The conference chamber on Orvas’s orbital platform had been designed to impress, rather than intimidate, but to Valance it held an edge of orderly grandeur that distinguished it from something the Federation would build. Floor-to-ceiling windows ran along one side, the curve of Orvas V filling the view, while the rest was all disciplined comfort: stone colours, recessed lighting, harsh corners.

Once again she sat with Luroth and Director Vekhad, but this time it was only Cortez by her side. This time, conversations which had once made great strides were slowing to a grind of frustration and distrust.

‘You understand our position, Captain,’ Luroth said, his voice smooth. ‘A fissure that almost tore a sector of your space apart seems to have been built by some of our most brilliant minds – with technology you now tell us was centuries ahead of our current capabilities.’

Vekhad’s jaw tightened. ‘If that is true, this is an unprecedented leap in Orvas science. We will require full access to all schematics and data you hold. We cannot allow ourselves to be left in ignorance of a technology that can reshape subspace.’

Valance kept her grip relaxed on her hands clasped in front of her. ‘You’re not being left in ignorance, Director. We’re sharing everything relevant to identifying what your people did, and how they did it. What we can’t share is Federation scientific research that underpins our understanding of this technology.’

‘So we are expected,’ grumbled Vekhad, ‘to trust that you will decide what is relevant to our security.’

‘No,’ Valance said, meeting her stare. ‘You are expected to trust that we have no interest in exploiting this weapon, and every interest in making sure nobody else can.’

Luroth leaned in quickly as the air tightened. ‘You must see this from our perspective. We’ve spent centuries ensuring outside powers cannot dictate our fate. Now, technology that lies at the heart of this great change to the Expanse is something where our understanding is reliant on foreign powers whose motives we cannot verify.’

Vekhad said, ‘Our people look to us to protect them. If we are seen to be dependent on Federation scientists to understand our own people’s work, it undermines our legitimacy.’

Cortez shifted forward. ‘With respect, Director, it doesn’t matter whether you can understand this technology or not.’ Her tone stayed light, but she nodded at the display on the wall, the notes from the scientist she, Airex and Thawn had gone over. ‘We barely can, and your people will get there eventually.’

‘But?’ said Vekhad suspiciously.

‘But that’s eventually. The principles behind this aren’t just “ahead” of you, they’re working on a completely different branch of theory. I can follow the math in places; I can’t reproduce it. And that’s me, with access to every weird warp experiment Starfleet’s run in thirty years.’ Cortez let this hang for a moment, then said, softer, ‘Nobody’s going to roll into a lab and build one of these arrays. Not you, not us, not the Klingons. The knowledge is too incomplete, the supporting science isn’t there.’

Luroth’s mouth twitched. ‘You’re asking us to accept ignorance as a form of security.’

‘Ignorance of implementation,’ Cortez explained. ‘Not of cause, not of explanation, not of responsibility. We’re giving you everything that tells you what your citizens did. But we’re not going to hand over, or widely distribute, a recipe for a thing which nearly destroyed a sector of space. Because we just can’t.’

Valance watched Luroth, watched him turn this over in his mind.

‘Our concern,’ he said at last, ‘is not only the physical threat, but the political one. If it becomes known that the Protectorate depends on Starfleet to interpret our own scientists, the Ashen Path will… capitalise. They already accuse us of being puppets of outsiders.’

‘Then don’t tell your people that,’ said Valance. ‘Tell them that the Protectorate and Starfleet are cooperating on a joint investigation into a threat that affects the whole Expanse. We don’t need to say who holds the pieces of what puzzle. And we couldn’t get to the bottom of this without your help; this is a mutually beneficial relationship.’

Vekhad glanced at Luroth. After a beat, she said, ‘We can manage that message.’

The meeting dissolved into logistics: levels of clearance, liaisons, information flow. When it was finally concluded, Valance stepped out into the station corridor with Cortez at her side.

For a few moments, they walked in silence towards the transporter room, past broad windows and busy junctions. This place was a bustling hub of activity; if below was the heart of Orvas civilisation, this was the foundation on which its endeavours into space began.

‘You handled that well,’ Valance said at last.

Cortez snorted. ‘I handled the part where a physicist had to be told they couldn’t play with the shiny new bomb, but only because nobody can. The rest was on you.’

‘They still don’t entirely trust us.’

‘Course they don’t. We show up with a story about their missing geniuses building a secret super-weapon and have asked for their help to prove it.’ Cortez gave a small, crooked smile. ‘But they’re buying it. That counts as diplomacy.’

They reached an intersection where one corridor led to the transporter rooms, another towards administrative levels.

‘There’s another allocation meeting with their engineering teams in four hours,’ Cortez said, checking a PADD. ‘They want to understand how the array tied into their mining infrastructure, which… honestly, I’d like to understand, too.’

‘You’re enjoying this,’ Valance observed lightly.

‘It’s horrifying, but it’s also some of the wildest subspace engineering anyone’s ever seen. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t get my brain going.’ She hesitated. ‘I’ll keep the security stuff in mind. “No, Minister, you can’t build your own fissure in your backyard.”’

Valance’s lips twitched. ‘I trust you to keep everyone alive.’

