“A million credits,” Reed finished. His eyes shining, he took a step forward. “At least. With an acceleration that leaves the competition in the dust.”

“Would you like to get in? Or did you want to stand there admiring it?” Mia brushed past us, and we all put on a burst of speed. We weren’t out of the woods yet.

“How do you know they won’t just shoot you out of the sky?” Cage demanded as we scrambled onto the ship. We found ourselves in a barren cargo hold, kind of a letdown compared to the Titan’s flashy exterior. Reed, who did not appear to share my disappointment, hovered over the control board like a kid examining his Christmas gifts.

The pirate thumbed the controls, and the doors slid shut. “My ID signal is messed up and I can’t seem to fix it,” he sighed heavily. A chair appeared from nowhere, emerging from the cargo hold floor, and he sank into it, hauling the safety straps over his chest. Reed drew nearer, peering over his shoulder in what he probably imagined was an inconspicuous manner. “Sometimes it projects that I’m Omnistellar security. No one wants to shoot until they have the details. Risks an interstellar incident, you know? By the way, you might want to hold on to something.”

Cage grabbed an overhead rack with one hand and Rune with the other, and I braced myself between him and a stack of crates. We were just in time. Reed hadn’t been kidding about this thing’s acceleration. I wasn’t sure Mars Mining would have time to demand identification, even if they hadn’t been busy dealing with the inferno Alexei had left in their docking yard. The ship’s ID must have already been keyed to pass through the dome, because it didn’t incinerate us. In fact, we blasted out of there so fast the gravity pinned me to the wall and Cage to me, sending the air whooshing from my lungs.

Mia shouted a few inventive curse words from across the room, where she, Alexei, and Jasper clutched at Imani, who hadn’t grabbed anything in time. Reed had made no attempt to brace himself, apparently too fascinated by the controls. He was paying for it, lying on the floor clutching his head, but I didn’t feel too sorry for him and his newly discovered healing abilities.

The ship’s acceleration became almost painful, yanking my skin taut against my bones. The muscles in Cage’s arm tensed as he pulled away from me, but it was like trying to fly. You can’t fight gravity after a certain point. The pressure on my lungs increased, both from the g-force and from Cage’s weight. Right when I thought I would pass out from the lack of oxygen, it released with a recoil that sent all of us spiraling into the cargo bay. Our momentum carried us upward. We were weightless.

“Whoops,” said the pirate cheerfully. “Restoring artificial gravity in three . . . two . . . one . . .”