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"You will need to attend with the ground team. I can't in good conscience send a person of a race that has never traveled through space before down into the 'belly of the beast' without proper protocol and care." Vondra paused as her formation seemed to lean closer to the camera and enlarge on the display. "You're the highest ranking officer on board the Emberkind, and with this new knowledge I have, we need 'all hands on deck' for this mission."

"New... knowledge?" Reyna asked.

Something in the resonance shifted. "There's something you should know. We recently received data that the station's backup power is degrading faster than our initial projections. Our latest readings suggest you have approximately one hour from arrival before the zero-G field fails entirely. That window is shrinking."

"How much faster?"

"As the data we’ve been sharing shows, the decay curve has shifted from linear to exponential in the last forty-eight hours. You may have less time than the projections suggest. And even those could be incorrect by the time they are communicated to you and the ground team."

Beside her, Tavi's fingers were already recalculating on his datapad.

"One more thing, Captain," Vondra added. "I want you to understand the reason for the Aetherfin being on that station. As you know, they were the research subjects for the study of the Aetherfin Biology Institute's newest studies." Vondra paused here, and Reyna could feel the moment get heavier. "Those researchers left, Reyna, and the funding was redirected based on their leaving. The station was scheduled for decommission, and the Coalition moved on." Another pause. "Until we received a reading from the station just before I called you that day the Emberkind was assigned this mission. Reyna, no one had filed for the creatures' relocation."

Reyna's jaw tightened. Beside her, Tavi's mosaic markings deepened in color.

"They were left to die," Reyna said flatly.

"That seems to be the case, Captain."

Reyna heard Tavi breathe out a heavy sigh before he started speaking. "What a bunch of no-good, jack-napping, Punfort-breeding?—"

"We'll get them out, Admiral."

Gratefully, Reyna's interruption seemed to quiet Tavi, but she understood his anger. She felt it right alongside him. Gratefully, the Admiral didn't seem to worry about Tavi's outburst.

"I know you will." Vondra moved away from the camera again, resuming her position where she initially started. "Tasks are confirmed. Your Coalition link will be active through the whole mission. Good luck, Captain."

At that, the display went dark.

Reyna sat, looking at the blank wall. Abandoned research subjects on a dying station with less time than they'd calculated to be available.

"Cap?" Tavi was watching her.

"You know what to do, Tavi."

"Yeah, I do, you know that. But you're going with us now, yeah?"

"It seems so."

"Then, wouldn't you like to do the honors?"

His expression was focused on her with almost admiration. As much as Reyna hadn't ever planned to captain a Coalition vessel in her lifetime, having been perfectly content serving as Elena's First Mate until their space adventure days were over, it was always a nice reminder that, gratefully, her crew trusted her. Most of them, at least.

"No, thank you, Tavi. This is your gig," she said, smiling at him. "Go get the team together. We launch in four hours."

FOURTEEN

THE AETHERFIN UNDERTAKING

The shuttle was biggerthan Charlie expected. Although, in truth, all Charlie knew of shuttles came from her knowledge of Star Wars and Star Trek, so she wasn't sure if her expectations were nonsense. But this was clearly a working vessel, built to carry cargo, equipment, and containment units for animal rescue operations.

Her observations did make it clear that the shuttle was functional, efficient, and designed for purpose. There were consoles along the walls, seating for the crew, and a viewport at the front that showed the interior of the Emberkind's shuttle bay. She could hear engine sequences cycling through the systems beneath her feet, probably for pre-launch protocols. But other than that? Charlie really didn't know much.

One thing she did know, with the most assured of all assurances, was she was about to be traveling in open space.

Open. Space.

As a human, as someone from Earth, and as Charlie Wickett herself, she realized this moment was bigger than anyone on board probably realized for her.