“What's happening?” It was the second time in five minutes Drake had asked the question, and Tila detected the edge of his cool beginning to unravel.

He wasn't used to being unable to direct things.

“Nothing. Special Forces went quiet when they saw the other ship, and they haven't transmitted since.”

“That's wise, since we're on an open channel. Whatever they say to us, they say to whoever's in that ship.”

“I just wish--” She stopped, frowning as a small vessel dropped from underneath the Special Forces ship and started toward them.

“What?” Drake reached out a hand and gripped her arm.

“Special Forces are sending a little . . . pod toward us.” She tried to make out exactly what it was.

“A tow, maybe?” Drake put his hands over his eyes in frustration.

“Maybe.”

Another piece of debris hit them, and she couldn't help jumping. The sound reverberated through the pod, and she had to steady her breathing. “Just more debris,” she said as calmly as she could.

The mystery ship started moving forward, so slowly she didn't notice it at first. It was more like they were drifting than engaging their engines, but before the tow came out, they had definitely been stationary.

“I think the other side is reacting to the tow. Moving closer.”

“They're hoping to intimidate Intoh into withdrawing.” Drake shook his shoulders, as if trying to release tension. “Is it working? Is Intoh backing off?”

“No. The tow is still coming.”

Something was building here, a stand-off with the safety pod in the middle.

“Why aren't the strangers running?” she wondered. “Special Forces must have called for reinforcements by now. They must have.”

“Whoever blew up Jirmain's ship is wondering if we know anything about them, wondering what Dun and Jirmain might have let slip. And weighing up the risk of killing us versus getting away as fast as possible.”

“They're taking their time about it.” Tila knew she sounded grumpy. She was grumpy.

Drake snorted out a laugh. “It's obviously a big decision for them. And my guess is they're also conferring with someone who isn't onboard. Someone who's calling the shots. They won't want their signals intercepted, so they're routing the comms through multiple filters. I'm betting they're waiting on instructions, and they don't know what to do about the tow. Intoh was smart to move so quickly, it's probably left them scrambling.”

“I wonder if Nick is onboard?” She hadn't meant to mention Nick, but he was right there, at the forefront of her thoughts, the tip of her tongue.

“What's the story with you and Bartega?” Drake's tone was a little gruff.

“We're neighbors,” Tila said. No way was she saying anything else. What may or may not happen between her and Nick was too new, too uncertain, to say out loud.

“The tow?” Drake asked as a smaller piece of debris hit them.

“No, but it's close.” She couldn't see who was piloting it, but whoever they were, they'd extended a mechanical arm from somewhere in the front, and the next bang on the pod's outer casing was the arm clamping on.

“Here we go.” Tila moved her gaze reluctantly from the tow and its clamp, and turned to the mystery ship.

It moved in a sudden spurt of speed, shooting forward and sitting directly above the safety pod.

From where she half-lay, half-sat in the pod, she could look up through the transparent lid and stare at the underside of the ship.

“What is it?” Drake's voice rose.

She was breathing in short, panicked bursts, and she swallowed, made herself take a deep breath. “They sort of lunged forward, and they're right above us, now. Like a predator defending its kill.”

The safety pod jerked and then began to move, and Tila watched the underneath of the mystery ship slide away as the tow pulled them out.

“It hasn't stopped the tow. They're taking us with them.” She twisted in her seat, looking back at the ship to see what its response would be, but it stayed where it was as the tow moved steadily back, drawing them closer and closer to the Special Forces ship.

“We're nearly there.” She was still having trouble with her breath, waiting for the other side to decide to shoot them, but just as they reached the safety of the launch bay, the mystery ship spun around and shot away, disappearing almost in the blink of an eye.

“They're gone,” she whispered. “They pinched out.”

“My guess is, they still hadn't gotten word on what to do, and Intoh's backup is coming. They had to know shooting us would be risking their lives, and maybe they weren't prepared to make that call without an explicit order.” Drake relaxed back in his seat.

“Whoever piloted that tow has steady nerves and courage to spare.” She didn't know how they had kept going with the ship looming over them.

The pod thumped down on the launch bay floor, and the door sealed behind them. She watched the lights go from orange to blue, signaling the air was now breathable.

A figure dropped out of the tow, and then a face appeared right beside her, looking in.

Nick.

He would be getting all the marsalos he wanted.