Magnolia tried not to think of herself as a tiny figure moving along the top of the vast metal ship. A slap of wind reminded her that she was not a kid anymore. She was a Hell Diver, and if she didn’t pay attention, she was going to end up as a very small and lonely splat on the ground four miles below.
“Almost there,” Michael yelled over the channel. He twisted slightly and clipped another carabiner to another hanger.
Magnolia still couldn’t see the rudders, but she could see the horizon of the drop-off that led to them. Michael clipped the rope into the biner, then clipped another bight of rope to the next hanger for backup, equalizing the tension between the two.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “We’re going to have to rappel down.”
A brilliant flash reflected off Layla’s mirrored visor. Magnolia didn’t need to see her features to know that the girl was scared. She had grabbed Michael’s hand and was holding on to it as if it were the only real thing in the world.
“Be careful,” she said. “I’ll kill you if you die.”
“I love you too,” he said.
They pressed their helmets together. Magnolia groaned. This was exactly why she didn’t have a boyfriend. Such cheesy, sentimental shit made her want to puke.
“Use a private channel,” she grumbled.
With his back to the storm, Michael bent his knees and kicked off, rappelling down the sheer wall of the stern. Layla stepped closer to watch, but Magnolia reached out and pulled her back.
“Careful, kiddo.” Magnolia winced as she said it. X had called her that, and she had hated it almost as much as being called “princess” by Weaver. Was she turning into one of those grumpy old Hell Divers who thought everyone under thirty was a kid?
“Okay, off rappel,” Michael said over the comms, letting them know he had disconnected from the rappel rope. “Layla, you’re next.”
Layla grabbed the slack rope, clipped it through her rappel device, and turned her helmet toward Magnolia. “See you down there, kiddo.”
Magnolia almost chuckled, but a thunderclap focused her. She turned to face the storm, determined but terrified. Brilliant arcs of electricity left behind blue tracers across her retinas. Blinking them away, she turned back to the edge. By the time she looked down, Layla was gone.
She waited for the all-clear from Layla, who would by then be with Michael, anchored to the stern ladder that ran past the access tunnel and its three protruding rudders.
After clipping in to the rappel line, Magnolia took in a deep breath and pushed off into the darkness.
FOUR
Jordan kept his sweaty hands on the wheel, and his eyes on the storm. Either the team he sent topside would fix the rudders and save the ship, or they would die up there in the storm. Either way, there was nothing he could do now but stay the course he had set.
“Sir?” It was Katrina’s voice.
Jordan looked over his shoulder at her. Commander Rick Weaver stood at the top of the bridge looking down, waiting for orders. He nodded at the Hell Divers and then glanced back to Katrina.
She unclipped her harness and staggered forward as another tremor hit the ship. Whatever she had to say, she didn’t want others to hear.
He gripped the wheel tighter and glanced at the monitor to his right. A countdown ticked on screen. They had just over thirty minutes to get the rudders back online before the storm swallowed the ship. The Hive might survive for a few hours in the electric soup, but the divers would not.
“Sir, I just got word that we’re picking up a transmission from the surface,” Katrina said.
Jordan felt his heart kick. Who had leaked that intel? His eyes swept the bridge and found Hunt. The ensign avoided Jordan’s gaze, answering his question. It was a reminder that he couldn’t trust anyone but himself and Katrina. It seemed Magnolia wasn’t the only person Jordan would have to deal with.
“What kind of transmission?” he asked calmly.
“An SOS, sir.”
Jordan had prepared for this moment for years, ever since they intercepted the first transmission from X, but it had come at the worst time. She would hate him for keeping this secret from her. She might even leave him. He could endure a lot, but not the thought of losing her. “Kat, I’m—”
“I think this one could be the real deal, sir,” she continued. “The Hilltop Bastion was an ITC bunker, one of the most advanced they ever built.”
Jordan held back a sigh of relief. Hunt hadn’t betrayed him after all. His secret about X was still safe. For now.
“Captain Ash marked the location as an area to explore if we ever made it this far east,” Katrina said eagerly. “If their SOS is still transmitting, then maybe someone’s still down there. I think—”
“Maria Ash is no longer captain, Lieutenant.”
Several officers on the bridge looked up from their monitors. Katrina stopped talking, her lips a tight line as she stared at him.
“We’re holding steady, sir,” Hunt said. “Should I shut off the alarms?”
Jordan checked the screen to his right. They were sailing on the edge of the storm now. Warning sensors continued to beep, and the emergency alarm still wailed, but for now they were in the clear.
“Shut off the alarms, but instruct all noncritical personal to stay in their shelters,” Jordan said, knowing that most of the citizens wouldn’t listen and would just go on with life.
The wail of the emergency siren waned, and a recorded voice transmitted over the public-address system. “All noncritical personal, please remain in your designated areas.”
Jordan used the moment of calm to scan the bridge. The entire room was spotless, from the white tile floor to the walls and the pod stations. His uniform, like those of his crew, was also white, continuing an age-old custom from the days when ships sailed on water instead of air. Unlike the rest of the ship, the bridge was lit with LEDs, although the lights were currently dim because of the energy curtailment.
Captain Ash had gone to great lengths to make sure this was a place of order amid the chaos. It was one tradition of hers that Jordan proudly carried on.
He breathed in air that smelled of bleach. As he turned back to the wheel, his eyes were drawn to the surface map displayed on one of the monitors. Where Ash had seen a new future, Jordan saw only a delusional fantasy. There was no hope for a new home on land. Their only hope for survival was in the sky, and right now it was riding on the work of three Hell Divers.
“Michael and his team are in position, sir,” Katrina said. “Should we prep a second team to scout for Hilltop Bastion?”
“No.” His voice was firm, and it drew a scowl from Katrina. “Once we fix the rudders and get clear of this storm, I’ll consider allocating resources to investigate this mysterious signal.”
“If you won’t do this, Leon, I’ll go down there myself,” she said, unclipping her harness and standing up.
Jordan’s eyes widened. She had always been feisty, but this was open insubordination.
“Sit down, Lieutenant,” he ordered.
She took a step forward, then another, her lips quivering. Jordan felt the gaze of every staff member on the bridge watching them.
“If there is something down there, we need to check it out. For the sake of our child…”
Jordan’s eyes flitted to her stomach and then to the faces of his crew. They had heard. And within the hour, everyone on the ship would know.
He shook his head in frustration. “There is absolutely no evidence of human life on the surface. Captain Ash risked the ship and every soul aboard in pursuit of a fairy tale. I’ve kept us alive by not making that same mistake.”