93

CeCe

like them,” I said. “What are they after?”

“My kneejerk reaction is to say you,” Joan said. “You sabotaged their entire strategy to send out hundreds of exploratory missions and stole IGMC property. And while you didn’t kidnap anyone, you did manage to “lose” a fraction of their expertise and miners.”

“Thanks,” I said with a wink. “You make me sound good.”

She laughed.

“They want VELMA-X, though,” Esra said. “Not just for its functionality, but because it’s the proof that they crossed a line. As much as shareholders want profits, they know the populace doesn’t like when their money is dirty.”

“Esra’s right,” Pattee said. “You’re just the icing on their revenge cake.” She grinned and I shook my head with a wry smile.

“Could we destroy the chip?” Amity said.

“Yes, and we probably will,” I said. “The problem is it’s already uploaded on Pattee’s ship drive. Even in an isolated packet, it could be extracted. And really, we want our hands on the proof so we can hold the co-directors responsible.”

“Absolutely,” Pattee said. “Otherwise, they could throw you under the grav crawler, make you take the fall.”

“I did send a field drone to Titan,” I said. “Before I initiated my great escape. It has all the evidence; it’s just going to take forever to reach IGMC headquarters.”

Exhaling, I looked up from my crossed hands at Esra. “Have you considered the skimmer might be your ex-partner? Based on things you’ve said, I wondered.”

Esra swallowed and averted her eyes for a second. “Yes. I kind of had a feeling but I didn’t want to sound like I was making it all about me.”

“An executive class skimmer is an odd choice for an away trip of any kind,” I said, glancing at Pattee who was nodding. “It’s built for shuttling between larger ships or between outposts on planets. Mining bosses, overseers, superiors, what have you; they’re the ones using skimmers. They’re comfortable, stocked with nice supplies, and easy to navigate. Honestly, it’s exactly the kind of ship an egotistical megalomaniac would choose because it wouldn’t occur to him that it looks stupid in this scenario.”

Esra smirked and Amity chuckled.

“He’s following ion trails,” I said. “He probably hasn’t researched the planet at all. Plus, VELMA isn’t installed on most IGMC ships. Just the EEPs because of the co-directors’ plans. We should lay traps, but it’s possible his own hubris will kill him—with a little help from Predator Planet.”

Everyone nodded, but I paid attention to Esra. She looked resolved. And maybe a little relieved.

“Hey,” I said and bumped her shoulder with mine. “Next time you have gut feelings or intuition or hunches … just let us know. From what I’ve seen of you guys, we’re all friends and it seems like everyone is accustomed to giving each other the benefit of the doubt. Let’s hang onto that.”

“Will do,” she said with a small smile. “I think with Red gone I started to revert back to who I was before. Shaky confidence, fearful. Letting my inadequacies loom in my mind. But God, that is not who I am anymore!”

I stilled and put my arm around her for a minute, my head down as I pondered her words.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m gonna borrow that affirmation because I’m really feeling it myself.”

She reached over and hugged me and then we joined the others in repairing Pattee’s laser perimeter.

“It’s pretty basic,” she said. “But sometimes the basics are the most important fallback.”

VELMA sent us regular updates, but it’d been hours and there was still no sign of the skimmer anywhere on planet.

But that was okay, because we’d made good use of our time.