LINA’S GLOWLAMP shook in her hand. The inside of the cave was pitch-black. Of course it was. She scolded herself for being surprised. What did she expect? It was cold, too, bitterly cold, even through her jacket.

So she was freezing, could barely see where she was going, and had no idea what to do next.

Way to go, Lina. Way to go.

But what choice did she have? Korda was coming. The man who had taken everything from her. First Mom and Dad, then Dil Pexton. Now even the Whisper Bird and Milo were gone.

She stopped herself. No, Milo wasn’t gone. He was just trapped. They’d see each other again soon; she was sure of it.

She wasn’t going to let Korda win. Not this time.

The cave narrowed into a tight passageway, barely wide enough for her shoulders. She considered turning back but forced herself on. If it was getting too tight a squeeze for a ten-year-old girl, a man the size of Korda would find it impossible.

At least, that’s what she hoped.

Maybe he’d get stuck. The idea made her grin. She imagined him scrabbling at the rock, that robotic jaw grinding in frustration. Ha! It would serve him right.

Besides, she’d explored ice caves before. Dad had taken them potholing on Orto Plutonia when she was eight. Mom had stayed on the Whisper Bird with Milo while Dad taught Lina how to clamber through the tightest gap and scale sheer walls. Her parents were the best. How many eight-year-olds had been taught how to use ice picks?

There was a noise from behind. Lina froze, listening intently. Something was in the cave with her. An animal? A keejin, or maybe a shyrack? She turned. Light was bouncing off the walls behind her. Not an animal then, unless it had a glowlamp of its own. It had to be Korda. She could hear his footsteps now, getting closer. They were slow, cautious. Korda was trying to keep quiet, to sneak up on her.

She wasn’t about to let that happen.

Lina pushed on, trying not to panic. The walls were pressing in, the floor becoming more treacherous with every step. Something caught her arm and she spun around, expecting to see Korda’s face leering out of the darkness.

She let out a ragged breath. Her sleeve had just snagged on a rock.

She pulled it free, the silver material ripping.

“I can hear you!”

So much for sneaking up on her! Korda sounded so close, like he could reach out and grab her.

“You can’t hide from me, Lina. Not this time.”

She didn’t want to hide. She wanted to run. She pressed on, not caring if he heard her or not. It didn’t matter anymore. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, her free hand clawing at the rocks to pull her along. How long was this tunnel anyway? At least it was widening now, opening out.

She picked up speed, bouncing off the walls. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder, only stopping short when her foot came down on thin air. She threw out an arm, grabbing hold of the wall. It was enough to keep her from falling forward into the great chasm that had opened in the tunnel floor. She wobbled on the edge, stones tumbling into the darkness below. The gap was a meter or two across, but it might as well have been a hundred kilometers for the fear that seemed to grip her heart.

Could she clamber around it? Lina cast her lamp’s beam over the walls, revealing nothing but smooth rock, barely any handholds at all. She’d never make it that way. Going back wasn’t an option, either, not unless she wanted to run into Korda.

She would have to jump.

She almost laughed at how crazy that sounded. Jump the gap. What if it was wider than it looked? What if she didn’t make it across?

There was only one answer to that. She would fall. Fast.

“Lina…”

Korda’s mocking voice was the encouragement she needed.

Lina backed up, trying to get her breathing under control. She needed to focus on the other side of the crevasse, to imagine herself already there, landing safely. She’d jumped wider streams than this. There was nothing to be scared about.…

Other than falling into a bottomless pit, of course.

She couldn’t think like that. She tensed, getting ready to run.

One. Two. Three.

Go!

Lina bolted forward and flung herself across the void. She couldn’t tell if she cried out as she jumped, or whether she screamed inside. Time seemed to slow down as she flew through the air, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

She wasn’t going to make it. What had she been thinking? It was too far. She reached forward. Her foot struck something hard. She fell, expecting to plunge into the abyss, but instead her shoulder made contact with rock. It was painful contact, but she didn’t care. She was rolling along the passageway, away from the edge. She’d made it! She’d made the jump!

The glowlamp was still clutched tightly in her hand. She brought up the light to see how far she had leapt. The face of Captain Korda snarled back at her across the chasm. He was on the other side!

Fighting the urge to fling the precious lamp at him, she shot to her feet and ran. The passage was rising steadily now, stalactites reaching down like gnarled fingers. She didn’t care. Maybe there was a chamber ahead, somewhere she could hide. She continued to climb, up and up and up until…

Lina stopped short, her heart sinking.

