I glanced at Case. “I’m following the light.”

  “Good idea,” Case said, his jaw stiff. “If Maisie is detecting a vessel, it’s most likely the medi-ship. We need to get there fast.”

  I banked us in an arc, getting an immediate visual out the front windshield of the fire Daze had spotted. I increased Tilly’s speed. “What if we’re too late? What if he just blew them up?” Fear wound itself through my belly. “Maisie, we need more information.”

  “I detect superheated metal and vaporized organic compounds indicating laser fire,” she said. “Based on the chemical signature, I would surmise the target was a biosphere. It’s damaged, but not fully submerged. I detect no human signatures in the vicinity of the blast. I’m picking up seventy-three signatures on a ship, which contains massive artillery, including a nuclear bomb, an abundance of technology, and an ample communications room emitting various radio frequencies.”

  As we soared nearer, I could make out flames licking the sky, but I couldn’t discern the outline of the sphere itself or the ship, because it was too dark. “If there were no humans on board, why did the ship fire on it?” Relief and panic flooded through me at the same time, causing adrenaline to make my heart beat faster. Ari’s people appeared to be safe, but for how long?

  “My bet is that the people on the ship didn’t know the farm was empty, or why shoot?” Case said. “Maisie, give me the status on any other farms in the area. They must account for the scattered human signatures you mentioned earlier.”

  Maisie confirmed, “There are three other habitats nearby. One biosphere is located thirty kilometers south. Two more are located approximately five kilometers beyond that, moving at five knots an hour. The closest farm holds nine individuals with heavy artillery, including bombs and a single barrel laser. The other biospheres contain a total of two hundred and nine individuals and a small amount of artillery. I’m detecting an independent radio frequency. It’s weak, but accessible. It will take me a moment to connect.” She went dark, knowing time was of the essence.

  “I’m going to head toward that single biosphere,” I said. “We can’t fire on the ship, and we have to warn them not to either, that doing so would kill everyone in a nuclear firestorm.”

  I watched the flames die down as I turned Tilly south, the view of the wreckage transferring to my side window. We were far enough away, so I doubted anyone would detect us. “I bet Ari was trying to gain time,” I concluded. “They cut that farm loose, hoping Marty would go after it. He did. They bought themselves exactly enough, and thank goodness they did. If they hadn’t, we would’ve been too late, and they’d be dead down there.”

  Maisie snapped to attention behind me. “Connection achieved.”

  ARI

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Ari, Paris, and Hector stood side by side, staring off into the distance. Jake was inside the sphere. They could barely see the destruction happening to Habitat Four, but they could hear it. Ari’s father had come for them in the middle of the night. He hadn’t even waited until daybreak.

  “There she goes,” Hector said. “That bastard took her right down.”

  Paris said, “How long till he figures out we’re not on there?”

  Ari shook her head. “Hard to know. They used to have bio-sensing equipment, but it stopped working a long time ago. Once it gets light enough, he’ll send some of his men on skis to investigate.”

  “They hit that sphere all night. If nothing is left by morning,” Paris said, “he may think we went down with it. Maybe we’ll be in the clear.”

  “There’s a possibility,” Ari said. “But my father’s shrewd. He’ll want proof of my death before he calls off this mission. He’s acting on anger and emotion, not logic. The fact he hit the biosphere at night, and likely didn’t try for any contact first, means he’s deteriorated even further. There will be no reasoning with him.”

  “I think he didn’t want to stand witness to having that much blood on his hands,” Hector said. “Easier to do it in the dark like a specter.”

  Jake exited the airlock behind them. Ari immediately noticed his increased speed. “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, meeting him halfway.

  “Claude picked up a signal. He’s trying to connect with it right now. We need you inside,” Jake said.

  Ari hurried after him, followed by Hector and Paris. This biosphere, like all the others, had one small area dedicated to communications. Before the meteor strikes, the farms had been set up with their own bandwidth, and that had stayed the same even after New Eden had been built. That way, essential communications about food and supplies could stay within the farms, not bothering anyone else. They’d been able to connect with the city if necessary. Something that couldn’t happen now, because the distance was too great, and their short antennas weren’t strong enough to relay signals more than ten kilometers.

