"It's been a few days longer than I expected," Jaya Yaepanaya said to Apollonia.

The latter was standing at the door to her office, watching silently.

The brighter lights of the room shed light on just how unhealthy the young woman looked, Jaya thought. Her eyes had dark bags under them, and she looked so thin under her clothes that her bones might have stood out.

But there was a glint in her eyes that burned brightly.

"I'm ready to go," Apollonia said.

Jaya studied her a moment longer, then nodded and rose. Apollonia did not need to ask for her to come, and the Commander walked alongside her as they went to the airlock that connected the Craton to the Chain.

Apollonia came to a stop at the gate, staring across.

Jaya watched her. She would cross over with the woman if she wanted her to, but it felt hollow to her. It would not be a field of bayonets for her, just a walkway.

*******

Apollonia stared across an abyss. The ship had fallen away, though she was still aware of the bulkheads and decks. She saw beyond.

It was a cesspit, a black hole, everything terrible at once across there.

Why was the difference so stark? From their ship to the other, an arbitrary boundary.

It was just in her head, she realized. The darkness from what lay on the Chain had sunk deep, but it was not the station. It was something on it, and it bled onto the Craton, infused all of this sector of space.

She didn't have to cross a field, she was already in it.

In which case, it was hardly any different to be on that side, was it?

She walked across.

The shock when she'd first arrived had not been from the station itself, it was her system reacting to that presence. It had already surrounded her, though, it had since they'd arrived.

New layers opened to her. She couldn't understand them, not really, but she could see enough.

Jaya walked with her, and once they were on the other side, Apollonia spoke.

"Let's go see that doctor."

Jaya messaged ahead, and a drone met them as a guide.

Through tunnels and corridors, down elevators, deeper into the station. The presence of foulness grew more intense, it burned, itched, hurt, in ways, made her feel like she was being watched. Her stomach churned, but it did not touch her in the same way it had the first time she'd come aboard.

They finally were brought to an office. It was cold, austere, and Verena Urle came out to meet them.

"Commander Yaepanaya, Ms. Nor. What brings you here?" she asked.

"I'm here to help," Apollonia said.

Verena studied her for a moment before replying. "To be honest, Ms. Nor, I do not know what it is you think you can do. The situation has changed drastically, and-"

"I know," Apollonia said. "I've been seeing it . . . feeling it, since we got here. I know I'm late, but I think we need to go in there and talk to Michal Denso."

Jaya looked to her sharply. She did not think anyone had ever even told Apollonia the man's name.

Verena caught that as well. "It seems you are well-informed. I have the feeling that this is not simply Commander Yaepanaya's doing. You have your own ways of knowing."

Apollonia nodded.

"In which case," Verena continued. "Would you mind telling me just what your plan is? I assume you understand that the conditions in the room with Denso are not safe for anyone."

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"I think that it'll be safe for me and whoever is with me," Apollonia said.

"You think?" Verena asked.

"We can only try it and find out."

"This is far too large a risk to take, just on your feelings. I have seen for myself many strange things, especially recently, but I am not yet ready to risk my life on these feelings you have."

"Suit yourself. I'd still like to go in," Apollonia said. "Because the alternative is a lot worse."

Lines creased on Verena's face, and a tense silence filled the air between them.

"What will happen?" Verena finally asked.

"Denso is becoming something else. He's going to be reborn as something that I don't think we can contain or deal with. We've got to act now, before that happens."

Verena visibly reacted as Apollonia spoke.

"The last time I was in there, Denso talked to me. They were the most coherent words I had ever heard him speak," she said softly.

"What did he say?" Jaya asked.

"That he had no more chains," Verena replied. "And that is not all . . . an expedition to the Terris system encountered on our monitoring station there an unknown individual, whose appearance matches that of Denso."

"And he's dead, isn't he?" Apollonia asked. She could not say how she knew, but there was a logic here.

"Yes," Verena replied, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"I think that whatever contact Denso had at Terris was not like that of others," Apollonia said. "It was something special. I don't know why him, out of all the people there. Perhaps there isn't a reason, or it's one we can't understand. What affected him was so powerful it broke him as a being like we know it. He existed in his body, but also elsewhere. Some kind of . . . shade of him. For all we know, there might be more of them out there. But something has been growing inside this man here. And as he died, it grew stronger."

"I disconnected the life support for him earlier," Verena said. "It was . . . perhaps an overdue mercy. But I cannot do any more. I already violated specific orders to do that much - and it did nothing. There is little else I can justify doing."

"Will it violate your orders if I go talk to him?"

Verena shook her head. "You truly think it will help?"

"I think I have to do something. And yeah, maybe. Maybe there's something of Denso still in there that can listen to me."

"Unless you can convince it to cease existing, I do not know what," Verena said.

"Perhaps I can do that," Apollonia replied. "But no promises."

*******

Fifteen minutes ago, Brooks had been informed, Apollonia Nor had crossed onto MS-29.

His countdown for the arrival of Director Freeman said there was just over two hours left. Once the man arrived, it was all out of their hands.

And he had a sickening feeling that it was going to go even more disastrously than he feared.

He was tempted to order the Craton to leave. At least save his ship. But he could not simply run and abandon the hundreds of millions on the medical station, and he had orders that kept him here.

He could only wait.

An alert startled him. There was a call incoming, from Director Freeman.

Had the man arrived already?

He answered. "Brooks here."

There was no visual, and the audio was odd; distorted and low-quality, but his system confirmed an audio match for the director.

"Good," the man said. "Captain, I will arrive shortly. I would like you to begin to prepare Michal Denso for transport. I have specific instructions for this task I will send at the end of this message."

"Are you messaging me while in transit, sir?" Brooks asked.

"Yes," Freeman confirmed, but offered no more elaboration.

Brooks had never even heard of that ability, though judging from the quality of the transmission he could understand why it was not in wide use.

"Sending instructions now," Freeman continued. "And Brooks?"

"Yes?"

"I am counting on you. Your success or failure in this will be remembered by myself and the rest of the Directorate."

Brooks said nothing as the connection was cut, and the data stream began.

He reviewed the instructions Freeman had sent. They were rigorous, and he could see that it would take several hours; Freeman had anticipated this and noted that that they were unlikely to be finished by the time of his arrival.

But he expected them to be well along.

Given what Brooks knew about the current state of Denso, this did not seem safe for his crew. But Freeman had even anticipated that.

"Risks to crew considered acceptable under circumstances. This is a matter of Union security."

Brooks was duty-bound to order his crew to begin preparing for this.

Instead, he asked his system; "Where is Ambassador Kell?"

The device took a moment, longer than it should have, for such a simple question.

"Ambassador Kell's location is currently unknown."

"Did he leave the ship?"

"Unknown."

Brooks closed his eyes for a moment. He had a feeling where Kell was.

"Put out a call for volunteers from our available Response officers and medical staff," he ordered. "Matching the parameters of this document. I want this team assembled in twenty minutes."