Standing in the shuttle bay, while another minishuttle was being taken from storage, Cormac watched the heavy-lifter depart. It carried autodozers and line-laying moles for the clearance of a site to the west of the original one, which was still far too hot, and for the laying of s-con cables to directly draw off the heat energy from the buffers. Dragon had not left much of the original network intact. Chaline, who was on the lifter, was in her element.

When the heavy-lifter was a speck against Samarkand, Cormac went to the drop-shaft and from there to Isolation. The dracomen had been returned to their original quarters, where Mika continued her study of them. As far as he was concerned, they could stay there.

Mika was not at the viewing window where he expected to find her, but in the small control centre for all the isolation chambers. She was seated before a bank of screens and watching the one with ISOL1 imprinted above it. Two side screens to this one were giving a continuous readout of information.

‘Do you have anything for me?’ Cormac asked.

‘Yes . . . yes, I think I do.’

Cormac dropped into the chair next to her.

She went on. ‘They have been altered. I’m not even sure if they’re the same ones. Their bone and muscle structures are lighter. If before they were made to be strong, now they have been made to be fast.’

Cormac looked at the two dracomen on the screen. Why? What was Dragon up to now?

* * *

Chaline watched the moles set off on their long journey to New Sea, and smiled under her mask. Improvisation under difficult circumstances: proof of a technician’s abilities. Without the microwave receivers of the stations, they could not use the transmission dish that came with the runcible. But, as always, another way had been found.

Like giant silver woodlice with treads, the moles bumbled forwards in relentless slow motion, dragging their moling attachments along two metres below the surface as they laid the s-con cables. It would take them twenty hours to reach their destination. Hopefully the site here would be cleared by then. Chaline turned and watched the autodozers at work as they shoved huge mounds of dust and flaked stone before them and exposed the clean basalt below.

‘Nadhir, is that second shuttle down yet?’ she said, over the roar of heavy machinery.

The reply from her comunit was immediate. ‘Down and ready.’

‘Tell Dave to get over to New Sea and get things ready for the moles’ arrival. He should be able to have the heat-sinks ready to be connected up by then. Those s-con cables out there weren’t too badly damaged.’

At least Dragon had left them the heat-sinks. The heat-sink stations were now just metal-lined craters, but the sinks themselves were under half a kilometre of ice.

‘He’ll start moaning again.’