Word spread. Crewmates came to her door. The Orb showed the engineer his father’s last laugh. It showed the pilot the terror and relief of surviving a crash she’d never spoken of. It showed the cook the precise warmth of a meal her grandmother made the night before the war took their village.
She ordered the Orb jettisoned.
She didn’t cry this time. She listened.
Word spread. Crewmates came to her door. The Orb showed the engineer his father’s last laugh. It showed the pilot the terror and relief of surviving a crash she’d never spoken of. It showed the cook the precise warmth of a meal her grandmother made the night before the war took their village.
She ordered the Orb jettisoned.
She didn’t cry this time. She listened.