‘You could have at least fed them,’ said Mika accusingly, and then walked over to the wounded dracoman. Cormac watched her go, a slight smile twisting his features, and then he frowned and headed back for the carrier. Once inside he called to the soldier at the gun.

‘You, go outside for a moment, please,’ he said.

The soldier climbed down from the control seat, saluted, and quickly went on his way. Cormac dropped down on the bunk opposite Stanton.

‘You were right,’ he said.

Stanton just stared back at him.

Cormac went on. ‘How long do you think Pelter will . . . let me sweat?’

‘The longer he leaves it, the more it will work for him. Your men will be tired, less alert. But he does want to kill you rather badly. I’d say two days at most.’

‘Now tell me why I should believe you.’

Stanton looked down at the floor for a long moment before replying. ‘Pelter has a large quantity of money with him. I intended to relieve him of it once I found a way round Crane.’

‘Crane?’

‘Mr. Crane. The broken Golem. Watch out for him. He was a Twenty-five, and now he’s armoured and very tough. You wouldn’t believe what he’s capable of.’

‘I would,’ said Cormac. ‘I have two Golem Thirties with me.’

Stanton stared for a long moment, then a slow smile broke out on his face. ‘Won’t Pelter be surprised,’ he said.

‘Tell me about this money. That’s not like you, John. You’ve had ample opportunity to rip Pelter off.’

‘That’s what Jarvellis said.’

‘Jarvellis?’

Stanton told him, and Cormac made his decision. He couldn’t wait for Pelter. He needed to resolve some things now before Dragon got impatient and threw a tantrum that many of those on Samarkand might not survive. He took up the two Enropower boxes from under one of the bunks, and then left Stanton where he was. Outside the carrier he turned to the soldier.

‘Get back on that gun. The call I’m just about to put out does not apply to you.’

The man nodded and quickly ducked back inside the carrier. Cormac tucked one of the boxes under his arm and pulled his comunit.

‘I want all of you into the camp right now,’ he said, and then walked to where Mika was working on Scar. He saw that she had been forced to use wire to pull together the rent in Scar’s tough hide. The dracoman seemed unconcerned. Cormac wondered if an anaesthetic had been used, if one had even been needed. He dropped the two boxes at his feet and looked around as they all came in.

Thorn, Aiden and Cento were the first to join him, all three of them carrying energy weapons, then the sergeant with his six remaining men. When they were all gathered round, Cormac studied them for a moment before speaking.