“I can’t wait for you to join us,” I said. I tried to sound eager, but in truth I wanted Adam to take command so the burden of every decision was no longer on my shoulders. He wore the mantle of leadership so easily, and I so poorly.

“Do your duty, Zahra,” he said. “You cannot fail me now.”

“I won’t.”

“Our fate is in your hands,” he said.

I strained to hear reassurance in his voice, to hear any hint of warmth, to let myself be bolstered by Adam’s belief in me. But his tone was cold. There was no comfort to be had, only warning.

•   •   •

Orvar said, “He’s left the bridge. He’s spending a lot of time soothing the family.”

I blinked rapidly and struggled to control my breathing. “Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“Only cramped quarters, stale food, and bad tempers.” There was an unconvincing lightness in Orvar’s words. “We’ve endured worse. Knowing that you’ve made it to House of Wisdom will lift everybody’s spirits. But it will help even more when we get word you’ve got the ship under your control.”

“We’ll work as fast as we can,” Malachi said. “Keep an eye on what Orbital Control is doing, okay? Until we get the system fully functional, I’m not comfortable with sending or receiving any open transmissions.”

“Understood,” Orvar said. “Best of luck.”

Malachi tapped the comm screen to break contact, then looked up at me. “I didn’t want to worry them, but I honestly have no idea how long it will take me to get the skeleton key into the computer system, and even less of an idea how long it will take to clear even one level of the virus.”

I touched his shoulder. That was not what I wanted to hear, but Malachi needed to focus. “Do what you can. Homestead is safe for now.”

“Okay. Right. I can start with lifting the medical quarantine, so we can get around the ship faster.”

“Do that.” I nodded quickly. I should have thought of that. I would have thought of that, if I did not have Adam’s words still ringing in my ears. The survival of the family rested on my shoulders. I had accepted that burden when I accepted this mission. But my body ached, and with every passing minute I could feel the SPEC shadow ship drawing closer. Did they have missiles? Was there more than one ship? Did they care who they harmed in their desire to stop us? Adam believed Councilor Bhattacharya could stay their hand to save her nephew, but I was not so sure.