“I’m going to Eko-Yi. I’m going to find the Machinehood operatives there and make sure they never hurt anyone or anything again. And then I’m going to come home to you, to working stellas and swarms, and if space doesn’t suck, maybe we’ll go back up there, together. I don’t think Eko-Yi will want us, though.”

Connor snorted. “Probably not.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe the entire station would support the Machinehood, not with everything Ao Tara teaches. I thought they wanted to start a new way of life up there. They hoped the world would follow their example. There has to be something better than what we have here. A system with reliable work. A sense of self-worth. A greater purpose.”

“Reliable work and self-worth? That shit went the way of the dodo bird in our grandparents’ day or maybe earlier. It’s why we became shields, right? Steady pay. An actual employer. But why do you care? I thought you like doing gigs.”

“Sure, they’re fun, especially compared to getting beaten up and shot at, but I think you were right. I’d start to hate it if that’s what I did all day, every day.”

Welga patted his chest. Her hand twitched.

Connor caught it in his. “Take care of yourself, please.”

“I love you,” she said, making no promises. She couldn’t, not with the looming magnitude of what she wanted to accomplish.

Welga had never left for a mission without having her loved ones in her visual. During her ATAI service, she could see them anytime she wasn’t in the Marrakech blackout zone, could know that their lives went on without her. Not this time. Papa and Connor, the two people who mattered most in her life, would have to manage on their own. At one level, she knew they could handle themselves. At another, she wanted to make sure. She was used to checking in on everyone. Talking to them. Sharing in the little troubles and joys that made life worth living. Reminding them to take care of themselves.

She left Connor in the artificial hands of Marcelo’s care-bot, her heart heavy with misgivings. How the hell had Luis managed without seeing Nithya or Carma for the past week? How could he not worry himself sick?

They caught a ferry from the harbor in San Francisco to the much larger port of Oakland. Warm mist lay over the bay like an unwanted blanket. They navigated the massive, mazelike docks to find their cargo ship. Passage cost more than Welga had expected, and when they saw the crowd of other passengers, she understood why. They weren’t the only ones desperate to hitch a ride out of the country.