Kalico Aguila stepped up beside her, thumbs in her belt as she fixed her attention on the water. As the woman’s shining black hair caught the breeze, it reflected shimmers of blue in Capella’s light. Kalico’s laser gaze fixed on the far horizon, her pinched expression pulling the scars on her face tight.

Bracing her feet, Aguila finally answered, “I don’t know. Can you help me?”

“I beg your pardon. I mean . . . help you with what?”

“For the moment, my biggest concern is this research station. You saw them at breakfast this morning. Your people are demoralized. Panicked. On the verge of falling apart. They keep looking to you for leadership, and all you can do is wallow in your own grief and despair.”

“If it had been anyone but Shin—”

“That’s quetzal shit if I ever heard it,” Aguila snapped. “Yeah, you’re one big happy family. I get that. You all lived together as some tight-knit commune for eight years, and you’re all closer than brothers and sisters. So you’re devastated because Shin was killed and eaten by a monster. Shin, of all people. The mean old Supervisor will never understand. Outsider that she is. All those warnings we gave you at orientation weren’t hot air and wasted breath. Fact: People die on Donovan.”

“I know.” Michaela fought sudden tears. “We were warned. It’s not the same as seeing it. Knowing who that kind and caring—”

“Stop it! If you’re looking for justice, fairness, or some scorecard whereby the universe only takes the unworthy, and the good guys always come out on top, I’ve got news for you. You’re on Donovan. Not to mention in the wrong fucking universe.”

Michaela swallowed against the sob that tried to start in her breast, bit her lips. Refused to meet the Supervisor’s hard gaze. “We’ll survive. It’s just the shock of it. It’ll take time for us to find our equilibrium.”

“And how long is that going to take?”

“I don’t know. This is the first time one of us has died. That it had to be Shin—”

“We’re back to the fucking scorecard. Get over it. You’ve put everything on hold. Everyone’s got the day off while you all ‘reevaluate,’ whatever the hell that means. I meant it last night when I said I’d shut this place down.”

Michaela turned, feeling like her chest would explode. “Don’t you get it? I don’t know! I’ve never had to deal with this. People on my team don’t die. Not like Shin did.”

“Welcome to Donovan.”

“I get really tired of hearing that.”