Callie shrugged. “Elder Mizori ordered the destruction of Meditreme Station. There has to be justice. Lantern wants to ask her a few questions, too, and confirm our suspicions. I expect us to come back, but if we don’t… Stephen is in charge of the Raven’s crew, but you’ll need to take point in helping the Anjou’s people move on. Get them to Imperative territory and they can start new lives. They could go back to Earth – it’s beautiful now, and it must be paradise compared to what you left behind. Or head for the colony worlds. I just want you, all of you, to be safe and happy.”

“I do want to see Earth again,” Elena said. “But the things I’ve learned, about the Free, and about the Axiom… it’s too important. I want to help. I want to come with you.”

“I don’t know if I could do the things I have to do on that station if I’m worried about you,” Callie said.

“You can do anything, Kalea Machedo. But you’ll have to do it with me by your side.”

“What about your crew? If we don’t survive this…”

“Robin is smart and capable. It’s not like Stephen is going to put them on a pod and launch them into space. They’ll work out what to do next together.”

“I just don’t–”

“Shush. I left you behind on the Axiom station, and it was terrible, and I was eaten up with worry, and I won’t do that again. It’s settled.”

“You aren’t my client anymore. I don’t have to do what you say.”

“I’m not your client. I’m not in your chain of command. But I am your girlfriend. So when do we leave?”

“Soon,” Callie said. “Before Elder Mizori has a chance to recover from the pirate attack.”

“How are we getting there? Not in the White Raven?”

“It’s not really safe to take our ship – they might recognize it and shoot on sight. Fortunately, the pirates left us a ship that’s perfectly adequate to take us there. They called it the Inevitability of Death, which is a terrible name, so we’re giving it a new one: the Golden Spider.”

“White Raven and Golden Spider. Are you starting a petting zoo?”

“Anybody who tries to pet us is going to get bitten.”

They were about to board the station’s lifeboat and head out to the Golden Spider when Ashok crackled over the PA: “Shall has a message. I’m patching you in.”

“Go ahead,” Callie said.

“I was looking for a new repair drone on this ugly rock,” Shall said. “Something useful, so I could go with you.”

“And?”

“I didn’t have much luck. They have hull repair machines, but they’re badly maintained and don’t have enough processing power to run even a dumbed-down local version of my consciousness.”