“Done,” Alter announced, standing up. “See if you can connect.”

  “Etcher-921?” David asked.

  “That’s it.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a link. I’m uploading now.”

  The main lab door parted again. Keep entered the area, a large vial of liquid gold in hand. He smiled when he saw me, picking up his pace to get to our part of the facility.

  “Here we go, kid,” he said. “Enough Gilded catalyst for one person. Badabing badaboom.”

  “If you had known Bill and George took the chunk, would you have made them throw it away?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I plead the fifth. I’m just glad they kept it a secret from me. That’s all I’ll say.” He went around the back of the chair and opened a panel on the side of the etcher to push the vial in place. “Catalyst juice locked and loaded.”

  “The upload’s nearly finished. Ben, this is extremely important. Once I start the etcher, you can’t move under any circumstances. If the lines are wrong or incomplete, there’s no telling what might happen. Best case, you die quickly. Got it?”

  “Got it,” I replied, sitting back in the chair. Clamps on the arms, legs and headrest would keep me mostly pinned once they were locked.

  My heart pounded with anticipation, a grin crossing my face. After everything we had gone through to get to this point, I still couldn’t believe it was about to happen.

  “Upload complete.” David announced. Standing over his laptop, his hand lowered toward the enter key as if it were moving in slow motion. “And here. We. G—”

  I didn’t hear the last part. Klaxons hidden in the walls began screaming, instantly drowning him out. The overhead lights changed from white to red, flashing furiously.

  What the hell was going on?

  CHAPTER 37

  “Ben, Matt!” Gia cried through the comms, her voice nearly lost in the noise from the security alert. “I’m not sure who’s doing it, but the outer hangar bay doors are opening.”

  I put my hand over my eyes. Between the klaxons and flashing lights, I thought I might have a seizure.

  “It sounds like we’re going to have company,” Matt replied over the din. “Zar, Druck, meet me in the corridor leading to the hangar. Bring your guns. And Shaq.”

  “Copy that,” Quasar replied. “We’re on our way.”

  “It has to be Sedaya,” Keep said. “Or Sucaath. Whoever it is, they’re using sigiltech to pry the doors open.”

  “Just great,” I groaned. “Could their timing get any better?”

  “Alter, Keep, come on,” Matt said. “Ben, David, wait here.”

  “I’m not waiting here if we’re about to be attacked,” I said.

  “What are you going to do? Cough on them?”

  I hated to admit it, but he had a point. “David, how long will it take to etch the sigil?”

  “An hour at least,” David answered.

  Too long for me to be able to help. Too long to risk even starting. “I’m not completely useless,” I said, reaching into my pocket. Pulling out my phone, I tapped my way into Head Case’s remote operations. I could still help defend the station with the ship.

  “We’ll be back before you know it, kid,” Keep said, joining Matt and Alter as they rushed out the door.

  I focused my attention on my phone’s screen, using my thumbs to adjust my view through Head Case’s cameras. I watched the hangar bay doors spread apart against their will, the same way Keep had done it to get us here. Looking past the slabs of metal, I spotted the interloping ship hanging above the entrance to the station. My blood ran cold.

  “Shit,” I cursed through the comms, heart pounding. “It’s Dominator.”

  “What?” Matt hissed back. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How the hell did they find us here?”

  The large sigiltech ship obviously hadn’t been destroyed by Archie’s candy bomb. It loomed over the station’s hangar, the lines of its sigils glowing softly. Whenever an asteroid appeared ready to collide with Dominator it changed course suddenly, reflected away from the ship.

  This was bad. Very, very bad.

  A smaller landing craft swept in front of Dominator. The size of a school bus, angled and menacing in appearance but visibly unarmed, it vectored toward the hangar. I tapped on the screen, activating the fire control system. I wasn’t about to let the ship inside without a fight.

  “Matt, we’re in the corridor,” Quasar reported.

  “We’re almost there,” he replied.

  “I’ve got the landing craft in my sights,” I said as the turrets swiveled toward the incoming target. “Firing.”

