Welga snorted. “I’m better than when I left. I wish I could tell you everything, but I can’t do it over the network. Here’s what I’m allowed to say: I did what I went up there for. I stopped the attacks. The Machinehood won’t threaten Earth anymore, and I owe a huge part of that to both of you. Thank you.” Her voice caught.

Was her sister-in-law getting emotional? Nithya marveled at the possibility. Perhaps Welga had changed in more ways than her appearance.

Luis smiled. “I guess this means you’ll live?”

Welga nodded. “Yes, but I’ll have to return to the station. Whatever they did to make me this way also means I can’t stay in full gravity for too long or I’ll start falling apart, like Khandro.” She paused. “Luis, I want to bring Papa with me.”

“Where? To space?”

Welga nodded. “I can’t help him with the house anymore. You can’t keep running off to Phoenix. With his heart problems, he shouldn’t live alone, far from either of us. I figure you need some time to think it over, so do that before I leave. You have three days before I return to the station. If you can talk him into moving to Chennai, great, but if not, I’ll convince him to come with me. I think he might actually like the life up there.” Her focus shifted to Nithya. “What you did with that document—it took guts, strength.”

“Not as much as what you’ve done,” Nithya said.

“I don’t know about that. I don’t have a family depending on me, and I’m used to thinking of my life as expendable in the service of my country. Exposing the pill testing reports… it made a difference in my ability to complete my mission. You’re my squad mate in spirit if not in rank.”

“And I might have a new career because of it,” Nithya said.

“As a whistleblower?” Welga grinned.

Nithya shook her head. “As a funder.”

“What?”

“Tips—so much that I think I can start my own project.”

Welga blinked and shifted focus. “Goddamn. Look at that balance!”

“Nothing too big, of course, but I hope to hire Zeli and a few others from my former team. I can also send money to repair your father’s house.”

“That’s generous of you, but I’d rather he stay close to one of us, for his own sake.” Welga looked over her shoulder. “Time’s up. I’m heading home soon—to San Francisco—to pack up and collect Connor. He’s coming to the station with us. As a condition of the truce, I can’t accept any incoming communication—the government thinks I’m a security risk—but I’ll call you when they let me.”

Welga disappeared from her visual.