Caledonia nodded. “Just keep us going until we can’t.”

The ship rocked slowly back and forth like a bell, far too heavy on the bottom, far too low in the water. But they were out and they were alive, and that was a small piece of victory.

“No signs of pursuit,” Amina reported.

“Nice sailing, Captain!” Nettle cried.

It sparked an even larger outcry of relief and approval from the rest of the crew, still mostly gathered on deck. Right now, it didn’t matter that they were taking on water or that they were still mostly strangers. It only mattered that they’d worked together and survived.

“We might be afloat right now, but we won’t stay that way if we don’t start patching those holes!” Caledonia cried, bringing the crew back to the problem at hand.

“Divers! I want you port side!” Tin was shouting.

“Shiptechs, follow me!” Pine added, heading belowdecks.

Oran stepped out of the bridge and slid down the ladder to follow. The second he was out of sight, Caledonia felt a twist of tension in her gut.

“That was a bright piece of sailing, Captain,” Pisces said, coming to stand at her shoulder.

The compliment tugged her thoughts away from Oran, straight into the hopeful pool of Pisces’s affection. “Shouldn’t have had to do it to begin with.”

“Maybe not, but you got us out of it. All of us. Like you al-ways do.”

She was speaking to Caledonia, but there was another layer to her words. They carried small knives, all pointing inward.

“I should’ve seen that crusher coming,” Caledonia admitted with as much ownership of her mistakes as possible. “But I didn’t. And now we have new problems.”

Pisces nodded, clearly unsatisfied. Whatever it was she came to say, she hadn’t said it.

“Pi.” Caledonia reached across the space between them to place her hand on Pisces crossed arms. It lasted for a second, then Pisces pulled away.

“We’d better get down there.”

Caledonia nodded, holding her breath tight in her chest. Yesterday, she’d been sure that her relationship with Pisces was breached beyond repair. Today? They may have taken a direct hit, but they were still afloat.

Chapter Thirty-four

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Everything inside the ship was wrong. The air smelled heavy and dank, sounds were uncharacteristically muted, even the bulkheads seemed to bend in ways they shouldn’t.

Pine flew ahead of Caledonia, trusting her to follow. She stayed on his heels as they barreled through the corridors, past crew members flattened against the walls to let them pass.

“The hold and forequarter of level three are sealed, but there’s a second breach in the desal room!” Pine called over his shoulder. “The pumps can’t keep up!”

Caledonia kept her eyes ahead, but there were signs of distress everywhere, and it was hard not to take stock as they passed.