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== Prologue ==
== Part One ==
=== Chapter 1 ===
=== Chapter 2 ===
Mrs. Vmeer, Spensa's Work Studies instructor, introduces Citizen Alfir, a man from Sanitation Corps, asking him to discuss his job. Spensa's classmate Dia taunts her, telling Spensa that cleaning waste would be a perfect job for the daughter of a coward, and Spensa has to restrain herself due to Dia being Mrs. Vmeer's daughter and already having gotten into trouble for fighting before. Alfir continues speaking, saying that even though his job doesn't seem significant, it is still vital to keep their society running. Spensa notes that several of the other speakers have said the same things about their roles, and finds those attitudes not passionate enough for Defiants. Citizen Alfir finishes his presentation, and the students stand up for a break. Spensa avoids to Dia to try to stay out of trouble, and instead approaches her friend
=== Chapter 3 ===
== Part Two ==
=== Chapter 7 ===
Spensa stands in an elevator as the door opens to Alta Base, a bit hesitant as people around her start walking out. A girl behind her expresses similar sentiments, wondering if this is real, before telling her that they can handle it. As they leave the elevator, Spensa is surprised that the girl isn't shunning her like all the other people she's known. The girl introduces herself as [[Kimmalyn]] and they realize they are in the same class. Spensa wonders if Kimmalyn's friendly, laid-back demeanor will work for her as a Defiant, while Kimmalyn thinks Spensa's aggressive attitude is a bit too much. They pass a checkpoint and enter their classroom building. Spensa feels nervous at how open her surroundings are, but pushes it back and prepares to learn how to become a pilot.
=== Chapter 8 ===
=== Chapter 9 ===
=== Chapter 10 ===
=== Chapter 11 ===
=== Chapter 12 ===
Spensa wakes up in the ship's cockpit,
=== Chapter 13 ===
Early in the morning, Spensa heads
=== Chapter 14 ===
A week later, Cobb lectures the cadets
=== Chapter 15 ===
Spensa plugs a power matrix from an old water heater into the ship, talking to Doomslug as she does so. She realizes that it is not powerful enough to make the ship run. Spensa leaves the cave to head to class. In class, the cadets practice hitting floating pieces of debris using their light-lances in a simulator. Spensa manages to hit a chunk, but crashes her ship in the process. Cobb stands nearby, watching the cadets' actions on the simulator. He tells Morningtide, who is timidly hovering at the edge of the simulated debris fields, to participate more, like the other cadets. Spensa helps explain Cobb's orders to Morningtide, before getting back in herself. As she puts on her helmet, Spensa notices strange bumps in it. She asks Cobb about it, and he informs her that Medical ordered it swapped to monitor her bioreadings, but only for Spensa herself and none of her flightmates. Spensa is uncomfortable with this revelation, but gets back into the simulation anyway. Cobb gets into a discussion with Bim, in which Bim asks why they are practicing with light-lances instead of dogfighting. Cobb then puts up a projection of five golden rings, and sets up a contest in which the cadet that flies through the most rings in three runs will get an extra dessert, and adds that a cadet's score is stuck at whatever they achieved beforehand with no tries afterwards if they crash. The reward is useless to Spensa, since she doesn't eat with the others. Jorgen hangs back and observes Eventually, it comes down to Spensa, who has finished her third run with ten points, realizing that Jorgen, currently with eight points, will win if he completes the third run he is starting. She tries to stop it by crashing her ship straight into Jorgen's mid-run, ending it before he can claim enough points to beat her. Jorgen is furious, to Spensa's satisfaction. Cobb orders a break. Kimmalyn congratulates her on winning the game. Bim starts talking to Spensa about her interest in ancient heroes, and she realizes he is awkwardly trying to flirt with her. She tries to flirt back when Jorgen reveals to everyone that Spensa is Chaser's daughter. They have a confrontation on it, before Cobb orders everyone to get back to their exercises. At the end of the day, an angry Spensa steals the power matrix from Jorgen's hovercar.
