Aymeric stood next to Erika and watched her fingers piece together the bomb that would kill her. He would occasionally give instructions, but Erika knew pretty much what to do on her own. She was clever. She was clever, but not clever enough to escape from Aymeric. Erika glared at Aymeric when he gave orders, but didn’t do anything else. That worked out for Aymeric; he could deal with some nasty looks.

  And God, does it feel good to come out of the shadows.

  Aymeric’s true employer was Frontier. His job aboard the Hell’s Ark was to gather data on the experiments ran by SmallWorld, then deliver that data back to his company, but if he had the chance to actually steal the aliens, Aymeric was supposed to take it.

  The engine explosion was the perfect opportunity. The ship wouldn’t reach Earth by SmallWorld’s deadline, so convincing people to abandon SmallWorld for Frontier was easy. Hell, Captain Ryder brought the idea up before Aymeric could, and most of the crew were on the verge of betraying SmallWorld. Then Naoki and Luther shot the idea down. Erika was a company loyalist too, and with those three around, those aliens would go to SmallWorld zoos. Something had to be done about them.

  Aymeric hoped to kill Luther and Erika in the Lamia enclosure and make the whole thing look like an accident, but Erika got away and Naoki figured out the sabotage. Taking out Naoki had been as easy as letting him walk into an isolated corner of the ship, but Erika proved more difficult. She continuously survived the Ark, and even when Ryder tried to kill her, Erika wriggled away.

  Everything was going to work out in the end, though. Aymeric would have a couple of aliens to present to Frontier, and the remaining crew was loyal to him.

  Erika looked up from the bomb to glare at Aymeric once more. It was as if she read Aymeric’s thoughts and didn’t like what she heard.

  “Almost through. We just need to make a few more connections,” Aymeric said.

  A sigh escaped Erika’s lips. She turned her attention back to the bomb.

  ? ? ?

  Theo and Mi-Cha squatted on the bridge and dug through the flight controls’ guts. The asteroid field loomed in the cockpit’s windows. There was enough time for the Ark to gain its controls back, but Theo felt the timer ticking away. There was enough time, but the margin for error was razor thin.

  Theo finished with a group of wires, then rose to his feet.

  “Mi-Cha, please check the controls,” he said.

  Mi-Cha popped up and slipped into the pilot’s chair. She grabbed the controls by instinct, then wiggled them. The Ark didn’t respond, but readings on the monitors shifted. Mi-Cha toyed with some more controls. As she checked the systems, a smile widened on her face.

  Something thumped.

  Theo turned around.

  There was nothing; the Ark was making its usual noises.

  “Hell fucking yes!” Mi-Cha shouted. “The system’s all un-fucked! Theo, once you get that reactor online, we’re gonna be back in the game!”

  Theo nodded. He brought up his IRIS to call Aymeric, but couldn’t bring himself to make the call.

  Getting to the reactor core meant going through the Aranea den. Going through the Aranea den meant using the anesthetic Erika developed, and before that, Theo would likely have to wait until the Lamia was dead before he could enter the room.

  “There is one final thing,” Theo said.

  “Of course there’s one final thing; there’s always a final thing,” Mi-Cha spat. “But who gives a fuck? We’re gonna be flying back to civilization soon!”

  “I’m talking about Erika,” Theo said.

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  Mi-Cha’s expression darkened.

  “Right. Erika. She has to explode the Lamia before you can do anything, I guess?” Mi-Cha said.

  “Aymeric is going to kill her,” Theo said.

  “Right,” Mi-Cha stated.

  “We should stop it.”

  Fire burned in Mi-Cha’s eyes, then flickered out.

  “Why don’t you challenge Aymeric after you fixed the ship?” Mi-Cha said. “Actually, you know what? Don’t challenge Aymeric. I don’t wanna be left alone with that piece of shit.”

  Theo’s brows almost furrowed, but he stopped himself from making a face.

  After Mi-Cha’s earlier outburst, Theo expected that she would want Aymeric stopped as much as anyone else.

  “It’s not right to leave Erika to die,” Theo said.

  “So what do you wanna do!?” Mi-Cha snapped. “You wanna fight the guy with the fucking gun? Be my guest! But I’m not fucking with that!”

