The Resolute's orlop deck was mostly filled with the sickbay and armoured magazines, both set near the centre of the ship to keep them away from any enemy shells that came through the outer hull. The rest of the space was a warren of tiny rooms, some of them the quarters of the ship's petty officers, others holding stores or machinery. All lighting was artificial, and it got even darker and more cramped as Amelia and Chaupi followed Sergeant Ko down a narrow stairway, so steep it was practically a ladder, into the ship's hold. Ko was carrying a lantern to light their path as they picked their way forward along a narrow walkway set atop the kelson, pausing occasionally to step over the massive transverse frames which shaped the hull.

"You sure there's nothing more you need, ma'am?" said Ko. "Last chance."

Amelia shook her head. She and Chaupi had changed into civilian attire and had small knapsacks slung over their backs. On the basis of what she had seen in Port Machonochie and what Chaupi had told her, she was cautiously optimistic that she could pass for a Company employee and Chaupi as a local worker - so long as nobody looked too closely at the amateurishly-applied paints on his patched-up horns or picked Amelia as a stranger. Not being able to take anything that could be traced back to the ship had been a challenge, but they had managed eventually.

"No, thank you, sergeant. An effective distraction on the dock will be more than enough."

"You needn't worry about that, ma'am. We've got it all covered." Ko grinned mischievously.

"Dare I ask?" said Amelia.

"Well, they're servicing the ship right now, ma'am. Pumping out the waste tanks. One of the hoses is going to burst. Or at least, it will if I've done my job right." Ko stopped and looked down at a hatchway beneath them. "Either way, I wouldn't look back."

"No fear of that," muttered Amelia. Ko knelt to open the hatch, then stood to untie a Jacob's ladder that had been affixed to the deckhead above it. As she unrolled it, Amelia peered down. It was a clear drop of over thirty feet to what passed for the ground, which was itself a steep slope running down to the edge of town. She glanced up at Chaupi.

"Think you can handle that, spacer?"

"Absolutely, ma'am." Chaupi nodded, clearly eager to get moving. "Shall we go?"

"Hold your horses, son," said Ko. "Wait for the distraction. The pumps should be running at full capacity."

"I hope nobody's going to get hurt in this," Amelia looked at Ko, who grinned again and shook her head.

"No, ma'am. Not even if they're standing right by the hose. Of course, they might need a wash afterwards…"

Sounds were filtering into the hold from the outside world. Amelia could hear the drumming of the vacuum pumps as they drained the ship's bilge and sewage tanks. Then the sound changed as the pumps raced for a moment, roaring angrily, and then shouts rang out through the noise. Ko nodded with satisfaction.

"Sounds like your cue, ma'am. Just give two tugs on the ladder when you're down."

Amelia took a deep breath as the other felinid unrolled the ladder, which dropped straight through the hatch with a clatter of wood drowned out by the racing pumps. She nodded her thanks to Ko, who saluted.

"Good hunting, ma'am."

"Thank you, sergeant. We'll see you soon." Amelia stepped onto the shaky ladder and began making her way down as fast as she dared. Chaupi followed close behind. Up above, they could hear yelling and cursing as the dockworkers raced to shut down the pumps. Knowing that they had little time, Amelia dropped the last few rungs and caught herself on the slope. Chaupi jumped down alongside her, and she reached out to give two sharp pulls on the rope. Almost at once, the ladder began ascending out of view towards the dimly-lit rectangle in the curving hull of the ship above them. Amelia was tempted to watch it go, but knew that it wasn't her job and they had more pressing concerns at hand.

"Ready? Good. Let's go."

