Chapter 6 · Long Invoice Goes Cold

Vey's already in my quarters when I pull myself out of the vault handshake. My vision clears and he's standing there. Arms crossed. Face like granite.

"We need to talk about fuel," he says.

I'm still half in the interface. My hands are shaking. The vault called me owner and I don't even know what that means. "I just woke up two days ago."

"I know." He steps closer. The room's too small for this conversation. "And we've been coasting on reserve since the Lattice dropped us. You have root access to the Long Invoice. I need it."

"I don't even know what I have access to."

"Then figure it out." His voice drops. Not angry. Worse. Tired. "We've got maybe seventy hours of burn left in the main cells. After that we drift. Five hundred people on this tub and three escorts limping beside us. You want that?"

I sit up. My legs feel like wire. "What do you need me to do?"

"The fuel reservoir in hold seven. It's been locked since before my grandfather chartered this rust bucket." He pulls out a slate and shoves it at me.