“Perhaps I’ll travel with you again sometime,” she said. She looked at the turquoise eyes, deep and expressive, and saw the flecks of gold they sheltered, only visible this close. How could it manage to be alluring and alien all at once? She felt her heart pounding in her throat. No wonder humans have gotten such a name for being sexually available and ready, she thought, if just a suggestive touch can do this.

“Right,” Niko said from behind her. “Perhaps you will.” Her dry tone hinted amusement. “They’ve sent a shuttle for us, and it’s in sync with the Thing. If you’re ready, it’s time to take you down to the Empress.”

Reluctantly, Atlanta let her fingers fall away from the tentacle. “You’re the only one going with me?” Panic grabbed her. She hadn’t expected this to happen quite yet—surely there had been at least an hour or two to go.

“The Empress asked that only I go down,” Niko said. “There’s something off about all of this.”

“Is thinking it’s being a trap?” Skidoo asked. “Maybeing all of us should being going with you.”

Niko shook her head. “I’m not going to outright disobey the Empress on the strength of a suspicion,” she said. “But I’m not going unarmed, and Atlanta, you might want to have a weapon handy too.”

“Already done,” she said, and tapped the spot up her sleeve where the knife resided. She didn’t touch the belt pouch where Gio’s explosives were, but their presence comforted her nonetheless.

“You’ve come such a long way since you first crawled out of that crate,” Niko said. She opened her arms. “Hug me now before we get down to a much more dignified place where there will be none of that sort of thing.”

Atlanta found herself crying against the captain’s neck. Niko patted her back and whispered, “Ssssh, it’s all right. Just stand ready, Princess. Everything will be fine.” She nodded at Skidoo, who left the room.

As the sobs cleared, Atlanta realized that she believed it fully. Believed that Niko would take care of her, just as she took care of all the others. It made her want to cry even more, to have gained this family only to lose it. She didn’t think she’d ever experience it again.

Niko released her. Atlanta stepped back, wiping at her eyes, feeling shaky and uncertain. She said, “Promise me you’ll come back and visit with all of them.”

“When I can,” Niko said. “It’ll take a while to sort out everything, and in my experience, there’s no guarantee that there will be any insurance payout once they’re done disqualifying items. We may be starting from scratch again.”