=== Chapter 16 ===
Spensa wakes up in the
=== Chapter 17 ===
The ship
=== Chapter 18 ===
Spensa
=== Chapter 19 ===
Spensa runs for Alta Base, thinking Ironsides made it Skyward Flight's turn this time to participate in the battle. She returns to a single ship on a launchpad, meaning that she is late and everyone else in her flight has already taken off. In a hurry, Spensa skips putting on her pressure suit, and contacts Jorgen before taking off. Eventually, she reaches the site of the battle, and Jorgen tells her to help Morningtide, who has picked up a tail. Morningtide tries to dodge and throw them off, but the three Krell ships trailing her manage to shoot her down. Spensa tries to help by hitting one of the Krell ships with her light-lance for another pilot to shoot down, but Morningtide is already gone. Spensa flies back to Jorgen, containing her grief. The two use their light-lines to send a Krell ship into debris before Cobb tells them to remain in defensive positions. They then notices Kimmalyn, who has frozen up with Morningtide's death and doesn't have a wingmate. Jorgen goes to cover her, telling Spensa to go help Bim. Spensa gets a tail, which she gets rid of by making a good maneuver, feeling as though she is part of the ship. Cobb congratulates her, then tells her to get to Bim, who he says is too overeager. Just then, a Krell bomber with a lifebuster bomb is spotted. Cobb tells the cadets to stay back and let the full pilots handle the situation. Bim insists he can hit the bomber, and Cobb tries to check for orders instead of immediately rejecting the idea, which makes Bim think that he has permission to engage, and asks Spensa to follow him. Cobb warns them that the bomb looks bigger than usual, but Bim is already flying over. Four escort ships peel away from the bomber, and their destructor blasts overwhelm Bim's ship's shields, shooting him down. A chunk of the wreckage hits Spensa's ship and it starts blaring warnings, but she manages to stabilize herself. The Krell ships disengage, and Ironsides decides not to pursue, since there are too many of them. Jorgen orders everyone to confirm their status, and everyone other than Morningtide and Bim responds, before they fall into formation. Skyward Flight returns to base, short two members.
== Part Three ==
=== Interlude I-1 ===
=== Chapter 20 ===
Spensa arrives five minutes late to class the next day, still shocked at Bim and Morningtide's deaths. She notices that while everyone else is present, Cobb and Kimmalyn have yet to arrive. Nedd asks her to say a few lines on being brave and defiant, but Spensa tells him that they feel like empty platitudes. FM gives her a squeeze on the shoulder, and Spensa thinks about how little she knows about her flightmate. Jorgen gets up and recites an awkward speech on their flightmates' deaths, reading notes off his hand. Cobb comes in and orders them to practice tandem maneuvering without being up the deaths, causing Spensa to snap at him. Kimmalyn finally arrives, puffy-eyed, and climbs into her seat. Instead of turning on the projector as usual, Cobb makes a comment on feeling less like a teacher and more like a munitions loader sending cadets off to die, something he believes his old teacher Mara would've said, looking unusually vulnerable. Spensa then talks about how her father told her to claim the stars, and that she will fight defiantly until she joins Bim and Morningtide in the stars. The other cadets are stunned into silence. After a few moments, Cobb tells them to start practicing. Spensa puts on her helmet and notes that the diodes are warm, which Cobb explains as medics still trying to get a reading on whether she'll be like her father.
=== Chapter 21 ===
Cobb pushes the cadets hard in their training. As they go on break, the cadets start bantering with each other. When Spensa tries to join in, Hurl gives her a strange look. As Spensa prepares to return to her cavern, she realizes that FM is still in the room. FM thanks her for her earlier comments on Morningtide and Bim being in the stars, accompanying Spensa as the two leave the classroom. She tells Spensa that though a lot of her other comments, influenced by her society and circumstances, are overly jingoistic, that speech was heartfelt. Spensa is confused and asks her if she is a Defiant, and FM replies that she self-identifies as a Disputer, someone who protests the Defiants' war culture. Spensa questions if she is a coward then, causing FM to point out to her the irony in she of all people throwing around that term. FM says that while she is still willing to fight and defend their people against the Krell, she is unhappy with the way fighting is overglorified in Defiant culture, feeling that peaceful and nurturing tendencies are being stamped out or neglected. Spensa feels that she is only saying that due to having an easier life in one of the deeper caverns, but thinks it is nice to get to know her and her thoughts better. Afraid of getting into trouble with the MPs if she gets too close to the mess hall, Spensa heads back to the classroom. She sees that Cobb is watching a hologram of yesterday's battle, and watching it brings back feelings of anticipation and a little fear. As he goes over the part where Morningtide dies, Spensa admits that she nearly blacked out when pulling off the dive in her maneuver to get rid of the Krell tailing her. Cobb tells Spensa that the way she flies reminds him of her father, in the way that she feels things. He then comments on the guardian ships accompanying the Krell being the first new tactical change in over a decade, and that they've been able to survive by anticipating the enemy's moves. Cobb gives Spensa a personal radio, saying that she needs it to stay in touch since she lives off-base. Spensa asks why Cobb himself doesn't fly anymore, and he replies that it is because of his old wounds. She is confused since a healthy leg is not needed to pilot a plane, and Cobb says it's the metaphorical wound of shooting down a comrade. Spensa realizes that Cobb was the one who shot down her father, and asks about what happened. Cobb says that the Krell were coming in overwhelming numbers, that Spensa's father panicked and started shouting about how they couldn't hope to survive after they fended off the first attack, and that after Chaser broke ranks and fled, he shot him down on his flightleader's orders. Spensa asks if this was really the way it happened, and can tell from the way he stays silent that his account, the official story, is not true. Spensa tries to inquire further, but Cobb shuts her down and tells her to go away. As she leaves, part of Spensa is upset over her flightmates' death and this new revelation, but she is satisfied over being right on her father not being a coward.
