After a moment, Patrick asked, “Do we know where we’re going?”

“South, for now,” I replied. “Let’s just get some distance between us and the building. Then we’ll worry about getting picked up.”

“At least a mile,” Sheldon added. “And make sure there’s space for me to land. Oh, and some privacy would be just peachy as well.”

We were back in the Halo, and had just settled into chairs in the conference room. Nat turned from the video window she’d been watching. “Apparently there’s a terrorist incident at CNN, which is why SWAT is there. Nothing to do with us, of course. Some people spotted the Halo floating around the building, but it’s already being explained away as a hot-air balloon. Apparently, the terrorists used it to get in through the roof.”

“What?” Patrick exclaimed. “It’s been an hour. How the hell are they able to react so fast?”

“That is why I have conjectured that they have a conscious A.I.,” Sheldon said. “Their speed of response, efficiency, and deep planning are inconsistent with a small clan with limited resources.”

“I don’t really understand why that would be a surprise,” Nat said. “It seems so, well, so handy.”

“I’m so pleased I can be handy for you. But to answer your question, in Covenant society, awakening an A.I. for a specific purpose would be viewed the way you would view human slavery. Any corporation or state that engages in the practice would suffer a level of sanctioning that would cripple them. The problem from our point of view is—uh-oh.”

Patrick looked alarmed. “Uh-oh? What do you mean, uh-oh? That’s not good. That’s never good.”

The main view abruptly shifted as the Halo headed straight up at high speed.

“We have been tagged by a cloaking-field detector. The good news is that if they are close enough to detect us, then I can detect them. The bad news—”

“Is that we’ve been detected,” I finished for him. “Got it. Are we going to survive this?”

“Gennan ships have a slight edge in terms of acceleration and top speed. But the vessel pursuing us will certainly have weapons; otherwise why would they bother? We can’t outrun those. We can dodge, but sooner or later the odds will catch up with us.”

The view jinked several times as Sheldon changed direction randomly. A fireball erupted slightly behind us and to one side, disappearing rapidly in the distance.

Nat gasped. “Was that them shooting at us?”

“Yes. Despite the preponderance of energy weapons in your popular science fiction movies, missile and artillery-style weaponry remains the most effective method of destruction.”

The view rocked sickeningly as Sheldon did a barrel roll and accelerated straight for the ground. Since the ground at the moment was covered in buildings, this created a very convincing illusion of falling. I mentally corrected myself. It really wasn’t an illusion.