And as each question surfaced, her own fear answered it. Only a few survived the fight, and more died every day they were in custody. She imagined them injured, tortured, and drugged. She imagined Pisces crying out in pain, and then she imagined no more.

“You’ll make yourself sick,” a gentle voice said from her side.

Caledonia started, realizing suddenly that her tears had become real. She swiped impatiently at her face.

“I don’t want to offer you hollow comforts, but a crew like yours, who has defeated more than one of Aric’s ships, will be a prize.” Triple leaned against the railing, careful of the spikes surrounding them. “They weren’t taken to Slipmark to die quickly. They were taken there because that is where the Steelhand made his mark. It’s where people go to suffer. And that will take time.”

“This ship is too slow.” Caledonia dragged her wet palms down her stomach, letting the wind rip fresh tears from her eyes. “Who is the Steelhand?”

Triple’s shoulders rolled forward, and she seemed to grow smaller as she sank into memories Caledonia didn’t share. “A dark genius with a mind for torturing the body in simple and complex ways. He won’t be in Slipmark, but his designs will be.”

“What kind of designs?” Horror rose in Caledonia’s throat.

Triple stood quietly for a long moment. “Most of it was quiet. Punishments for individuals or small groups who stepped out of line or failed to execute the Father’s orders. But also wartech. The worst of it. Like that star blossom in our weapons locker. One bomb, one hundred deaths,” she added in a whisper.

When Caledonia didn’t press for more, Triple shook her head. “Don’t think of that part. Just remember that enduring is living, and Aric will want their suffering to be long and visible. To him, that’s power. To us, it’s hope.”

“How did you and the others manage to escape?” Caledonia asked. “How is it that so many of you kept your spirits unbroken through all of that?”

Triple nodded. “That was Sledge. He was Fiveson Venn’s right hand and oversaw our Silt rations. We didn’t even notice the first time he cut the dose. It was such a small reduction.”

The strategy unfurled before Caledonia like a great, beautiful sail. The person in control of handing out Silt could, of course, alter how much each person received. And if they were careful, they could wean an entire ship from the drug.

“The second time he cut it, I caught him in the act.” Her mouth twisted at the memory. “I nearly turned him in on the spot.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.” She squinted out over the water, clearly uncomfortable. “He convinced me to give him a week, and by then I was a different person. I started helping.”

“And Pine? Was he with Sledge from the start?”