=== Chapter 22 ===
=== Chapter 23 ===
Cobb declares that he is satisfied with Skyward Flight's skill with light-lances, and tells them to move on to training with IMPs. Spensa tries to talk to Hurl over a private channel, but Hurl gives her a cold shoulder. Cobb tells Spensa to give an explanation on shields, then adds that IMPs only work in a tight filthy-meter radius and disables the pilot's own shields as well, but that they are needed to negate the Krell's advantage of better shields. Spensa starts practicing IMPing simulated Krell ships with Nedd, her partner for the day. Nedd complains about the exercises being boring, but Spensa enjoys it and feels closer to her father when flying, even if it is only in a simulation. After completing a particularly difficult run, Spensa talks to Nedd for a bit, pointing out that Nedd isn't as dumb as he presents himself to be. Kimmalyn and Hurl mess up a run, with Kimmalyn losing control and crashing. Nedd teases her over it, and when Spensa tries to stop him, he tells her that she needs to be teased a bit to help her deal with the anxiety over being the worse pilot in the class. They move on to talking about Hurl. M-Bot juts in, and Spensa asks him how he got into their lines. He replies that he is an stealth ship that has advanced communications technology, and got in through her personal radio. Kimmalyn messes up another run, and Spensa thinks about how they're wasting her potential while practicing fundamentals. Cobb tells Spensa that it's her turn, and as she starts flying, she sees that she has a tail even though the exercise is supposed to be one-on-one. Spensa manages to IMP her target, but takes damage in the process. Jorgen chastises her, saying that she'd be dead if it were a real battle, and she retorts that she accomplished her objective. Cobb sides with Jorgen, before telling them to do some monotonous gamma-M formation exercises and leaving. Spensa is frustrated during the entire exercise, refusing to talk to even M-Bot. After finishing, Spensa stews by herself and ignores Jorgen's orders for lineup. He starts arguing with her over her constantly disobeying his orders, eventually revealing that her father is Zeen Nightshade to the entire class when Spensa tries to leave. Incensed, Spensa attacks Jorgen, getting on top of him and preparing a punch. Nedd is impressed, and the other cadets are shocked. Spensa lets go, and Jorgen complains about her assaulting a superior officer. The two exchange a hard look before Spensa grabs her pack and leaves.
=== Chapter 24 ===
=== Chapter 25 ===
=== Chapter 26 ===
=== Chapter 27 ===
=== Chapter 28 ===
== Part Four ==
=== Interlude I-2 ===
Ironsides watches a holographic replay of the battle over the space shipyard. She thinks about old stories about generals in the past who boldly led from the front, and on how she is inadequate compared to those people. Ironsides notes that salvage crews reported that most of the acclivity rings are too damaged to use, and thinks to herself that her indecisiveness and unwillingness to commit were what led to them being unable to take the rings. She and her aide Rikolfr then move on to discussing Spensa's actions in the battle, noting that her helmet readings indicate the Writellum section of her brain being highly active around the Krell, and that it is proof she has a "defect". Rikolfr notes that while Dr. Halbeth is convinced, Dr. Thior, head of Alta Base's medical department, is not. Ironsides thinks about how the defect caused a mutiny on the ''Defiant'', the specifics of which a lot of merited families are trying to cover up due to being descendants of those who sided with the mutineers, but that she herself knows of the defect's dangers due to seeing them firsthand. Rikolfr reports that NAL member Algernon Weight, father of Jorgen, is supporting Dr. Thior's doubt, and helping propose questions on whether Spensa could just be used as a symbol of redemption instead of being driven out. Ironsides is irritated, and has orders sent to Drs. Halbeth and Iglom to refute Dr. Thior's claims. She is determined to make sure the defect doesn't cause any problems in the future.
