Of course the door would be sealed, Josephine thought.

She and the others had headed straight toward the bridge as soon as they'd discovered the lockdown, but they'd only gotten as far as the door leading to the spire stairwell. All alternate doors were likewise sealed. When she waved their stolen card over the reader, it beeped angrily and a flashed a tiny red light.

"Is the card bad?" Naema asked.

"I think every card is going to be bad," Josephine replied. She took a stairwell leading up to the top deck. All around her, spires rose like skyscrapers, but the one she was wanted into was the one right next to her. The admiral's perch was near the top, but they couldn't possibly climb the spire's smooth steel surface.

"So what now?" Naema looked at her, eyes earnest, as did Naema's mother and brother. Tan watched her flatly.

"I'm not sure," Josephine said. "But we have to get into that bridge. Unless someone has some other idea."

Everyone looked around.

Tan motioned behind himself as though he had something on his back. "We jump." He moved as though ripping something off his chest.

"Parachutes?" Josephine asked.

He shrugged. "It work."

"We're not far enough off the ground."

Oni spoke. "It could still work. It's called base jumping. We do it."

"I am not jumping," said Naema's mother. She faced Josephine. "You have powers. You can use them, no?"

"I do, but I need to see my target."

Naema pointed up the spire. "Look. There are windows." Small hatches lined the bridge spire. "If you can look in those, you can make them forget to keep the door closed."

"How am I supposed to get up there."

Naema pointed to a spire across from the bridge. "We go up there and you look across."

Josephine looked. None of the other spires were as tall as the bridge spire, but some came close. The distance between them made a wide enough gap for planes to fly though. The top deck had once been a runway before the Lakiran Air Force retired all non grid-compatible planes.

Even if Josephine could see in the spire windows through the bright blue sky reflecting off the pane, she'd be looking through two small hatch windows hundreds of feet apart. She could maybe spot one or two people before the crew caught on.

But the idea wasn't meritless.

"It won't work," Josephine said, "but I think I know what will. Come on."

"Where?" Tan asked.

"To wherever they keep guns."

"I see them," Bishop said.

"Which screen?" Victoria asked.

"Camera F-4C."

Victoria tabbed through the list. That camera was in Fore Sector, Deck 4. They were headed down into the ship, and they clearly had a goal. This was near an auxiliary bay for shipping and supplies. Civilians were never allowed down there. The surveillance was because of the nature of what the citadel stored down there.

"Admiral? Do you see them?"

A click indicated Admiral Medina's return. "Yes, Your Majesty. We see them. We think they're heading toward the armory."

"We can't have them access the explosives. Have your men set up a sentinel on the armory main room and get out of there."

"Yes, ma'am. They're already doing that."

"And if they can fully lock down any armaments, have them do so."

"Yes, ma'am. Already done."

"Good."

Over the comm, the admiral was issuing orders that Victoria could barely hear. She was projecting her mind into the bridge when it occurred to her that she might be micromanaging the situation. The admiral and his men had more combat experience than her, and he understood the risks now. Should she back off?

Victoria chuckled.

She should. She wouldn't.