The slope was treacherous, with only the thinnest of soil covering stony, rocky deposits that shifted easily under pressure. It would have been a challenge to anyone but a felinid and a Capram, and even she and Chaupi had to watch their footing as they scrambled down through the darkness towards the edge of the Old Town. They took cover in a drainage channel running around the back of what looked like a vegetable garden and looked behind them. Back up the slope, the Resolute hung immobile, the hatch in the hull closed and her sides illuminated by the torches of the dock. She could still hear the commotion caused by Ko's sabotage, but it appeared - insofar as she could see and hear - that nobody had noticed their leaving. Amelia waited a few minutes to be sure, and then allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief and focus her mind on what to do next. Chaupi had been looking the other way, into the town, watching for any sign that they had been spotted, but there hadn't been any shouts or alarms.

"Well, Mr Chaupi." Amelia crouched next to him. "Where to now? We've got a contact to find, don't we?"

"My contact's name is Suyani. But he's also known by his code name, Tayki." Chaupi scanned the scene. "He will be in one of the great houses used by the unclanned workers."

"I'm sure you'll have time to explain just what that means later," said Amelia. "I don't suppose you know which one?"

"It is down by the edge of the town," Chaupi pointed downhill towards the lake. "I will remember the way when I see it."

They picked their way through the Old Town carefully, trying to draw as little attention to themselves as they could. While most Capram here weren't fond of the NHC and kept to themselves, and their civilian attire did not immediately mark them as out of place, there were always those who were willing to report suspicious activity in hopes for a reward of some sort. Luckily, because it was night, few were out and about.

"It has been some years since you were unable to meet him," Amelia pointed out. "He might not be here anymore."

"I understand, ma'am. But I have to try. He must have risked his life to get whatever it was he had to show me."

"Do you know what it is?"

Chaupi hesitated. "Not...exactly, ma'am. Evidence of some sort."

"It had better be worthwhile if he took that kind of risk." Amelia glanced at a Capram walking past them, but they averted their eyes and looked away.

"It may be," said Chaupi. "But...if I may, ma'am...I'd suggest you stay back when we meet him. He will think that you are from the Company, and that may frighten him."

Amelia nodded. "You're the guide here."

"Thank you, ma'am."

They turned a corner to head downhill. They were on a street of shops which had clearly been spruced up for their visit, with welcoming banners and fresh paint very much in evidence. Most of the stalls were closed, but there were one or two open, light spilling through the windows along with the telltale sounds of drinking. Amelia's heart froze for a moment as she saw a yellow-coated Capram stepping a little unsteadily out of one, one of the local guards with an antique laslock rifle over his shoulder. He saw her and there was a half-moment where she seriously considered reaching for her pistol before he appeared to straighten himself up and salute. Guessing that he thought her a Company official, she summoned up her sense of authority and gave him a brief nod of acknowledgement before he relaxed and took himself off uphill. Amelia sighed with relief and looked back to where she could see Chaupi had also been nervous.

"Not far now, ma'am," he said.

"Thank goodness." Amelia took a deep breath, looking over her shoulder to make sure that the guard was still heading away from them. "Let's make this quick."

Chaupi knocked on the door of the Great House, trying not to look too suspicious. Amelia, sheltering in a shadow some distance away, tried to keep one eye on him and another on the street. After a moment, the door opened and she saw Chaupi make a flowing hand gesture to the person on the other side. There was a brief conversation in a language she didn't recognise and assumed to be native Capram before the door closed and Chaupi came back to her.

"Suyani is not here," he said. "But I know where he is. He is at the epo-lami stables."

Amelia grimaced. Her nerves were beginning to rasp under the tension, but there was no choice other than to find him. "Fine. Where are they?"

"Back up the hill, but on the edge of town, by one of the main roads in." Chaupi pointed.

"At least that'll get us closer to the train terminal," said Amelia. "All right. Let's go."

The stables were a long, low, ranging building under a thatched roof, and they smelled like any stable anywhere in the galaxy. Amelia wrinkled her nose as they entered and saw the epo-lami in their stalls. There were several dozen of them, and Amelia recognised the harnesses strung up on the walls as belonging to the convoy she had seen arriving earlier that day. There were one or two Capram working there, raking out stalls or filling feeders. One of them looked up and caught sight of Amelia. He coughed and began speaking in slow Imperial Standard.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, we-" Amelia stopped and caught herself. "Actually, Mr Chaupi, you'd better take the lead."