No. This couldn’t be happening.

There was no chamber at the end of the passage, only a solid wall of ice.

There was nowhere else to go, not to the right or the left. She definitely couldn’t go back!

She tried to steady her breathing, looking up. What would Milo do? What crazy plan would he come up with?

She flashed the lamp up at the wall. Was that a ledge running across its length, high above her?

Suddenly, she knew exactly what Milo would do. He would climb!

The only way is up, Sis!

Holding her lamp between her teeth, Lina delved into her tool belt. There had to be something she could use.

Her fingers brushed against metal. She pulled it out. A pilex bit driver, one of a set of three. She’d lost the biggest when the water had hit the Whisper Bird, but this one felt sturdy enough. Her pilex drivers were fitted with a joint halfway along the shaft, so the sharp drill bit at the end could be locked at a right angle to the rest of the tool. She did exactly that, tightening the joint as much as she could. At least it was now the right shape for an ice pick. She could hold it by the handle and hammer the drill bit into the ice to pull herself up.

She searched in her belt for the third bit driver. It was smaller than the first, and the joint didn’t feel half as strong when she locked it in place.

Would either of them hold her weight?

There was only one way to find out.

With a grunt, she swung the first bit driver at the wall. The drill bit sunk into the ice and held fast. So far so good. Using the spikes on her boots to push herself up, she swung with her left arm. Again the drill bit held. She climbed hand over hand, remembering how her Dad had taught her all those years before.

That’s it, Lina. You can do it!

“I can do it,” she repeated, the glowlamp still clamped in her teeth. “I can do it.”

The wall wasn’t as vertical as she’d first thought. It sloped slightly away from her, which helped, but her arms ached and her legs trembled with fatigue. Soon even the slightest movement became difficult.

Keep going, Lina, she heard her dad say. Do it for me. Do it for Milo!

Her right foot slipped and she cried out, the glowlamp dropping from her mouth. She hung there, listening to it clatter to the floor below. How far had it fallen? She must have climbed farther than she thought.

It would be easy to look down. Too easy. But she couldn’t risk getting dizzy. She needed to look up. She needed to carry on.

The drill bits hammered into the wall like blaster bolts.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

The pain in her arms was unbearable, her shoulders tight, the muscles cramping.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

She thought about Milo, how he’d tease her if she fell. Come on, Lina. Get a move on! You’ll never reach that ledge!

Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that!

Bang.

Bang.

The sound of boots crunching on ice far below nearly stopped her in her tracks. She imagined Korda, stepping out of the passage, finding her glowlamp at the bottom of the wall. What was he doing now? Looking up at her? Watching her hang from the ice like a spider? Was he reaching for his blaster, lining up a shot?

Keep going, Lina. Keep going!

She swung her right arm, but was too tired. The drill bit bounced off the ice, the handle slipping from her aching fingers. It tumbled away, and for the first time since she’d started her ascent, Lina looked down.

Korda was there, glaring up at her. She panicked, her feet scrabbling at the ice as she lost her grip on the remaining bit driver.

Lina slid down the slope, screaming all the way. Her gloved hands desperately searched for a handhold, anything to stop her from falling.

And then she was caught by a pair of strong arms. She looked up to see her terrified reflection staring back at her in Korda’s metallic jaw.

“Got you!” he snarled triumphantly.

“Get off me!” she screamed, kicking her legs wildly. “Let me go!”

Korda staggered back, dropping her. She slammed against the ground, winding herself. Fingers grabbed the back of her jacket just as her own hand found something hard on the floor. One of the bit drivers!

She wheeled around, raking the drill bit through the air. Korda stepped back, easily dodging the clumsy attack. He reached for something behind his back. Lina had no idea what until the end of a force pike appeared in front of her face.

She dropped the bit driver and froze.

“Smart girl,” Korda snarled. “This pike contains enough power to stun a dewback, let alone a little runt like you.”

Lina glared back. “What do you want?”

Korda laughed as if that was the most idiotic question he had ever heard. “Your droid, of course. Or rather, all those maps in his head. Where is he?”

“At the bottom of the ocean,” Lina said. “He’s gone, along with the maps. Do you understand? The Whisper Bird. Milo. Crater. They’re all under the ice and there’s no way to get them back!”

Something buzzed on her belt. Korda’s eyes flashed toward the sound and then widened as a voice crackled over the comlink.

“Sis? Can you hear me? It’s Milo. We need your help.”

A terrible grin spread across Korda’s face. “Did you hear that? Your brother’s in need of assistance.”