  “Either this is my father or another habitat.” Ari took a deep breath. “I hope the other farms aren’t in trouble. It can’t be the city. We’re out of range.”

  “Maybe the resistance took over the engineering ship,” Paris offered, “and they’re on their way.” That would be a blessing.

  Claude stood as Ari entered. The communications equipment was set up in a corner of the entranceway into the sphere. She nodded at him. They had given all the prisoners a choice: They could fight against her father and try to save their own lives, or be tossed into the sea. Five out of the ten had pledged their allegiance to Ari immediately, including Claude. She had believed them, and believed their willingness to fight for their lives, as she’d known most of them in her youth. Five of the others had tried to negotiate, but Ari hadn’t had the heart to kill them in the end. They’d been detained on Habitat One.

  Claude pulled off the headset he’d been wearing, which was connected to a small circuit board, and handed it to Ari. “A message just came through,” he told her. “It’s clear, no interference. But I don’t know who it is. She said she won’t identify herself until she hears your voice.”

  Ari set down the headset and flipped on the speaker so everyone could listen. Gripping the mic, she depressed the button as she sat. “This is Alaria Bancroft,” she said into the small black mesh. “Come in.” She took her finger off the button. Static buzzed for a few seconds before she heard a click.

  “Alaria, my name is Holly,” a female voice said. “We got your message and came as quickly as we could. We know you sent a decoy farm out and that your father just blew it up. No casualties that we can detect. We need a place to land so we can speak to you. It’s imperative that you don’t fire on the medi-ship in the meantime.”

  Someone had come. They’d received her plea.

  Ari glanced at Jake and then Claude, Paris, and Hector, knowing everyone had just heard what she’d heard. She brought the mic off the table, bringing it to within centimeters of her lips, her hand shaking slightly. “You need a place to land? You’re really here?”

  “Yes, we’re here,” Holly asserted. “We’re circling in a craft above you. Unless you’re not in the farm with nine individuals and heavy artillery? Our sensors are picking up more people in two other farms approximately six kilometers away.” Ari could hear someone speaking in the background, nothing more than a murmur on her end. “Scratch that, our technician says this communication is coming from this sphere. I repeat, we need a place to land.”

  “How can they set a craft down here?” Paris asked, her voice filled with excitement as well as fear. “There’s no place big enough. Right? I don’t know. I’ve never seen a dronecraft before. I’ve only heard about them. Are they big?”

  “We have space,” Hector said. “There’s a pad underneath the walkway, but it has to be inflated or something like that. I heard a few farmers talking about it last week. Every farm has one, but I don’t think they’ve ever been used before, except maybe before the meteor.”

  Ari had to tell the woman something. “I think we can find a way for you to land, but you’re going to have to give us some time to figure it out.” The mic was now touching her lips. “There are no farmers on board. We couldn’t risk their lives. No one here knows how the landing system works.” Then, after a second, she added, “Please don’t leave.” Emotion swirled inside her. Was this the beginning or their end?

  “We’re not going anywhere. Please don’t worry about that,” Holly answered promptly. “I’m handing you over to my…LiveBot. She has access to the data you’ll need to release the landing pad and will guide you through the process.”

  “Ah…okay,” Ari replied. She’d heard of the human-type robots called LiveBots, but had never seen one. Her father had complained many times that the dark city had eradicated them too quickly after the disaster. Ari sometimes had thought that he would’ve preferred bringing LiveBots to New Eden rather than humans.

  A smooth, modulated, female voice came on the line. “To access the landing flotation, you must activate the source air valves. The switch is located inside the main utility panel directly inside the biosphere. According to my data, this panel is on the left.”

  “I know where it is. I’ll do it,” Jake called as he entered the sphere.

