Naomi thought her body would still recognise that something fundamental had occurred. She almost wished they could blink out, splinter their matter, devolve into negative energy just for an instant. Like being reborn.

When they arrived at their destination, the warp bubble devolved. Again, they felt nothing.

Hixon raised her fist in triumph, peering at the screens. “We’ve done it. All systems nominal,” she said, with an attempt at composure, but her voice was tight with excitement.

Lebedeva slumped in relief, though she also seemed curiously disappointed by the lack of fanfare. Hart offered Hixon a smile. “You did it, Hix.”

“Our location?” Valerie asked.

Hixon’s face was smug. “Right where we want to be, according to atomic clock projections. Five days’ travel back to the warp ring.”

Valerie had clenched her left hand into a fist, which she released. Naomi’s mind caught up with her body, everything slotting back into place. Her hand went to her belly.

Hart unstrapped herself, floating over to Naomi unsteadily. “We’ll check, don’t worry. Right after—” She grabbed an emergency sick bag from beneath Naomi’s seat and twisted, retching. The smell reached Naomi and threatened her own stomach.

Hixon drifted over. “You okay, babe?”

Hart nodded. “Just nerves. I’ll check myself over, after Naomi.”

“I also feel queasy,” Lebedeva admitted, and the rest of them blinked at her in surprise. She must have felt absolutely wretched to admit that much. Naomi had a bit of nausea, but not much more than she had throughout the pregnancy so far. Perhaps at some deeper level, their bodies did know they’d moved thousands of miles in a few minutes.

“I’ll scan myself,” Naomi said. “You rest, Hart.”

“If you’re sure,” Hart said, faint.

Valerie’s voice was sharp, authoritative. “Hixon, Lebedeva, run diagnostics again. Hart, when you’re settled, look over everyone’s vitals. We’ll meet at eighteen hundred hours. We deserve a damn good meal after this. I’m busting out my chocolate reserves.”

“You’ve been hiding chocolate from a pregnant woman?” Naomi asked, mock hurt. “That’s just cruel.”

Valerie was buzzing, hardly able to stay still. It was infectious—they were the first humans to successfully navigate a warp drive. To travel thousands of miles in an instant. Naomi smiled through her nausea.

Naomi left to the sound of Hart retching again.

Once she was back on the ring, Naomi counted each step to the med bay to distract herself. She wouldn’t stress until she knew if there was something to stress about.

The autodoc scan made its whirring noises. She lay in the tube the same size as the empty cryopods in the storage bay. The nausea faded to a dull ache.

She had no spotting. No cramping. She felt exactly the same as she had on the other side of Mars.

The other side of Mars. Jesus.