Book 3 - Ceremony by Glen Cook

didn’t know how to do and
almost did myself in. Is that what you want me to say? I’ve
said it. But I’ll also say I didn’t have any choice. It
was the Up-and-Over or die. The Serke were closing in.”
    “I understand.”
    “How bad is it? How much damage did they do?”
    “The raiders? None at all. Unless you count a little
caused by one of the wrecks. It ploughed through an area where we
had some materials tethered. We’ll have to replace a few
hundred sections of beam that got warped.”
    “That’s all?”
    “Evidently you took them completely by surprise. I hear
there’s a great deal of despair among the recidivists down on
the planet. This was supposed to be a killer blow.”
    “Then the other darkships did get there in time to keep
them from wrecking everything.”
    “Not exactly.”
    “What?”
    “They ran away. The Serke. Before the darkships ever
arrived. We heard the warning, but for a long time we did not know
what had happened. Actually found out from a captured rogue.”
    “But . . . ”
    “Marika, nobody knew you were out there. I mean, some of
the workers remembered a darkship nosing around, but they
didn’t know whose it was. You didn’t tell anybody where
you were going or what you were up to. Meth only started wondering
about where you were after we captured the rogue and could not find
any silth missing who were supposed to be out there at the time.
Meth were talking about a ghost darkship for a while. Then when
nobody could find you anywhere down
below . . . Marika, you have to stop doing that
kind of thing. You could have died trying to get back. If you had
told somebody what you were up to, anybody, silth could have gone
looking for you. It’s hard to save somebody when you
don’t know they’re in trouble.”
    “All right, Bagnel. Don’t get excited. I get the
message. It doesn’t matter now, anyway. Everything turned out
for the best. I’m safe.”
    He scowled. There was much more he wanted to say, but he held
his tongue.
    Marika said, “The problem has become how to protect the
mirrors. They would have destroyed the project but for the accident
of my having been out there. Two of those ships were carrying bombs
like the ones they used on TelleRai.”
    “Accident? What accident?” There was an odd glint in
Bagnel’s eyes.
    “What is it? I don’t like the way you’re
looking at me.”
    “You always discount the notion that you are fated. I
don’t like superstition any more than you do, Marika, but
this time I really have to wonder.”
    “Don’t you start. I get enough of that nonsense from
silth.
Anyway, if you assume I am a fated thing then the mirror would
have been destroyed. Isn’t the pattern one of destruction?
That’s what they keep telling me.”
    “Maybe that was to prepare you for the
turnaround.”
    “Enough of this, Bagnel. I won’t have it from you.
It’s pure silliness.”
    “As you wish. I came to see how you are. I have my answer.
You’re as nasty as ever. And those who had hopes of your
early demise will be disappointed again.”
    “Right. I intend to keep disappointing them, too, because
I intend to outlive them all. I have too much to get done to waste
time dying.”
    He looked at her hard, surprised by her intensity. “Things
such as?”
    “The project has reached takeoff. It is running itself.
Not so?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “This misadventure got me to thinking. There is very
little I can contribute now, unless it’s protection. Or if I
just help lift materials from the surface. The rest of the engine
is running on its own impetus.”
    “So?” He sounded suspicious.
    “So I think it’s time I went looking for trouble
instead of waiting for it to come to me. No smart remarks! Remember
when I was young? Remember how the novice Marika always jumped to
the attack? She hasn’t been doing that since she got older.
That antique factor in your quarters that time was
right.”
    “You’re so old now? About to turn into one of