She pushed back her chair and leaned over the table, then crawled up onto it, bridging the distance to plant a sloppy kiss on Misato’s cheek.

“There’s a poetry thing the JAXA kids are doing. I’m already late,” Jenny said, giving a fluttery wave. Of course she would want to see Japanese astronauts reciting poetry. “I’ll ping you later.”

“Okay, I love you! Bye.”

The smell of coffee, rich and homey, lingered. Jenny never pinged. Maybe she knew Misato was going to leave anyway; maybe she just found someone else. A poet. Someone who had all the time in the world to eat stroopwafels. That wasn’t Misato, but now she wished it was.

“Misato? Hey! Am I losing you? Please stay with me.”

Vaguely, she felt someone digging in her pockets. The curtain lifted and there was Rosalyn with her huge hazel eyes that always looked so worried and her bald head. Rosalyn waved the coffee flask in front of Misato’s face but she pushed it back.

“I’m fine . . . I’m . . . We should go. We’re wasting time.”

“What was that?” Rosalyn pressed. “Did the Foxfire say something?”

“No,” she said. “It was just . . . I thought I saw a ghost. I’m fine now, let’s go. JAX? Breach the room.”

They ought to take their time, or at least form a better plan. The time for pep talks had passed, and Misato was spooked. What the hell was that? She had vivid dreams occasionally, and strange visions when she dozed and the Foxfire directed her unconscious imagination, but that was like a total split from reality. The coffee had smelled so close, the steam from the canister warm, Jenny’s sharp perfume twining around her again for one lovely moment . . .

JAX moved with unnatural speed, uninhibited by the limitations of human mobility. He dropped into an odd crouch and then onto all fours, dashing forward with quick, jerky movements. He wasn’t designed for military purposes, but his chassis and head were hard enough to drop anyone to the ground at full speed. Misato urged Rosalyn forward with a nod, and together they turned the corner, five meters or so behind JAX’s opening salvo.

Starboard observation was as dark as the rest of the ship, not helpful for Rosalyn but no disadvantage for Misato. Her eyes now seemed well suited to the darkness, immediately homing in on Piero, standing just as he had been on the security camera footage. JAX shot toward him, flying across the floor like a four-legged bullet. In the brig, Edison let out a shriek of surprise, both palms flattening against the clear shielding. JAX met his mark, but Piero was ready, hunching down at the last second, bracing for impact and then throwing his shoulder into the Servitor as it hit.

Misato had been right about one thing; JAX really was made of strong stuff.