’re going to recruit you for the expedition. We want you to accept their proposal and report back to us, as and when required.’

Ty licked his lips and glanced around him. ‘Why the hell would I do any such thing? Is that why you brought me here?’

‘If you prefer, I’d be happy to transmit your current whereabouts to the Freehold authorities, Mr Whitecloud, along with details of your true identity and your war-crime charges.’

‘Wait!’ Ty was halfway out of his chair. ‘Just wait a minute.’ He reached up to clasp his brow with one shaking hand. ‘All right. But how am I supposed to contact you?’

‘We can maintain contact with you via an encrypted tach-net link, the details of which are stored on the data-ring on the imager before you.’

Ty glanced at the imager’s plate and for the first time noticed a silvery data-ring sitting there, but made no move towards it. Not for the first time, he had the sensation of teetering on the very edge of a steep precipice.

‘Mr Whitecloud,’ the avatar repeated. ‘Please pick up the ring. The data contained within it uses an extremely robust form of encryption, which can be used to establish a secure communications link while disguising its own activities.’

Ty didn’t move. ‘You’re serious? They’re going on some kind of expedition . . . to the Emissaries?’

The avatar didn’t reply.

Ty let out an angry sigh. ‘I’m grateful you got me out of there, but there are going to be people out looking for me now. Where am I supposed to go?’

‘Go back to the residency. Tell them you escaped because you believed it was under attack; that much is certainly true. The explosives used will be traced to a Uchidanist undercover tactical unit currently operating out of Unity. In your desperation to escape, you got into the first vehicle you saw. But,’ the avatar added, ‘you must take the ring with you. That much is vital.’

Ty glanced at the ring. ‘It’s not safe back there,’ he complained. ‘There was a man there – Marcus Weil, one of the men guarding me. He said he knew who I was and he’d kill me before he’d ever let me leave.’

The avatar gazed at him, unblinking, for so long that Ty began to wonder if whoever was on the other side of this transmission was in fact still present.