Dakota took a look around her. Outcrops of granite rose from a sea of dust that extended to the north, only coming to an end at the ridge-wall of a crater about ten kilometres away. To the west, and in the direction of the cache itself, the ground rose and fell in gentle inclines, like waves sculpted in stone. The overhead sun was bright enough to blot out the stars.

Trader emerged last, followed by the spider-mechs. One by one, the spiders skittered around the edge of the hatch, in an eerily lifelike way, before jumping down and flexing their elongated legs as they scanned the horizon. They looked very different in a gravity environment: they now used most of their limbs to walk on, with just one set raised above them, so that they now looked more like six-legged mechanical crabs than spiders.

Trader led the way, his brine-filled bubble hugging the curve of a nearby slope up to its peak. Dakota trudged through the dust after him and on up the side of the hill.

<I was unaware we would have company,> he sent to Dakota as she came abreast of him.

Dakota glanced back at Nancy, who had just reached the foot of the hill. Her pressure-suit clearly made the going harder for her.

Officially, she’s here to give us a hand. Unofficially, I’m top of their list of suspects for Olivarri’s murder. She waited a beat. After yourself, of course.

The alien swivelled within his field bubble to study Schiller more closely as she struggled uphill, the spiders racing past her towards the peak. <So she is here to watch over us.>

Did you kill Olivarri, Trader?

The Shoal-members manipulators writhed beneath the wide curve of his belly. <How could I possibly carry out such a crime, seeing I have not even been allowed to board the frigate itself? Perhaps your inquiries should first turn to those who accuse you? I am sure Olivarri was not the only one with secrets.>

Dakota frowned. What secrets?

<Ah.> The manipulators writhed again, and Dakota couldn’t help but wonder if he was laughing at her. <Perhaps you were not aware Olivarri was secretly employed by the Consortium’s intelligence division? >

Dakota actually took a step back. What? Where did you get this from?

<That, I’m afraid, must remain with me. I have my sources.>

If you’re lying to me—

<Spare me your empty threats, Dakota.>

Trader moved off again, his bubble following the contours of the incline as he descended the other side of the hill. Dakota stayed where she was, staring off across the hilltops and brooding.