“It’s like I said before, her ability to phase is extremely powerful, but she has a hard time keeping it under control, especially during times of high emotional stress. One of the reasons I was able to get so deeply involved in the project is because Cora trusts me. For whatever reason, I’m able to keep her calm. Most of the time.”

Jeth remembered his earlier suspicions. “She caused some of the damage on the Donerail, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” Sierra said, her voice steadier with the new topic. “She’s part of the reason we got so lost once we entered the Belgrave. She got frightened and phased the entire ship by accident. Or at least, I think she did. Milton believes there might be a connection between Cora and the Belgrave, or Empyria to be more precise.”

Jeth supposed it made as much sense as anything else he’d heard. “Is Cora a danger to herself? I mean could she phase herself?” The horrible image of the mutilated monkey flashed in his mind. How could he ever keep her safe from that?

Sierra pursued her lips. “The scientists doubt she would be able to harm herself directly with a phase, but harming herself indirectly is certainly possible based on what she can do to the environment around her. Like, what if she accidentally phased a hole in an exterior wall of the ship? She could get blown out into space.”

Jeth cringed. “In that case, I’m glad you’re coming with us.”

A ghost of a smile slid across Sierra’s lips. “I really am sorry. For stealing Avalon and for not being up front with you from the beginning.”

Jeth didn’t say anything, unsure how to respond. He did understand why she’d done what she had. But he didn’t know if he was ready to forgive her. Not yet.

Fortunately, he was spared the trouble of an answer when Shady and Dax arrived. It was a tight squeeze with all four of them in the hatch, especially in space suits. They slipped on their helmets, trying to avoid elbows.

“Ready?” Sierra asked. She spoke softly and yet her voice boomed inside Jeth’s helmet over the comm system.

Everyone nodded, and Sierra deactivated the gravity drive inside the hatch and then lifted the latch, opening the door to the outside. The Northern Dancer’s hull loomed over their heads. This might be the most dangerous part of the job, the freefall upward to the Northern Dancer’s hatch.

Dax went first, pushing off from the Citation as hard as he could, arms stretched over his body as if he were diving into water. A moment later, he grabbed hold of the handrails outside the Northern Dancer’s hatch and pulled himself toward the ship. Shady went next, then Jeth and finally Sierra.

Jeth held his breath as Sierra slid open the access panel on the Northern Dancer’s hatch and inserted a decryption card. He knew from Lizzie that such devices weren’t to be trusted for this sort of thing, but Sierra had insisted that the code logic behind it was foolproof.

A moment later, the LED on the card flashed green, and the hatch slid open like a wide, welcoming mouth ready to swallow them whole.

One hurdle down, Jeth thought, giving a shiver.

And a million more to go.

Chapter 30

NO ONE SPOKE AS THEY CRAWLED THROUGH THE HATCH. To lessen the risk of detection, they would maintain comm silence unless absolutely necessary this close to the ship.

The Northern Dancer’s hatch was a good deal larger than the Citation’s, and the four of them fit inside more comfortably. Sierra activated the gravity drive, and they peeled out of their suits, which were far too cumbersome and noisy to go crawling through the ventilation shafts.

Sierra retrieved the palm-sized tablet from her jacket pocket and switched it on. The tablet contained detailed schematics of the C-93. She examined them a moment, then motioned at Shady and pointed at an area low to the floor on the left side. Shady stepped forward, pulling out the plasinum cutter he’d carried over. The cutter was of the illegal variety, designed to penetrate the plasinum walls of most spaceships. Hammer kept one stocked on all of his ships.

Moments later, Sierra slipped through the hole Shady had made. Jeth followed behind her, with Dax coming after him and Shady in the rear. They emerged in a blower duct, the air moving past them hot enough to burn and reeking of that terrible chemical stench of treated spaceship air. Sierra led the way, scooting along on her belly with impressive speed. Sweat stung Jeth’s eyes and dripped from his nose as he crawled after her. Behind him he could hear the others’ labored breathing. It’ll be a miracle if no one hears us.

They stopped twice while Sierra checked the tablet. She made several turns, some right, some left. As they went they passed metal grates that looked down into various rooms. Whenever one of the rooms was occupied, Sierra would slow down to keep from drawing notice.

Eventually the duct dead-ended into a main heating shaft that seemed to run the entire height of the ship. Jeth palmed sweat from his face as he stared at the opening, wishing they would be moving upward, away from the furnaces, instead of downward toward L Deck.

Sierra rolled onto her back, sliding her head out of the duct and into the shaft. She leaned to the right, grabbed the rails of the maintenance ladder, and hoisted herself out. Then she started downward. Jeth followed, trying not to pant as he descended.

Sierra continued on at the same relentless pace. A faint, eerie light from the furnaces below lit the shaft, casting orange shadows. Jeth counted the ducts they passed, knowing that each one represented a deck. He was up to five by the time Sierra finally moved into one of them.

After another long crawl through more ducts, Sierra at last came to a stop. She double-checked the tablet, and then pointed at an area of the shaft in between her and Jeth. Jeth took the cutter from Shady and started making another hole. The machine itself was virtually silent, but what little noise there was seemed as loud as gunfire in the small space. Jeth half expected an entire brigade of ITA soldiers to be waiting below them as he pulled off the cover to the hole he’d made. The loud grind of machinery rose up to greet them.