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he squinted from the brightness as he stepped into the inner node, fantastic in its geometric perfection. All of the surfaces were crafted from a glowing, ivory-like material. Six interlocking triangles made up the walls surrounding him, and in the center of the room was a glowing sphere with colorless, braided cables that stretched up to each of the corners of the triangular ceiling.
    Zahn took a quick glance to see if the Tulari was still safely nestled within the wire mesh of one of the cables. It was, and he walked over to the other end of the bizarre room, completely failing to notice that an odd little creature was perched atop one of the colorless cables that led into the glowing sphere.
    When he placed his thumb beside the door, it split into three parts which pulled back, revealing a smaller room in which two outer walls sloped toward him until they reached their peak just over the door. Zahn walked to the center of the command bay and sat in a large chair with a transparent dome directly above it.
    Ahead and somewhat lower down, he noticed the large, curving bench, and the emptiness of the room struck him. After sharing this room with Asha and Oonak for days on end, he realized that this might feel like a lonely trip. Good thing he had Navika to talk to.
    “Navika, we’ve got to go. What’s your status?”
    In the corner of the room, Zahn noticed that some of the floor panels were still removed.
    But hadn’t Yantrik said he was nearly done with the repairs?
    Zahn blinked a few times. Normally, Navika responded instantly through the mindcap interface. The dome above the chair created a powerful mental link, allowing them to have entire conversations in mere seconds, but he hadn’t said anything. Now that Zahn thought about it, he hadn’t heard Navika speak once since he’d entered the ship.
    “Navika, are you all right? Status report.”
    Silence.
    Zahn rubbed his forehead. “What’s wrong?”
    Farther down, beyond the passenger bench, he noticed that there was a small pile of seed husks in the far corner of the room.
    Zahn didn’t have much time to think about this before the mindcap showed him that someone was approaching the ship. He saw it just beyond the edge of his vision, though in reality he wasn’t seeing it at all. The ship saw it for him.
    The figure grew closer, and he was soon able to make out Asha’s face beyond the bunches of blue leaves. Somehow, she always managed to remember where the ship was hidden.
    With a mere thought, Zahn flashed the ship’s walls to transparency, creating the illusion that he was sitting on a chair in the middle of the forest. Yet he knew quite well that just because he could see his surroundings through the ship’s hull, it did not mean those outside could see him.
    “I’m sorry, Asha,” he said, and carefully moved the ship up into the air.
    To be as quiet as possible, he didn’t push through the blue canopy yet. Instead, he glided over the forest path, trying in vain to avoid brushing the ferns and making noise.
    Asha must have heard something, because her walk turned into a run.
    Even though he knew she couldn’t see the ship, Zahn couldn’t deny the feeling of her gaze on the back of his head.
    Did she sense where the ship was? Had her intuitive powers become that strong?
    The feeling of her gaze on his back was tinged with regret and sadness, and Zahn froze.
    “Zahn, is that you? Can you hear me? Zahn, if you’re taking Navika, you’re being reckless. I already felt for where the ship was. I know it’s gone. Please, don’t do this.”
    He let out a heavy sigh. “I am haunted by the memory of a man who saved my life,” he whispered to himself, knowing full well that his words couldn’t be heard outside the ship. “I’m sorry Asha. I can’t lose you, too.”
    Zahn sent the ship shooting up through the canopy of blue, creating loud rustling and snapping sounds for a few seconds before leaving Asha in relative silence.
    He looked down as the