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last, gasping sob slipped out of his mouth, and then Tron pushed himself back into the corridor as fast as he could. He jerked the door back into place with all the violence his arms could manage, then he turned to where he’d dropped Kivi when she threw her fit.
    The girl wasn’t there. For a second, Tron panicked. He’d been thinking that the attackers were gone, because he hadn’t seen any since the half-glimpse he’d gotten from beneath his bed. He assumed that, when no one came after the commotion Kivi made as she tumbled down the stairs, it meant that no one was there to watch them. That was stupid. They could’ve been hiding, or busy. Or maybe they were just in another part of Lucy and didn’t hear. At the time he’d thought she might as well get on the intercom and announce where she was, but it wouldn’t be hard to be out of earshot. The Lucy was a small ship, especially for as many people as they’d let on, but she was still a ship. There was more than enough distance to render the girl’s cries unheard. Now he was facing the consequences of his assumption, because someone had come back and grabbed her, and he was on his own again.
    Then he heard the grunting. It was soft, almost too quiet to catch. But Lucy was as silent as she’d ever been, and any noise was bound to carry in the midst of all that nothing. He squinted his eyes, trying to cut through the darkness. But, just like in the mess, the blue light made everything strange. It cast just enough glow to trick his eyes into thinking they could see and not nearly enough to keep away the darkness. He walked forward slowly, every muscle a tense spring ready to pop if he caught sight of anyone taller than the tiny girl.
    She wasn’t far. She’d gotten herself up and was limping along the corridor, her right hand pressed flat against the wall as she hopped along. He watched her go, wondering where Kivi thought she was going.
    “What are you doing?”
    She jumped and nearly fell. Tron felt bad for startling her, but didn’t bother apologizing.
    “Walking.”
    He didn’t have it in him to be angry. Not after the room. It wasn’t necessary anyway. He was sure Kivi hadn’t meant to be difficult. It just came naturally. “Thanks for that thrilling news. Wanna tell me where? Or why?”
    She turned around and eyed him. There was something unnerving about being the subject of Kivi’s examinations. She had a way of making people feel like she was measuring them by some set of standards that only she knew, and that no one was ever able to meet. He’d even heard her little brother complaining about it once. The light enhanced the effect ten-fold, making her pale blue eyes glow. Tron tried not to squirm underneath it. He half expected her to tell him no. Finally, she nodded. He almost sighed in relief.
    “I’m going to Medical. You told me that’s where we’re going.”
    He blinked, not sure what to make of that. Did she think he was in charge? He just wanted to patch up her ankle, then find the captain. Tron wasn’t a leader. He wasn’t even a team player. He’d expected her to drift off the second he got her able to walk again. He didn’t want that, but Tron spent a lot of time watching people. Kivi was who she was, and that was the girl who drifted off.
    “Here,” he said. Tron offered her his arm. “Let me help.”
    She stared at him again, and again he expected her to refuse. But, just like before, she nodded. She took his arm and gave him some of her weight. If he hadn’t carried her up the stairs, he might have thought she was trying to be tough. The girl was short and about as big around as his wrist, but Tron never suspected how little she actually weighed until he’d felt it for himself.
    They walked like that for a while, her clinging to his arm as they shuffled toward med bay so slow that he started to worry they’d die of old age before they got there. But he didn’t complain. He wanted to, but didn’t see it accomplishing