Eris reached in and pulled out what looked, at first glance, like a chunk of silverite, a gray-colored mineral they used back at Nova in refractory material at headquarters. Only this was prettier, more iridescent. A meteorite of some sort? Eris twisted it back and forth, letting it catch the light.

“What is that?”

“Not sure,” Eris murmured. “I was expecting something more exciting.”

Lips pressed together, she peered around the storage hull before taking her small tablet out of her pocket. The screen fuzzed and then flickered off. Eris hit the power button a few more times, but it stayed dark.

“I’d wondered why there were no camera drones in here,” she said. “Whatever this stuff is, it makes surveillance glitch. We’ll have to take a sample with us.” Eris wrapped the glove around the rock, delicately, and shoved the lid closed over the rest. She held out the swaddled object to Clo. “Put that in your pocket and let’s go.”

“That thing set off my cuff, and your plan is to take the highly dangerous, probably hazardous, unidentified rock with us? Really?”

“The Novantae need to know why it’s so important.”

Clo let out a long sigh and took the rock from Eris. “Fine.”

They slipped back into the hallway and hurried toward the docking bay and Asteria. Eris almost told Clo to break for it—and risk being heard—but they needed a smooth getaway. They needed—

The hum of the backup generator echoed through the halls, and the lights flickered on.

“Silt,” Clo said.

Eris grabbed her arm. “Run!”

They didn’t even make it a few steps before a girl’s voice boomed over the comm system: “Stop right there!”

They kept sprinting.

“I mean, you can waste the energy if you want, but I’ve just put your ship on lockdown, so.”

Clo and Eris stopped. Eris had her gun out of its holster. “Why does that sound like a child?”

“I’m not a child,” the voice said, affronted. “There’s a camera station a few steps from you. Walk to it.” When Clo and Eris hesitated, the girl added, “Your ship is trapped in the loading bay, so whatever you’re thinking is pointless. Now go to the cam and turn it on.”

Eris flicked the switch for the camera. It went over a few different views of the ship, then finally settled on the command center. At first, she could only see more Tholosian bodies, slumped in their seats or sprawled on the floor in pools of blood.