Eris walked so smoothly that she disappeared into the crowd. Clo found herself craning her head before Eris startled her.

The other woman lifted her chin. “Stop staring at the food.” Her voice was quiet but commanding. “I need you to focus.”

Clo ground her teeth together. They worked well on missions, but Eris could throw barbs at Clo as easily as the others at Nova, unaware how they could sting. Eris might try to hide her past, but her amount of confidence—that unafraid way of walking through streets—spoke of a childhood with money.

They circled the factory. Shift was over, the workers streaming from the doors. Machines would be left to do some of the simpler tasks, and the Oracle was always there, the ever-watchful eye of the Empire. A program threaded through the fabric of the Empire, reporting back to the Archon. Ensuring order, compliance.

The Oracle was considered to be so powerful that they referred to the program as One. The Oracle was more than a thing, an artificial intelligence. One was an entity.

The Oracle’s programming was downloaded into the brain of every citizen engineered and bred by the Empire—and if that person’s will proved stronger than most, the Oracle controlled motor functions through a tiny implant embedded in the base of the skull, close to the brainstem. The Novantae had their work cut out for them trying to undo One’s influence. Deprogramming was messy at best, fatal at worst.

The Oracle originated in the palace on Tholos but was everywhere. One was the AI on all ships. One was on every Tholosian planet. One was in every soldier’s mind, keeping them loyal. One of the many, people would whisper of the Oracle, in corners where the cameras could not see or hear.

And here were two members of the resistance, hoping to trick the Oracle into not noticing them.

Eris reached under her coat and took out the explosive. It was such a small thing. Clo didn’t think it looked dangerous enough to kill one of the rats in the Snarl, but appearances could be deceiving. If they miscalled this, they could kill people. That didn’t seem to bother Eris. Shouldn’t it?

<How close do we have to get?> Clo asked on their closed Pathos loop.

<A bit farther and we’ll throw it from there,> Eris replied. <Then we’ll get the seven devils out and watch the fireworks.>

<We’re going to . . . throw a bomb?>

Eris gave something resembling a smile in the growing darkness. She looked feral, her white canines pointed. She was pretty, but something about her face was too symmetrical. Her green eyes were dark pools in this light. <Do you have a better idea?>

<Not throwing it?>