Chapter 23: The Pilot

The Mistral slips from March Station along coordinates supplied by Antonius Brevon, accelerating out of the system plane toward a secluded rendezvous. On the bridge, tensions rise: Bastien Durand distrusts the Exalted bargain, Otavia Corvo keeps the warp drive primed, and security stands ready. Hadrian observes, speaking briefly with Ilex about her spacer past and ominous rumors of the Exalted.

Hours later, at the rendezvous, probes and sensors report nothing—no heat, no mass, no drives—deepening fears of a trap. As Corvo orders deceleration and heightened vigilance, a dull banging echoes from the port airlock despite the vacuum outside. Pallino musters two decades to guard the inner door under Corvo’s command to open the outer lock if needed.

Hadrian insists on joining the security team despite Valka’s concern. The inner doors cycle after decompression, revealing a glittering, rope-limbed machine with a bullet-shaped head studded with red eyes—an alien-seeming construct that freezes the corridor. Hadrian stays the men from firing and challenges the intruder.

The being speaks in a youthful, lilting voice and projects the smiling face of a young man, identifying himself as Nazzareno. He explains he is the pilot sent to ferry the Mistral’s people into the Exalted vessel—the Enigma of Hours—thereby validating Brevon’s promise and moving the mission into its next, riskier stage.