“Sir?”

“Go to full readiness in one hour, ship-wide. I’ll rejoin the bridge then.”

“Sir.”

“Proceed, all,” he said. He cut off the chorus of acknowledgements and resumed his compositional task with a watery sigh.

The insectile drone Jonsker Ap-Candrechenat, representative of the Culture ship Beats Working, floated in front of the Swarmprince Ossebri 17 Haldesib, in the command space of the Ronte Interstitial/Exploratory vessel Melancholia Enshrines All Triumph.

“This need not be your fight, machine,” Haldesib told the drone.

“It feels like it is, Swarmprince. I led you into danger. I thought I might help you escape it, but it would appear we are discovered, so now the least I can do is try to make amends by coming between you and the enemies into whose reach I so foolishly delivered you.”

Haldesib flicked one leg in a dismissive gesture. “For ourselves, we do not seek our end; but the hive, the swarm, the race will go on, no matter. You need not presume to share our fate through misplaced guilt.”

“I feel I have no honourable choice, Swarmprince.”

“You intend to attack the Liseiden ships?”

“I intend to engage with them.”

“The distinction might be lost on them. We have dealt with the Liseiden before. They will interpret any ‘engagement’ as an attack. Or at least claim to, afterwards. Be warned.”

“Thank you. I am.”

“This is the decision of your human crew?”

“No. It is mine. I intend to get my human crew to safety before matters become critical.”

“They concur with this?”

“They have come to accept it. Two wanted to be heroes, and stay aboard. I argued them out of this course.”

The Swarmprince flexed his wing plates. In a human, the equivalent might have been a shake of the head. “We may all die out here, machine, but – of all of us – you have some choice. Must you be a hero? Can you not argue yourself out of this course?”

“I probably could, Swarmprince, but I’d regret it subsequently. I believe this is the right thing to do and so I am doing it.”

“You may steal some of our glory.” The Swarmprince’s legs flexed as he said this, dipping his body briefly to indicate that it was said humorously, not aggressively.

“I shall engage with them first, independently, Swarmprince, before any action between them and you. If I may, I’ll transmit to you whatever I can discover of their ships’ abilities, strengths and weaknesses. It may help, if I am unable to stop them.”

“We are pleased to accept this kind offer. But what if you prevail? We shall be denied all chance to prove ourselves!”

“Then you will have the benefit of my most profuse apologies, I shall accept any amount of inferred alien cachet value (negative), honorary, you care to bestow, and I shall be grateful subsequently for even the most demeaning and/or minor role in any ship dance within which you care to include me.”