“I choose his protection.”
“Even knowing...”
“I said I understand.” She pressed closer against my side, and I had to fight not to pull her completely against me, to shield her entirely. “I choose him. His protection. His law. His consequences. All of it.”
The silence stretched. Behind them, Qeth had found a ceremonial blade from his display case and was having an argument with his reflection in it. The guards had formed a loose circle around him, less protection than containment.
“The protection claim is... acknowledged,” the center Ixari finally said. “For now.”
They turned to leave in that eerie unison, but at the door, the center one paused.
“Protection is temporary. Claims are permanent. And she is very valuable.” Those pupilless eyes fixed on Sabine one more time. “The station is consuming itself. Your clever device has triggered something that cannot be stopped. Every family Qeth betrayed is coming for their piece. You have minutes, not hours.”
They glided out, taking the cold with them.
SABINE
The pulse pistol hummed with lethal energy, its charge indicator glowing the violent green that meant maximum setting. At this range, it wouldn't just kill. It would vaporize everything from the shoulders up. No healing from that, even with Vinduthi physiology.
Qeth's hand trembled, making the targeting laser dance across my chest, my throat, my face. Each time it crossed my eyes, the world went red for an instant.
“You destroyed everything!”
His voice cracked like a teenager's, jumping octaves. The sensory filaments along his temples had gone rigid, standing straight out from his skull like accusing fingers. One of them was bleeding. Dark copper blood that looked almost black in the emergency lighting.
“My empire! My algorithms! My mind!”
Through the windows behind him, I could see the first signs of chaos. Ships that shouldn't be here were forcing their way into docking bays. The Torelli family's distinctive black cruisers. A Nakamura syndicate war vessel. Three unmarked frigates that probably belonged to the Frost Collective. My device hadn't justrevealed Qeth's crimes. It had sent out an invitation to a feeding frenzy.
“You can't fix what's broken, Qeth.”
My voice came out steadier than I felt. Five years of dealer training. Never show fear, never show weakness, never let them see you care about the outcome.
“The algorithms were always going to fail without Varrick. You built your empire on stolen code that was never meant to work without him.”
“LIES!”
The pistol's whine increased pitch. He was squeezing the trigger, just not quite enough to fire. Yet.
“The algorithms are perfect! They're mine! I improved them! I made them better!”
“You made them dependent on neural enhancers that are eating your brain.” I took a step forward, and felt Varrick's hand tighten on mine. Not stopping me, but ready to move. “How many doses a day now? Four? Five? How long before your neural tissue completely liquifies?”
His free hand went to his pocket, fumbling for an enhancer. Twenty-one minutes until his next scheduled dose. I'd been counting since he walked in.
“You know what I think?”
Another step. The targeting laser settled on my forehead, trembling in a small circle that probably looked like a third eye.
“I think part of you, the part that's still brilliant under all that madness, knew this would happen. Knew the enhancers would destroy you. Knew the algorithms would fail. That's why you leaked the Regalia's location.”
“No... no, I'm in control. I've always been in control!”
“You haven't been in control for months.” Another step. Close enough now that I could see myself reflected in his coppereyes. Multiplied and distorted by his tears. “Maybe years. Do you even remember the people you've killed? Can you name them?”
Something flickered across his face. Confusion. Fear. For a moment, his eyes almost focused.
“Do you remember my sister?”