=== Chapter 30 ===
=== Chapter 31 ===
=== Chapter 32 ===
=== Chapter 33 ===
Spensa wakes up in the infirmary, to which she had been sent to be checked over and ordered to stay in overnight. She forces herself out of bed and collects her belongings and goes to clean herself up. A nurse gives her a paper telling her that she and the rest of her flight were given a week of medical leave by Dr. Thior. Not knowing where to go, Spensa heads to her classroom, still stunned over Hurl's death. As the time for class draws closer, everyone else in the flight other than Jorgen also enter. Jorgen shows up ten minutes later, and unlike what Spensa expects, simply orders everyone to line up instead of dismissing them. He has a message sent to notify Cobb about everyone still going to class, and waits with the rest of the class. Quite a while later, Cobb comes in, and yells at them to sit down when they try to salute him. He goes into a loud rant about ejecting if their ship starts falling out of control, instead of listening to what the rest of the DDF says about always trying to save their ship. Spensa starts arguing with Cobb after he calls Hurl an idiot, and at one point calls him a coward. Cobb deflates and just says that Hurl's death was meaningless. He turns to leave, but stops when he sees Kimmalyn standing up and dropping her cadet's pin on her seat. He tells her to keep the pin and that she is dismissed. Spensa and Jorgen try to dissuade her from quitting, but Kimmalyn insists that she is the weakest member in the flight and is dragging everyone down, and says that she discussed it with Cobb. She expresses her guilt over being responsible for getting Hurl killed, and Spensa tries to comfort her. Kimmalyn leaves the room without her pin. Spensa turns to Jorgen and sees him standing with a pained look in his eyes. She gets information on how far Hurl crashed from Alta Base, and tells her classmates that she is going to give Hurl a proper funeral.
=== Chapter 34 ===
Spensa walks towards the crash site. M-Bot contacts her on her radio to ask if it is a good idea, but Spensa tells him to leave her alone. She has gone around two hours from Alta when a hovercar approaches and Jorgen stops to ask if she is really going to walk all the way there considering how dangerous it is outside. He offers to give her a ride, and she reluctantly accepts it since it will cut the trip down from hours into days. Jorgen tells Spensa that he wants to go with her to Hurl's funeral, and that he brought materials for a pyre. Jorgen tries to talk to her as they drive, but Spensa shuts him down and asks if he really cares. She then asks why he puts up with her, and Jorgen replies that even though she is insubordinate, she saved Nedd and helps save lives when she flies with the team. Spensa points out that Hurl and Kimmalyn are still gone from the flight, and Jorgen replies that it is his duty as flightleader to keep everyone together. Jorgen calls the AA-gun battery to keep them from being shot at as they pass, and they soon locate Hurl's wreck afterwards. They get out of the car and walk to the wreck, before heading to where the cockpit is. Spensa looks in and confirms to herself that Hurl really is dead. Examining the skid marks made by the crash, Spensa realizes that Hurl was nearly horizontal at the end, almost managing to safely land her ship. Jorgen takes a look in the cockpit, before turning away. Spensa sticks herself in and pulls Hurl's pin off her body. She thinks about the defiant expression on Hurl's face and wonders if it mattered whether someone was brave or cowardly in they died in the end, before chastising herself for being disrespectful. Jorgen gets the supplies out of the car and they set up a pyre around the cockpit, before Spensa ignites it. The two stand back and Jorgen recites part of an officer's elegy. The two stay and watch as the fire burns itself out. Jorgen tells Spensa that he isn't really defiant, since he is just going with what his family wants, and will be pulled out of the DDF after spending six months as a full pilot and gaining enough of a reputation in politics. He adds that he will miss flying, and that controlled joyrides won't be enough after he has experienced piloting a starfigher. Spensa comments that even though Jorgen's father isn't called a coward, he still is trapped in his shadow. As the fire dies down, Spensa comments that Hurl was more like her than she herself in some ways. The two start to go back to the car, when Spensa looks over the wreck again and sees how Hurl managed to keep some parts of the ship intact, the booster included. She thinks to herself for a moment before asking Jorgen for help moving the booster.
