‘Oh. No, I doubt it,’ she said, rising to her feet. ‘If it did not immediately plunge from the sky then it won’t soon fall. I have damaged it, perhaps slowed their plans. But nothing more.’

‘What plans?’

‘You saw. They are building a fleet. And cutting off our reinforcements. In fact, the wreckage from our fallen craft is probably feeding the manufactoria. One has to admire the efficiency. I wonder if I should paint myself green and see if I can switch sides.’

‘Do not speak such heresy, even in jest.’

She laughed, the sound high, sharp and barely controlled.

‘You intend to tattle on me?’ she asked. ‘Perhaps vox Maric again? Yes, I heard about that. Or will you record some fresh footage for your little project? Add it to the data-scraps of my childhood you’ve been carrying around?’

She glared through me, but I could not take my eyes from the knife in her hand.

‘I had… For a project such as this I needed to thoroughly research–’

‘It seemed very thorough,’ she said, drawing closer. ‘At least, those moments I saw flash across the clouds, right before the orks shot us down. I’m impressed you dug up my old school record, but I was never an exceptional pupil. Unlike my siblings. Did one of my brothers provide what you needed?’

‘I have sufficient clearance for such files.’

‘They do have such fond memories of their time in the schola progenium,’ she continued. ‘Well, I say memories, but it’s hard to be certain. The drill abbots poke around our heads, editing out inconveniences like our past. Their mindscaping techniques are quite robust, all that remains is what they choose to leave.’

She squatted down beside me, blade picking at the dirt beneath her fingernail.

‘Siblings are a sometime exception,’ she continued. ‘They like us to know about our familial connections. Not so we can draw comfort from them, but so we will compete to honour the legacy. That’s why I’m lucky enough to have siblings, so there is someone to overshadow me.’

Her voice held nothing but contempt.

‘Still, you cannot argue with results,’ she continued. ‘The von Shards excel in every field. The survivors, anyway. It sounds like a propagandist’s dream actually, having a perfect family to hold as an exemplar. One might even say that if such a family did not exist, it would be prudent to create it, don’t you think?’

I did not reply and would not meet her gaze. I did not wish to provoke her. But she would not let me be silent.

‘I asked you a question,’ she said, tapping the flat of the blade against my side. ‘Aren’t you interested in my story? Isn’t that the real reason you’re here? Because I fascinate you so?’

‘I don’t know what you want me to say.’