She drew in a ragged breath, hands clawing desperately at the surrounding water. She had never been taught to swim because what need, after all, would a Speaker-Elect have for such skills?

Just when she was absolutely sure she was about to die, she felt a hand take hold of her wrist. Then more hands seized hold, lifting her up and pulling her on board the boat she had seen from the railing. By some miracle, her breather mask had remained in place.

Strong arms carried her through a hatchway and into a cabin smelling of mould and paint. Once the man carrying her set her back down, she felt the deck beneath her feet begin to throb. After a moment there was a slight lurch, and the boat began to move, picking up speed and rocking from side to side hard enough that Gabrielle was forced to shift her feet in order to keep her balance.

She looked around to see she was sharing this cabin with four men, all wearing worn-looking combat suits and breather masks, including the one who had fetched her inside. She realized with a shock that they were all Freeholders and therefore enemies of the Demarchy of Uchida.

Karl was the last to enter through the hatch, water pouring from his soaking garments. He must have jumped into the water right after her. The cabin was not particularly small, but with all six of them it felt crowded.

One of the four Freeholders stepped over behind Karl, snapped the hatch shut and then touched a panel set into a bulkhead. The air throbbed with the sound of pumps, as Redstones inhospitable atmosphere was swiftly replaced with breathable air. Another of the men threw a heavy towel towards Gabrielle and gestured brusquely to a door leading further inside the boat.

Theres dry clothes in there, he said, pulling off his breather mask. His accent sounded barbaric to her ears.

She nodded numbly and stepped towards the door, too frightened to do anything but obey.

The door slid open on hidden rollers, revealing a toilet and sink beneath a ceiling so low that she had to duck down. She pulled off her freezing wet clothes and dried herself as best she could, but the cold had already penetrated deep inside her body.

Finding the dry clothes, she quickly pulled them on. The overalls were clearly a mans, and therefore much too big, but at least they were dry and, she discovered with relish, had heating elements woven into the fabric.

She touched an orange patch on one shoulder, and after a few seconds blessed heat caressed her skin. Even so, she knew it would take some time for the heat to truly permeate. She next dragged on a pair of heavy boots that were at least a couple of sizes too large, but she compensated for this by tying them tightly around her ankles.