I sunk to the floor in the tiny, cramped room, my legs not quite willing to hold me up. I propped the screen up against a discarded dirty mug that had been sitting there for far too long and called Sammy.

“Hello,” he whispered, too close to the screen.

“Sammy,” I whispered back. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

He looked around furtively before pulling back so that I could see his entire bruise-mottled face.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he said distractedly. “Um… so you know you said to call if something happened here?”

“Yeah?” I replied, fear bubbling in my stomach.

“Well, something weird’s happening.”

“What’s going on?”

He glanced around again.

“I… don’t know.”

Frustration spiked within me and I almost wanted to shout at him but I forced myself to stay calm. It wasn’t Sammy’s fault. He just needed a chance to speak.

“Okay, how are things at the base?” I asked, hoping to get some answers out of him.

“Well, that’s kind of the problem. They’re… fine. I don’t know what happened tonight but we were all locked in our rooms before the announcement and they searched all our dorms first and took all our screens. They blocked all the built-in screens too. They’ve literally just locked up in our rooms with nothing to do.”

Confusion washed through me but something told me that wasn’t everything.

“Okay, did you have some hidden screens?” I asked.

“Yeah, of course, but… that’s not it. We watched the ID thing too. I think a bunch of tutors must have because Pav hacked into the cameras around the base and… loads of them left.”

There was a moment of silence.

“They left?” I asked.

“Yeah. Like… some took the bus but some took some ships. I don’t know why they’ve gone.”

I licked my lips, giving myself a moment to think.

They were fleeing, they must have been. They knew that a change was coming and that they wouldn’t survive it. Or, they were distancing themselves from the Council, trying to pretend that they’d never agreed with them so that they got away with how they’d been acting.

Or, maybe our plan worked. Maybe, just maybe, we’d changed their minds. Maybe hearing what the ID had to say and what Chal said changed things for them. Meant that they weren’t able to ignore the truth anymore.

“So, now you’re all just locked in your rooms? The drafts and the volunteers too?” I asked.

Sammy nodded quickly.

“But… I think people might be coming. Like, Guardians.”

My heart felt like it stopped.

“What makes you think that?” I asked as quickly as I could, ice dripping down my spine.

“Plend. She locked herself in her office and she’s started sending out messages. Some of my friends found a way to monitor them and I don’t know what any of them mean. She’s been saying something about emergency protocols but I don’t know any of them and we can’t find out anything about them!”

“Do you remember which emergency protocols?”

“Um… I think it was seven, nine and clause three?” he said unsurely.

Peggy, I thought quickly, do you know anything about emergency protocols seven, nine and clause three?

“I’ve asked Peggy to look into it,” I said as Peggy thought a message back to me.

I’ve never heard of them. What’s going on?

Plend’s locked everyone in their rooms and locked herself in her message. They’ve hacked the system and she’s sending messages, asking them to put the protocols into place, I relayed.

Sammy visibly relaxed.

“Oh, good! Peggy will be able to work it out,” he said with a confident smile.

Who’s she sending the messages to? Peggy asked.

“She will. Do you know who Plend is sending the messages to?” I asked Sammy.

He shook his head.

“No, and she’s not been getting any reply. The ping goes to a weird system. Col tried to call them but it just said that it was unrecognised,” he said.

I nodded.

What’s going on out there? Are they sending people down to the base? I asked.

Think so. We’re going, Cas replied.

“Okay, stay out of trouble and stay out of sight. Get everyone you can trust in to the service corridors as much as possible and keep an eye on what’s going on. Post on the forum if anything changes or if anyone arrives, okay?” I said.

“Okay!” Sammy said. “Then what?”

“We’re coming to get you,” I told him before quickly adding, “If the medBay is empty and the storeroom, get as much as you can carry. I don’t know how this is going to go but we might need some supplies.”

Sammy nodded determinedly.

“I’ll do what I can.”

I took a deep breath, feeling like I hadn’t done enough.

“Take care of yourself, don’t do anything risky and be safe. Hide until we can get there, okay? If anything feels wrong or if you need anything, post on the forum and we’ll do whatever we can.”

Sammy grinned cheerfully despite the situation.

“Thanks, Captain Aries!”

I nodded, my heart pounding determinedly in my chest.

“I’ll see you soon.”

He grinned as I hung up the call.

I let myself take a deep breath and dropped my head back against the wall, closing my eyes for just a moment before pushing myself to my feet and grabbing the screen. I walked out of the room, my shoulders pulled back and doing my best to project confidence.

Despite the fact that Aquila was still briefing, most people glanced at me which made her pause.

“Welcome back,” she said with a slight nod even though I’d only been gone a few minutes. “Can you please give a rundown of the situation on the base?”

I nodded, moving back to my seat but not sitting down just yet.

“Plend, the Director they brought in to replace Andy,” I said for the benefit of anyone who hadn’t been there, “had locked herself in her office. My contact at the base has access to her system and states that she is trying to enact some emergency protocols into place. All of the trainees have been locked in their dorms, their screens have been blocked or taken from them unless they were hidden, and some of the tutors have left. My contact is concerned that there may be Guardians on the way to the base to help enact the protocols.”

“Are they safe?” someone asked but I wasn’t sure who it was.

I could feel everyone’s gaze weighing heavily on me and, as much as I wanted to, I wasn’t willing to tell them what I’d told Sammy.

I told Sammy to grab as many people as he trusts and hide in the service corridors, I told my crew before taking a deep breath.

“No.”

The room erupted into questions but I sunk into my chair.

I’d said enough, There was nothing more for me to add or say. They weren’t safe, not with Plend still there. We didn’t know what the emergency protocols were and, until we did, they were at risk. It was likely that even after we knew what they were, they’d still be at risk.

“Quiet!” Aquila said, raising her voice for the first time since I’d met her. “We will be sending ships to both the base and the prison!”

“What about the other bases?” Trolis asked, his voice breaking through the noise.

Aquila nodded, giving his question some thought.

“Although I understand they are at risk right now, I believe the risk is lower. The Council will directly target Andy’s base because of our connection to it. They are our priority right now.”

I was uncomfortable with that but I understood it. The other trainees were probably also at risk but I wouldn’t put it past Harvey to deliberately target our home. He knew we’d come for them, that’s why he sent the Guardians.

I know it was risky and stupid and probably a dumb decision but I raised my hand slightly to get everyone’s attention and to silence the room before I spoke.

“I told my contact that me and my crew would be at the base.”

Whispers hissed around the room but I refused to look away from Aquila.

“That’s very noble of you but the Council will be expecting that. It’s too big a risk in afraid,” she said.

I forced myself not to react but to nod and look as apologetic as possible.

“I understand but I’m not willing to let anything else lead this mission. It’s my people there. My responsibility and I’m the one who knows where they are hiding.”