Scotty was still unconscious the next morning when Sprite, Helen, and Helen’s bull dober prepared to leave the submarine. Sprite thanked Ling, Vapor, and Darkholm again. “Tell Scotty all debts are paid,” Sprite said. The others nodded and the darts and dog left with little fanfare.

They stopped at a public terminal and paid an inordinate fee to access the waves, the purveyor reminding them again of how cut off Griffin Isle really was. Sprite veiled her login with a false ID in a sub-site, then fished through a mirror proxy before logging in again under a second fabricated identity.