Caledonia studied the battle reshaping itself before her. Lir’s fleet was spreading out, half pushing toward her, half continuing to engage Sledge. Her own fleet was spread thin, already struggling to manage a fight on two fronts. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and they weren’t going to be able to hold here for long. It just had to be long enough.

“I’ll go,” Pisces said. “I’m the best with the tow. I can do it.”

Sharks, Hime signed. The tow is too dangerous. Has to be a boat.

Caledonia’s lips felt numb. Her eyes landed on a dark spot just beyond the Net. The Silt Rig was the final piece of this long fight. None of this had ended with Aric and it wouldn’t end with Lir; it had to be the rig. And whoever went to destroy it was very likely not coming back.

In Caledonia’s mind, that left one option: her.

“Incoming!” Tin shouted an instant before the Luminous Wake bucked and lurched heavily to port.

The battle was coiling around her, Lir’s ships, Sledge’s ships, they were all pulling together into a dense cluster. If she didn’t get out soon, she never would. And to get out, she needed her fleet to protect her, to form up around her while she aimed for the tunnels. It would make them even more vulnerable than they were now; they were too few in number.

In order to win the war, she was going to have to lose the battle.

No sooner had she had the thought than another shout came from high on the lookout. “Tails! Tails! Tails!”

Following the line of the lookout’s hand, Caledonia’s heart stumbled before it squeezed.

There, along the northern horizon, dozens of ships roared toward them, pushing tall plumes of water into the sky. As they drew closer, she recognized them: there were colonists and Slaggers and rogue ships. Everyone who had ever sought to elude Aric and Lir was here now, joining the fight at her side.

The sight of them sent a spur of energy through the entire fleet. They roared, cheered, and dove back into the fray knowing that reinforcements were on their way.

This was exactly what they needed to turn the tide in their favor. And it was exactly what would allow Caledonia to leave it altogether.

“Pi,” she said, reaching for her sister. “Pi. It has to be me. I have to go to the rig.”

“No.” Pisces shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. We need you out here, commanding this fight. I can’t do that. I should go.”

“You can,” Caledonia said, settling into her decision more fully. “You’ve always been able to command, Pi. I’ve seen you do it. You just have to trust yourself.”

“But you—”

“Pi.”