I sank back down into my seat. So we really were just six now. And if being unable to control emotions made one unfit for duty… what about me? It was all piling on top of me. The loss of friends, the worry about M-Bot, the voices that whispered deep down inside that I was in fact a coward.

All my life, I’d fought with a chip on my shoulder, thundering that I would be a pilot and I would be good enough. Where was that confidence now?

I’d always assumed that when I made it—when I finally got here—I’d stop feeling so alone.

I dug in my pack and raised my radio. “M-Bot, are you there?”

“Acclivity ring: functional, but lacking power. Boosters: nonfunctional. Cytonic hyperdrive: nonfunctional.” He paused. “That’s a yes, in case you were confused. I’m here, because I can’t go anywhere.”

“Were you listening in on our conversation?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And I admit, I was running some calculations on the likelihood of mushrooms growing inside that building, as your conversation was—typical of humans—slightly boring. But not completely! So you should feel—”

“M-Bot. Are you a Krell?”

“What? No! Of course I’m not a Krell. Why would you think that I am? How could you think… Wait, calculating. Oh. You think because I’m an AI, and they’re likely AIs, that we must be the same?”

“You have to admit it’s suspicious.”

“I’d be offended if I could be offended,” he said. “Maybe I should start calling you a cow, since you have four limbs, are made of meat, and have rudimentary biological mental capacities.”

“Would you know if you were a Krell?” I asked him. “Maybe you forgot.”

“I’d know,” he said.

“You’ve forgotten why you came to Detritus,” I pointed out. “You have only one image of your pilot, if that’s even really him. You can barely remember anything about my species. Maybe you never knew. Maybe your memory bank is filled only with the bits that the Krell know about us, and you invented this entire story.”

“I’m writing a new subroutine now,” he said. “To properly express my outrage. It’s going to take time to get right. Give me a few minutes.”

“M-Bot…”

“Just a sec. Patience is a virtue, Spensa.”

I sighed, but started packing up my things. I felt hollowed out. Empty. Not afraid, of course. I bathed in fires of destruction and reveled in the screams of the defeated. I didn’t get afraid.

But maybe, deep down, I was… worried. Nedd dropping out had hit me harder than it should have.

I threw my pack on my shoulder and clipped the radio to its side. I set it to flash a light if M-Bot or someone else tried to contact me. I didn’t want him talking out of it while I walked the hallways, though I needn’t have worried. The building was empty; Cobb had dismissed us late, and the other flights had already gone to dinner. I didn’t spot any MPs or random support staff as I walked slowly toward the exit, my feet leaden.