  I hit the trigger button.

  Nothing happened.

  What the hell?

  I knew Alter had scavenged some of the parts of one of the turret controllers to help make the catalyst. I didn’t expect that gun to work. But the rest of them should have fired. I hit the trigger button again. Same result.

  “Something’s wrong,” I said as the landing ship reached the hangar doors. “The guns aren’t working.”

  “Check the diagnostics,” Alter suggested.

  “There’s no time. They’re about to touch down.” I resisted the urge to hurl my phone against the glass wall of the room, settling for punching the arm of the chair instead. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

  “We need to cut them off,” Matt said. “Let’s go.”

  I couldn’t see Team Hondo, but I imagined them running to the blast doors leading into the hangar, waiting for the bay doors to close and the atmosphere to pour back into the space. It wouldn’t take long. The outer doors were already sliding shut again, the landing craft safely inside. Its skids hit the deck, and it too remained static, waiting for air.

  “Gia, can you prevent the system from refilling the hangar?” I asked.

  “Of course,” she replied.

  “Hold that thought,” Keep barked. “They just forced open the hangar bay doors. You don’t think they can open the other doors and vent this whole place while they’re nice and cozy in their ship?”

  “What are we supposed to do?” I asked.

  “Not that,” he answered.

  “If they can do that, why haven’t they already?” Matt asked.

  “Why do you think, Sherlock? They want at least one of us alive. And I’ll make you a million dollar bet I know who.”

  I turned my head, eyes landing on David.

  “What?” he asked, unable to hear the conversation over our embedded comms. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I think your mother sent word to Sucaath that we had you, and he passed it on to Sedaya,” I explained. “And he sent his goons to pick you up.”

  David’s face paled. “You’re kidding.”

  “I wish I was.”

  I could tell by his expression he was thinking hard about what I had just said. Working through the problem like he had the sigils. “It doesn’t make sense. Can it be a coincidence they showed up right after I solved your sigil?

  I kept staring at him, shaking my head. Sedaya probably wouldn’t mind eternal youth like Keep, but I doubted restore was his primary goal. “No, it would have taken him time to get here. Not restore.” Fear sent a shiver across my body. “Calmed-to-death. You proved you can create new offensive sigils. He wants you to make more for him.” A second wave of fear shot through me. “He waited for you to advance your work. Which means—”

  “We have a spy in our midst,” David finished.

  “Gia,” I said, struggling to accept what I knew had to be true “What did you do?”

  “What?” she replied. “Ben, it wasn’t me.”

  “Bullshit,” I shouted back. “You’re the only one with a network link. The only one with the means and opportunity to communicate with Sedaya from here.”

  “No. I swear—”

  “You played me so perfectly with your sob story about how Sedaya killed your parents and you went through so much trouble to get your revenge. Is your algorithm even real or was this whole thing a setup?”

  “How could that be? I led you to the space dock. I gave you the evidence—”

  “How did Dominator get away from the explosion? Why didn’t the Empress accept the evidence we provided? You knew she wouldn’t.”

  “No,” she insisted. “I…”

  “None of this matters right now,” Matt growled. “The air’s pumping back into the hangar.”

  “Gia, where are you?” I seethed.

  “The command center,” she replied. “Ben, I didn’t do this. I’m innocent.”

  “That’s what they all say,” I growled back. “We’ll deal with you later.”

  “Team Hondo, we’re going in,” Matt said.

  I looked down at my phone, switching my view so I could see the landing ship and the inner hangar door at the same time. The ship’s ramp had already lowered as the door slid open and Matt and the others moved in, rifles up and ready for whoever came into view. Keep had put on the sigiltech glove, and both it and his sleeve were already glowing.

  A pair of feet appeared on the ramp, connected to lithe, bare legs that flowed into a knee-length pencil skirt, which connected to a dark, short-sleeved jacket with a nehru collar. The woman’s face was narrow and pointed, her eyes sharp, her hair short. She didn’t seem bothered by the guns aimed in her direction, or Shaq bunched on Quasar’s shoulder, ready to strike. She reached the bottom of the ramp and came to a stop.

