They left Aresa in a wide room so heavily laid out with colourful cloth and decorated walls that it was hard to believe it existed next to rooms of bare metal and cold, hard surfaces. An eclectic collection of toys lay scattered around, from simple abacuses to complex works of a blacksmith’s skill. Clearly, anything that could be begged, bought or scavenged from the outside world had been gathered for the young.

Tala briefly met the other two children, a boy named Pilo and girl named Kim, both a few suns older than Aresa, then followed the adults into the room next door.

This room was spartan, a wide table seemingly extruded from the floor surrounded by crude wooden chairs that provided a jarring contrast with the smooth, utilitarian air of the place. Eselwol fell quickly into one of these and swung his feet up onto the table whilst Shaleigh perched next to him, sat straight and alert.

Rial pulled out a chair for Tala and himself, then leaned on the table and stared at the other two.

“What happened?” he asked, folding his hands and resting his head on them. He looked exhausted.

Eselwol was the first to speak.

“They came whilst the two of us were out gathering supplies. Must have spotted some of us coming and going from the hill. They got in and took everyone they could. Apparently they were here for a couple of days.”

“And the children?” asked Rial.

“They hid. Plenty of crannies they can get into on this ship. They were here alone, scared and confused until we got back, starving; they’re the reason we know what happened at all.”

Rial let out a deep sigh.

"Mead, keep a long-distance scan for anybody approaching, will you?" he said.

"Confirmed."

“And the weapons?” asked Tala, hefting her coilgun into sight. “Where did they find them?”

“Weapons?” said Shaleigh, examining the one in Tala's hands. “What weapons?”

“The slavers have got more weapons like that one,” replied Rial. “They must have found them here or hereabouts.”

“Well, we searched this ship top to bottom when we first came here,” said Eselwol. “You know that, Rial.”

“I do. But it can’t be a coincidence. They find this place, and at the same time they find a cache of weapons like that? The two must be related.”

“Well, not here. We searched the ship again after we got back. Everything’s gone, except some of the kid’s stuff, and we certainly didn’t have a box of rifles stashed anywhere. If only we had…”

Eselwol finished speaking and climbed to his feet with a tired sigh.

"I suppose we should take one more look. I'll be blistered if I know what we could have missed. Get Mead to have a scan too, would you?"

Rial swung the pack that held Mead onto the table in front and opened it.

"Mead, you've been listening. Do you detect anything unusual about the ship? Anything different?" he asked.

"The structure of the ship is as it was when we departed," replied Mead. "However, we should remember that those weapons were stealthed and I am unable to detect them. A visual search is recommended."

Shaleigh and Eselwol both murmured in surprise at this new information, and Rial explained briefly all that had happened since he last left for the city. With the two of them caught up on events they left, Shaleigh remaining behind to watch the children. Eselwol demanded more news about Trian as they walked, so Tala was left to take in this alien environment as they wandered along.

The metalwork was incredible. It appeared to be made of the same material as Mead, dull and slick and without a single sign of welding. She could see no bolts to hold it all together, and Tala found herself imagining the ship as one solid piece, one single entity not made but born.

Exacerbating this idea were the strips of light high atop the walls. They had become brighter as they descended further into the ship, emitting a warm yellow light that only the most perfect of days outside could come close to matching. It warmed the skin with a strangely comforting feeling Tala had not felt before, and made the ship seem... natural. She could almost hear it breathing.

She shook her head to clear it of such ridiculous thoughts. Clearly this thing was artificial, yet so advanced that the mind bestowed upon it qualities that were not there.

They moved through room after room, each one barer than the last. The closest one to where the children played showed some traces of life even after being raided, but the further they walked the less and less there was. Rial had told her there had been twelve others living here, but their presence had hardly made a dent in the dust of a thousand suns. The footsteps of others, of the men who had come and taken anything they could find, were visible everywhere.

Their journey ended at the engine room.

It was exactly how Rial had described, but only seeing it could do it justice. There must have been more than a hundred of the tall slabs stood in rows under the low ceiling, each blacker than night, blacker than anything Tala had ever seen. Somehow they gave the impression of immense weight, a feeling that were one to topple over the ground itself would tremble. They sucked in the light, creating a void that hurt the eyes. Tala stepped forward unthinkingly, reaching out a hand to...

"Don't," came Rial's command. "Keep away from them."

Tala halted in her tracks and turned to look at him.

"Mead says they are still dangerous."

"After all this time?" she asked, looking back to the engines.

Many had toppled but not fallen completely, leaning against each other and making low tunnels, a maze between and through the engines. She wondered what it would be like to crawl through there.

The weapon spoke up from where it hung in Rial's hand.

