“We need to seal the level!” Caledonia called, saving her panic for later.

Then, just as they were ready to release the hatch and flee to level two, Sledge’s head appeared around the lip of the doorway. Bright red blood spilled from a gash on his forehead. He rose from the water just ahead of Oran, and the instant they were both through the narrow opening, they turned and pushed. The door shut and Caledonia spun the wheel, locking every bar in place.

When she pulled her hands away, they trembled. She tucked them beneath the water and drew a deep breath before turning to face her four companions. Pine and Pisces stood to either side, breath coming in quick puffs. Sledge leaned against the wall opposite her, blood coating the left side of his face. Oran was hunched over. His shirt stuck to fresh blood all along his torso, and old orange scars were visible through the wet fabric.

She let her gaze fall solidly on Sledge and Oran. Anger trembled beneath every inch of her skin. They were alive and for that she was glad, but their actions had forced her to make a terrible choice. And she’d made it. She had killed them both, and it didn’t matter that they’d survived. She would always know that it was a choice she would and could make.

“If either of you disobeys an order like that again, I’ll put you in the hold and let you kill each other.” Even to her ears, her voice sounded heavy, ominous.

Sledge blinked in surprise, but Oran’s lips tightened with contrition.

“Do you understand?” she pressed.

“Yes, Captain,” they answered together.

“Good. Sledge, get to med bay,” Caledonia commanded.

“I’ll take him.” Oran reached out to steady the mountain as he swayed again.

Pine stepped in front of the two boys. “I’ll take him.” He reached for Sledge almost as if asking permission of the former Fiveson.

Oran nodded, somehow maintaining a sense of command as fresh blood darkened his shirt.

“You too,” Caledonia said to Oran.

His lips bent in a subtle frown. “Yes, Captain.”

When the boys had gone, Caledonia and Pisces leaned on opposite sides of the wall to catch their breath. They heard the moment the desal chamber filled completely; the rush of water was replaced by the whir of the water pumps as they struggled to lower the water level in every other chamber along level three.

The danger of sinking had passed, but an unstable hull was a bomb waiting to explode, and a ship with as much standing water as they’d just taken on was one storm away from the bottom of the ocean.

“If we hit rough water, this could capsize us, drag us down, maybe,” Caledonia said, feeling the heavy roll of her ship.