‘I think you can slow up now,’ said Cormac, and closed his watering eyes.

* * *

It was difficult getting their coldsuits on in the confinement of the AGC, so they had only managed to get fully clothed by the time Aiden was bringing them in to land. With his body temperature rising, Cormac began to feel the coldburn on his face and the backs of his hands. When the temperature reached its optimum, he felt in some pain, and did not relish the prospect of pulling off his gloves.

Aiden set them down at the edge of the complex and, as they left the car, three suited figures came out to meet them. The dracoman began shivering, but this was the only effect the extreme cold had on it. It otherwise walked along as if taking a stroll on a mildly wintry day. Aiden walked likewise.

‘Y’ made it then,’ came Blegg’s voice over the com.

‘Yes, and the Maker has paid for its crimes,’ replied Cormac.

‘And a perfectly good stage-one runcible obliterated,’ muttered Chaline.

Cormac did not reply to that. ‘Let’s get inside,’ he said, ‘I want to see how much skin I’ve lost.’

The building they entered was a recent addition to the complex. They passed through a cold lock to get inside, and had to wait for a few minutes while their suits and the air around them was heated. Beyond this was an unsuiting room, with its lockers for the suits, showers and blow dryers, a machine for dispensing hot drinks, and lockers containing fresh clothing. Mika and Thorn were quickly out of their suits and soon drinking cups of hot soup. The other three—Blegg, Chaline and surprisingly, Carn—got unsuited just as quickly. Cormac took his time, leaving his gloves for last.

‘Ow! Shit!’

Patches of skin lifted off the backs of his hands and his fingers. His face was not a lot better. Chaline reached into a nearby locker, took out an aerosol and approached him.

‘Synthiskin—it will seal the burns and kill the pain. It’s good that it hurts. If there had been no pain, you’d then have had cause to worry.’

He held out his hands, and as she sprayed them they went gloriously numb. She did the same for his face, holding her finger over each of his eyelids in turn to prevent them becoming sealed shut.

‘Thorn? Mika?’ She turned to them next.

Both of them had a redness to face and hands, but neither had caught the brunt of it like Cormac.

‘I’m fine, just a little coldburn,’ said Thorn.

Mika held up her hand when Chaline turned to her queryingly, and continued sipping at her soup.

During all this, Blegg had stood silently to one side.

Cormac eventually addressed him: ‘I want to get back to Hubris.’

‘More?’ wondered Blegg.

‘More,’ Cormac confirmed.

Chaline looked from one of them to the other. ‘What’s—’