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What in the crap hole of space was going on? She blinked several times. She was awake and somehow back on Prodigy. Or rather, Nell had been on the station a few seconds ago. Now, she floated outside.

“Calm down. This will all make sense.” Her last clear memory was of being on Starland with Doctor Kingsbury and Doctor Non. They’d said they would help fix her.

Then what? How in all the crazy wormholes in hell had she gotten from Starland to Prodigy, into a spacesuit, and out into space?

She should be terrified. Nell should turn and head back to the airlock and back to the safety of Prodigy.

She kept going. The jet pack on her back could steer her in any direction. Nell also had tethers that could attach her spacesuit to clips on the station’s hull, so she wouldn’t drift too far.

Nell had done spacewalks before. It was no big deal.

Except it was. She’d not planned this. She hadn’t been aware she was even going into space. Anger and confusion swirled inside her. Rane must have done a real number on her head if her memory was screwing up so badly.

A sense of calm blanked out the anger. Even though Nell hadn’t a clue how she’d arrived here, it felt like she was meant to be in space. She had a purpose and would follow it through.

That was it. As Nell’s thoughts clarified, she knew she had orders to carry out. If she didn’t do this, she couldn’t move forward with her treatment. She had to carry out this mission. A successful mission meant a full recovery.

It felt like there were blanks in her memory, missing time stamps on the steps she’d taken to get into space. It reminded Nell of her lost memories when it came to her alien abduction.

“Focus on your mission,” she said quietly to herself. “You must do this. You do this, and you will be cured.”

Nell smiled. “That’s it. I do this, and everything will be fine.”

She drifted past a row of windows. Her eyes widened, and for a second, she was convinced she saw Rane watching her. Whoever it was, they turned away and lowered the blinds.

Even if it had been Rane, Nell had to stay away from him. Doctor Kingsbury had made it clear he was a dangerous influence and not safe to be around.

That thought jarred, and Nell’s heart ached. Never seeing Rane again felt wrong. He’d been a comfort. She had taken advantage of him, using his ability to calm her and help her switch off, but after the first few nights, it had been more than that for Nell. It had been—-

Focus on the mission. The phrase popped into her head like a hard, icy stab.

Nell couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by a manipulative, lying Olickie. She had to remember that’s what Rane was. She must not trust him, and she must never see him again.

A set of numbers appeared in her thoughts. That was what she must focus upon. She needed to input these numbers.

Nell propelled herself using the jet pack. It took a few minutes to get where she needed to be. She spotted the main docking bay doors, slowed, and tethered herself to the side of Prodigy. Nell let out a breath. This was the right thing to do. She needed to input these numbers and override the main system.

Her hand hovered over an external number pad. Instead of lifting the lid, she turned and stared into space.

It was incredible. There was so much out there. So much stark beauty, it made her want to cry. If she wanted to, she could drift away into that beauty. All her cares would be forgotten.

Nell would love to go exploring in deep space. And she would, when she was over her fears and everything in her head was right. She could go out there and see everything the star system had to offer.

It wouldn’t be long until everything was right, and she’d be free to do whatever she wanted.

It was the first time in years she’d felt anything close to excitement.

Nell maneuvered until she faced the key pad again. She lifted the clear lid and keyed in the six numbers in her head. The light flashed from red to green as it was supposed to. She replaced the lid and nodded.

Step one completed.

Panic flared in Nell’s mind, and her breath caught in her throat. What was she doing? Why was she in space? What numbers had she keyed in, and why were they important?

That same numbing calmness entered her head. It didn’t matter. None of that mattered. She was struggling because of Rane. He had numbed her to everything. Doctor Kingsbury was right; stay away from the Olickie.

Nell paused as she stared once more into the vast expanse of space. The weird thing was, she’d felt numb and detached from the world before Rane had come into her life.

When she was around him, and he helped calm her, she felt better. She had felt sparks of real emotion fire inside her. He’d helped to do that, not any of the therapists she’d seen prior to Doctor Kingsbury.