“It’s barely known,” Niko said. “I’m surprised they’re taking this ship through it, actually. The Thing will push that portal to its limits. Anything bigger would be having an engine clipped in the process. Picking obscure, small portals like this—beyond general obscurity and the fact it moves around—is why it’s so hard to find the IAPH.”

They watched in silence as the ship approached the portal, and the vast glimmering ring swelling like open jaws as they neared it. Like all the Forerunner Gates, artifacts of some ancient race that enabled travel from one point to another, it was made of dull gray metal, and scars of some long-past battle’s laser strikes pocked this one’s sides.

Certainly not the only way to get quickly from one point to another; different races had found different ways to solve this equation, some of which involved magic. But such gates did make an impression.

They passed into the great black shadow and Atlanta shivered. Then, just as quickly, they were back out into vacuous starlight, and could see the IAPH now, directly in their path, set in order to meet anything that came through the gate. Enormous guns were trained on the gate, and they glowed now, their sights tracking and training on You Sexy Thing in a display that would have wiped it from the sky in an instant. The ship stopped, holding still, no doubt at some command from Lolola.

“Getting hailed,” Niko said unnecessarily. “Ship, has she said not to let us listen in?”

“That question has not arisen.”

“Then let us hear what is being said.”

They came into the conversation midway through what Lolola was saying. “… down on one of the decks. I tried to gas them, but they must have been ready. Besides Larsen, there’s an additional five of them, easy enough to contain. One’s valuable, I think. Little girl, dark hair. They’re all to be taken alive, though. Orders say so.”

“Proceed to dock five,” another voice answered. “There will be a party sent to meet you. They can enter and take your collateral prisoners.”

The ship juddered and began to move forward again.

Niko snorted. “Collateral,” she said dryly. “Like bonus points. I wonder how much Last will give her.”

“Captain, I refuse to indulge you in childish games of ‘who’s got the biggest bounty on their head,’” Dabry said.

“That’s because you know I’ll win. Biggest of all time, back in the day,” she reminded him. “It’s good to celebrate one’s accomplishments.”

“Who knows who may have surpassed you in the passing years?”

Before Niko could reply, Lolola’s voice came from speakers all around. “I know you’re listening,” she said. “You might want to prepare yourselves for boarding.”

16

Everyone froze for a long moment.

“Finally. Are we going to fight?” Atlanta said.

“Do you see a point to it?” Niko said in an interested tone.

“No.”