“Did it succeed?” Maker asked.

“Not that I am aware of. I may no longer be secure, however, and should not take testimony. As a precaution.”

“Wise,” I said. “Can you add anything further to this Builder’s story?”

“Is this ship capable of communicating?”

“No,” Maker said.

Catalog’s voice gained some strength. “There are Juridical channels available even out here. Unfortunately, their use for extra-Juridical traffic is forbidden.”

Obviously we would have to supply persuasion. I assisted Catalog as it rotated its carapace again and focused its many eyes on the approaching ships.

“Those are not allies, are they?” it asked.

“Almost certainly not,” I said.

It turned its eyes and other sensors on me. “You are the Didact, against whom the Council and the Master Builder lodged a formal complaint over a thousand years ago.”

“I am,” I said.

“That case has been dismissed,” Catalog said. “There are no longer proceedings against you.” It paused. “There have been dramatic developments since I was removed from the Master Builder’s presence. Many indeed. The Old Council was nearly destroyed by an attack on the Capital system. There is a New Council. But there is also…” It examined me more closely, with a suspicious backward lean. “Are you sure you’re the Didact? Because there is another, working with the Lifeshaper and given full authority.”

So Bornstellar survived!

“I imprinted a Manipular in case of my capture. That is likely him.”

“So much to catch up on…” Its voice dropped and its words slowed. “Oh, my. Juridicals have reorganized. We have been found wanting. There was corruption.”

“Indeed,” I said. I left Catalog to its catching up and asked Maker if this ship could be convinced to move to a more secure location while we studied our options.

“I’m working on that,” she said. “It’s murky. The main ancilla was decommissioned, but whoever did it was sloppy. Emergency backups could still be cached.… I’ll need time.”

In my experience, this was a statement expected of any Builder faced with repairs. Somehow it encouraged me. I was starting to like this Builder despite myself.

“Oh, my,” Catalog announced again, and jerked itself to full attention. Its voice rose in pitch. “The Flood has entered over five hundred systems and infected thousands of worlds and entire fleets.”

“Tell us something encouraging,” Sharp-by-Striking grumbled.

“All of those systems have fallen silent, and it is assumed that their defenses have been placed at the disposal of the Flood.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Sharp said.

Maker came up from her tech-reverie to announce, “The central ancilla is online! Still a classic Builder vessel.”

“What about weapons?” Sharp asked, approaching the control display.

Maker stood back to allow him access. “Stripped out before we were sent here. If the Master Builder dumped the Didact into a Burn, defenseless, I’d say it was personal.”

“There were few kind words,” I agreed.