Chaupi nodded. "I am looking for Suyani. Is he here?"

The Capram frowned. "He is. Why?"

"I am a friend of his," said Chaupi. "I was supposed to meet him earlier today, but I was late."

The stablehand seemed to accept this. "You wait. I find."

"You're quite the natural liar, Mr Chaupi," murmured Amelia as he left. "And I mean that in the nicest possible way."

Chaupi grinned. "Perhaps I am thinking of it as just another story! Besides, it was not technically inaccurate…"

"I suppose not." Amelia grinned back.

There were footsteps behind them and they turned to see the stablehand returning with another Capram in tow. The newcomer looked like a young male, and he was dressed in Imperial fashion with a vest and shirt. There was a visible flicker of terror in his eyes as he saw Amelia and she took a step back and looked away to appear less threatening.

"Suyani?" Chaupi stepped forward.

"I- yes?" The young Capram nodded, his initial alarm giving way to confusion.

"I'm Chaupi. A friend of Inaya."

Suyani looked skeptical and asked Chaupi something in their native language, leading to a conversation that the felinid couldn't follow, but which included the codename "Tayki" that Chaupi had mentioned. Deciding to make herself useful, Amelia waved to the stablehand to leave them. She stepped into the nearest stall and Chaupi followed her, beckoning Suyani to follow them.

"She is a friend," said Chaupi, seeing how Suyani's eyes kept flickering to the felinid. "It's all right. You can trust us." Whatever conversation they'd had, it must have worked to ease the nervous Capram.

"You are a friend of Inaya?" Suyani's Standard was remarkably fluent, his accent only slightly more pronounced than Chaupi's. "The resistance leader? I sent word to her years ago…"

"Yes. She sent me to find you. But the Hirca caught me." Chaupi spoke quickly. "I am sorry."

Suyani shook his head. "I did not realise anyone had come...I thought the word had not got through."

"What was it you had to tell us?" asked Chaupi.

"Not to tell you. Show you." Suyani said. "I...have something for you. But not here. Come with me. Quickly. Imperials do not usually stay here for long and the stablehand might grow suspicious if we linger."

Suyani led the way to the back of the stables, explaining as he went.

"I work for the New Horizons Company," he said. "I'm a messenger in one of the offices in their settlement. I was able to get documents about what the Company is doing here."

"How?" asked Amelia.

"One of the Company people, an offworlder like you," said Suyani. "She and I became friends. She showed me the documents. Taught me what they mean."

Chaupi looked surprised. "She took a great risk."

"Leaking information?" Amelia looked at him.

"That, too. But I meant in teaching Suyani to read it. The Company does not encourage literacy amongst us." Chaupi smiled sardonically.

"Usually not. But she wanted to help. She knew what was happening was wrong. So she gave me the documents. I was going to give them to you, but you never arrived." Suyani nodded.

"Did you keep them?" said Chaupi, looking around.

"Yes. Of course. I thought that you had not tried to find me. I thought that maybe, someday, someone would come." Suyani said. "So I hid them. And I added to them, as I could. Hid them here. My sister is married to the stablemaster. I trust him."

Amelia couldn't help but feel a sneaking admiration for the young Capram. She wasn't sure precisely what the penalty for his activities would be if the NHC found out about them, but suspected that it would not be light. That he had held his nerve and continued them, at daily risk of detection and without even knowing when or whether anyone would answer his call, was quite a feat of character. He led them into a storage shed containing bundles of animal feed, and climbed up on top of them, reaching for a supporting roof beam. Amelia glanced around to make sure there was nobody watching them, and then looked back to see Suyani jumping back to the floor, a leather satchel of obviously Imperial manufacture in his hands. Of the method of concealment, Amelia could only guess that the beam had been hollowed out from above. Suyani held it out to Chaupi.

"Here. This is everything."