"Unmaintained supermass can be a major source of free neutrons, irradiating the area around them. The timescale for such dispersion is unpredictable and chaotic."

"It's what all these signs mean," added Rial, gesturing to a series of large grooves carved into the walls that Tala hadn't realised were language.

"Well, we found nothing," said Eselwol, throwing his hands out in defeat. "I don't know what we were hoping to find, but at least now we know for sure. The guns came from somewhere else."

He was already turning to return the way they came when Tala raised a hand and pointed into the engines.

"What's behind them?" she asked.

"Behind them? Nothing. Didn't you hear Mead?" said Eselwol, turning back.

"Mead, what's behind these engines?" she asked.

"Nothing," replied the machine.

Tala tapped her cheek and let out a thoughtful hum.

"What? What is it?" said Rial, following her gaze.

"Eselwol, Rial, how long would you say this ship is?" she asked.

"How long? 3 kilometres or so, from the hole to here," answered Eselwol.

Rial nodded in agreement, as did Tala to herself.

"That's what I'd say too, as we walked it. But... outside. What do you think?"

"Outside? What are you talking about?" said Eselwol.

Tala could see in Rial's widening eyes that he at least had figured it out.

"No..." he exhaled, taking an involuntary step towards the engines.

"You missed it for this long," said Tala, shaking her head with a smile. It wasn't funny, not really, but she struggled not to laugh.

"Mead, how long is this ship?" asked Rial, staring far into the blackness of the engines.

"From bow to aft, 2,977 metres," came the answer.

"And the hill this ship is buried under? How long does the obsidian cover extend?" Rial continued.

"The hill is approximately 3,337 metres in length on its longest axis."

Rial swore.

"What? What is it?" asked Eselwol.

"Mead," said Tala, taking the lead from an abject Rial. "What is behind these engines?"

"Nothing," came the reply.

"Mead, your own measurements show this ship is not as long as the space above it. What is between the back of this ship and the end of the hill?" Tala asked. She wanted to be sure.

"Nothing."

"And by nothing, what do you mean? Do you mean rock, or air, or...?"

"Nothing."

Tala looked from Rial to Eselwol, who seemed to be finally understanding.

"This... This is like the dead, isn't it?" said Eselwol. "Mead can't see them, it can't even understand they exist, and now..."

"The guns were hidden from its sensors. The whole store was hidden. Behind these engines," said Rial.

"But why would anyone go in there?" said Eselwol. "Mead... The signs... Oh."

Realisation dawned on his face.

"They can't read the signs, can they? Of course. They must have known how far this ship extended on the outside, and known more lay beyond."

"Why didn't it hurt them, Mead?" asked Rial. "You said it was dangerous."

"It is. They are almost certainly carrying radioactive materials such as the coilgun currently in your companion's possession."

Tala threw her gun to the floor where it clattered into the opposite wall.

"You knew? You knew?" she snarled, whirling on Mead in anger. "You knew that thing was dangerous and you didn't say?"

"I was not asked," said the unfazed tones of the machine. "The weapon in your possession is emitting only low-level alpha and beta particles that do not threaten my owner."

"You khaf-skin," she swore, wiping at her arms as if to brush off the unseen poison.

"Mead, from now on I want you to report any threats to Tala, alright? Along with Eselwol, Shaleigh, and the others on this ship," said Rial, glancing apologetically at the furious Tala. "Should we be concerned for Tala's health?"

"Unlikely. Such low-level radiation should only have an effect after prolonged exposure, months at the minimum. However, those who entered the engine fields are in more immediate danger."

They stood in silence for a moment, staring at the weapon that lay, silent and dull, in Rial's hands.

"Why were those weapons hidden from you, Mead?" asked Rial, breaking the silence.

"Unknown."

Something was scratching at the back of Tala's mind, under the rage and exhaustion. Something she had missed. They had missed.

"Mead," she asked, interrupting Eselwol and Rial's vague ideas and mumbled suggestions. "This 'stealth' effect; how does it work?"

"Unknown. The method of shielding an object through non-Euclidian high-dimension topology is theoretically possible, but the process is a mystery to this unit. Besides, there are more efficient alternatives."

"Say that again in terms we can understand," said Rial hurriedly, catching the flash of rage in Tala's eyes.

"It would be simpler to blow up whatever it was you were hiding from," said Mead. "I do not know how to conceal my presence."

Damn, thought Tala.

"Mead, even if these things are stealthed you can detect any radiation they emit, right? Scan the area around the ship. Now," she ordered.

The tingling sensation of Mead's active scan passed through her body.

Silence.

"Mead?" said Rial.

"It appears we are surrounded."

Was it just her, or did the machine sound embarrassed?

Rial and Eselwol were already sprinting for the entrance.