The silence stretched between them for just a beat too long. Cortez broke it with a light clap to the PADD. ‘Anyway, I should get to my new best friends in Systems Engineering. You’ve got ministerial hand-holding to do.’

She turned away down the corridor. Valance watched her go for a heartbeat longer than she needed to, then drew a steady breath and headed for the transporter room. Her destination was not Endeavour, but the surface.

As the transporter beam faded, the world reassembled around her in bright light and cool air. The Orvas capital’s landing plaza was a sweep of pale stone and curated greenery, bordered by low administrative buildings and ringed with towers that rose like columns. But the attempted projection of tall stability was marred by the reality on the ground.

Barricades had been set up along one edge of the plaza, not to hold back a crowd but to control movement. Markers, scanners, a visible line of uniformed security. Valance stepped clear of the transporter pad and saw Kharth waiting for her on the far side, arms folded, field jacket unzipped.

‘You didn’t have to come down,’ she said by way of greeting, moving to join her.

‘I wanted to see it for myself,’ Valance said. ‘Status?’

Kharth gestured for her to walk with her, away from the main flow of personnel. The city stretched ahead in ordered avenues of wide boulevards, towering buildings, statues and monuments in clean stone. And on walls, on pillars, on the underside of bridge arches, not everywhere but far too often, Valance could see them now she was looking: the Path’s sigils, like threatening graffiti.

‘Path activity has been up since before Holsavar,’ Kharth said. ‘Nothing that big yet, but they’re testing the limits. Intimidation at food distribution centres. Sabotage of public transport nodes. Some of it is just kids with spray paint; some of it’s coordinated harassment of specific officials.’

‘Casualties?’

‘Not yet. A few minor injuries. A lot of frightened civilians. Especially now word of Holsavar’s getting out.’ Kharth’s mouth set in a thin line. ‘The Protectorate likes order. You can feel how much this gets under their skin.’

‘So their law enforcement’s responding levelly,’ Valance surmised.

‘It sure as hell shows the difference between the Protectorate and the Federation,’ Kharth said with a distant hint of appreciation. Valance wasn’t sure she was wistful for Federation restraint or admiring the Orvas sense of control. ‘Curfews in certain districts. Random sweeps. Plenty of muscle on show. It’s not major, but you can see why the Path think they can paint themselves as martyrs.’

‘Is there much we can do to help?’

Kharth blew out her cheeks. ‘It’s a little difficult to find links between the Path and the Vezda when we can’t mention the Vezda – oh, and we don’t know what the overlap looks like. But they made an arrest last night. Guy who was trying to plant explosives on the local rail line. It’s not clear how much he knows.’

‘I can’t imagine he’ll be treated gently.’

‘Internal Security want to haul him into a black room and tear his head off,’ said Kharth, more tense. ‘But I offered to observe. They’re so confused and know so little they’re okay with me asking a question or two.’

Valance grimaced. ‘You must be sick of me asking this, but…’

‘You’re wondering if I’ll help Orvas security beat the shit out of him?’ Kharth’s gaze slid over a cluster of sigils on the wall, lips thinning. ‘If this guy can tell me anything about who taught him to worship the thing that took Jack, I might want to, but that’s why Walker’s with me.’

‘To stop you?’ blurted Valance, surprised by the bluntness.

Kharth rolled her eyes. ‘No, I’ll stop myself, because I’m not a maniac, but it stops you from worrying.’

Valance nodded, relaxing at that. ‘I want a full report afterwards. If this building activity’s leading to something…’

‘I’ll hide it from you,’ Kharth said with a hint of an eye-roll. ‘You’ll know probably before I’ve even properly understood what we’ve learnt. Now, go get back to managing cranky diplomats.’

Valance let her go, watching her cross the plaza towards one of the security buildings that was a buzzing hive of activity. She knew, deep down, that the problem with Kharth under stress and uncertainty wasn’t about what she’d do in the line of duty. It was what she’d do if she were kept away from it.

But she was reassured that Walker would be with her.

Her combadge chirped. ‘Airex to Valance.’

She tapped it. ‘Go ahead.’

‘Luroth just forwarded fresh data from Internal Security. They’ve been going through the records on the builders, piecing together their final movements before they disappeared entirely. Lines of contact are starting to show up between them – nothing suspicious, but they communicated. Then went dark at the same time.’

‘That doesn’t sound new.’

‘What’s new is that there’s one name in this network who shows up on every bit of pattern-matching – expert in their field, abandoned prestigious work suddenly, had brief communication with the others before disappearing – who’s not on the crew roster for the facility. Doctor Mereth Kavel.’

Valance stopped and stared across the square. ‘What do we think happened to him?’

‘It turns out his disappearance wasn’t absolute. He sold his holdings and purchased a property in the northern wilderness regions. No visitors. No communications since. Luroth has authorised a visit. I’m heading up there.’

‘Approved,’ Valance said briskly, feeling her heart tense at this first solid lead to something more than filling in the gaps of the past. ‘Keep me updated.’

‘I shall.’

‘Oh, and – what’s this one’s expertise?’

There was a pointed silence. Then Airex said, ‘History. Doctor Kavel was once the foremost mind on certain regions’ pre-unification social history. Social and religious history.’