A five-pointed star, of burnished gold and black lacquer and decorated with a single blood-red gem; it is awarded for the highest display of personal valour. Less than a dozen have ever been awarded, and still a handful remain from the first forging. It is one of the highest honours that Esharia can bestow, and those who receive it are destined to have their names carved into the annals of history.

— From the official description of the Talas Medal.

The machine whirrs into life. It's less fine than it once was – it quakes under its labour, parts beginning to peel away from the whole – but it still holds, this time. The Commander and the Toymaker share a look, as they furiously fight to keep it keep it on the straight and narrow. They still haven't found the Fleet, and it is increasingly clear that their paths have now diverged, but there is still the hope that after this jump they will find each other again.

The humming reaches a climax, and the world around the pair winks into nothingness.

“She came down to us, carried by the black ark through the blue darkness. Her companion stayed away, I do not know if it were in fear or shyness, but she greeted us and showed us many things. Before her we were like worms, clinging to the dry earth, now we take to the sky and will never be the same again.”

— Heard from an inhabitant of the world that came to be designated P74.