Twenty-Four

Ekur-Tkalal, a Carryx librarian, returns from transit to receive orders to oversee interrogation of captured fivefold prisoners. Simultaneously, the swarm inhabiting Else Yannin's body tracks down a distress signal from a captured pilot, makes contact to learn about the Carryx's losses at Ayayeh, and narrowly escapes detection before returning to quarters. Ekur-Tkalal begins interrogating a captive who claims the fivefold are designed life-forms created by beings called the Aunjeli, then investigates a mysterious signal transmission from within the prison complex.

Ekur-Tkalal of cohort Tkalal enters Carryx-controlled space after weeks of isolation in transit. Upon arrival, it receives orders from the regulator-librarian to oversee interrogation of the fivefold prisoners captured from Anjiin, a task that demotes its status and initiates physiological changes as it assumes a lower role in the Carryx hierarchy. Meanwhile, the swarm controlling Else Yannin's body walks the prison corridors with Synnia, observing the dozens of alien species held captive and noting that some prisoner has created art in one hallway. The swarm detects a faint distress signal—a communication in frequencies it instinctively recognizes—and seizes an opportunity to follow it alone through the prison's upper levels. Despite narrowly avoiding detection by a Sinen and a Carryx, the swarm makes contact with the signal's source: a captured pilot who shares encrypted information about the battle at Ayayeh, including that the Carryx suffered significant casualties and losses. The swarm absorbs this intelligence but cuts off contact when it realizes they've been noticed, retracing its steps back to lower levels before returning to quarters. Ekur-Tkalal begins formal interrogation of one of twenty surviving captives in an ultraviolet chamber, using a translation half-mind to communicate. The captive reveals the fivefold are not evolved but designed life-forms created as tools of war, built by beings called the Aunjeli whose bodies are made of semi-stable plasma dwelling in star coronas. When Ekur-Tkalal increases the UV light in response to what it deems deception, the captive becomes defiant, refusing further cooperation. Later, Ekur-Tkalal learns from the white-eyed Sinen that an unexplained signal transmission was detected from within the complex—a report on Ayayeh events that the Carryx did not authorize, prompting the librarian to plan further interrogation to determine its source.