That familiar electric sensation danced along her skin as energy radiated from the hull of the ship. This was a moment of trust. The mines that had attached to their hull should have fallen away, demagnetized by the full blast of that pulse. They should be drifting swiftly into their wake where they would explode the instant she hit the button.

Harwell had explained it. Had promised her that the mines would fall away and that if she hesitated too long, that same pulse would release the mines from whatever ships pursued her. There was no time for doubt. Only trust.

She hit the button.

The sea erupted in a long trail behind them. Each of the eight ships pitched as explosions bit into their hulls. The force sent one careening directly into the side of another, crushing both beyond repair. Two more slumped deep into the water with no hope of recovery. The remaining four pushed through, gunning for the Luminous Wake. Just at that moment, four ships roared out of the cove, charging the Bullet ships with a battery of fresh explosives.

Caledonia grinned, Nettle whooped, and even Oran looked more alive at the sight of the rogue ships coming to their aid. It had been the plan all along, but none of them had been foolish enough to pin their hopes on crews they’d never met. Yet here they were. Guns raised, engines throttled, fighting back at their side.

“Let’s use the diversion while we have it. Bring us around, Nettle,” Caledonia ordered.

“Prepare for a tight turn to port. Starboard prop on full, kill the port side on my mark.”

Nettle expertly led her navigation team through the turn, bringing the ship around without losing all of their momentum. By the time they were reoriented toward the battle, the volunteer ships had made quick work of the remaining four Bullet ships, spearing them with harpoons and dragging them onto their sides. One was capsized entirely, its fractured hull bobbing on the ocean’s surface.

Far in the distance, the fight raged on. The great tower of Aric’s ship loomed large, and the eighteen remaining ships of his fleet were regrouping. Her deepships had taken a bite out of Aric’s numbers, but it wasn’t enough. Not with that damn gun in play.

“Amina!”

“Captain.” The girl was at her side in a breath. “Once those mag bombs are in the water, they’ll seek out the nearest metallic surface before they ignite. With that much inertia behind them they’re deadly. But from what I’ve seen, the gun requires a lot of power. It’s fired only three times, which means it has a recharge period.”

Her heart beat furiously in her chest, haunted by the feeling that the tides were turning against them.

“Can you disable it?” she asked.

Amina turned thoughtful eyes on the faraway ship, then nodded. “I can. But I need to get close.”

“How close?”