Callie sighed. Sebastien had a brain-spider, and glowing eyes, but he wasn’t murderous. Maybe he possessed tremendous force of will, or something. She fiddled with her suit’s countermeasures, directing her sound in a tight beam that would bounce off a far wall and disguise her position. Like the ancient proverb said: Trust, but verify. “I’m here on a rescue mission.”

“Really.” He pivoted toward the source of the sound, presenting his profile to the door. That was less alarming than the back of his head, but less pretty than the front. “Who are you rescuing?”

“The crew of the Anjou. We’ve already gotten a couple of them off the station safely. Robin and Ibn. We were too late for Hans. We came looking for you, Sebastien, and for Uzoma.”

He seemed not at all excited by the prospect of deliverance. Maybe slightly amused. “Mmm. Uzoma. They’re around here… somewhere. They aren’t coping very well with our change of circumstances.”

“You seem like you’re doing all right.”

“This place doesn’t have all the comforts of home, but really, neither did home, by the time we left. The station is more pleasant than the Anjou was, in many ways. More importantly, the station offers me opportunities beyond my most delirious dreams. When we left Earth, I fully expected to go into cryosleep and never wake. To die in space, unknown and forgotten, on a trip that was basically symbolic. In the best possible outcome we would survive, and find a viable colony world, and I’d have the opportunity to lay the foundations of a new society. To create a nation, more or less, with nothing but a ship full of embryos and a handful of machines and a few good people by my side. Desperate measures and long odds, but those were desperate times. Earth back then… it was a mess. Settle a bet for me? Is Earth gone?”

“No. I was born there. It’s nice. Things got bad, even worse than they were when you left, but it came back from the brink. But you can catch up on ancient history back on my ship–”

“Did Elena send you?” Now he seemed excited, moving toward the sound of Callie’s voice. “I sent her back, to Earth, or as close as I could. I didn’t understand the language of the machines here as well then, and I was afraid I might have miscalculated. But she made it, and you found her?”

“You got the right solar system, at least. You sent her out by the orbit of Neptune. There is – there was – a human settlement out there, though. Yes, we found her. She asked us to come save you.”

“Mmm. Elena. I miss her. Is she on your ship? Should I bring your ship in here? I think I know how to do that.” He swiveled toward a control panel.