“I know. That’s why I need to speak with you.” She braced herself for resistance. “There’s an opportunity here that you should consider.”

His sigh was sharp as a knife. “Caledonia.”

“You can’t stay here. Not anymore. Going into the hills only buys you time, not peace. And there’s a ship in that bay waiting to fill its gut with children.”

Sledge held his arms crossed over his chest and his feet planted wide. It made him even more mountainous than usual, and Caledonia made sure she stood so that she could look him in the eye without craning her head.

“I can take the ship,” Caledonia stated, confident and sure. “With your help, we can take that ship and sail right out of here.”

“To where?”

She smiled. “You don’t want to know how or why I’m so sure I can take the ship?”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you, it’s that you can pull off the impossible. A few weeks ago, I’d have said taking any Bullet ship was impossible. But then I met you, so I ask again, sail to where?”

His response was so unexpected that for a second, she had no answer. “The Net,” she said, an image of the Mors Navis appearing in her mind. “We sail to the Net, and we punch it.”

A frown appeared on his face, carving deep lines of displeasure upon his brow. “The Net,” he repeated in disbelief.

Caledonia nodded once.

“That’s the terrain of Fiveson Tassos,” he stated as though he expected her to understand.

“And knowing your opponent is the first step in besting them, or, in this case, avoiding them.”

“Ignoring for a moment the sheer absurdity of thinking we can get through his ships intact,” he said after a long pause, “the Net is on the opposite side of the Bullet Seas. There are plenty of opportunities to die between here and there.”

“I know. But if you stay here, you’ll be looking over your shoulders until the day those colonists decide they have more to gain from turning you in than letting you live. The way things are going, that will be tomorrow. At least if you aim for the Net, there’s something to fight for.”

“The Net,” Sledge said again, his disbelief carrying him into silence.

Caledonia needed him to make this choice on his own. If he didn’t, there was no way she’d sway the rest of the Blades to join her.

“You came here looking for your brother. Isn’t that what you told the colonists?” Pine took them both by surprise. He stood a few feet away, guarding and listening. And, now, talking. “Did you find him?”

“No,” she answered sharply, confused by the change in topic.