  “Who the hell are you?” Matt asked.

  “My name is Admiral Lyke,” she replied. “I’m here on behalf of Duke Sedaya. He’s interested in making a trade.”

  “He couldn’t be bothered to come himself?”

  “He has other important duties,” Lyke replied. “And I’m quite certain we can come to an agreement without his personal attendance. I have full autonomy regarding the negotiations.”

  “And what is it you want to trade?”

  “Simple enough. You give us David, and we spare your lives.”

  Matt laughed. “Did you practice that beforehand? A cliche line gets a cliche response. Go to hell.”

  “There’s no need to be brash, Matthew,” Lyke said. “You wrang what you needed out of him. Now it’s our turn.”

  “Except we’re not using him. We’re his friends. Something you and Sedaya probably don’t understand the meaning of.”

  “Oh, we understand the meaning all too well,” she replied. “We both know that friendship creates weakness. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Yeah, you managed to plant a spy among us. Congratulations. Why don’t you march back up that ramp into your ship and go home?”

  She was kind of pretty when she smiled, in a Stepford Wives way. “I’ll be leaving with David one way or another. I strongly recommend that you accept my offer. If you make me go through you, I promise that you will suffer before you die.”

  “That doesn’t seem like much of a negotiation to me,” Keep said. “You’re supposed to make an offer. We make a counteroffer. So on and so forth. Then we come to an agreement. Badabing badaboom.”

  “Fine, Avelus. You caught me. It’s not a negotiation. It’s an ultimatum. By the way, you’ll suffer the most. Duke Sedaya is very unhappy with you.”

  “Good.”

  “You’re going to get through all of us?” Druck barked. He shifted his head around, trying to look past her. “You and what army?”

  “I don’t need an army,” she answered. “I have something better.”

  “Gilded, am I right?” Keep said.

  “You aren’t wrong,” Lyke agreed, raising her hand. All of Team Hondo’s guns were yanked from their hands before they could react.

  Keep raised the glove and thrust it toward her, but she flicked her other hand as if she were swatting a gnat, seeming to knock aside whatever effect he was going for.

  “I’m not my second-in-command, Avelus,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. Not as long as you, of course. But long enough.” She flicked her finger, and Keep launched into the bulkhead, hitting hard enough that he didn’t get back up.

  “No!” I shouted. “I have to go help them.” I tried to stand up. My legs buckled, and I fell back into the chair.

  The others were able to do what I couldn’t. Even without weapons, even though they probably didn’t stand much of a chance against Lyke, they still charged, trying to bum rush her before she could turn her sigils on them. Druck slid a knife from a sheath on his thigh and whipped it forward, and Shaq launched from Quasar’s shoulder behind it.

  Lyke raised her hand toward the blade and it quickly melted, superheated steel splashing onto the deck, leaving a smoking puddle at Matt’s feet. He would have stepped right into it, but somehow Keep managed to push him aside, sending him tumbling.

  Shaq got within inches of Lyke’s face before he was pulled upward, lifted toward the overhead hangar doors and pinned there, buzzing and squirming in a futile effort to break free. Lyke caught Druck and Quasar in the same grip, yanking them to the deck and holding them there.

  A flash of energy caught her in the shoulder, and she cried out but didn’t lose her concentration, keeping her hold on the others while ripping the blaster from Matt’s hands before pinning him too.

  “Lyke!” Keep shouted, back on his feet and limping toward her, his leg probably broken. His glove and sleeve both glowed brightly, ready to give everything he had to keep the woman from getting to David.

  “Hey Ben,” David said, watching the fight unfold over my shoulder. “Where’s Alter?”

  CHAPTER 38

  I was so busy watching the action, I hadn’t even realized Alter wasn’t part of it until David pointed it out. Quickly scanning the hangar, I didn’t see any sign of her.

