Falconi paced around the perimeter of the plaza along with Trig and Nielsen, keeping watch. By one side, the Entropists stood huddled next to a panel that had come loose from the corner of a building, studying whatever lay underneath.

“Navárez,” said Koyich after a while.

She shook her head. “Still nothing.”

He grunted. “Hawes, start scouting for a location we can hole up in.”

*Yessir,* the sergeant replied over the radio.

After half an hour of near-silence, Falconi came over to Kira and squatted next to her while resting Francesca across his knees. “We’re almost out of time,” he said quietly.

“I know,” she said, eyes darting from one window to the next.

“Can I help?”

She shook her head.

“What are we missing?”

“No idea,” she said. “Maybe it’s been too long since the Soft Blade was here. A lot could have changed. I’m just—I’m afraid I brought us all here to die.”

He scratched his chin and was quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t believe that. This has to be the place. We’re just not looking at it right.… The Soft Blade doesn’t want to die or get captured by the Jellies, does it?”

“No,” she said slowly.

“Okay. So why show you this system? This city? There has be something the Blade expects you to find, something so obvious we’re missing it.”

Kira glanced at the standing stone. We’re not looking at it right. “Can you give me control of a drone?” she said, calling over to Koyich.

“Just don’t crash it,” said the first officer. “We’re going to need every one we’ve got.”

Kira linked the drone to her overlays and then closed her eyes so she could better concentrate on the feed from the machine. It was hovering next to a tower, half a klick away.

“What are you thinking?” said Falconi. She could feel his presence next to her.

“Fractals,” she said.

“Meaning?”

She didn’t answer but zoomed the drone straight into the air, higher and higher until it was flying above the top of even the tallest tower. Then she looked at the settlement as a whole, really looked, trying to see not only the individual buildings but also the larger, overall shapes. A flicker of recognition came from the Soft Blade, but nothing more.

She turned the drone in a slow circle, angling it up and down to make sure she wasn’t missing anything. From the air, the towers were stark and beautiful, but she didn’t allow herself to linger over the sight, dramatic though it was.

A crack echoed through the city from the west. Kira’s eyelids flew open, and as she looked for the source of the sound, the image of the city slipped out of focus.

Her perception shifted, and she saw what she’d been searching for. The decay of the buildings and the encroachment of the native flora had hidden it until that very moment, but she saw. The ancient outline of the city was—as she had suspected—a fractal, and the shape of it contained meaning.