Chaupi opened it and Amelia caught a glimpse of a wad of papers, some curled and yellow with age, others white and crisp. The crest of the NHC was visible on a few of them, confirming their authenticity, but there was clearly no time to go through them there.

"Thank you," she said. "For whatever this is."

"I hope it helps," said Suyani. He looked at her. "Are you with the Company?"

Amelia hesitated a moment, but decided that she could trust him. "No. I'm with the Navy. The ship that came in today."

"Ah! Yes, the inspection." Suyani nodded. "My friend has mentioned that. The Company has gone to a lot of trouble for it. Is it important?"

"It ought to be," said Amelia cautiously, not wanting to say too much in case it prompted Suyani into doing something rash. "We hope to make it so."

"Who is she?" asked Chaupi. "Your friend."

Suyani hesitated. "I...should not say. She has not wanted her name about this."

"Understandable." Amelia nodded. "Well, Suyani, all I can say is that we'll do our best. In the meantime, you should be careful. And tell her to be as well. Now is not the time to let your guard down."

Suyani nodded. "I will be sure. I have other friends in the city, too, though they do not know me as Tayki. I will let them know also."

"Good." Amelia turned to Chaupi, who was stowing the satchel in his pack. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Suyani asked.

"Away from here," said Chaupi. "There is a train coming in tonight from the Sabiran mines?"

"Yes, but you will have to be fast," said Suyani. "The trains do not stop here. They arrive, unload, and then leave at once for more."

"Then we have no time to lose," said Chaupi. "But we will take your gift to Inaya. She will be most thankful."

"I hope it does some good," said Suyani. "There are many of us hoping that the resistance will find a way…"

"As do we." Chaupi nodded. "Thank you. But now we should leave. Do not look for us."

"Good luck." Suyani and Chaupi clasped each other's shoulders in what Amelia guessed was the local equivalent of a handshake, and then parted quickly. Chaupi hefted his pack over his shoulder and turned to Amelia.

"I believe there is nothing further for us here, ma'am," he said.

"I agree. We've lingered long enough already." Amelia said briskly. "The train terminal is uphill from here. Follow me."

Amelia had hoped to arrive after the train that she remembered was due that night had arrived, as she expected it would prove a useful distraction. As it was, however, they found the station vacant. It was a massive, hangar-like space big enough to hold a complete loop of track that would enable a train to enter it and leave without turning around. One leg of the loop led past a series of gaping holes dug into the side of the hill, which Amelia guessed led to underground storage silos. Given the scale of the facility, the number of workers - only a dozen or so - was not huge, but it was enough for Amelia to want to keep a safe distance. Fortunately there didn't seem to be anyone outside the terminal, where the tracks led off into the gathering gloom of the valley, so she and Chaupi found a concealed place in a ditch and waited. It wasn't long before Chaupi spotted a light approaching along the tracks.

"I think that's it," said Amelia. "But let's wait. We'll have to board it when it's on the way back out."

"Right, ma'am," Chaupi nodded.

The train drew closer. The steam locomotive was a snorting, ugly, grey, brick-shaped thing powered by a single large lateen-rigged solar sail. Behind it came the goods wagons, nearly twenty dirty cars with high, riveted sides bearing the NHC's logo underneath the streaks of rust. A mournful horn sounded from the engine as it approached the station, but Chaupi was staring at the creaking wagons, which were full above their brims with rocky metallic ore.

"Oh Inaya," he breathed. "There must be hundreds of tons. Months of effort for an entire Sabiran village working by hand. Maybe even a whole year."

Amelia was watching it through a more tactical gaze. Bringing up the rear of the procession was a guard's van sporting a raised cupola. She could see figures standing in it, and she drew Chaupi down deeper into the shadows as it passed.

"Damn," she muttered. "I'd been hoping they wouldn't have security and we'd just be able to hitch a ride on the last car. Looks like we'll have to mount up somewhere further forward."

