Makis said nothing, but swung down into the driver’s seat.

‘Oh. You were trying to avoid hitting anything?’ said Vail. ‘Sorry, I thought you were being reckless. I guess incompetent is better.’

‘It was funny.’ Udo’s thin face was pinched and red. ‘You guys laughed.’

‘Udo.’ Vail had turned his head, a frown bunching above his black eyes. ‘Shut up.’

‘I didn’t hit anything,’ mumbled Udo again as he sat down, his legs hanging into the turret collar, and he shot a sour look at Vail. The tattooed loader closed his eyes as if he were catching up on some sleep. Udo flushed pink with anger.

Udo. She should do something about Udo. Her crew was doing what small groups of bored people that spent too much time with each other did: they found an outlet for their frustration. She should have done something about it months ago. She had always got results from her crews without using the hard methods of other officers. It was getting to her – the waiting and not knowing. She bit her lip as she watched Udo glance again at Vail, then down into the tank where Makis settled into the driver’s seat. She really should have done something months ago. Her skills were slipping. She ran a hand through her close-cropped hair.

She would do something.

Udo gave Vail another glance, then spat onto the tank’s hull. The saliva drooled down the grey-sprayed metal.

Trouble was, the little tick was so easy to dislike.

‘Boss?’ Lachlan’s voice cut through her thoughts and she blinked, realising that he had got off the tank and was standing just a couple of paces away. He wore a green vest, and his combat trousers were an ochre-and-grey tiger pattern that was not Jurnian issue. He held up an open pack of lho-sticks. Tahirah nodded and he tossed her the packet.

‘Thanks,’ she said as she lit up, and handed the pack back. Lachlan nodded at the tank chassis, as the engine gunned and a fresh plume of exhaust boiled towards the roof.

‘You ready for another spin, boss?’

‘Huh?’ She looked at the tank. ‘Yeah, sure, in a minute.’

She turned to the tarpaulin-covered shapes that she had rolled into when she came off the tank. The edge of one of the tarps was loose, and she could see rust-spotted metal beneath. She lifted the edge of the heavy fabric and flicked it back. The vehicles underneath were small, barely a third of the size of the Mars chassis that Udo had nearly crashed. They were stacked in threes, one on top of another, in metal frames.

‘You seen this stuff?’ said Tahirah, as her eyes moved across the rust blooms and stencilled numbers.

‘What are they?’ Lachlan stepped next to her.