The wall facing them shimmered into life, becoming a huge screen littered with icons depicting the other houses that held significant holdings on Vorlese. She selected Dukarr’s, and waited. She’d never witnessed the Novator Cortex in action, certainly not from this end. She presumably wouldn’t have to wade through layers of underlings to get to Sen Uru; that was the point of it, after all. But how did it actually work? Did the technology somehow link directly to his personal comm? If so, could the right mind find a way to pinpoint his location by using the signal as a marker? That might be a useful tool…

The icon flashed white, and a voice spoke. Chetta almost didn’t recognise it as Sen Uru Dukarr at first, so ragged was it.

‘Have you no shred of humanity left in you?!’ Dukarr’s Novator raged. There was no picture accompanying his words, which was unsurprising given that it was unlikely he’d been sitting in his own communication chamber. ‘Must you torment me in the hour of my grief?’

‘Sen Uru!’ Chetta snapped, thoroughly alarmed. Why did the man sound as though his heart had been torn out, when his troops were attacking her holdings? ‘Kindly explain yourself! What is the meaning of your aggression, in violation of the terms of engagement that you laid out yourself?’

‘You speak of terms of engagement to me, when my son lies dead?’ Sen Uru bellowed. ‘You dare, when your very actions spit my terms back in my face?!’

‘Your… What?’ Chetta faltered. What was the man talking about? ‘Ban Uru? Ban Uru is dead?’

‘I curse your name and your house with the fury of a thousand suns, you she-daemon! I will have my revenge, even if I have to take this planet with–’

‘Sen Uru!’ Morandia shouted, interrupting his rant. Dukarr’s Novator fell silent for a moment, and when he spoke again his voice was thick with suspicion.

‘Who speaks?’

‘Morandia Jo’Sin,’ Morandia said clearly. ‘I am here with my husband, and the fact that we are contacting you on the Novator Cortex with Lady Brobantis should tell you that this is no ordinary matter!’

‘Do you all conspire against me, then?’

‘Lord Dukarr!’ Ngiri said. ‘This is Lady Indrinian Vass, rogue trader allied with House Xudine. I appreciate your pain, but this is vitally important. We have reason to believe that the entire planet is in danger, from a man who has been killing Navigators and removing their warp eyes. Was this unholy mutilation performed on your son, by any chance?’

A wracking sob answered them. Chetta glanced sharply up at Ngiri, whose expression was grim.

‘Sen Uru,’ Chetta said cautiously. ‘If what Lady Vass said accurately describes your son’s death, then first of all you have my deepest sympathies, and secondly the situation may be worse than you think, despite how hard that must be for you to believe.’