“Catalog,” Sharp said grimly. “Carapace looks damaged. It may not come out alive.”

Here again, the Master Builder’s ironic touch was evident. No doubt Catalog had been sent to him by Juridicals to conduct an interview—only to be frozen in stasis and dumped here with the rest of Faber’s garbage.

My wife had supplied me with fully updated armor after I left my Cryptum. That had been taken from me, so my knowledge of more immediate events was spotty at best. I had no idea what might have forced the Master Builder’s hand. Having captured me, he should have been inclined to bring me to trial before his corrupted Juridicals. He had not. That implied that even before my capture, his situation had already started to decline.

If Catalog came out alive, if it could still hook up to a Juridical network—and no doubt it would want to, after what it had experienced—we might reach out to the ecumene and report our status.

Uthera was infested. Any attempt to land and conduct repairs would end in disaster. None of the worlds here would be of use. How had it gone so far wrong?

“What do you know about the last few years … or however long I’ve been out of action?” I asked.

“Without armor, my knowledge has huge gaps,” Sharp said. “In the end, Faber took no one into his confidence. Except Mendicant Bias.”

“You know about that?”

“The Master Builder was under arrest, on trial. Without warning, Halos conducted an attack on the Capital. Some said Mendicant Bias was trying to rescue Faber, but I think not.”

The details were coming together. Sharp’s expression told me as much.

“Faber escaped. You went with him,” I said.

He marked a Y over his forehead and the bridge of his nose, a Warrior’s admission of guilt. “With the help of the Warden, who removed Faber from the capital and delivered him to me. I commanded a fast frigate, one of six that may have been carrying high-ranking members of Builder Security.… We were ordered to flee the Capital system, even though it was under attack.”

“And?”

“The Master Builder’s personal security overwhelmed our crew. I recognized them by his sigil. They killed all but me. That’s the last I remember.”

“I must have been on that frigate as well. Did you know?”

“None of our crew knew.”

Perhaps everything was already lost. Perhaps the Burn extended across the entire galaxy. If so, surely the Master Builder would have fired off his beloved wheels, his Halos! Unless they had all been damaged or destroyed while attacking the Capital.

Sharp said he knew nothing about that, or how many Halos might remain active. His ignorance of events that must have transpired while he fled with the Master Builder was not convincing. But we had little time to argue.