“Well,” said Aptat. “It seems that you have much research and development still left to be done, and you are welcome to continue your work as we run away. Time to go now. All in favor?”

Oush and Izairis sheepishly raised their hands.

Naecia made no attempt to argue with them. She stepped carefully over to the outline of the cargo slot on the floor and turned to Aptat. “Bring it up, please.”

Aptat gestured and the compartment containing the machine ascended. Naecia knelt and pointed to the base. “I need caridianite,” she said. “Ovimine will do if you don’t have it.”

“For what?”

“Hyperconductive alloys. To get the data inside the stacks from here,” she pointed to the machine, “to here.” She swiveled the diadem, then made a show of setting it back onto her head. “I don’t need a lot of it.”

“You’re asking me if I happen to have rare element allotropes lying around?” said Aptat.

“Yes please.”

“I do not.” Big toothy grin. “But I know who will. Hmm... if only we had access to the undefended ruins of a pirate space cruiser.”

Naecia saw the angle. “They have it?”

“They do,” interjected Oush. “Vortu flay guns are lined with it. It’s how they’re able to cycle so rapidly.”

“He’s right,” said Aptat. “Flay guns.”

“Go,” Naecia said. “Get your salvage. You get me my wire. I’ll work on the...” She stopped shy of using the term that everyone had repeated. Cheat drive. It wasn’t correct. They weren’t cheating anything, just swapping places. “Switch Drive.”

“Switch Drive, hmm?” said Aptat. “I see no harm in it. If you can’t get it working shortly after my return from the Glaive, we run. All agreed?”

Oush and Izairis agreed. And what choice did Naecia have? “Fine.”

Aptat shrugged. “But, oh,” they added in a low, almost sultry, voice, “I’ll need my carapace returned so I can do the salvaging.”

Oush balanced the helmet atop his head. Izairis, who had seemed comfortable in the armored cuirass, visibly tightened.

“You will,” said Naecia, seeing it for the gambit it was. “You get to have your carapace.”

“What are you talking about? No!” Izairis interjected. “If they have the suit, they can do whatever they want to us; imprison us again, run away rather than go for the Chime!”

“No, no,” said Naecia, drawing a big circle over the room. “Aptat will put the three of us on the ship’s note and transmit it to the Velpha Registry. Then we will return the carapace.”

“You–” Aptat scoffed. “You want me to make you co-owners of my ship? The Silent Child? This ship we are in right now?”