“Oh yes. You think your queen would tell you the truth of anything? That was a military vessel, Nyxnissa. They didn’t wake me up just to kill Alharazad. Certainly not. They wanted to know if I could still protect us from those expansionists. They have wanted to eradicate our kind for millennia. There was once a filter over this world, did you know? It protected us for nearly two thousand years, until some bloody expansionist came by and tore it up. It took every resource this planet had to beat them back. After that, the Caliphate fell and the wars started. There was only so much left here for us. Few resources means the ones with the most control over them will survive. So when the Drucians came, yes, I blew them out of the sky. There was not enough here for us, let alone half a million more.”

“Half a million?”

“Oh yes. At least that many.”

“You murdered half a million people?”

“Would you rather it was our people I murdered? You of all people understand that we must make choices, Nyxnissa. Half a million aliens to save millions of our own? Absolutely. I still consider it a fair trade.”

Nyx shook her head.

“Are you shocked?” Safiyah asked.

“About which part?”

Safiyah shrugged. “Oftentimes, when I tell colonials, they cannot comprehend it.”

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy, surprising shit in my time,” Nyx said. “Long-lived mutants blowing shit out of the sky is the least of it.” She thought of the massive organic atmosphere machines, and the creature that had attacked Khatijah.

Safiyah polished off her drink. “Well, that should be all for the sky theater tonight,” she said. “I’m back off to my masters. There’s apparently been some disturbance in the old derelicts beneath Mushtallah, ever since that business in Ras Tieg. No doubt crawling through that muck in search of the disease will keep me busy.”

“Who is it who polices somebody like you?”

Safiyah smiled. “Oh, now, you don’t think I’m going to tell you all my secrets, do you? What I’ve learned about this world over the centuries is that just when you think you’re starting to understand the full puzzle, something pops up that forces you to rearrange the whole picture. Stay on your side of the divide, Nyx. It’s simpler and easier that way.”

“I like it over here,” Nyx said.

“I do as well. It’s a shame, really.” She watched the sky a moment longer. “Good night, Nyxnissa so Dasheem. I do hope we can work together again someday.”

Nyx raised her glass.

Safiyah left her.