Chapter 24: The Enigma of Hours

Nazzareno boards the Mistral and, despite the crew’s fear, requests to route the ship’s controls through its chassis. After initial resistance, Captain Otavia Corvo permits it. Ship systems flicker as Nazzareno freezes instruments, citing privacy and customs authority tied to Brevon Imports and Captain Eidhin.

The Mistral flies into an unnatural darkness that erases the stars. Amid growing dread, lights appear below like ordered candles, revealing a sprawling cityscape. Valka identifies it as a ship: the Enigma of Hours, a titanic, cigar-shaped vessel with open forward docks and aft crew sections.

Nazzareno broadcasts pre-recorded rules: passengers must remain in visitor zones, carry no weapons, and avoid restricted areas, with “summary disembarkation” defined as ejection without review. Otavia plans to cryo most crew, but Nazzareno says it’s unnecessary—Vorgossos is only three weeks away.

The crew reels at the implied thousands-of-c speed. Nazzareno boasts no courier could match the Enigma. Clamps engage; gravity shifts as the Mistral is secured. Diagnostics restore, and Nazzareno announces an incoming inspection team and a lock on the Mistral’s weapons.

Before leaving, Nazzareno reaffirms the Enigma’s rules and welcomes them aboard, as the crew absorbs the power and menace of their host ship and the accelerated timetable to Vorgossos.