For a few seconds Icebreaker had gone dead, all its displays inactive, its interior illumination shut off, the background noise of its life-support systems silenced. Even the Chibesa core had fallen to a sudden and ominous stillness. Nothing in Kanu’s prior experience of the ship had prepared him for this, not even the Watchkeeper’s attack. As the systems began to recover – emergency lights coming on in the bridge, fans restarting, a chorus of recorded voices informing him of various status indications – Nissa and the Tantors began to speak at once. ‘What has happened, Kanu?’ Dakota asked. ‘I don’t know.’ The elephant persisted. ‘Do you think it is connected to the Mandala event – the energy spilling out from Paladin?’ ‘Zanzibar must have streaked past pretty close,’ Nissa said. ‘Maybe we got buffeted by . . . something?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Kanu repeated. For once, he had no need of a mask, no need to lie.
