Priya and Hallam ducked into the medical center we’d recently cleared, swinging their lights around before leading us in. The alien bodies remained motionless on the floor. “Looks clear,” Priya whispered. “But no guarantee it’ll stay that way. Keep close. Hallam, grab a med kit from the cupboard, just in case we need it before we find the healer.”

Hallam had given me a shoulder light like the ones Legion wore. Strapping it to my body left my hands free to hold the laser rifle. I gripped it tightly, terrified of dropping it. More terrified of having to use it, in spite of my new resolve. Matt lingered behind me, and I was very conscious of his gaze.

We advanced carefully through the facility, no aliens in sight. Where were they? They must have known we’d gone into the holding cells, but they hadn’t followed us. Because the holding cells were reinforced more strongly than the rest of the ship? Because we didn’t represent enough of a threat? Or because something had distracted them?

My feet itched to run, but I let Hallam and Priya set the pace. They moved as silently as Mia, their training impeccable and absolute. I glanced at Matt. “Hey,” I whispered, barely more than a breath. It was still enough to earn me a glare from Hallam.

Matt hesitated, then drew a bit closer. “What?” he mouthed, his expression not inviting confidence.

I lowered my voice even further. “I’m starting to understand things a bit better. None of us are in normal circumstances. So, whatever Legion did to you, whatever Omnistellar did to you, I just want you to know that I forgive you for turning on us.”

He gaped at me in disbelief. “You . . . forgive me?”

“Yup.” I forced a smile. “I’m not blaming you or saying we didn’t deserve it. I’m just saying that I get it. You made a choice. You protected your family. You survived.”

Matt scrubbed a hand over his face. “They ripped me apart, Kenzie,” he said quietly. “In just a few weeks they dismantled my body and my mind. I was unconscious until a day before we arrived at Obsidian. I hardly know what happened. But when I woke up, all I could remember was that sense of betrayal . . . and Legion. Somehow, they’d been fused in my head. I know it’s not real. I know I’ve only known them for a few hours. But . . .”

I nodded. “That’s how Omnistellar works. They need you loyal, so they go into your brain and make you that way. Just be glad they didn’t make you loyal to them.”

He met my gaze, his eyes wide and wounded, for the first time without even a trace of anger. “Why didn’t they?”

“I don’t know. Not enough time, maybe? Too much of a stretch? They needed the others physically present to bind you? We can ask Priya about it later.”

“We?”