Minka found a clean enough bed and lay down as the thunder of the traitor bombardment roared on. Dust sifted from the roof above them. The lumens flickered and went out. At some point the bombardment stopped. The sudden silence startled Minka. She sat up and looked about.

Asko was lying with his hands behind his head. ‘They’ve got the void shield working again,’ he said.

She puffed out her cheeks. She could feel the hum of the generators in her bones.

Her mind wandered as she started to sleep, but it kept returning to the sight of Dido lying still in the black sand as fires burnt about her.

Two

TWO

In the command centre, the tension had been slowly ratcheting up throughout the night. The battle for Creed Beach had been so much fiercer than they imagined that Prassan began to harbour doubts. Maybe Bendikt had overreached himself with this attack, a voice in his head whispered, beyond any hope of immediate support. The prospect of the Cadians then having to assault the Lone Redoubt filled them all with unspoken worries.

News that the Lone Redoubt had fallen came with the first light of dawn. There was stunned disbelief, and then shouts and cheers and self-congratulation.

Bendikt seemed to show the most relief. ‘I knew they would do it!’ he laughed and as if to make his point he smashed his augmetic fist through the table.

The sudden joy within the command centre spread. The praise birds flapped into the air and sang a paean of victory, and the pilgrims who camped in the gardens outside the chapel woke and lifted their hands in wonder, not quite knowing what had happened, but sensing the change in the air.

‘A drink!’ Bendikt called, and Mere found an unopened bottle of Arcady Pride. They gathered a motley collection of tin mugs and shared the bottle about the room.

Once Bendikt and Baytov had had a long conversation, the general allowed himself some time to rest. ‘The fort was taken in the early hours by a sergeant of Seventh Company!’ he said at the end. ‘Arminka Lesk. That girl from Kasr Myrak.’

Mere couldn’t place her.

‘The one who came off the planet with the Space Wolves. With that kasrkin. Sturm, was it?’

Mere suddenly remembered. Those two were the last Cadians off the planet alive. He nodded. ‘Excellent news.’

‘And she did it with the support of some of Luka’s Whiteshields.’

‘They’re not Whiteshields any more,’ Mere said.

Bendikt waved a hand dismissively. ‘You know what I mean.’

At that moment word came that a high-ranking prisoner was being brought in for questioning.

Mere gave Prassan the duty of assessing their strength, deployment and morale. Prassan took a staff Centaur to the landing zone.