With the exception of Vik Lawrence, who was working in her lab, the older children who were doing “science club” in the observation dome, and Gabarron—the surly woman was up keeping an eye on Toni in the clinic—everyone who remained was seated behind the tables. At the sight of the empty chairs—so damn many of them—Michaela’s nerve almost broke. And then she had to meet their eyes, see the reflected confusion, grief, anger, and disbelief.

Shinwua, Lara, Jaim and Varina, and now Kim Yee, all dead. Five of her people, killed in the most horrible of ways. And no telling what was wrong with little Toni, filled as he was with Donovanian TriNA.

What do I tell them?

“We had a tough day yesterday.” She tried to feel her way, the words sounding so hollow.

“Tough doesn’t begin to cover it,” Jym Odinga called from where he was sitting beside Casey Stoner. “Any news about Varina and Jaim?”

“Nothing on the scanners.”

Yosh said, “I sent one of the drones up at first light. Flew all along the reef. Nothing’s floating. No wreckage from the sub. No sign of Kim’s body. There’s just . . . nothing.”

“I say we leave,” Tobi Ruto muttered where he sat on Casey’s other side. “Get out while we still can.”

“And do what?” Kel asked from across the room. “Remember what Supervisor Aguila said? There’s no way off this planet. We’re here for keeps.”

“Then we go to Port Authority.” Odinga glanced at Casey, who was breastfeeding little Saleen. “Casey, Tobi, and I have two kids to think of. At Port Authority, they’ve got a school. Other kids. We’ve been asking ourselves, what it if had been Casey’s sub that was destroyed by the lobster monster yesterday? And then Kim’s grabbed up from behind? He never saw it coming. For our part, my family doesn’t want either of our kids to grow up without a parent.”

“And what are you going to do at Port Authority?” Kel asked. “You were there, you saw. You’re an ichthyologist, Casey’s a marine botanist with a specialization in kelp-forest ecology and trophic systems. Given what I saw walking around that sorry collection of houses, the only one of you with skills is Tobi.”

The guy was a Pod Technician Class I. He could fix things.

Where they sat side-by-side, Iso Suzuki and Bryan Atumbo were nodding. Like Casey’s family, they, too, had their kids, Felicity and Vetch, to think about.

“Where do you stand, Yosh?” Michaela asked. Might as well get all the parents on the record.