Aptat didn’t skip a beat. “Mother believed the suit would protect her,” they said, taking dainty steps to avoid the twisted heap and then skating away in time with the song’s refrain. “And it would have.”

Naecia backed away. “But?”

“I guessed her suit’s override code.”

Naecia’s heart skipped. Suddenly she was prey, scrambling for a place to hide. She tore across the dock in the direction of the Silent Child.

“Courser’s quarry,” said Aptat. “Open mask.”

Naecia’s mask opened. The stringhunter had control of her suit. But two could play that game. Remembering the code for Aptat’s carapace, she shouted, “Aureate Cicatrix, disassemble!”

Aptat flicked a hand theatrically as if sweeping back an invisible coat or jacket, then made a show of looking their suit over. When it failed to come apart, Aptat said, “Always change your password, Naecia.”

Protect me, she thought, and the mask began to close again.

“Courser’s quarry, override,” Aptat repeated. “Pause all carapace mobility; lock out coms.”

Immediately, the suit seized and Naecia toppled stiffly to the floor, inert as a child’s play toy. Not a single joint would budge. The music cut out.

“Assign carapace functionality to me,” Aptat added, sauntering over. “I stand corrected. You were right. It’s not a stalemate when only one side can’t win.” They lifted her up in her paralytic state, and her necklace slipped out from inside the armor. “Oh,” said Aptat, seizing the amulet and ripping it from her neck. “You won’t be needing this any longer.”

She cried out as Aptat launched it through the atmospheric envelope and into black.

They began down the dock. “We’re going to leave now, you and I, before the Scythin arrive.”

The suit was cast in stone. Sobbing, Naecia struggled to move even though she knew it wouldn’t budge. The immobility set her mind aflame. Every decision she’d made had only further empowered the stringhunter, up to and including placing herself quite literally into their arms. She screamed in frustration.

“Now, now.”

“I will let the Scythin kill us before I help you escape,” she said. “You might as well leave me. Or kill me.”

“Kill you?” Aptat scoffed. “So dramatic.” They clicked along for another few moments. “You know you’re a terrible negotiator? I almost feel bad for you. Almost. Again, you fail to see the angles. Did we get the Chime? No. Are the Scythin going to find it and destroy everything within a million gilleys? Probably. Do I prefer that you operate the Switch Drive? Of course. How do I ensure that you do that? Simple. The first place we go – you do the navigation after all – is Drev, to retrieve your family. Then we flee the galaxy, the four of us carried to safety.”

Naecia said nothing. She’d been outflanked at every turn.