The weight on my arms continued to grow, a steady ache spreading through my shoulders and neck. I focused on the echo of my heartbeat, battling a claustrophobic panic. Having my hands bound this way was like waiting for the air to drain from an airlock before a spacewalk combined with the sensation of first learning about my chip. I was completely and utterly trapped. I couldn’t even reach for Cage or Rune for support. Even if our hands hadn’t been bound, the guards kept us several feet away from one another. My family had never been very physical, but I’d spent a lot of time with Rune over the last few weeks, and I’d gotten used to her quick hugs, the way she tipped her head into my shoulder or poked me in the arm when she wanted my attention. The physical separation felt strange and wrong.

But the second we passed through the doors to security, a sense of familiarity settled over me. Security was just as dusty and run-down here as everything else, but things ran with a greater sense of efficiency and purpose. In a strange way, it felt like coming home. I didn’t want to consider what that said about me, that I found empty halls and blank faces more comforting than a sea of normal people. Omnistellar conditioning.

I bit my lip. How in the system, with all my love for Robo Mecha Dream Girl 5, had I never realized I was living in a corporate nightmare? That I had missed out on everything—friendship, freedom, agency—that made her life worth living? Or maybe I had realized it. Maybe that was why I loved the series so much: it reminded me of what I lacked.

Yang strode down a hall and deposited the three of us in a small room with a table and four chairs. “Wait here,” she ordered.

“Hang on a second!” I cried, bounding after her. One of the guards drew a gun, and I skidded to a halt. “What about the ship?” I demanded, enunciating each word as carefully as possible, my eyes trained on his weapon. My mouth went dry, but I forced myself to continue. “Commander, that ship is broadcasting a signal to an alien race you do not want to meet.”

“It only took a handful of those things to kill everyone on Sanctuary,” Cage added softly. “Trust me. They’d destroy Mars in hours.”

“I’ll return shortly and hear what you have to say.” Yang fixed each of us with a steady, penetrating stare. “Until then, the best thing you can do is wait patiently.”

Cage started to speak, but I shook my head at him. I knew how corporations worked. There was no point arguing with red tape. As much as I wanted the ship destroyed, I didn’t think a delay of an hour or two would make much of a difference.

At least I hoped it wouldn’t.