“You’re running out of your drug. Lir is, too. Two weeks ago, I destroyed a massive crop of baleflowers—from what was one Fiveson Decker’s AgriFleet. The Bullets in that fleet were already on reduced rations and I’m willing to bet the AgriFleet doesn’t have many barges of that size left. If any. That means one of you is going to break very soon.” She looked into the eastern horizon, toward the Holster. “If Lir has more than you, all he has to do is wait you out and attack when your fleet is in withdrawal. Do you think that’s a fight you can win? Maybe I should do the same. Wait and see which of you emerges as an actual threat. Which of you shrivels into something too weak to hold a gun.”

The ensuing silence stretched thin. Tassos studied her intently, searching for the lie that was not there.

“Can you say for certain it will be you?” Caledonia allowed herself a second to appreciate the way the muscles flashed in the Fiveson’s jaw. “I can tell you why it won’t be. You might be secure for the moment, but the only thing you really control is the factory on the other side of the Net. You have neither the existing blossoms nor the seeds to grow them, and you’ll need both very soon. Maybe you already do.”

When Tassos didn’t immediately refute her claims, she continued, emboldened.

“Lir has blossoms and seeds. All he needs to do is figure out how to produce those pills you rely on and he’ll have you. Your Bullets will figure that out sooner than you think.” She paused, noting the new flush in his cheeks. “Or, we can work together, and both get what we want.”

“How?” Suspicion clouded his voice. Suspicion and just a sliver of desperation.

Now Caledonia let a humorless smile bend her lips. “We combine our fleets and take the Holster. We win and whatever seeds and bale barges we find are yours.”

“And what do you get?” he asked.

“I keep the Holster,” she answered. “And Lir is mine.”

Tassos’s gaze grew distant as he considered the strategy, playing it through to ensure he could get what he wanted from the deal.

“Why do I need you to take the Holster?” he asked at last. “You and your . . . nineteen ships, is it? Not much of a fleet.”

“You need me because all you’ve ever done is protect that Net.” Caledonia had been prepared for this argument. Here, she was on solid footing. “You may be good with defense, but if you want to hit Lir where he lives, then you need an offensive strategy. And you won’t find better than me.”