Her arms and face were tanned dark, but her torso was pale and lean and hard, her contours shaped by the tight knot of muscle and the scars of battle. Minka knew Dido’s scars as well as her own. She had helped treat some of them. On Dido’s left arm was a raw and puckered scar where she’d taken a glancing hit from a hard round. Her abdomen was marked on both sides with entry and exit scars courtesy of a pair of stubber slugs. There was also a long, slanting scar from her ribcage to her navel where the medicae had needed to open her up and stitch her back together.

Minka undressed as well and hung up her clothes. She laid her boots under them, peeled her socks off. They were stiff with a week’s wearing and stood up by themselves next to her boots.

Blocks of hard soap with the strong carbolic stink of anti-lice chems littered the benches. She grabbed one and threw her towel over her shoulder as she walked into the shower chamber. The air was warm and foetid. An open drain ran along the middle of the room, long lines of exposed metal pipes along either side. The showers were plain open pipes that spouted water at a set temperature. Dido turned the handle and stepped in. Minka took the hose next to Dido.

If the water had ever been warm, it had been used up. Now it was icy. Minka’s skin shrank at its touch, goose pimpling against the cold water. This was going to be a perfunctory bath.

Dido was already done. Minka finished only a few seconds later. Maintaining combat effectiveness was one of the first duties of a Cadian. There was no lingering. Once she was clean, Minka stepped out. The towel was stiff with Munitorum detergents. She rubbed herself down and grabbed her pack. She carefully opened the bag, took each item of her dress uniform out and laid them down on the wooden benches.

When she was dressed she ran her fingers through her hair, checked her uniform in the single mirror, rubbed her boots with a dirty cloth.

‘What’s this mission we’ve been given?’

‘No idea,’ Dido said. ‘But we’re specially requested.’

It sounded ominous. Dido misread Minka’s expression. ‘Nothing to do with the Drookians.’

Minka laughed. ‘Oh, I’d forgotten about them.’

When they were ready to leave, Minka found Breve inside the Chimera’s driver cabin. There was cursing and the sound of metal being dropped as Minka clambered up onto the roof decking.

She called down. ‘How’s it going?’