The train slowed as it lowered its solar sail and crawled into the station, a hiss of escaping steam soon drowned out by the screeching of dry metal as the brakes engaged and the wagons began bumping together. Amelia watched them enter the well-lit space inside the hangar, and then saw something that gave them a chance. As the wagons passed by the gaping pits they passed over an angled device set between the tracks that appeared to disengage a locking mechanism, enabling the hoppers to rotate to the left under their own weight, dumping their contents into the storage with a rumbling roar.

"Hello…" she murmured.

The locomotive, now pulling the train at a little less than walking speed, completed its turn and began heading back out, railing its sail once again. Amelia and Chaupi ducked low again as the beam of its single headlamp passed over them, and they waited for it to creep past, blowing steam from its pistons. The emptied wagons stayed tipped onto their sides, meaning that their open mouths were exposed to the ditch where they waited. A short way further on, the wagons passed over another angled device that tipped the wagons back to vertical with a squeal of protesting metal.

"I think that's our best chance, Mr Chaupi," said Amelia, checking that the guard's van was hidden on the other side of the train.

"I agree, ma'am," said Chaupi. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Amelia tightened the straps on her knapsack and began creeping up the side of the ditch, picking out a wagon as it came towards them. "Come on. On my mark...now!"

She sprang to her feet, gripped the lower lip of the passing wagon, and swung herself up into it. The interior was dusty and she fought back a spontaneous bout of coughing as she turned to help Chaupi up behind her. Once on board, they scrambled back towards the middle of the wagon and braced themselves for the stomach-lurching swing back to vertical. The rusty bearings scraped agonisingly as it swung, but then it clunked heavily into place and Amelia and Chaupi found themselves looking up at the starry sky, the steel walls on each side of them only just tall enough to see over when standing up straight. Amelia coughed again and sighed with relief.

"Well," she said. "I suppose we just have to see where this goes now."

"If it goes into Sabira lands, it may take us close to my home," said Chaupi. "My village was close to a Sabiran town. I know the area well."

"Then I'll trust you to keep an eye out for landmarks," said Amelia. "But we'll have to be careful. There must be at least two of Cathcart's men in that guard's van back there, and that cupola gives them a view across the top of the whole train."

Chaupi nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"In the meantime, I suggest we make ourselves whatever passes for comfortable," said Amelia, looking around the rusty, pitted interior of the wagon. "Which may not be much."

Chaupi shifted his knapsack into a corner of the wagon to use as a cushion. "I have slept in worse, ma'am."

"I'm not sure that I have," Amelia smiled wryly. "But try to get some sleep if you can. I'll stay on watch and wake you if anything happens."

"Thank you, ma'am. Are you sure?"

"One of us has to. It might as well be me," Amelia shrugged. "I only wish I could make a start on those documents Suyani gave you. But I can't risk a light in here."

"Of course not, ma'am. I agree." Chaupi nodded and sat back. He rested his head on the top of his pack and looked up at the night.

"It is good," he said, to nobody in particular, "to see a familiar sky again."

For Amelia, while there was no beating the sight of the stars when sailing through the Etherium, there was something about seeing them from a planet's surface that made them seem vibrant. In space, the stars were mere navigational points or a backdrop that she could easily put out of her mind, but from the surface of a world they seemed to be somehow more alive, framed as they were in a view that must have been marvelled at by countless souls over the generations. The train's steady motions gave her time to think about what she had seen and where they were going. It was already apparent to her that things were not as the New Horizons Company had presented, or as Bellinger believed. The mere existence of a resistance that was radically opposed to the occupation, including Chaupi, was proof of that. But how bad was the situation, and would it be enough to force Bellinger into action? If the resistance were no more than a few malcontents, then there was almost certainly nothing she could do, and she and Chaupi were risking their careers and lives for nothing. But if it wasn't, and the fears seeded during her brief tour of Port Machonochie proved right….