=== Chapter 35 ===
As they drive back, Jorgen tells Spensa that he is catching on to her intentions of building a starship. He says that if she found a crashed ship, she should turn it in to the DDF. Spensa replies that Ironsides has a grudge against her and won't let her fly, so she has to find her own way around things. Jorgen chastises her on the impracticality of her plan, and asks if Spensa is really just going to run away from the DDF. He suggests her flying a private ship instead, but Spensa points out that the slots are fiercely competed over and she needs a good reputation to take one. As they approach Alta, Spensa asks for Jorgen to drop her and the booster off near her cavern. As Jorgen drives back to base by himself, Spensa thinks to herself on how he somehow has even less freedom than herself. She greets M-Bot and tells him that she brought him the gift of freedom.
=== Chapter 36 ===
=== Chapter 37 ===
Spensa gets back to Alta Base and heads to Cobb's office, where he is working at his desk. Cobb tells her that FM has been looking for her, and the radio frequency for contacting her flightmates. Spensa steels herself before telling Cobb about getting Hurl's pin and handing it over. Cobb is a bit irritated over her and Jorgen not getting permission with the salvage crews. Spensa adds that they gave Hurl a pilot's burial and asks that the pin be given to Hurl's family. Cobb tells her that she can get off lightly this time, but should try to avoid making trouble. Spensa comments that her medical leave is frustrating and she doesn't know what to do with the time, to which Cobb agrees. She then asks if she can go watch recordings of old battles, and Cobb quickly agrees and gives her his authorization code to enter, to her surprise. Cobb tells her that cadets aren't supposed to be allowed in the archives and that she can use the excuse of fetching things for him as an excuse. As she turns to leave, Cobb tells her that sometimes the answers one needs don't match the questions she's asking and that a coward can make fools of wiser men, before dismissing her. As Spensa heads to the archives, she realizes that Cobb spotted the fact that she wanted to watch the Battle of Alta, and is confused as to why he simply let her do it. She looks around for a while, before finding the right case. Spensa sees that there are no viewing devices nearby, and so just takes the case. She walks out, deep in thought about how much she owes Cobb and where she is going to watch the battle recording. Distracted, Spensa is startled by FM spotting her, and lets her flightmate lead her out of the base and towards some buildings she hasn't paid attention to before.
=== Chapter 38 ===
=== Chapter 39 ===
Spensa plugs the recording into M-Bot's systems, and the ship's holoprojectors start playing the Battle of Alta. Spensa notes to herself that M-Bot has better projectors than the DDF, and can see the ships in clear detail. She watches the earlier parts of the battle and using her knowledge of flight tactics, sees how desperate the fight was. Spensa picks out a single ship that seems to fly better than the others, correctly guessing that it is Chaser. As she continues to watch, she gains a new respect for the First Citizens, thinking that while their government system is still flawed, they were brave. The recording progresses to the point where the Krell are repelled for the first time, where Chaser was said to break ranks. Spensa sees her father's ship pull away from his flight, but then head upwards to a hole in the debris instead of fleeing, presumably to track down where the Krell come from. She feels vindicated, now certain that the DDF were lying about her father's cowardice. She starts telling M-Bot about her thoughts, and M-Bot fast-forwards the recording a little. Chaser's ship returns from above, reaching the rest of his flight before IMPing them. Shocked, Spensa watches as her father attacks his own flightmates and other First Citizens, supported by the Krell. He shoots down four allied ships, including his flightmates Rally and Antique, before Cobb manages to shoot him down. Spensa spends the rest of the recording staring at the projected wreckage of Chaser's ship and ignoring the rest of the battle. She then asks M-Bot if the data could have been faked, and he tells her that it is authentic. Spensa wonders aloud what her father saw up there that made him turn against his allies, to which M-Bot replies that her father said something unusual when he saw the hole in the sky in the voice recordings. She asks him to play that section, and hears Chaser pleading with Ironsides to let him fly up there, claiming that he can hear the stars. She relents, and Chaser's ship leaves ranks. Spensa then asks if her father said anything after he came back down, and M-Bot gives her a single clip, in which he mournfully declares that he would kill everyone. Spensa asks why the DDF would hide what happened to her father when the truth was worse. M-Bot comments that he doesn't know enough to give a good answer. Numb, Spensa climbs into the cockpit and goes to sleep, ignoring M-Bot's attempts to talk to her.
