‘Miss Merrick,’ Trader called after her, ‘you may believe you have a choice in the matter, but you do not. There is a reason, after all, that your ship chose to deliver you to me here. Or will you lie to me and tell me you came here under your own volition?’

She hesitated. How does he know that?

She stopped and turned. ‘I have a choice, Trader. And I choose not to trust you.’

‘Listen to the minds on board your ship. Listen to what they have to say to you. They understand the situation better than you do.’

‘What?’

‘The Magi ships have a primary purpose, Dakota, which is to track down the Maker and destroy it. And if it can’t be destroyed, then they must neutralize it or render its caches ineffective, a task for which the Mos Hadroch is explicitly designed. If you move against that central directive, the ship you use will refuse to obey your orders.’

She took a step back towards him. ‘I don’t believe you. You’re lying.’

‘Ask them yourself, then. See what they say.’

Dakota licked suddenly dry lips. ‘Bullshit.’

But a moment later she knew it was true. She reeled with shock as the Magi voices confirmed what Trader was telling her.

‘I don’t understand,’ she stammered. ‘How the hell could you know what they’re thinking?’

‘You were, I understand, incapacitated when I first tried to contact you. Your ship, however, responded and I offered it terms. I demonstrated that the knowledge I carry is too valuable to risk losing as a result of Moss’s murderous actions. Therefore, Miss Merrick, you must protect me.’

She again balled her fists at her side, trying to comprehend what was happening. ‘I take my ship where the hell I like, damn you!’ she yelled.

‘Yes, Dakota, you do,’ Trader agreed. ‘Except when that interferes with its core directives. By the time you return to your own ship, you will have full control of the Meridian weapons systems, as a gesture of good intentions on my part. I think, in time, you’ll come to see that your ship’s course of action has been by far the wisest.’

Dakota felt the sense of betrayal as a knotted cord in her belly, twisting and untwisting. ‘You can’t do this,’ she seethed.

‘On the contrary, I have done nothing, Miss Merrick, except help you towards your goal. We will meet again, and soon.’

‘I won’t let you do this to me!’ she screamed, but Trader had turned away already. She lurched forward, clawing at the shaped field surrounding the Shoal-member. But the shock of contact repelled her, and she collapsed on the platform, staring after the alien as his bubble rose towards an opening in his yacht.