After a few hours, she woke the Capram up so he could take watch as she rested. It wasn't too difficult to fall asleep, all things considered, after being used to the continual ambient noise on a ship. It wasn't a particularly comfortable sleep, but it was sleep nonetheless. There was a point when she was woken up by Chaupi after he had heard a few shots of laslock fire. However, it turned out to be little more than the train guards taking potshots at some improvised target out of boredom. Her racing heart kept her from falling asleep again, but Amelia rested her body anyway. There was no telling when the next opportunity would be.

Daybreak brought the opportunity to go through the documents Suyani had given them. Quite a few of them had wrinkles that indicated that they had been crumpled. It was as if they had been thrown out or hastily stuffed into a pocket. Amelia sorted through the jumble of reports, memos, and records of personnel movements. She was sure there was some significance to all of it to make it worth the risks Suyani and his contact had taken, but most of it would only become apparent after detailed study. Instead, she turned to one of the more recent-looking documents and began reading it, her eyes growing wider with every line.

"Unbelievable," she murmured to herself.

"What is?" Chaupi looked up from his piece of the hard ship's bread they had split for breakfast.

The felinid gestured to the paper in her hand. "This! It's a memo about preparing for our visit! It talks about the reception, the tour they gave us...as well as the restrictions they put on us, and some of what they didn't want us seeing. 'Under no circumstances should the Inspector and Naval visitors be permitted beyond Port Machonochie or to solicit the views of the native populace with no Company intermediary in attendance.' That must mean they're hiding something from us."

Chaupi looked puzzled. "This was not obvious already?"

Amelia grinned. "Not provably. And it's not like they didn't know about this - that looks like Drummond's signature, and General Cathcart's. So much for the happy picture they painted for us..."

"Then their ina hasn't changed." Chaupi shook his head sadly.

Amelia gave him a quizzical look. "You've mentioned that word before. What does it mean?"

Chaupi's face lit up, glad to have the opportunity to explain. "It is a central part of Capram philosophy. When you discuss the idea of truth, it is something that is objective and that for any given event, there is only one truth, am I right? This is what you meant when you spoke of 'proof' just then."

"Yes."

"We call this objective truth the quay. The key point of difference between us is that while you might seek the quay as if it is possible to find, Capram understand that this is impossible to know. Everything we experience is filtered through our perception."

"And while we may both go through the same events," Amelia said slowly to make sure she understood where this was going, "our experience of those events would be inherently different."

"Correct. This kind of truth is what we call the ina. Functionally you may think of it as another term for 'perception' but it is more nuanced than that."

"In what way?"

"It is perception, but one that is determined by the context not only in which it was made, but how it is used afterward, including how we talk about the events themselves. We may tell different stories of such events based not only on how we experienced them, but also on what details are important for not only us, but for the point we are trying to make for the audience in front of us. However, even with such differences, neither are any less true than another."

The felinid mulled this over. "What about lies? Where do they fit in all of this? A lie is the opposite of the truth, but it's no longer a dichotomy when multiple conflicting truths or inas are possible."

Chaupi took a moment before he responded. "The difference between truth and lies is not so stark for us as it may be for you. After all, if someone wholly believes something that may not be what you consider to be strictly true, are they lying? If someone chooses to deceive someone by presenting the the truth in a particular way, are they really truthful? And even if something is completely fabricated, by virtue of being told, it becomes all or only a part of the information about any given person or thing. As it becomes a part of the body of knowledge, even if it is proven to contradict everything else, there is a subjective truth to be found within it. It must be judged, criticized, or believed just like any other piece of information we receive in our lifetimes. There's an ina to be found in any lie in one way or another."

Amelia wanted to ensure she understood. "So you would say that if someone hears one thing, believes another, and says something else entirely, then all are functionally true are in their own way? And that since there are always going to be differences, there really isn't one singular truth?"

"Yes, though there is an objective truth out there, we just can never truly know it as we are beings of perception and thoughts and opinions. We consider the quay to be in the realm of the plants and animals. They do not think, so they do not know to perceive things as anything else but what they are." Chaupi helped the felinid gather the documents to keep them from being scattered by the wind.

