The Dead Fleet (Juggernaut #3)

Forty Seven

Grace turned right out of the room. She lowered the carbine to run but every pause, every junction, every corner was a reason to brace it tight against her shoulder and be ready to shoot.

Tila ran alongside, easily keeping up. The challenge was going as slowly as Malachi and Ellie. Her staff was in her hand. She was ready for action, while being fully aware that their circumstances had changed, and she was very much in danger of bringing a stick to a gunfight.

But that didn't matter. None of it mattered. She had her mother back. She would fight armies to keep her.

Around the next corner they found a circular stairwell. Grace covered the steps in a full circle before relaxing her weapon. Seeing and hearing nothing they descended two flights. At the bottom they turned once more toward the bow of the ship.

'They will be alright, won't they?' Tila asked.

'Your friends? If they can fly those ships they have a good chance. All they need to do it get out of the fleet and back to the Jenova beacon.'

'Typhon said reinforcements were coming. Is that true?'

Grace slowed to a walk. 'It's possible. Like I said already my intelligence about this mission was limited. It wouldn't surprise me though. If you really have uncovered the Cabal operation they will want to scrub the evidence.'

'Scrub?'

'They'll send in a ground team to clear the ship of anything useful, eliminate any threats, and follow up with a strike on the Solar Forge to destroy it. Once this ship has blow up it will look like any other part of the dead fleet.'

'Are you sure?'

'That's how I would do it.'

'You would? Why?'

'Because it's my job to consider the moves most likely to get me a victory or hold off defeat. Destroying everything here won't win the cabal anything but it buys them time.'

'Time for what?'

'Whatever the next part of their plan is. This was a big operation, years in the planning. There's more to this story, believe me. I just don't know what it is yet. Don't worry about your friends. I'm sure they will be gone long before more cabal forces show up.'

'I hope so,' Tila muttered. 'I wish I could help.'

'We can improve their odds.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean let's go and do some damage.'