  “Once the valves have been activated, you must manually free the buoys from where they’re secured. To do this, locate the recessed fitting, insert the provided tool, and rotate clockwise three full rotations. By my calculations, this will take forty kilos of pressure, possibly fifty, due to salt buildup and probable corrosion.”

  “Ask her where we find the tool,” Hector instructed. “I’ve seen the divot in the walkway. I know what she’s talking about. But I have no idea where the tool would be.”

  Jake came back. “The air valves are activated.”

  “We need some sort of wrench to crank the landing buoys out,” Hector said. “Have you seen anything that would fit into a circular shallow recess around here?”

  Jake shook his head as Ari spoke into the mic. “The valves are on. But we don’t know what kind of tool we’re looking for. Can you describe it?”

  “It’s a rod consisting of four ninety-degree angles, the entirety extending approximately one meter. The pictures indicate that the straight end is to be inserted into the recessed hole, and it shows two hands applying pressure on the ninety-degree bends.”

  “She’s describing a manual crank,” Hector said. “Now we just have to find it. Let’s head inside and shake up those old storage rooms.” He, Jake, and Paris rushed into the biosphere.

  Ari glanced at Claude. “Go round up the other men to help. We need everyone on this.” The guard nodded and exited onto the walkway. Ari bent over the mic once again. “Okay, we’re searching for it now.”

  “This is Holly again. Our LiveBot is doing her own search as well. If she can detect where the tool is, we’ll let you know.”

  “I don’t know much about robots,” Ari told her, “but if they can see things from afar, we could’ve used them a long time ago.”

  “She’s not your typical LiveBot,” Holly answered, chuckling. “She’s actually a specialized military-grade status reader. It’s…complicated.” Ari thought she heard a snort. She liked this woman already.

  A male voice came over the line next, sturdy and a little rough around the edges. “This is Case,” he said. “In the event we can’t land because the tool is missing, you cannot fire on the ship.”

  “Why not?” Ari asked. “It’s the only hope we have of defeating him. Well, until you guys arrived.”

  “Your father has a nuclear bomb on board. If you destroy the ship, everyone within two hundred kilometers dies.”

  Ari reeled from the news. It settled deep inside her gut, like an anchor hitting the seafloor. She’d known nothing about nuclear armament. “Are you sure?” she asked weakly, even though she knew what the man said was true. This was exactly the kind of thing her father would keep from her—likely from most.

  “One hundred percent,” he confirmed. “Please don’t despair. We will find a way to stop him.”

  “This is Holly again,” the woman said. “Our LiveBot can’t locate the tool. So, we’re thinking it’s not on board. But we think we might have a solution.” There was murmuring in the background. Ari thought she heard a child’s voice, but she couldn’t be sure. “That sounds crazy. Okay, fine,” Holly uttered in a sure tone. “Sorry about that. Everybody is talking at once. We have a titanium prop wrench about the right length. With enough force, it can be manipulated into the shape and size you need. The only one strong enough to do that is our LiveBot. So, we’re going to drop her and the tool down on your walkway. Are you okay with us doing that?”

  “Sure?” Ari said, not intending to make it sound like a question. “I mean, yes, of course. Whatever it takes.” They were about to have an encounter with an actual robot.

  “In order to do this,” Holly continued, “we have to fool our craft into thinking we’re making a landing, or the doors won’t open. It’s a standard protection our ancestors built into these drones, but something we haven’t overridden in this particular craft. The closest position for us to do that is on top of your sphere. Once the craft is within a meter of something solid, the locking mechanisms will give. Then we’ll send Maisie, our LiveBot, out. She assures us the fall won’t harm her. In order to lessen the chances of anything happening, she has to do some damage to the outside shell of the biosphere so she can regulate her speed. Are you okay with that?”

  “Yes, yes, of course. Whatever it takes,” Ari repeated. “Honestly, without your help, our lives are forfeit anyway. We appreciate everything you’re doing.”

  Jake and Hector entered, shaking their heads. “We can’t find it,” Jake said. “We searched everywhere. There’s barely anything left.”