"Spoken like a true philosopher, Mr. Chaupi," Amelia smirked.

From the head of the train came a sudden, shrill blast on the engine's whistle. Amelia and Chaupi sat bolt upright, instantly alert.

"Ma'am?" Chaupi's hand strayed towards his pack.

"I don't know," Amelia's ears flicked. "But they must be signalling someone. We're probably coming up to a crossing or something. Damn! I wish we could see out."

Chaupi looked up at the sheer walls around them, briefly contemplating climbing up to the rim of the wagon, but knowing it was too risky with the guard's van behind them. He looked back down to see Amelia checking the power cell on her compact laslock pistol. She caught his eye and tucked the weapon into her belt.

"Just in case, Mr Chaupi. It's not my first preference."

The growling note of the engine changed down and Amelia felt the wagons lurch and bang into each other as the train slowed. Her pulse quickened and she hurriedly checked that her own pack was ready in case they needed to make a rapid exit, as well as the satchel into which Chaupi was stuffing the stolen documents.

"Why would they be stopping here?" she muttered.

"I don't know, ma'am," said Chaupi. "We're nowhere near Sabiran land. This can't be the end of the journey."

"Must be a checkpoint, then," Amelia grimaced. "Right. Stay still and quiet and get away from the sides. We won't do anything if they don't make us."

"Right, ma'am." Chaupi shifted into the centre of the wagon. Amelia joined him as the brakes squealed on and the train shuddered gradually to a halt. They waited with bated breath, every sense straining to detect what was going on. After a time they heard the crunch of boots on gravel and voices by the side of the train.

"Stebbin! You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Good to see you, too, Mylor. How is it back in civilisation?"

"Port Machonochie? Boring as a graveyard. Bosses have everything locked down tight while the bigwigs are here."

The sounds of gravel stopped. The men speaking were right next to the wagon, separated by no more than a couple of millimetres of cheap steel. Amelia barely dared to breathe, and could only hope that the dust didn't set her off coughing again.

"Better to be out here than back there," said the voice identified as Mylor's. "You should count yourself lucky."

"Lucky to be babysitting this bucket of bolts?" the other voice laughed. "I don't think so! I'm still waiting for it to fall apart."

Proving the point, a series of kicks were directed along the bottom of the wagon. One of them hit a rusted patch of steel and burst through it. Amelia stared in shock at the iron-shod boot which had come through the side just inches away from her. There was a moment of silence, and then a burst of raucous laughter.

"Nice one, Stebbin! Nice one! They'll probably dock your next pay packet to fix that!"

"Yeah, really shaping up to be my lucky day, this." Stebbin sounded resigned. "Let's get this over with. You've got all your stuff out of the van?"

"It's all yours," said Mylor. "See you on the way back."

The footsteps crunched away again. Amelia got down on her knees and chanced a glance out of the hole. A yellow-coated NHC soldier was walking back down the train towards the guard's van with a bag over his shoulder along with his rifle. Another was walking away from the tracks towards a small building. The railway was now running through a grassland, but it was already notably higher up the sides of the valley than Port Machonochie had been.

"I think they were just changing the guards," she whispered. "They must work in shifts. But by the stars that was close."

"Too close, ma'am," Chaupi exhaled and shook his head.

The engine's whistle blew again, and the train lurched and clattered back into motion. Amelia and Chaupi finally allowed themselves to relax again.

"The sooner we can get off this thing," said Amelia. "The happier I'll be. You said we weren't near the Sabira, but how far are we?"

Chaupi hesitated. All Capram had an instinctive grasp of the scale of their valley, but it was hard to judge the speed of their travel without being able to see out of the wagon. "I could not really say, ma'am. Perhaps a day? Maybe more? The Sabira live on the higher slopes and the air does not feel thin enough yet."

Amelia grimaced. "Well, let's just hope they don't change the guards too often. Stay sharp, Mr Chaupi. I've got some reading to do…"