CHAPTER 27

Blueshell and Greenstalk return without further signs of the threatening “killer butterflies.” While they and Pham debate whether the spectacle was theater, Ravna gains read access to the local RIP net. Two messages appear: an Alliance proclamation boasting of destroying Sjandra Kei, and a weak distress confirming relativistic strikes, glow bombs, and billions dead.

The confirmation shatters Ravna; Pham comforts her and arranges for the ship to monitor her as she sleeps. While she rests, the Skroderiders and OOB correlate local traffic: the Butterfly ships are Aprahanti, stragglers from extermination fleets bound for Sjandra Kei, seeking rapid repairs to hunt escapees. Their presence keeps Saint Rihndell fearful and compliant.

Rihndell proposes a covert plan: move OOB to a secondary harbor sixteen million kilometers away, near a Skroderider terrane, where a fresh Top-origin regrowth agent can be applied. Payment will be 217 flamed trellises, with an agrav refit if the pieces match. The Skroderiders believe Rihndell’s long-term trade reputation limits his treachery; Pham remains uneasy about delivering goods before departure.

OOB quietly departs the ring-yard without challenge from the Aprahanti, ascends above the rings, and lights its main torch for the transit. The team prepares for a five-hour regrowth once docked, while acknowledging the risks: Aprahanti demands, Rihndell’s fear, and the wider pogrom against humans that has just annihilated Sjandra Kei.