“Raw kheprw crystals. Some folks called kheprw living crystals because of the way they responded to energy, especially sound waves.” Fela held one up for closer inspection. “There are a lot of folks who’d be very interested in this.”

A silence trailed them as they hiked back to the encampment. Ellis slung a few palm-sized stones, skittering them across the basin floor. His aim unerring, scattering stones with the ease of so many marbles. Fela’s emi responded to their energy. There was an innocence about them, an adolescent pressed too soon into the business of grown folks. But every now and then, that openness of childhood flared. She struggled to see the path they were on, but she noticed Ellis walked it as sure-footed as only the desert trained. Pebbles scattered underfoot, marking her and Epyc Ro’s passage. Ellis betrayed no sound other than the telltale crack of one thrown stone against another in their path.

All about them, among the stones and crawlways above them, figures stalked the shadows. The darkness swirled about them in the strange torchlight that illuminated the caverns. Fela watched the movement of the Mzisoh. Scouts, little more than younglings though not quite Ellis’s age, fanned among the rocks. Scurrying about like desert creatures in a moonlit hunt. They appeared to be playing games, but she recognized that the games also trained them. To hide. To move in silence. To listen and probe for danger.

“How’d it go?” Robin asked before they entered the light of their encampment. “We see you’re still alive after taking a long walk with armed strangers.”

“When you dissect their idea of a plan out loud, they do seem downright foolish, don’t they?” Anitra cleaned her DMX-3000.

“It seems that this ‘Interstellar Alliance’ won’t be satisfied until they’ve strip-mined this planet for its resources and use what’s left to stage an assault.” Fela ignored their commentary, hearing only relief at their safe return.

“This ain’t our fight. I doubt anyone would send so much as a greeting card if the Dreaming City, Bronzeville, or the Arkestra were under attack. Why we the ones got to be all intersectional and shit?” Robin asked. “This is Interstellar Colonialism 101.”

“Business as usual,” Anitra added.

“Where do we stand?” Fela asked. “Any movement out there?”

“We have not been discovered so far.” Robin glanced over at Chandra for confirmation.

<Nothing.> Chandra winced as she spoke, her face tightening in a grimace. A familiar pain from parsing too many signals, too much data stream traffic, without enough rest.

“We have hidden in these mountain catacombs for months,” Ellis said.

“Uh-huh. Let’s assume these CO/IN units are as good—or for the sake of argument, imagine they are better—than us. How long until they discover us?” Fela asked.

“Half a day, tops.” Anitra lofted her DMX-3000, a proud trophy ready for inspection.