  Theo didn’t know how to respond.

  Silence swallowed Mi-Cha’s shouts, and left the bridge empty.

  Mi-Cha held onto an angry expression, but it wavered. She looked ready to sob.

  “I’m keeping my head down when bullets fly,” Mi-Cha hissed. “You can’t make me do anything different.”

  Theo took a deep breath.

  “I understand,” he said.

  ? ? ?

  The bomb was finished. It would work, too. Erika knew enough about mechanics to know that the bomb would work, and that it would be big enough to tear a hole into the ship.

  A heavy hand clapped Erika on her shoulder.

  She flinched.

  “Nice work. I couldn’t have done it better myself,” Aymeric said.

  Theo and Mi-Cha came down the ladder.

  Aymeric stepped back. He had Ryder’s pistol in hand and a clear view of everyone in the room.

  Theo and Mi-Cha stepped off the ladder.

  “We only need to fix the reactor,” Theo said.

  “Well perfect timing, because the bomb’s finished.” Aymeric gestured to the device.

  Theo and Mi-Cha stared. Theo’s expression remained unreadable. Mi-Cha wrinkled her nose at the explosive. She looked like she wanted to say something about it, but she kept quiet.

  Another thud came from below and shook the floors.

  “At least we know where the Lamia’s hanging out,” Aymeric said. “Erika, you know how the bomb works. Would you go down and do the honors for us?”

  Erika placed her hands on the sides of the bomb. The metal was warm after being handled so much. Erika tightened her grip, then lifted the bomb.

  She looked to Aymeric. He waved her to the ladder with Ryder’s pistol.

  She glanced to Theo and Mi-Cha. They’d moved to the side, giving Erika a clear path to the ladder. She tried not to be angry with them. The two were looking out for themselves, as they probably should.

  If you were in their position, you’d look for a way to fight Aymeric.

  Erika marched toward the ladder. She kept her eyes straight ahead. Theo and Mi-Cha were navy dots in the corner of her vision. Aymeric’s footsteps followed from behind. Erika kept her posture straight. It didn’t really matter if she slumped, but it felt right to stand tall.

  Erika stopped at the ladder, and looked down. She couldn’t see the Lamia. That was good.

  She tucked the bomb under her arm, then stepped onto the ladder.

  You’ve got a bomb in your armpit. The thought was so insane that Erika felt the urge to laugh. She kept it to herself, then wondered why she did. There was a good chance she would die in the next few minutes, and if she did, she deserved a laugh.

  Erika descended the rungs slowly.

  The Lamia wasn’t in sight. It must be in the shuttle bay, with its doors still open. Maybe it thought it could dig up prey inside, or maybe it felt safe in the room. Erika didn’t know. She didn’t really care.

  The lab was around the corner, and with the Captain’s Override lifted, Erika could dash into it.

  “You see it yet?” Aymeric was above the ladder, gun trained down.

  The ship only had enough material for a single bomb–the one Erika had tucked in her armpit. If it went off prematurely, or wound up in the vacuum, there was no replacing it. And Erika knew that.

  She looked up to Aymeric and the barrel of his pistol. He was too far away to be a real threat.

  She ran.

  “Hey, wait!” Aymeric hissed.

  Erika charged by the shuttle bay door. The Lamia groaned from inside–it spotted Erika–but she didn’t care.

  “Get back here!” Aymeric clambered down the ladder while trying to aim the pistol.

  Erika turned the corner.

  She dashed through the decontamination chamber. The door on the other side opened without cycling the cleaning process. There must still be some issues with the Ark’s systems.

  At least they benefit me right now.

  Erika darted into the lab, and sealed the door behind her.

  Clive’s body was on the ground in two parts, with a pool of blood below him. Erika quickly looked away. The air smelled like iron.

  Erika moved to a table, and set the bomb on top. It glistened in the white lights.

  She found a shock spear on the ground, and picked it up.

  This was Clive’s. Erika pushed that thought out of mind.

  She held the spear at the airlock door, then made a call on her IRIS.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Aymeric snapped.

  “I won’t die like this,” Erika said. “We’re going to figure out another way to kill the Lamia–one where nobody dies.”