We can block it.

Stop the Machinehood!

And then she could focus on the mission again. Opening her eyes, she tied Ao Tara’s hands and knees with her saffron wrap, meeting no resistance.

“If you will not cooperate,” Welga said, thinking, How strange to speak, “we’ll do this by force.”

She opened the door to an empty corridor.

Expected that.

Swarms showed her the entire way, clear of people until the dock. No more secrets. She towed Ao Tara out, as Clemence had brought her in, by the shoulder.

We know where you’re going. The voice spoke in Welga’s head, sounding like herself. Sati works in both directions. You give, and you receive.

Is that you, Por Qué?

It is sati. We are dakini.

They waited at the hatch where Welga had exited sixteen days earlier. Clemence and Suvara—she saw them long before she arrived with Ao Tara. She could see them now with her eyes.

So young, Welga thought. Reality merged with the information on her visual.

She spoke aloud for the sake of everyone else on the station. “Move aside. I won’t hurt you. I promise I won’t allow anyone to harm Ao Tara, but she must answer for the actions of the Machinehood.”

As Welga spoke, she activated every physical enhancement in her system she knew of. Did they sense it? Could she tell what the other dakini were doing with their bodies?

Yes.

They had taken the same actions. They/she/we could produce bursts of incredible strength. They/she/we could—

Clemence launched forward. Her figure blurred in Welga’s visual.

How?

Her mind showed her the technique Clemence had used. She borrowed it, a sequential contraction like a snake, and twisted away. On the swarm feeds, they were blurs.

Welga kept Ao Tara behind her, as she would with any client. With the momentum of the twist, she flung the monk toward the hatch.

Suvara moved to Welga’s flank. Smart. Trying to neutralize Welga first. The other two dakini were fast, but they weren’t Raiders. They reacted. They didn’t know how to fight.

Welga shot her legs backward. She kicked Suvara. The reaction pushed her toward Clemence. Sky-blue eyes tracked Welga.

Arms grabbed her from behind.

Stop this! There are better ways.

Suvara?

We are one!

Welga somersaulted. She pushed Clemence with the flats of her feet, wrenching herself free. She caught a handhold near the hatch, blocked the opening with her body.

Breathing and heart rate are elevated.

Made sense. They kept the oxygen level lower on-station. Her body would adapt, but it needed more time.

Thoughts reflected and refracted through three pairs of eyes, three streams linked with a disorienting efficiency. Through them, Welga saw Ao Tara behind her. A frown wrinkled the monk’s brow.

“Have you had enough?” Ao Tara said.

No.

Welga tried to pull back, into the cargo shuttle. She couldn’t move.

What the hell?