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tops.’
    ‘Okay, well they’re probably looking for me, not the shuttle as such…’
    ‘Aneka…?’
    ‘Let’s just hope they want me alive,’ Aneka continued and then cut off the channel.
    ~~~
    ‘You’re insane!’ Adams exclaimed. ‘It’s over ninety out there. I realise you aren’t Jenlay, but even you can’t survive long in that. And there are lava streams all around us!’
    ‘I’ve got it covered,’ Aneka replied calmly as she checked over her rifle.
    ‘He’s right, you know?’ Grumand said. ‘A survival suit isn’t going to help if you fall into that stuff, and there’s no way you can get across it…’
    ‘Really,’ Aneka said, ‘I have it covered.’ As she spoke, something like glistening, black tar was spreading out from the collar of her leotard. ‘If I’m not back in an hour, you fly this thing up to the Hyde and you get the fuck out of here.’ The black fluid covered her mouth and started up her cheeks as she turned toward one of the airlocks. Speaking was now out of the question.
    Grumand turned to Monkey. ‘What in Vashma’s name is that?’
    Monkey shrugged. ‘New one on me. That’s Aneka, full of surprises.’
    ‘Are you sure we can clear the lava stream?’ Al asked as they waited for the airlock to seal and cycle.
    ‘Pretty sure.’
    ‘That is not entirely convincing.’
    ‘With the nanosuit enhancing my own muscles, we can jump a helluva distance. We’ve practised this…’
    ‘Yes, practice. This is a rather extreme way to test that your skills are up to spec.’
    The outer door opened and the suit’s sensors immediately registered the heat. Ninety-two Celsius, way above Aneka’s normal operating parameters, but well within the range the suit could handle. The oxygen level was another matter. She could breathe, but it was like operating in a thin atmosphere, and the hydrogen sulphide levels were lethal.
    ‘Can you think of another way to get them off our backs?’
    ‘As you well know, strategy and tactics are your department,’ Al commented, a little sourly.
    ‘Yeah… Well, here goes nothing…’ She started forward, picking up the pace as she accelerated into a dead run toward the narrowest section of lava she could see. Her own artificial muscles were enhanced by the overlay of living metal, and the combined force gave her a speed she could not hope to match normally. She spotted a rock jutting up near the edge of the stream, diverted her course slightly to aim for it, planted her foot, and took off.
    Inside the shuttle there was a communal gasp. And then Garlan said, ‘Vashma’s tits, she cleared it!’
    ‘I would be grateful, Mister Garlan,’ Indaia said, ‘if you would refrain from taking Vashma’s name in vain.’ Garlan glanced at her, his cheeks colouring. ‘However,’ the Torem went on, ‘I concur with the sentiment and I think you can be forgiven. Just this once.’
    Wisely, Garlan kept his mouth shut.
    ~~~
    Aneka recognised the stubby bulk of a Hachadim gunship even through the smoky atmosphere as it glided toward her. The throb of its main engines, active even though they could not have been using them, was almost drowned out by the rumble of nearby volcanic activity. She had stopped where she was because the lava flows ahead of her were too wide to jump, even with her suit, but it had not been long before the ship came into view.
    Lifting her rifle, she sighted through the scope and fired off three rounds in rapid succession. The aim was not to bring the craft down, that was asking too much of even a souped-up, hyper-velocity, Xinti-tech sniper rifle, but she was still quite amazed when it looked as though all three rounds had penetrated the hull. Apparently she had done some damage too since the vessel twisted sideways, bringing one of its side turrets around so that it could line up on any visible target, and then dropped toward the ground, rear hatch opening as it did so. Humanoid shapes were visible in the light within the ship; they