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I have to remind myself to breathe. I can’t decide whether I’m relieved or horrified. Did Gem just …? No, those couldn’t have been lethal rounds. I glance behind me, but the lagoongrotto is still empty. If Gem’s gunfire didn’t alert every hostile in the base, I’m pretty sure my pounding heartbeat will.

Gem crouches lower. He moves to his left, keeping his eyes on the far exit. No one else appears from the room. He creeps forward. When he reaches the opposite end, he sweeps the area with his gun sights, then kicks the fallen guards to make sure they’re no threat.

‘Clear,’ he calls to me, his voice low.

I limp down the hall, my side on fire. Blood is already soaking through the bandages. When I join Gem, I look down at the guards, both of whom have nasty red welts in the middle of their foreheads. I take the name of a certain Nazarene carpenter in vain.

‘Please don’t blaspheme,’ Gem says automatically. ‘I used rubber ammo. They might have nasty headaches when they wake up, but they won’t die.’

‘How are you not in shock?’ I ask.

‘I’ve been in shock for days,’ he whispers, then points to the next corridor. ‘Aren’t the security monitors in the room just ahead?’

Without further challenges, we reach the monitors in question. Why the surveillance room is not guarded, I don’t know, but I suspect it’s because Gem just shot the guards in the head. Gem stands watch at the door while I cycle through views from the various cameras.

The base is mostly empty …veryempty. The armoury has been stripped. Luca’s gold-level boxes and alt-tech experiments have disappeared from his workshop. In the server room, Ophelia’s computers are either gone or disassembled, their hard drives probably pulled. And in the sickbay …

An ice cube lodges in my throat. The patient’s bed is empty.

‘Where’s Hewett?’ I wonder.

Gem starts. ‘What?’

‘Hold on …’ I toggle through more cameras, my fingers trembling. If I was wrong about the hostages, if they and Dr Hewett were on board theAronnax… I switch to the view of the front dock, and my shoulders relax just a little.

‘There he is,’ I tell Gem. ‘Two hostiles are bringing his stretcher aboard theVaruna.’

Gem frowns. ‘Why would they –?’

‘Insurance,’ I guess. ‘They’ve stripped all the information and tech they can from the base. With theAronnaxgone, theVarunais their only way out.’

Gem’s expression hardens. ‘And with Hewett on board they figure we’re less likely to attack the ship. What about the other hostages?’

‘Not sure …’ I toggle through more live feeds. ‘Oh.’ The ice cube slides further down my oesophagus. ‘Dining room. The good news is they’re still alive …’

Gem risks a look at the screen.

The bad news is our friends are being held at gunpoint. In the middle of the dining room, Luca, Ophelia, Franklin and Tia are on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs. Two hostiles stand behind them with Leyden guns trained on their heads. Two more hostiles, also armed with zappy mini harpoons, pace the room restlessly, like they’re waiting for orders …

‘Human shields,’ Gem mutters. ‘They take Hewett on the ship, leave the rest of our people here under guard. More insurance to let theVarunaget away safely. We have to take the dining hall, then reach the boat before it casts off.’

‘But if we go charging in there –’

Above our heads, the ceiling vent rattles. I almost leap out of my squid boots. Gem trains his guns on the levered slates. The head of a small metal insect pokes out, its glittery eyes like Fabergé eggs.

I laugh with relief. ‘Pilot Bug?’

I can’t be sure if it’s the same drone who guided our ship into the lagoon days ago, but it spits a festive electrical spark as if it’s happy to see us. Then it buzzes out of its hiding place, followed by half a dozen of its shiny emerald insect friends.

‘Oh, you beautiful bots!’ I run a finger down Pilot Bug’s back, making its wings flutter. ‘I’m so glad you guys are safe.’

The bugs snap their mandibles and spit sparks, letting me know how they feel about LI taking over their base.

Gem shakes his head in amazement. ‘They must’ve been hiding in the ducts this whole time.’

The ductwork.

An idea starts to tingle at the base of my brain. I look at the bugs, then the monitor, then the AC vent. ‘Gem, do you have any non-lethal grenades?’