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     the fact that she was female.
    Tekton couldn’t help but examine her with interest. He had heard that Balol females made energetic, though often violent,
     lovers, if you could ignore their odour.
    The ’esque noticed Tekton’s scrutiny and laughed again. ‘What’s yer name?’
    ‘Tekton,’ said Tekton. ‘From Lostol.’
    ‘Well Tekton-from-Lostol, I’m called Jancz, and we’re picking up some urgent payload. If yer credit checks out, then maybe
     we can offer you a ride. Where would ye be heading?’
    ‘Primarily, away from here, but if the reports of imminent invasion are true then I would be seeking transportation to Mintaka.
     Or thereabouts.’
    The ’esque nodded as if giving the request serious consideration. ‘That’s a fine combat suit you’re sportin’ there, Tekton.
     Only seen one like it before.’
    ‘I … err … borrowed it from a friend. She was concerned for my protection in these uncertain times.’
    The ’esque exchanged smirks with the Balol.
    Tekton didn’t mind if they danced naked together as long as they took him off this doomed station.
    ‘Got some things to attend to,’ said Jancz when he’d gotten through being amused. ‘Ilke will check yer credit and take ye
     aboard.’
    Tekton stifled his misgivings as Jancz moved on. After all, lowbrow types like this wouldn’t have enough imagination for anything
     sinister.

M IRA
    Mira?
    Si?
    We are close to Scolar.
    Mira worked to get her eyelids open. She’d slept the entire sub-light leg from the shift station to Scolar orbit, and her
     body craved more. Still.
    Baby?
She moved her hands through the viscous protection of vein-sink and touched her stomach.
    Our baby will be born soon. Its survival is now dependent on the humanesque medics
,
Insignia
commented.
    Mira shifted, and Primo responded by buoying her up and withdrawing its receptors from her skin. She swung unsteady legs onto
     the floor of the buccal, wiping a layer of goo from her face and blinking rapidly.
    As her hand fell back to cup the small curve of her belly, she watched Thales, sedated in Secondo, his face relaxed in sleep.
     Less ravaged.
    She felt a flowering of tenderness for him. He wasn’t the person she’d first imagined him to be, but he had his own strengths,
     his own sense of honour. She was glad to have seen to the true heart of the man.
    Thales?
    He is recovering. But diverting attention to his medical needs has been … distracting.
    Mira wanted to smile at
Insignia
’s annoyed tone.The biozoon didn’t welcome relationships with ordinary humanesques. It cared only for itself, her and her baby.
Thank you for caring for him. Where is the soldier?
    Eating. The humanesque female has an insatiable appetite. There is only a small stock of food left. My stores have not been
     replenished for some time. Nor has my nutrient supply. My own health is at risk.
    Insignia
’s last statement brought Mira fully awake. The biozoon had not received an amino acid boost since visiting Akou.
I will negotiate for refugee aid on Scolar.
    It is possible that you will not be well received on that score.
    Why so?
    Planets have begun stockpiling supplies.
    What do you mean?
Mira waited in silence. Insignia
? Please answer me.
    The biozoon gave its grunting equivalent of a sigh.
It is best you see the farcasts for yourself. It will no doubt affect how you negotiate with Scolar.
    Because she was no longer deep in vein-sink,
Insignia
broadcast the images in the space above her. For a moment she couldn’t make sense of the images blinking in and out of existence.
    What is it?
    A sampling from the OLOSS ’casts from Dowl and Intel stations.
    Mira studied the images again. At Intel, craft fled the system in panicked disorder. Dowl was a different matter. The station
     space was studded with traffic and the unmistakable signatures of Geni-carriers.
    OLOSS is trying to close shift stations across Orion, but that means a halt to all trade. Some worlds won’t