Nick decides to sleep in a bit the next morning. Between worrying about Silver and taking care of Tinu, it had taken him forever to get back to sleep. Even then, he hadn't slept very well. So when his alarm went off telling him it was time to get up, he kindly told it to shut up with a slap of his hand. It's not like there was anything important he needed to be awake for anyway. With the pelican gone, he wouldn't be going anywhere. Also, although he wouldn't admit it to anybody, his aging had been catching up with him lately and the extra sleep was beginning to feel necessary. All in all, it added up to him not leaving his room until a few hours later than normal.

When Nick does finally wake, he's greeted with a very excited Ruth waiting outside his door.

"Nick!" she says excitedly, nearly bouncing in place. "I know it's early but this is really important and I just have to tell you."

Forget sleep, he thinks, noting the enthusiastic smile on the girl's face. I could probably just absorb the extra energy from around her if we talk long enough. "What's up?"

She stops bouncing for a moment, voice becoming so serious it's almost comical. "I found it."

"What?" Nick asks, confused. Then he remembers what the communications expert has been working on lately, and his eyes widen. "Wait, you found it? Really?"

Ruth nods. "The signal mom's been using to communicate with the control chips. It was disguised as slipspace interference, but I finally isolated it."

"That's great!" Nick says, smiling as genuinely as he can manage. He's still worried about Silver, but this is some of the best news they've had in a while. "Can you track it?"

"Better" Ruth says, managing to smile even wider than before. "I can communicate with it. I think, if we wanted, I could tell Gold what to do, the same way mom does."

"Have you tried?"

"Not yet" Ruth answers. "If I do, mom will figure out what we're doing eventually. She might even be able to track it back to us. I didn't want to risk that until we know what we want to do with this."

Nick nods in agreement. Despite her exuberant nature, Ruth has always been very practical, so it doesn't surprise him that she's being cautious. He stares at the wall for a moment, thinking out loud as the tactical part of his brain gets to work. "We could set up a rescue mission; tell Gold to go somewhere so we can finally catch him. We'd have to find a good location and pick the right people for the mission…"

He stops, looking back at Ruth. The young girl's eyes are expectant as she waits to hear how they'll use her discovery. "This is a real step forward for us, Ruth," he assures her, squeezing her shoulder encouragingly. "I'm proud of you."

She smiles and hugs him quickly. "I'm gonna go tell Iodine" she says before running off.

Nick watches her leave, then sighs. Of course, this is good news. Ruth's discovery could be useful. If Silver lets us use it, he thinks wearily. He's worried that her over-cautiousness will stand in the way of any plan he makes. It annoys him that she's so dangerously reckless in regards to herself, but painstakingly careful when it comes to the rest of the family. It's hindered their progress more than once in the past. He knows she has her reasons but he still wishes she'd at least trust him a bit more.

Nick turns and walks down the hall with a new determination. He knows they can save Gold if they work together. They just need a plan. Maybe, if he already has a plan all set before he tells Silver, then maybe he can convince her. Already, an idea is starting to form in his mind for how they can set this up. He just needs to work out a few details. And for that, he needs to talk to someone with a bit more experience.

"Alright, Rho, status update," I command. "How would you say we're doing so far?"

Rho flashes a warning light in the corner of my HUD and I dodge just in time to avoid a blast of plasma. "Considering that we're dodging bullets, I'd say we're doing poorly."

I spin and fire my pistol, taking down a security officer with a shot to the leg. "Oh, don't be like that. We completed the objective, didn't we?"

"Yes, you planted bugs in every black market store we could find. That's a great comfort against burning plasma" Rho says sarcastically.

"It's not that bad," I say, flipping over a railing to land on the floor below. I look up to see three more Sangheli officers nearly trip over the edge in their haste to stop. "Plasma flies at half the speed of a metal bullet, so it's not that hard to dodge."

I sprint down a small alley and try to lose myself in the crowd on the other side, which is no small feat considering my surroundings. Malevolent Depths has followed the conventional Covenant aesthetic of dark purples and pinks, a drastic contrast to my green armor. Add to that the fact that I'm one of very few humans here, and it's easy to see why I'd stand out. Still, I don't think I'd have it any other way. Fighting against the odds like this just makes me feel alive. It's an effect that's added to by the fact that I'm alone. I sometimes forget how much fun this can be when I'm not busy worrying about my family.

"Did we manage to download that map?" I ask quietly, trying to look as inconspicuous as someone in thousand pound armor can.

"I've got is right here" Rho says, flashing the ship's blueprints across my visor.

"Good. Get me a path back to the pelican. I don't want to try our luck staying here any longer than necessary."

Rho highlights a path on my HUD which I begin to follow. "We have luck?" she asks skeptically.

"I haven't gotten us shot yet today, so we must have some" I point out.

I can practically feel Rho rolling her eyes at this. "I consider it unlucky to get shot at at all" she grumbles.

"E.T.A.?" I ask after weaving through the crowds for a few more minutes. Rho wasn't kidding when she said this place is a trading hub. There're people everywhere.

"At your current pace, it will take you about fifteen minutes to get there," Rho reports. "I suggest speeding up."

I shake my head. "Moving too fast will draw suspicion. I have to follow the speed of the crowd if I want to blend in."

Rho highlights the faces of some of the people we pass, noting the suspicion in their eyes as they stare. "They're watching you" she says. "It's only a matter of time until security notices. I'd be ready to run, if I were you."

As if on cue a voice shouts behind me. I turn and see more armed security officers running toward me. "You know, you really could try to not be right all the time" I say as I start running.

I sprint down side streets and through stores, following an ever-changing path as Rho calculates new and more efficient routes to the ship. As I turn onto another road, Rho highlights a motorcycle-like vehicle stopped in the street, its driver waiting for his turn at an intersection. Without hesitating I run over and pull the alien off the bike as gently as possible, not wanting to hurt him, before hopping on and speeding away. "It's no mongoose," I remark as the thing reaches its top speed and I begin to notice the poor quality steering of the vehicle, "but it'll do."

The alien vehicle is very different from the human military vehicles I've practiced with in the past. The turns are much wider, which I realize when I round a corner and nearly slam into a building across the street. Overall, however, the ride is smoother since this vehicle doesn't touch the ground. For a half second I wonder what kind of weapons it could have, before remembering it's still a civilian vehicle.

I quickly lose sight of the security officers. Sangheli may be fast, but they can't keep up with a moving vehicle. Unfortunately, this advantage soon fades as more security officers arrive in their own vehicles.

I swerve to the side as they try to run me off the road. "Rho, find me a way out of here."

"I'm trying" she says, and I can feel the buzz at the base of my neck as she thinks with all the speed of a super computer.

"Try harder," I instruct as I barely manage to keep the vehicle upright while turning a corner. A few plasma blasts fly past me. "Those guys have both guns and absolutely no problem using them."

A moment later a new trail is highlighted in my vision; a trail which leads over the edge of a bridge. "I think you made a mistake" I say.

"It's the only way to lose them" Rho explains. "Don't worry. I think this vehicle can make the jump."

"You 'think'? Are you sure?"

"I have a ninety-eight point six percent certainty that we'll make it" she clarifies.

"That really doesn't seem good enough" I say, but I steer toward the bridge anyway. I try to force as much speed into the vehicle as possible as we near the edge. "Hold on."