“I have never knowingly told a lie before,” Lantern said, and the trembles became spasms.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lantern got herself under control by the time they reached the station, deep in the Oort Cloud, that shell of icy planetesimals and comets that surrounded the entire solar system.

The station was definitely a Liar construction: radially symmetric, like a seven-armed starfish, with multiple rings intersecting the arms. “It usually spins,” Lantern said.

“The pirates did some damage.” Their ship eased past drifting, broken pirate ships as they approached. Callie glanced at Elena. “Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

Lantern bound their arms behind them in a way that looked convincing, but the zip ties had been sawn almost all the way through, and a hard jerk would make the tough plastic separate, freeing their arms. Elena had her rings, and Callie had her gauntlets. That should be enough, especially when Shall’s hulking war drone was added into the equation.

The docking procedure was simple. The Golden Spider didn’t have an AI, but it had expert systems that managed to communicate with the station just fine. They didn’t even have to match spin, since the station wasn’t spinning. Once they were connected, Lantern led the way through the airlock, followed by Callie and Elena, doing their best to look dispirited and captive.

They entered a tunnel rounded and oddly segmented in a way that made Callie think of a snake’s underbelly. The war drone barely fit inside the corridor, clumping along after them on magnetic legs.

“What is this machine?” Elder Mizori’s voice boomed in the corridor.

Lantern said, “A war drone I found on board the ship I commandeered. I activated it, and tasked it to pacify the prisoners. They were difficult for me to manage alone. Captain Machedo tried to bite me.”

“I did bite you, and I’ll bite you again, squid,” Callie said.

“The armament is welcome,” Mizori said. “We expended considerable resources fighting the invaders.”

“How did they find us?” Lantern said.

“We assume they were pirates who typically preyed on the people of the Trans-Neptunian Authority. They must have sent out patrols to look for new targets. Parasites in search of new hosts. They won’t come back again. We would have pursued the survivors, but our ranks are diminished, as you know. I plan to request new recruits from our sister cells. Bring the prisoners.”

Lantern continued swimming through the air down the corridor, past various branches, until they reached the right segment of the outer ring. A wide set of doors stood open, just large enough for the drone to enter.