“Kassav, I’ve gotten word from my Republic sources that the flight recorder was damaged when the Legacy Run blew up. They got some data from it, but not the full set, not enough to find us. It’s being sent to a special facility to extract the rest. You can intercept the transport and destroy it.

“Lourna Dee, go to Elphrona and help your crew there finish that kidnapping job. We might need funds, and since that operation’s already in progress, we might as well bring in some credits, show the crews we’re still taking their needs into account. This is a time for unity. We have to come together.

“I’ll give you both the Paths you need to get it done.”

Lourna Dee nodded. Then, after a moment, so did Kassav.

“Do you…need me to do anything?” Pan Eyta said.

That was unusual. A Tempest Runner asking the Eye for orders was just…not the way it was done. The dynamic had shifted. They could all feel it. The moment for them to leave had come and gone. They had acknowledged that if they were going to stay with the Nihil and reap all its benefits, then they needed the Eye to save them from themselves.

“No, Pan,” Marchion said. “You’re fine for now.”

“Should we vote?” Lourna Dee asked.

“Absolutely,” Marchion Ro said.

They did. It was unanimous.

“Go,” Marchion said. “We don’t have a lot of time. Save the Nihil.”

The Tempest Runners left, heading for the air lock.

Marchion let them get a few steps away, then spoke.

“Kassav,” he said.

The man turned back.

Marchion pointed.

“Don’t forget your hand.”

Chapter Thirty-five

Bell couldn’t believe what he was seeing—a hatch along the hull of the Nihil ship had opened…and a small figure had been tossed out. Just…thrown, like nothing.

He gasped. Loden, ahead of him in the pilot’s seat, put the Vector into a steep dive.

“Padawan,” his master said. “You will save the child. I will continue on and save the others. Do not fear. I am so proud to have been your teacher.

“I believe in you.”

The Vector’s cockpit levered open, the wind rushing past, so loud that speech was impossible.

But what more was there to say?

Bell unclipped his safety harness and leapt out.

Immediately gravity took him, and he fell into a spin. That didn’t matter. They were kilometers above the surface of Elphrona, which meant he had some time, but not much. If he was going to save the little girl—and he was sure it was the little girl, a child, tossed away by the Nihil like garbage—he needed to focus.