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“Think about it,” she tells me. “Those Toads knew we had a fortune in Orbs hidden in our cargo hold. This ship—The Instigator—has Orbs powering its weapons and Orb-Drive. Small shards of Orbs are even in each of the weapons those Aurelians carry—their Orb-Blades.”

“Yeah, so?”

She leans in closer.

“The Instigatoris just one, single ship in the blackness of space. A big, powerful, well-armed ship, sure—but we’re alone, and far away from the Aurelian Empire. For the right people, with the right backing, even a battleship like this could be a juicy target.”

I don’t want to believe it. I saw how many weaponsThe Instigatorhad. Hell, probably only a tenth were aimed at us, and it was enough to level a city. “You’re nuts.” I shake my head, not wanting her to be right. “You saw how many las-cannons this thing has! How many Reavers it sent out to that moon’s surface.”

“True.” She nods. “But think about it. That Toad captain might come back—with alotmore than just three assault ships next time.”

I bite my lip, nervous. My thoughts had been focused on the Aurelians so hard I forgot about the Toads.

But Toads wouldn’t dare. They like easy targets. They would rather ambush civilian merchant vessels than go against a true warship—especially an Aurelian one.

“You really think the Toads would come back? You know those cowards don’t like to pick fair fights—and, as I said, yousawhow many las-canons and missile batteries this ship has…”

“…but it wouldn’t be a fair fight,” she warns, leaning in. “This is howIwould do it...”

Tasha’s got a strategic brain. I sit back to watch her think as she traces lines in the floor. I try to form the shapes she sees, but I’m lost.

“First off, I’d wait until the Aurelians leave for the day to clear the Scorp nests on that moon. That removes almost all the active Reavers from the loading bay, and almost all the soldiers and crew.”

I nod, but I’m not too worried yet.The Instigatorwill still have a multitude of weapons batteries. There’s no way they aren’t manned.

“Next, I’d send a strike team to the mining camps on Tarrion thatThe Instigatoris here to protect. I’d raze them—obliteratethem.”

My eyes go wide. So many lives would be lost. Why? What would the Toads gain from mindless destruction?

“I raze the mining camps,” she continues, “and Aelon will beforcedto send the rest ofThe Instigator’sresources to Tarrion to protect them, leaving nothing but a skeleton crew on board to protect this ship. The Instigator is strong and well-defended—but without that protective fleet of small, manned Reavers, it would be reliant on las-cannons alone; and most of those have automated targeting systems.”

Automated targeting systems. This ship is so old the tech might be slower than the newer warships. I’m not sure, and I don’t want to bet my life on them.

The plan makes sense.

“Which are trash against smaller targets.” I nod in agreement, not wanting to think about swarms of Toad attack fighters dodging the ancient weapons systems ofThe Instigatorwhile the main defense force is distracted. “But you’re anexceptionalpilot—none of the Toads could fly like you.”

“If you’ve got enough assault ships, and if they’re fast enough, they wouldn’t need to.”

I can feel my face go pale. I’ve got more to worry about than Kit and Garrick’s triads fighting over me.

“You need to warn Captain Aelon,” I gasp. “They could be on their way hereright now.”

I look left and right.

Suddenly the walls of the cells look like the walls of a coffin.

5

Sawoot

There’s a hard rap at the door. I sit up, surprised they didn’t just barge in. We’re prisoners, after all.

They must have orders to give us time to get decent. Captain Aelon is an arrogant, impulsive bastard, but I can’t underestimate him. He’s smart, and he knows that a triad could easily succumb to the Mating Rage if they walked in on us changing. Then he’d have no choice but to execute them…

Or cross the line and go Rogue himself.

I’ve spent the last Gods knows how long trying to think of comforting words to say to Tasha to reassure her, but I’ve got nothing.