It’s historic, and not in a good way. Nobody has ever killed a Lamber before and there is no protocol. There are protocols of discipline for a repatriator who goes into the field without the proper cautions, the proper authorisation, the proper guidelines. He left his partner, he didn’t wait for confirmation, he assaulted people, he illegally switched off an Artificial with an illegal device and he killed a Lamber.

The Lambers are out in force, gathered in numbers Fin has never seen, and it gives him a frontal headache.

The one Fin killed is important, it seems. Accident or no, there will be repercussions.

Duro has no qualms about testifying against him.

Family shame. Pretty large family. Wireframes have no flexibility built in.

It was hubris, of course. Fin had a few successes and it went to his head. He thought he could take shortcuts because of his ability, because of his gifts. He thought the rules didn’t apply to him – not consciously, but subconsciously, where it counts. And he got away with it enough that he became sloppy.

He could not worship or eat with his family.

Fin withdraws, finds a place to stay alone.

He spirals downwards.

But then he comes up again.

He gets a new software mother, because the loneliness kills. He studies, he looks at complicated cases and unofficially solves them. Low caseload, no expectations, and lots of time on his hands, that’s all it takes. He becomes methodical. He goes heavy into weapon printing, just as a hobby, not to sell. He slips in other ways, though. He doesn’t socialise. He doesn’t clean himself enough. He doesn’t clean the house. The Mother software is busted because he didn’t get updates. Fin doesn’t care.

The year after killing the Lamber prince, or whatever the fuck is translated as “prince”, turns out to be simultaneously the best and the worst time for Fin.

Then the call to the Ragtime comes, and, just like that, Fin is back.

Fin watches Shell float away, looking for Salvo, to confess to a crime she did not commit, all for the sake of her passengers. A true captain, going down for, and probably with, her ship. A pulse of admiration in Fin’s heart.

Meanwhile, he wants to know who the missing people are. He wants to compare their IFCs to the passenger manifest. They are probably dead and Fin suspects they might have been let out of the airlock, but he will not assume. He will rule them out systematically. He feels that surge of anticipation when a difficult task lies ahead.

And fear, as something breaks through the door to the bridge.

A thinker and a fighter, he draws a weapon before he knows what he’s facing…

Chapter Twenty-two

Ragtime: Fin

“We are truly fucked,” says Fin.