“It would be a waste of time, and might trigger countermeasures, if perceived as an attack,” Lantern said. “The interior of this station is immense. The captain is doubtless still looking for the switch.”

“Or she got eaten by a giant bug,” Ashok said. “How long do we wait?”

“That is up to you, Ashok,” Shall said. “You are the ranking member of this team now that Callie is out of range.”

“What? I’m in charge? I’m pretty sure the captain wouldn’t have let that happen.”

“And yet,” Shall said.

“Lantern’s right,” Elena said. “It’s big in there, and confusing, and dark. Callie is careful, she’s methodical, she’s tough, and I’m sure she’ll–”

“Wait,” Shall said. “I see something.”

Elena turned to the viewport, and saw a ragged opening beginning to form on the side of the station, just like last time.

Shall said, “To me, that looks like an asymmetrical gash appearing in empty space. I assume for those of you with biological eyes it looks more like an opening in the side of the station?”

“Affirmative,” Ashok said.

The opening widened, and Elena moved to the front of the canoe to look out the window. “It’s Callie – and one of my crew!” She was so elated she pounded the arm of the pilot’s chair and whooped. She’d hoped to see her people again, but hadn’t really expected to, not deep down.

“…read me?” Callie said.

“We do!” Elena said.

“Elena, is that you?” Robin’s voice was underlaid by heavy overtones of exhaustion, but there was elation there, too.

“Robin!” Elena turned. “Are you all right?”

“Uninjured, but exhausted and hungry,” she said. “Haven’t eaten anything but protein mush since I got here, and it’s not exactly restful, so I haven’t slept much.”

“Are the others OK?”

“I really don’t know,” Robin said. “I pretty thoroughly explored this hangar – there aren’t a lot of hiding places, it’s just struts and cables and platforms – and they aren’t in here. They must have gone elsewhere in the station, but I can’t even find any doors.”

“Shall, let’s get Robin onto the canoe and back to the Raven for medical care, all right? And be careful. There’s gravity in here, a smidge heavier than Earth’s, I think. Atmosphere, too. It didn’t flood out when the door opened, which means they have some kind of selective force field holding the air in. Bizarre. I was expecting an airlock.”

“Nnngh. Anti-gravity? Force fields? I want to take this place apart bolt by bolt,” Ashok said. “And put pieces of it in my body. I’m sorry. That sounded dirty. I didn’t mean it that way. Mostly.”

Shall’s drone-body launched itself from the top of the canoe toward the opening, and Robin shrank back, hiding behind Callie. “It’s OK!” Elena called. “He’s a friend.”