So, the thought of voluntarily submitting to a similar experience locks my voice in my throat and raises goose bumps along my arms and at the back of my neck, despite the heat of the four of us in the galley.
“That would take months,” Voller protests.
“I don’t want to leave them behind, but I don’t want to lock myself up in a tomb with them, either,” Lourdes says shakily.
“I don’t see how it’s any different than being in LINA outside the ship. Or even as we are now,” Nysus says. “We would be sealed in.”
Next to me, Lourdes gives a shudder. And she’s right to. Doors didn’t matter on Ferris. I can’t imagine that sealed bulkheads would be any different.
“No,” Kane says flatly, his mouth a thin line. “This is not a viable option. We’re still not sure what happened to them, and months alone, locked up inside—”
My throat closes off my air abruptly, and I cough, turning away from them as I try to catch my breath.
“Claire?” Kane asks. His hand catches my shoulder, and I’m caught between the urge to lean into the comfort and the desire to pull away to prove I don’t need it. In the end, I do neither, staying still beneath his touch. “Are you okay?” he asks. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” he adds in a quieter voice, sounding chagrined.
I shake my head, waving away his words. “… okay.”
“Why are you apologizing to her?” Voller demands. “It’s our lives you’re ruining.”
Kane’s hand leaves my shoulder as he turns away, and I feel the loss as if he’s taken something vital from me.
“That’s being a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Kane asks Voller. “Even for you.”
“Dramatic?” Voller scoffs. “Me? I’m not the one who was planning to off herself by floating off into—”
“Just stop!” Lourdes shouts, holding her hands over her ears. “I can’t stand this!”
Beneath their bickering, I can hear Nysus saying something over the intercom, but his words are lost in the noise. My temper flares to life, and I spin to face them. “Everyone, shut up!” I shout.
A moment of stunned silence follows, but I know it won’t last.
“What was that, Nysus?” I ask.
“Oh, uh, I said, what if it wasn’t months? What if it was just a few days?”
My goose bumps return, prickling my skin.
“Not possible,” Voller says immediately. “We’re already ninety-some hours away from where we were in K147 and that’s hell and gone from Earth. What good would that do us?”
His words trigger a connection in my brain. “The commweb,” I say slowly.
“Exactly,” Nysus says with satisfaction.
“What are you talking about?” Voller asks in exasperation.
“We don’t have to get all the way to Earth,” I say, piecing it together. “All we need to do is get theAuroraback to known space. Back to the commweb. We send a message, a live feed from theAurorabridge, something that couldn’t possibly be faked, tagged with her signature—”
“Upload to the Forum, the newsfeeds,” Nysus adds, excited.
“We’ll be sitting in the middle of our proof,” I say. “Proof that everyone will be able to see and hear. They can even come see her for themselves, if they want to come out that far. Mystery solved. TheAurorahas been found. No opportunity for secrecy.”
“And what fool is going to punish the heroes who found and returned theAurorato safety?” Voller asks, a grin sliding across his pointed face, making him look even slyer, though his delight is clearly genuine. “Sure, go on, give them a reward. Give them their percentage for the Finding claim. They brought back the whole damn ship.” He gives a whoop and slaps the wall behind him for emphasis.
“They’ll finally get to go home,” Lourdes adds, with a relieved nod, finally releasing her death grip on the scripture capsule around her neck.
That alone brings a small smile to my face. Because the other part of this plan, the part where we spend days alone inside theAurora…my heart lurches in my chest, like it’s trying to break free of my rib cage.
Kane clears his throat. “Can I speak to you about this? Privately?”
