Out of her pod into Node 1, then the cupola to look at the planet one last time. She is sad to have failed, but with less than a day there is no realistic solution in sight. Even if the first transfer shuttles arrive now, there won’t be enough time to evacuate all of the Ragtime’s passenger pods.

“Sorry, Dad,” she whispers.

She pushes into the bridge and Fin is there, armed.

“I knew you were going to try this,” he says.

“Go back to your pod, Fin. Shouldn’t you be throwing your last fuck into Joké?”

“Whoa! Captain! Your mother bring you up to talk like that?”

“My mother was software,” says Shell.

“Pas du tout! Mine too. Family dead, but some… moral extremists say an Artificial can’t be a parent, so I have an old Wireframe.”

“Hmm. So, your mother was cheap?”

“Nice try. You’re trying to make me lose my temper. We agreed that on matters of the investigation I have authority.”

“The investigation is over. You said so yourself.”

“The investigation ends when the suspect is in custody or dead. Brisbane is mine to arrest.”

“You can certainly try to arrest him. Me, I’m going to kill him.”

“You what?”

“When this ship fails, and it will, Brisbane will have been responsible for the death of my passengers. Over a thousand people.”

“They’re not dead yet.”

“They will be. So will we.”

“So will Brisbane.”

“You do what you like, Rasheed Fin. I’m on a search-and-destroy.”

Shell pushes off a grab rail and heads aft. Fin follows.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I’m coming with.”

“You’re not.”

“You literally just said I should do what I like. This is what I like.”

Shell can’t think of what to say so she lets him be. Let him keep up if he can. She feels more affinity for him on finding out about his mother, but she won’t let it distract her from killing Brisbane. As they move aft, Shell sees how dirty the Ragtime has become after the plants and animals and robots lost the battle. Frances breathes realistically, keeping time with the humans until Shell sends him back.

When they arrive at the breach in the algae reactor, it’s sealed. She whips round at Fin, who shrugs.

Closer look.

It’s biological, like hardened spider silk.

“A creature we missed?” asks Fin.

“Maybe. I don’t look forward to meeting the spider large enough to do that.”

“If I may, Captain,” says Ragtime.

“Go ahead.”

“Brisbane secreted it. He used the dead body and his own waste as substrate.”

“Urgh,” says Fin.

“Eww,” says Shell.

“Oh, no, it’s quite sterile,” says Ragtime.

“Later I’ll explain to you why that means nothing,” says Fin. “Shall I shoot it down?”

“I wouldn’t,” says Ragtime. “There’s something toxic mixed in. Exotics. It’s safer to make a new opening.”