=== Chapter 40 ===
=== Chapter 41 ===
=== Chapter 42 ===
A few days later, Spensa and FM have dinner with members of Inkwell and Firestorm flights. The cadets discuss whether they'll be put together into a single flight, and what name they'll take. Spensa stays quiet and eats quickly, listening to the others talk. One of the other cadets, Drama, comments on Spensa being quiet, which she is thrown off by. After dinner, Spensa heads back to her cavern to check on M-Bot and Doomslug. Spensa greets M-Bot with the name Massacrebot, which he is irritated by, and Doomslug mimics Rig cursing and the sound of hammer on metal. Spensa finds a note from Rig on the ship's fuselage, informing her that his repair work is done and thanking her for helping him find a successful career with the Engineering Corps, closing off with telling her to enjoy her ship. Spensa excitedly prepares to fly M-Bot.
=== Chapter 43 ===
=== Chapter 44 ===
=== Chapter 49 ===
=== Chapter 50 ===
Ironsides contacts Spensa on her radio, giving her the coordinates for the Krell after Spensa insists on it. Spensa tells the admiral that reinforcements might be coming (in the form of her former flightmates managing to steal ships) and that her Poco's shield isn't working, then heads in to fight the Krell. She notices and radios in about spotting a lifebuster, and Ironsides orders her to try and take out the bomber. The Krell ships try to distract Spensa, which she doesn't fall for, but she is unable to get to the bomber either. As she flies, Spensa realizes that she can somehow hear the commands being sent to the Krell ships.
Ironsides watches the battle hologram as Spensa continues evading and surviving the fifteen Krell ships' attacks. She worries that the other pilots won't be able to get back in time to help. Rikolfr asks if she's ever seen maneuvering like that, and she thinks back to Chaser.
Spensa manages to get a fifth hit on the bomber, and hopes that its shields will soon be down. Jorgen contacts her on the radio, telling her that he and Riptide Flight will be arriving soon. Spensa takes a hit on the nose from one of the black guardian ships, and realizes she can't hear them like she can for the other ships. She tries to hit the bomber, but realizes that her destructors were taken out by the damage to her ship's nose. Ironsides tells her that the bomber is almost to the death zone, a projected area in which a lifebuster would destroy Alta. She tells her to take the bomber down even if it does enter that range, in order to protect Igneous. Spensa announces her plan to ram the bomber and prepares to do so. Suddenly, the acclivity ring on her battered ship stops working and Spensa drops into a steep, out-of-control dive.
=== Chapter 51 ===
Spensa considers ejecting, but then realizes that she is the only one stopping the Krell from reaching Igneous. She turns off her ship's atmospheric scoop, opting to fly through lift instead. Spensa tries to gain enough altitude, but fails and crashes. Arturo calls in, announcing that they are coming. Flight Command orders her to leave the wreckage after learning her ship is nonfunctional, but Spensa is stuck in her straps. A Krell bomber escort ship flies over, firing at Spensa's wreckage. She is saved by Cobb flying M-Bot, who defeats the Krell ship by throwing it into the ground with a light-lance. Cobb lands, and M-Bot greets Spensa. Spensa tells Cobb that she does have the defect and can hear the Krell, but Cobb and M-Bot tell her that it doesn't matter at this point. M-Bot reveals that he rewrote part of his programming to accept Spensa as his pilot instead. Spensa climbs in, and as they lift off, tells M-Bot to go at full speed and to turn off the stealth system so that the Krell can see her coming.
=== Chapter 52 ===
Ironsides watches as the Krell forces get closer to Alta. She hears powerful families radioing that they will flee to deeper caverns and thinks of them as cowards, though she isn't surprised. Rikolfr informs her that there is a little under five minutes until the bomber reaches Alta, and Ironsides refuses when he asks her if they should evacuate the command center to one of the deeper caverns. She contacts Arturo, and tells him to shoot down the bomber despite it being in the death zone, saying that Alta is irrelevant now. A technician yells at her about a unidentified ship moving at a speed beyond what DDF ships are capable of. Ironsides thinks they might be attacked by another Krell ship, but then Spensa radios in.
