Atlanta slapped the hand away, then was horrified. She had struck the Empress herself, an act of treason. “Then why did you send me away?” she demanded. The smell of licorice pushed nauseatingly into her nostrils. She wanted to lean her head on her knees and vomit. She swallowed hard and throttled the urge.

The Empress ignored the physical contact. “You were part of a test for another heir. I wanted to see if they could follow data and persevere. I sent out dozens like you, and their job was to find a particular one, carrying a false message. They failed. It was all an illusion, a sham. You were never meant to fall into the hands of the IAPH.”

Atlanta raised her head, forcing down acrid anger, and stared full outright at the Empress. “I’m nothing? Just a piece of a test?” Her voice shook despite her best efforts to control it. Her fingers knotted in her lap, trying to hold on to one another.

“Yes,” the Empress said. “We installed some of the original heir’s memories in you so you would be convincing.” Her voice was calm, almost desultory. “You’ll find if you examine them, that you will discover moments that do not hold up to that examination. Contradictions. Missing details where your imagination has leaped in, in order to supply something that your memory cannot.”

“Then what is to become of me?”

A thin shoulder moved beneath the ornate robe in a shrug. “You are not of much use, and may go wherever you please now.” Her attention turned to Niko. “I apologize for the inconvenience, Captain Larsen. The mistake was unprecedented, and so we wished to convey that apology in person.”

“Begging Your Majesty’s pardon,” Niko said. “I have need of crew members and trust that you do not object to my taking her away and off this planet?”

“Not at all,” the Empress said. She continued looking at Atlanta, her face expressionless and unreadable. She added, her voice soft, “Sometimes I must do things that are necessary. Sometimes I must do things that I cannot explain at the time.”

Atlanta ignored the notes of regret and sorrow in the voice of the Empress. What did she care? She was adrift now. She was meaningless now. She had no role. It made her dizzy to think about it.

The world steadied as she looked at Niko. The captain wanted her, even if no one else did, and that meant she would be with friends. She would not have to say goodbye to the rest of them. A wave of relief and almost happiness surged over her, followed by anxiety. I have no money.