He stood up suddenly, slinging her satchel over the shoulder not burdened by his rifle, and looked down at her. Can you get up?

What the hell do you think? she tried to say, but the words emerged half-slurred. Her tongue felt like something that had crawled into her mouth for shelter and died there.

Fair enough.

He leaned down, took hold of her under her armpits, then began dragging her towards the spider-truck and the waiting bead-zombies. Her boots left dark grooves in the dusty yellow soil.

He slammed her upright against the side of the truck, between two of its legs, propping her there with one hand against her shoulder. The bead-zombies had turned towards him, from which she deduced they must both be slaved to his control.

Its wearing off now, right? asked the Freeholder. The stuff the mech shot you with?

Fuck you, she mumbled, then coughed, though it was getting easier to talk. What the hell do you want with me? she managed to ask. And who the fuck are you, anyway?

Sifra warned me youd be a pain in the ass, he replied, taking his hand away from her shoulder. He wasnt kidding.

Megan just about managed to stand upright without his support. Sifra? She swallowed hard. Anil Sifra?

One corner of his mouth curled upwards. So you do know him.

No. Megan shook her head. No, Im not going anywhere if hes

The Freeholder sighed loudly, then hauled her over to an open hatch at the rear of the truck. She yelled in protest as he pushed her inside a cramped and windowless compartment with a metal floor and walls before slamming the door shut.

Im sorry, Bash, she thought, feeling all her carefully wrought plans slipping through her fingers like so much water. Looks like Ive failed you again.

A few minutes later, she felt the vehicle stagger into motion. The ceiling was low enough to force her to sit bent over. Her head banged against the hard surface above her when the truck lurched suddenly as it picked up speed, but before long it had achieved a smooth, steady rhythm, bouncing only slightly as it leaped around the tiny planetoids circumference.

Before long the numbness in her limbs had nearly worn off, but it was soon replaced by intense cramps. She flexed and stretched her arms and legs to try and ease the pain, but that was far from easy in such a confined space. When she felt sufficiently recovered, she banged and kicked at the door of the cramped compartment, throwing all her rage and frustration at it, until she finally ran out of physical energy.