“I’m not making any promises until we get on that station,” Rosalyn said, marching past her.

But Misato caught her by the wrist, making her spin. “Listen to me. Whatever is happening between you and Edison is none of my business. What happens between you and me, you and the future? That’s my business.” She held up the rectangular hard drive. JAX’s brain. “I’ll download whatever relevant data we find on CDAS, but then you’ll be taking it. You’re the only one of us healthy enough to go back to society. You have to . . . you have to tell our story.”

Rosalyn squeezed her eyes shut. “I hate this. I hate this so much.”

The engineer reached out and took Rosalyn’s hands, holding them tightly. “I know you do, but this can’t all be for nothing. There’s going to come a moment when you want to stay, and it will feel like the right thing to do. But, Rosalyn? Running can be brave.”

It was Misato who had called her a survivor, even after she confessed to running from home and her pain. Could she know what it really meant, to have that choice validated? She didn’t ask and it didn’t matter. Rosalyn listened and squeezed her hands back, then pulled Misato toward the cockpit.

“We should get back,” she said.

“Rosalyn? Chickadee.”

“I heard you,” Rosalyn told her, flinching away. “I heard you.”

—

After all of Edison’s warnings, the landing turned out to be routine. He expertly maneuvered the Brigantine to the lowest level of the station, cutting the main thrusters and using the smaller precision boosters to glide them gradually to an open bay. The ship bumped into place, but the usual magnetized clamps didn’t engage. Without them, the Brigantine would float slowly away, unmoored.

“Shit. I’ll have to secure us manually,” Edison muttered. Misato had brought his environmental suit to the cockpit, and he struggled into it while nodding toward the flight screen. “Misato, keep us steady while I take a look out there. I should be able to secure the ship from the mobile platform, but if not, I’ll have to find the dockmaster’s terminal.”

“I’m going with you,” Rosalyn announced.

Edison shot her a warning look. “It’s too soon. We don’t know what it looks like out there.”

“We’re not staying here no matter what,” Rosalyn replied, planting herself near the air lock in the gallery. “I won’t wander away, I just want to get a look.”

“Stop wasting time and let her go, Edison.”

“You know, for a while there, I thought I was the captain,” he groused, yanking up his suit with an irritated growl. “Fine. Pressurize and prepare for outer doors.”