An hour passed. I worked the controls again, trying all the permutations of switches and knobs I could think of, just in case I’d misunderstood something crucial. Still all I got was static. At last I decided to risk another transmission. I opened the channel and repeated what I’d said the first time, only this time with an edge of desperation and hopelessness that I didn’t need to fake.

I worked the switches again.

The crackles continued. There was a hiss and pop, a snatch of a voice, the phantom of some much more distant transmission. Then more hissing and scratching.

Until I heard: ‘This is Jastrabarsk, sending from the Iron Courtesan. We hear you, Monetta’s Mourn. Your signal is weak, and we had trouble reading you the first time. But we’ve turned all our ears onto you now. We see no sign of your attacker on our deep sweep. State your condition. How many of you are left?’

My voice sounded as bad as the first time, but the relief almost had me choking on my own words. ‘Just me, Captain. I managed to hide. My name is . . .’ And I knew I’d need to lie for now, because it would be much too risky to use my real name while Bosa might be listening in. ‘Incer,’ I said, using the name of Mazarile’s other city. ‘The ship’s in a bad way. There isn’t much power, and it’s getting colder. She took everything. Can you get here quickly, Captain Jastrabarsk?’

I did not have to wait long for his answer.

‘You’re still faint, Monetta, but we can reach you, yes. But even with full sail and ions, we can’t be on you in less than four days . . .’

That was a day longer than I’d figured, and while it might not seem much, it was as if they’d added a year onto my sentence.

‘No . . .’ I said to myself.

‘But we will do our utmost,’ Jastrabarsk was still saying, ‘and when we’re close enough to send out a launch, we’ll do so. The delay won’t hurt us, either. It’ll give us time to make sure Bosa Sennen really has cleared the volume. What is the condition of your ship?’

‘Bad. Lots of things aren’t working. It’s cold and I don’t think there’s much power left. But I’m not really an expert.’

‘I’ll have my Integrator speak to you – see what we can make of the remaining systems.’

‘I’m worried about Bosa, Captain. Will she come back?’

‘Are you certain it was Bosa, and not just someone trading under that name? There are plenty of crews who claim to have seen her, but very few who can prove it.’