Right about then, something lit up in Dr. Rat’s monocle, folded partway up but still in view. He slipped it back in place and then went very still, holding up a little manicured hand for quiet.

“Fortuitous times are upon us,” the calm voice of the translator informed her. “We have witnessed the much-awaited transpiration of our allies.”

Kay’s heart leapt. “They’re here, now?”

“All measurements suggest so,” agreed Dr. Rat. “There is now required a time of risk and preparation. Remain here and endeavour to be prepared for all eventualities. I must gather necessary and valuable things.”

She imagined Dr. Rat with a suitcase of diamonds and jewellery, lengths of gold chain caught in the hinges and dragging behind him. She admitted to herself she had no idea what one of the rat-creatures would consider so valuable that it couldn’t be left behind.

“And then?” she asked.

“I shall retrieve the agents of our emancipation and bring you to them, or them to you, or a combination of both options,” Dr. Rat confirmed. “And there will be a multitude of leaving this midden behind.”

II

It was almost pitch-dark.

Lee had been braced for their headlong rushing momentum to stop without warning. But instead she was momentarily completely still, with all that inertia somehow perfectly taken care of. A moment later she sat down heavily, overcompensating for the jolting shift that hadn’t happened.

“Ow. What?” she demanded vaguely of the darkness. “Mal?”

Mal’s hand groped for hers and found the top of her head instead, giving her a proprietorial pat. “We’re in an aircraft, I think?” she said. “I feel engines.”

Once she’d given herself a moment to adjust, Lee agreed. Wherever they were, there was a constant rumbling thrum from somewhere, seeming to come from a fair distance. A big aircraft, then.

She stood, leaning on Mal, and stamped experimentally. The metal floor was concave and felt none too thick, with space beneath it. It was cold, too; draughty. The outside air getting in? “We’re at the bottom of it, maybe, in the belly. Cargo hold?”

“Could be.” Mal sounded slightly further off. There was a clatter as she ran into something. “Goddamn Nissa could have given us a torch.”

“They are completely mad, you realize,” Lee said mournfully. “I mean, sending us?”

“We’re here and they trust us.” Mal chuckled. “It’s a million-to-one long shot, and only these two desperate lesbians can save the world. Perfect action movie material.”

Trust us not to screw them over, maybe, Lee considered. Not necessarily trust us not to screw up. “What have you found?”