  “Maybe she ducked into Head Case,” I said. “If she fixes the ion cannons, Admiral Lyke is toast.”

  Keep continued limping toward Lyke, who let him approach with a smug expression on her no-longer-pretty face. The others were all down, or up in Shaq’s case, held in place in the same manner I imagined Commander Kray had done on the cargo ship. They had given their all, but they were no match for a Gilded, especially this one. Despite Keep’s desire, I knew he would lose too. Just like he had lost to Kray.

  “Alter, did you get it yet?” I asked, firm in my belief she had snuck into Head Case to fix the guns. “We’re running out of time.”

  “Correction,” Alter said. But not over the comms. My head whipped up from my phone, finding her just outside the room. What was she doing here? “You are out of time.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. “You should be in the hangar, helping the others.”

  “Now why would I want to do that?” she replied. She entered the room, eyes fixed on David. “You’re coming with me.”

  “What?” David answered. “Coming with you where?”

  “Alter!” I snapped. “What’s the matter with you?”

  “Nothing,” she replied. “Never been better. I’m especially enjoying this part.” She thrust a finger toward David. “You. Grab your laptop and let’s go. Now.” I tried to stand up again. Her hand lashed out, shoving me back into the chair. “Seriously Ben? You’re so sick you can barely stand. And you’re going to stop me? You don’t have any catalyst on you.”

  I stared at her, frightened and confused. Of all my crew, only Matt had more of my trust than she did. And now she was betraying me?

  “Why?” I asked as she rounded on David, ready to force him into compliance. She glanced my way.

  “Because I am not who you think I am,” she replied. The answer sent shockwaves of cold through my body, and I started coughing again. She grabbed David and threw him against the table next to his laptop. “Don’t make me hurt you, David. Because I will. The laptop is enough to satisfy Duke Sedaya.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve been lying to us this entire time,” I said. “How can that be? Twenty years on Head Case with Keep, and it was all bullshit?”

  David grabbed his laptop, quickly pulling the makeshift wires from its ports. Alter crouched beside him and opened the side of the etcher, reaching in for the gold catalyst. “I might as well help myself to this, too. You can never have too much.” She stood up and grabbed David’s arm. “Are you done?” Pulling him roughly by the arm, she dragged him past me without answering my question.

  “Alter!” I shouted between coughs. “Wait.”

  She turned back toward me, shaking her head. “It must be the brain tumor,” she said, her body changing form faster than I had ever seen before, growing and morphing into a specimen of a man, with short black hair and light gray eyes. “Alter’s gone, Ben,” he continued, smiling widely. “She made for a tasty snack, but now there’s only me. I am Blorb.”

  “Your name is Blorb?” David said, as if he wasn’t sure he had heard it right. Probably because it sounded ridiculous.

  “Funny,” Gia said as the doors to the lab slid open. “All I see is dead meat.”

  She had a rifle in her hands, and she opened fire, sending a burst of bolts into Blorb’s face. They punched right through while I cringed and tried to shout. “Gia, the gut. Aim for the gut.” I couldn’t get my voice loud enough for her to hear.

  Blorb tossed David aside like an old shoe. He changed into its natural form and rushed Gia. She was too slow to adjust her aim. Unlike Alter, Blorb's tentacles had barbs on the end. They whipped out toward Gia, lacerating her face and ripping into her body. She dropped beneath the onslaught, her demise over in seconds.

  The Aleal regained its male form, turning back to David. “Let’s go,” he said again.

  “Wh…what about Ben?” David asked.

  I wanted to wring his neck. Was he asking this thing to kill me?

  “He’s already dead,” Blorb replied. “And he’ll spend however long he has left alone, with nothing to occupy his mind beyond knowing that everyone he cares about in this galaxy is suffering more than he is. And everyone he cares about back on Earth will join them soon enough.” An impossibly wide smile split Blorb’s face. “You never should have crossed the ruler of the Hegemony, Benjamin.”