It was silent on Habitat Three. Somehow it was worse than the plasma fire. We’d left the civilians back in the Deck G tunnels. They didn’t know how to get to the computer core, and there was no one left to show them. All of Lieutenant Wilson’s watch had insisted they accompany Hugo to Habitat Three.

The thought that Lieutenant Johnson was facing off alone against those mercs left standing on Deck G worried me. Everything worried me. I was one big ball of worried mess.

My father had done this. He’d been responsible for all of this. It sickened me.

And now the silence that met us. What had happened to the pay-for-passages and Commander López?

Hugo looked back at Wilson, who still looked a little peaky. He kept shaking his head from side to side when he thought the captain wasn’t looking. I wasn’t sure relying on him for backup was such a good idea. And the other two lieutenants with him didn’t look much better.

“We come out guns blazing,” Hugo said.

“Ah, at what, sir?” one of the lieutenants asked.

“At anything that shines and is moving,” Hugo said.

Wilson grinned at his men. I had the impression he was used to gung-ho orders and rather liked them. He powered up his rifle; the sound of all those plasma pistols around me made my ears ring. The fine hairs on my arms stood on end, but that could have been the thought of what awaited us on the other side of the closed hatch.

“Ready?” Hugo asked. The men all nodded affirmatively. Hugo’s eyes met mine.

I saw a wealth of words there, some of them didn’t make much sense. But I recognised the worry, the concern, the regret and something else that I was beginning to think I might be feeling as well.

“Be careful,” I said. The officers around us remained silent.

Hugo nodded his head and then cupped my cheek with his free palm. He didn’t kiss me, but the moment was intimate regardless. The officers looked anywhere but at us.

“Stay safe,” Hugo said to me. He didn’t need to say more; the others were counting on me to get them into the computer core. One of them might have had a screwdriver and could have made their way old-style out of the tunnels eventually. But to what? Aquila’s form of justice?

No, they needed refuge more than ever in the computer core, the only place on this ship safe from my father.

I nodded my head, pressed my cheek into his palm. And then it was gone, and I felt infinitely colder.

I reached out with the wrist comm to the hatch before I could stop myself. Filtered air rushed past us to fill the void within the central hub.

Wilson jumped down, followed by his men, but I didn’t hear any plasma fire. Hugo stepped out behind them. I risked a peek over his shoulder.

Everyone was down on the gel floor, including the mercs in their armour. López had done it. Her watch and their civilian team had disarmed all of the mercs. But Aquila had crushed them.

I stifled a sob.

“Hold on a minute,” Hugo said. “That’s no civilian clothing.”

He pointed at one of the bodies laying out on the floor. It was clear the man wasn’t wearing anything like civilian clothing.

“That’s a skin suit designed to wear under armour,” Wilson said, staring down at the merc.

“Then that would mean…” Hugo said but didn't finish. He walked over to the closest armoured suit and undid the helmet. His plasma rifle’s muzzle aimed right at the emerging face.

The person inside the helmet scowled up at him.

“Who are you?” Hugo demanded.

“Who are you?” the guy said.

“Captain Tremblay.”

“Oh. Hi. I’m Joe.” The guy coughed. Hugo was already swaying.

“Captain,” Wilson said, dragging him back to the tunnel. “That’s a civvy.”

Hugo sucked in mouthfuls of air. Then said, “Get his helmet back on and get him over here.”

It was clear that those outside of the armoured suits were already dead. We’d been too late to save them. But López had done something for those she could. She’d ejected the mercs and replaced them with civilians.

With my heart in my throat, I scanned the fallen. Noting which ones were mercs easily now, in their skintight clothing. I spotted López. Beside the immobile armoured form of a former merc. Inside was no doubt a civilian or one of her officers.

“Hugo,” I said, pointing, my heart in my throat.

“Shit,” he said, sounding a little better now that he’d re-oxygenated himself. He sucked in deep mouthfuls of air from inside the tunnel and then ran over to his first officer’s side.

My heart went with him.

He gripped her collar and dragged her back to the tunnel as Wilson and his men went ‘round and laboriously checked each face under the helmets, securing them again and activating their suits as soon as their identity was verified.

Hugo flung López up into the tunnel and then followed behind her, dragging her further in.

“Stay by the hatch for the others,” he ordered and started performing CPR.

My entire body shook as I watched him breathe into the commander’s mouth and then start the compressions. He seemed desperate. Why hadn’t we brought the med-unit with us? It was an oversight that would cost Commander López’s life. I flicked a glance out of the hatch and saw some of the now mobilised armours up and dragging people toward the tunnel.

I thought it was a useless gesture until I heard López spluttering behind me.

My head spun back ‘round to take in the scene, my heart in my throat, shock making my body thrum. Hugo was collapsed against the side of the tunnel, and López was coming around, breathing in lungfuls of life-sustaining air.

“Incoming,” Wilson yelled behind me, throwing another civilian into the tube.

“You’ll have to help him,” I said, moving to the side. Hugo was in no state to do that all over again.

Wilson nodded his head and climbed up behind the civilian, then dragged the person back to where the captain sat.

“Give me a sec,” Hugo said panting. Wilson just nodded and got to work on the civilian he’d brought with him.

“Captain,” López gasped. “Did we do it?”

Hugo patted his commander weakly on the shoulder and grinned at her.

“Put a damn big dent in his plans, Andrea,” he said.

“Good,” she managed and then slumped, unconscious. Hugo checked her breathing and pulse, and then gently moved her further down the tunnel, making way for others.

A bare ten minutes later it was over. The rest of the civilians in the hub were beyond revival. Hugo and his men had managed to save three. López had saved much more than that, by using the merc’s own armour. Thirteen out of twenty-two who had raised arms against my father down in the pay-for-passages.

The commander’s was the best result we could have hoped for in what had turned out to be a costly exercise.

I didn’t want to tally up the death toll. To put into words exactly how many people my father had killed on his quest to rule over us all. He’d lost thirty mercs, but how many had we lost?

The death toll just kept rising and rising until I was sure we would all drown in it.

“Adi,” Hugo said, catching my eye. He didn’t say anything else. What was there to say?

But it was enough. It was everything. He knew what I was thinking just by looking at me. Hugo understood my heartache and rage, and with one look of agreement, he gave me his word. His backing.

His strength.

It was time to face my father. It was time for this to end.