Caleb South is indignant when I give him command of the Varuna. “Why would you do this? You’re just letting us go. And we know where your base is.”

“Yes, you do,” I say. “You also know what happened when you tried to take us on. Twenty of our freshmen beat your entire senior class. You want a rematch, come on back.”

His eye twitches, but he says nothing. A few minutes later, I watch my first command ship motor out of the lagoon.

“You think it was smart to goad him like that?” Gem asks.

Nelinha makes a face. “It was perfect. Let them come back if they dare.”

I suspect that’s mostly bravado on her part. Nobody wants a repeat of what we just went through. But Nelinha has earned the right to boast a little. We won a hard victory. All my friends should feel good about what we’ve accomplished.

The next day, Dr. Hewett is able to move around with the help of a walker. I take him to the pier in the cavern, which he has never actually seen. We admire the glowing green robo-bugs zipping overhead, and the luminous phytoplankton festival in the water. Most of all, we admire the Nautilus.

Hewett is dressed in an old blue bathrobe and pajamas. His face is still haggard. His white hair is like a greasy tuft of cotton just burst from the pod. But he’s alive, and he doesn’t stink. I take those two things as signs of progress.

“Ana, you’ve done better than I ever imagined,” he tells me.

I study his face. He’s never called me Ana before.

“Is that a compliment?” I ask carefully. “I’m not sure how well you imagined me doing.”

He wheezes. “Oh, please don’t make me laugh. It hurts. No, Prefect…Captain Dakkar. I always knew you were capable of greatness. I am sorry I did not show you that, or extend you the respect you deserved.”

I narrow my eyes. “But?”

“No but,” he assures me. “It’s true that Dev was everyone’s focus, including mine. I worried he was too impetuous, too angry, too…Well, too much like me, and like the students I taught at Land Institute. That’s why I tried so hard to counsel him. Still, I never imagined he would…” Hewett shakes his head sadly. “At any rate, you were the one we should have been preparing for command. Despite insufficient training, in the midst of utmost tragedy, look what you have accomplished.” He gestures at the Nautilus. “Have you decided what we will do next?”

My feet feel glued to the dock. “We? Is that really my decision?”