Callie strapped a belt around Elena’s waist, which gave her flashes to other experiences involving Elena and straps, though now was not the time for such memories, pleasant as they were. “These are flashbangs. Pull the pin, toss the canister, and after a few seconds they make a lot of noise and light and smoke and can be useful to cover an escape or disorient a target. Use them when I tell you, or when I’m not around to tell you, and you need something big and loud and bright to happen.”

She looked around, surveying her troops. “Ashok goes first, then me, then Elena, and Shall will bring up the rear. Watch her back, OK?”

“Of course, Callie,” the drone said.

“Are your sensors telling us anything more now that we’re inside?” Callie said.

“I’m not picking up any suit transponders,” Shall said.

“If the station is under security protocols, each section may be isolated,” Lantern said. “In times of rebellion, the Axiom could cut us off from one another. We couldn’t coordinate with communication disabled.”

“You’re the local expert, Lantern. How do we find the rest of Elena’s crew?”

The Liar was quiet for a moment. “You said two of them were taken by a bio-drone?”

“That’s what she calls the big bug mini-kaiju,” Ashok said.

Elena nodded. “Yes, Hans and Ibn were… eaten.”

“Not eaten,” Lantern said. “The bio-drones don’t feed that way. They do cleanup, and security, and mass transport. If any of my people died while working here, for instance, they would be scooped up by a bio-drone and sent to the rendering plant. If my people were… disobedient, they would be taken elsewhere, for reconditioning.”

“I’d guess opening fire on the local bus would count as disobedience,” Callie said. “Wherever reconditioning happens, that’s a good place to start looking for them.”

“What about the others?” Elena said. “Sebastien and Uzoma? The ones with the…” She gestured at her head. “The implants?”

“They could be anywhere, if the station considers them functional now,” Lantern said. “Since this station is not active, they may simply be waiting dormant somewhere, in the servitor barracks.”

“Do you know where those places are?” Callie said. “The barracks, or the reconditioning area?”

“If I can access the station system, I can try to find a map,” Lantern said.

Callie gestured to the panel by the door. “Go to it.”

“That’s just a console for opening doors and guiding in ships. We’ll need to go higher to find an overseer station.” Lantern gestured toward the endless lightless space above. “It is probably quite far. Shall should take me up, since he can climb easily even in this gravity. We will notify you when we find a system access point.”

Callie gritted her teeth. “If you try to betray us, Liar…”