As Spensa flies M-Bot at a speed much faster than the broken-down Poco's, but M-Bot reports that the destructors are offline, meaning her ship doesn't have functional weapons. M-Bot tries to comfort her by saying that his vocal aggression subroutine is working, and makes dramatic declarations over the general channel to her flightmates. Spensa tells them that she found another ship, and asks Kimmalyn, Nedd, and Arturo to stand by while she sees how the Krell react to her. A lot of Krell ships peel off from the main group and give chase. Arturo tells her that Riptide Flight will be coming soon, with Jorgen and perhaps FM. Spensa asks Arturo and Nedd to harry the bomber and try to drive it off, but Ironsides interrupts and asks them to shoot it down instead, even though it will destroy Alta and kill the admiral in the process. Spensa tells Kimmalyn to stay back and aim at the bomber, making Kimmalyn express doubt on a private channel about being able to handle such an important role. Spensa tells her that since her own ship's destructors are broken, only Kimmalyn can handle the shot. M-Bot's shields are hit a few times, causing him to make more overly blown insults at the Krell, and embarrasses Spensa when she realizes her own dramatic boasts sound similar. Spensa continues flying around, and realizes she can somehow react to the Krell commands she hears without consciously deciding to make those maneuvers, and feels as though she can feel M-Bot. Arturo radios in that they can't distract the guardian ships. Terrier, leader of Riptide Flight, arrives and Spensa tells him to have his flight harass the other Krell ships. He protests, but Jorgen vouches for Spensa. Spensa tells Jorgen and FM to get close to the bomber and use the group of Krell ships tailing Spensa as a distraction to set off an IMP on the bomber. She then tells Kimmalyn over a private channel to fire a shot that will make the bomber drop the lifebuster without setting it off while its shield is down. Kimmalyn is nervous, but Spensa gives her some encouragement. Spensa suddenly hears a command setting a timer for the bomb to detonate in 100 seconds, confusing M-Bot. FM tells her they got in an IMP, and Spensa tells Kimmalyn to fire. The shot hits the bomber's clamps, dropping the bomb. Terrier orders everyone to get out of the way, and all the other ships, including the Krell, scatter. Spensa herself instead dives towards the falling lifebuster.
=== Chapter 53 ===
Ironsides observes in the command center as Terrier, flightleader of Riptide Flight, announces that the
Spensa attaches the bomb to her ship via light-lance and flies away at full speed, far faster than any normal DDF ship, as the bomb's timer counts down, hoping to get it out of the death zone before time runs out. M-Bot notes that even though they can get it out of range in time, they themselves will get caught in the blast. Spensa is calm and feels as though she is part of the ship's processors. As the countdown reaches its final seconds, M-Bot lists off his functions. Just before the bomb explodes, M-Bot's systems report the presence of a "biological component" and that the cytonic hyperdrive is now functional. He tells Spensa to engage that system, and she utilizes her cytonic abilities, sending the two away from the explosion.
=== Chapter 55 ===
Spensa thinks to herself that choosing to fly through the hole is an unwise decision, but she feels an intense need to see what is up there. As they continue going upwards, she realizes that the debris fields are really a series of organized platforms. They eventually see a space station and some boxy Krell ships, and Spensa realizes that she can hear their communication, sent through the nowhere-place she can sense, and wonders if they know about the dangers of using it. M-Bot tells her that they are also using normal communications that he can decipher. Suddenly, Spensa is hit by something, and realizes that the Krell are trying to overwrite her vision. M-Bot engages his stealth and jamming system, and the sensation goes away. She tells M-Bot about the defect that she has, and that she thinks her father turned traitor on his flight because the Krell made him think that they were dead and that he was shooting at Krell ships. They observe the Krell ships, which have brighter colors, and M-Bot translates the words on their sides as "Penitentiary maintainance and containment of Earthlings". Spensa tells M-Bot to lower the systems he was using to block cytonics, and she listens in on Krell chatter. One of the aliens expresses fear that Spensa is going to eat them, and outright panics and flees after she makes a face at it. M-Bot hacks their systems and downloads some data before getting caught. Some Krell interceptors come out from the space station, and they decide to leave. Strangely, the interceptors do not fire at them, and stop following after they pass through a few layers of debris. Spensa asks M-Bot what he got from the Krell computer, and he tells her that while he didn't retrieve too much data, what he did get is rather helpful.
== Epilogue ==
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