  “It’s okay,” Ari said. “Our rescuers have a solution. They’re sending their LiveBot down with a similar tool. They’re going to be landing on top of the biosphere any minute.”

  “Cool,” Hector crooned. “I don’t want to miss this.” He ducked outside.

  Holly’s voice came over the speaker. “We’re within twenty seconds of our pseudo landing. The props are going to be loud and windy. Once the LiveBot is out of the craft, I can’t communicate with you. If this doesn’t work, we’ll figure something else out. We hope to see you soon.” She signed off.

  Ari stood and followed Jake and Paris out onto the walkway.

  Watching the craft descend out of the sky, its propellers creating gale-force winds, was awe-inspiring. The dronecraft was bigger than she’d thought it would be. At least five meters in length, three meters wide. It was black. The soft glow of the biosphere was the only thing illuminating it against the dark sky. It resembled a monster, something that would bring harm rather than hope.

  Then one of the doors opened vertically, and a woman dressed head to toe in syn-leather, with long flowing hair the color of a ripened apple, jumped out. She gripped two things in her hands. She plunged one into the plexi as she slid down the side, a loud grating sound reverberating around them. She descended fast, like a ghost out of the sky, landing easily with her knees bent, straightening to face them.

  “My name is Maisie. I’m here to help.”

  HOLLY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Shut the door fast,” I ordered. The wind was whipping everything around. “I can’t see anything. Is she down yet?” I couldn’t believe Maisie had just launched herself out the door. “This was an insane idea. What if she hits too hard and malfunctions? Or ends up in the water?” But our plan of spoofing a landing had worked perfectly, just as Maisie said it would, though I’d had to get closer to the biosphere than I’d wanted.

  Case closed the door, and I eased Tilly up, angling her underbelly toward the sphere, before redirecting her to maintain and hover just off the walkway over the water.

  “I’m certain the superheated knife she used to puncture the shell kept her momentum down. She’s fine. And there was no other way to do this,” Case reminded me. “They never would’ve gotten the landing pad open on their own. Maisie put her odds of success at ninety-three percent.”

  “I see her!” Daze shouted. “At least, I think that’s her.” He jabbed his skinny arm between us, gesturing out the windshield. “She’s behind the people. Yes, there she is!”

  I snapped on Tilly’s headlights, so we could all understand what was happening. “You’re right. She made it.” I nodded toward the small crowd that had gathered. “They look a little nervous. I think that means Marty didn’t bring any LiveBots with him.” We watched as the group collectively took a few steps back as Maisie moved forward. “She’s intimidating, but don’t get used to it.” Maisie stood, feet apart and braced on the walkway, which was rocking beneath them to a shocking degree. She looked completely unruffled. It was as if she’d spent her entire existence on an aquatic farm. The rest of the group huddled together. “I don’t know how they live on that thing,” I muttered. “It doesn’t look safe. Yeah, there’s railings, but they’re just basically handholds. An adult male could fit under, no problem. You’re knocked off balance, and you’re a goner.”

  Finally, one guy and a girl broke away from the rest. They both stepped forward in sync, each wearing what looked to be synthetic-leather outfits, but none like I’d ever seen before. The material seemed almost pliable, glistening as they moved, beads of water from rain glimmering in Tilly’s lights. They resembled pictures of wetsuits on Darby’s pico, which made sense because they lived on the water.

  The guy was half a meter taller than the girl, broad-chested, hair lighter than most and close-cropped. He seemed sturdy. The girl, whom I took to be Ari, had an athletic build, with light brown, chin-length hair tucked behind her ears. She wore a determined look on her face, had high, sculpted cheekbones and a nose strikingly similar to Case’s, which meant it was strong and perfectly aligned. She held a natural air of authority. You could see it in the way she stood—at ease, yet ready to strike. She addressed another guy, who nodded and stepped forward. He was shorter than the other men in the group, with a round face and a head full of dark, curly hair. He made a motion with his arm, and he and Maisie began to walk around the outside of the sphere, everyone else trailing behind.