Surt drew in her already sucked-in cheeks. They seemed to disappear into her, like matter falling into a swallower’s horizon. ‘Verdict’s out, as far as I’m concerned. But I don’t suppose I’ve got to like someone to draw my share of the quoins they bring us.’

‘Glad to see your mercenary spark is undiminished,’ Gathing said.

‘And you’re not in this for the money?’ Surt asked him.

‘If I am, I’m on the wrong ship.’ But Gathing made a cynical saluting gesture. ‘No disrespect, Captain.’

‘We’ll make our quoins in good time,’ Trusko answered. ‘For now, it’s only Fura that concerns us. I sense the winds are blowing in the direction of hiring her. But you haven’t said much, Prozor.’

‘My word won’t carry much, will it, being the newest on the ship?’

‘That’s as maybe. We’d still value your opinion. You’ve crewed extensively. How do you plumb her?’

‘Something don’t add up,’ Prozor said after a silence. ‘Drozna’s right – she’s all one thing, then she’s something else. No crime in that, I suppose. And I did hear that they had a tolerable Sympathetic on the Murderess, a girl too young to look the part. Maybe she even had one hand.’ Prozor leaned in confidentially. ‘But I don’t like her, Captain. Reading bones ain’t the be all and end all. You’ve got to be able to trust the bony. Got to be able to sup with ’em and know they’ve got the same interests as you.’

‘What do you do?’ I asked sharply. ‘I’ve figured some of the rest of you. Drozna’s your master of sail. Tindouf’s your ion man. Gathing – you’ve got the look of an Opener to me. Maybe an Assessor, if that isn’t what Strambli does. Certain thing is you’re no Integrator.’ I nodded at his hands. ‘Never seen an Integrator whose fingers weren’t worked down to stubs.’ I settled my gaze on Surt for a moment. ‘That’d be you, I think. Got the fingers for it. But I still don’t know what Prozor does. That was your name, wasn’t it?’

‘Prozor’s our new Bauble Scanner,’ Trusko said. ‘And a good one, by all reports. Thought our luck was in, when we heard that Prozor was looking for employment. But it wasn’t that Prozor.’

‘Then she’s second-rate,’ I said. ‘Trading under a better name. Untested.’

‘We’ll know the value of her soon enough, when we’ve finalised our next set of targets,’ Trusko said. ‘And I don’t doubt she’ll prove her worth.’