For . . . fun. Good gods, this girl. Eris didn’t know whether to be terrified of her or impressed. “Listen, your damned hobby isn’t guaranteed to get us a response, Ariadne. All requests go through Maximus.” As Zoe, Eris had previously interacted with Maximus, the royal weapons tester. “The man comes off as an idiot, but I can promise you, that’s just an act. We need something really convincing.”

Ariadne chewed her lip. “It’s convincing. It’s also risky, because hardly anyone will know about it. I mean”—she let out a high laugh—“Damocles might just kill you anyway. But. He really wanted this weapon. Like, really, really. Maybe even for this cargo.”

Before Eris could ask about the details, Kyla interrupted: “We’re fresh out of options, so just send the specs.” Over the line, Eris swore she heard Kyla mutter something that sounded like Fuck me, we’re fucked.

You don’t say, Eris thought.

Ariadne loading the specs onto the main screen. The images that came up—the details attached to each one—chilled Eris. They couldn’t hand this over to Damocles. If they did, they’d quash any progress the Novantae had made toward bringing down the Empire.

Clo’s jaw dropped. “My gods,” Clo said, voice soft with something like awe, then her face hardened in horror. “We can’t let them have something that could do this. Absolutely not.”

Ariadne nodded, her earlier excitement deflating. “I know. That’s why I never showed the finished specs to the Oracle and kept faking dead-ends. As far as One knows, I was still working on it.”

Eris settled in one of the chairs and ran a hand through her hair. “Something else, then,” she said. “Preferably something that won’t give the Empire the exact weapon it needs to beat every single one of its enemies into submission. Right, Kyla?” Kyla made a sound of agreement. Good. At least her commander was thinking clearly.

“Oh! Better news!” Ariadne said, brightening. “I think I can limit the number of times the weapon works before it breaks, and I’ll make sure the Empire can’t recreate it. Or I’ll do my best, anyway.”

Eris narrowed her eyes. “You think? You’ll do your best?”

The small girl crossed her arms. “Yes. I will do my best. If you have a better idea, let’s hear it.”

“Eris.” Kyla let out a breath that echoed through the bridge. “I don’t like this either. But Ariadne’s right. Unless anyone has something else?”

The silence lengthened. They all knew people might suffer as a result of what they were doing. But if they didn’t act, how many more would?

Kyla swore softly. “What’s the code word, Ariadne?”