One hour later, they gathered again on the main deck. The Net loomed large against the sky, stretching into the east as far as the eye could see. Between each of the towering Assault Ships, smaller ships roamed like sentries. If the Net could be dismantled, there were enough ships here to make taking the Holster more than possible. Enough to do more than simply resist Lir.

As quickly as the thought occurred to her, another followed. Tassos may not have overstated the security of the Net, but he had undersold his need for Silt. There had to be hundreds of Bullets aboard these ships, each with a craving for the drug that they could not create themselves. The minute they ran out, things were going to get ugly.

“Captain.” The word landed at her feet like a stone. Pisces appeared at her side, face fixed in a scowl.

“What is it, Pi?” she asked.

For a second, it seemed Pisces had determined not to speak. Her mouth pinched into a thin line, and her eyes darted from Caledonia to the crew standing near enough to overhear if she weren’t careful. “Star blossoms!” Pisces hissed, stepping in close enough to keep her accusation between the two of them. “Cala, what are you thinking?!” Caledonia opened her mouth but before she could say anything, Pisces rushed on. “And why wouldn’t you discuss that with me?”

“I’m not proud of it. I didn’t want to discuss it with anyone.” Caledonia reached for her sister’s fingers.

“You discussed it with him!” Pisces snapped her hand back, gesturing to Oran, who stood a short distance away, his eyes on them as Hime tucked additional medtech into his bag. “Him and not me. And I know I’m the one who urged you to trust him, but not over me. Not instead of me.”

The hurt that trembled in the bend of Pisces’s mouth was worse than anything else. Caledonia hated that she was the cause, even if she couldn’t apologize for the reason.

“This isn’t about trust.”

“Isn’t it?” Pisces shook her head. “I know what kind of fight this is, Cala. I know there are hard decisions ahead of us.”

“There are some decisions you shouldn’t have to make, Pi,” Caledonia said, wishing instead she could just apologize.

“We can fight them as long as we don’t become them. That’s still true, isn’t it?” Pisces peered into Caledonia’s eyes, a demanding, haunting look in her own.

“It’s true,” Caledonia answered. For everyone but herself.

Pisces sighed, her skeptical gaze traveling to the deck of the Bullet ship waiting to receive them. “I hope so,” she said, shouldering her bag and stepping away to meet Nettle.

>><<