Corso nodded, and stepped forward until he stood directly underneath the projection of the Mjollnir. It looked real enough to make him feel he could reach up and touch it. He watched as the blip representing Dakota reached one of the frigate’s external airlocks, and disappeared from sight.

‘Dan, patch me into the frigate’s general address system. Dakota just came on board, and I want to be sure she hears me.’

‘Patching you in now,’ Perez replied, his hands sliding rapidly across the surface of his console. ‘One moment and I’ll have a visual on her.’

The Mjollnir and the surrounding starscape began to shrink overhead, as if receding at enormous speed. In its place appeared a larger-than-life image of Dakota, now inside an airlock already halfway through its opening cycle.

She was naked, but her skin was coated in what looked like thick black oil, her eyes gleaming and alien-looking. She had a bag slung across one shoulder, out of which she pulled a jumpsuit.

Corso glanced over at Perez and saw a censorious look on his face. It was hard to remember that he too had been that buttoned-down before he first left Redstone.

Overhead, Dakota pulled on the jumpsuit, the black slick coating on her skin draining away. She glanced briefly towards the microscopic lens buried in one wall of the airlock with a sardonic smile, and Corso felt his face redden.

‘Dakota, if you can hear me, we need you on the bridge right now. We’ve got a couple of corvettes approaching and Ted’s—’

She had stepped out of the airlock and was now pushing her way down a connecting shaft towards the centrifuge hub. ‘I know about Ted,’ she replied, as if addressing the air. ‘Just hang on. I’ll be there soon.’

Dakota disappeared from the overhead display, replaced by the previous view of the local starscape. The corvettes had by now resolved into distinct shapes.

‘We’re being signalled by one of the corvettes,’ Perez announced. ‘They’re warning us to shut down the engines or they’ll start shooting.’

‘Bullshit,’ Corso heard himself say. ‘They’re bluffing. This is the only colony-class ship the Senate has left.’

‘Maybe so, Senator, but if whoever ordered those corvettes to come after us lets us get away, he’s going to face a firing squad, or at least a challenge from a queue of subordinates. Blowing a hole in our side might look like a safer bet, with that in mind.’

Damn you, Dakota. How long could it take to get to the centrifuge hub, then to the bridge?

‘They must know there’s no way we can just stop the acceleration. Even if we shut down the fusion drive, and used the manoeuvring systems to push us back, it’d be hours before we could come to a halt relative to the docks.’