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I touched Mieshorum’s shoulder. His eyes popped open and fixed on me.

“Yes?” he asked in a whisper.

I told him about Opal’s request. It was only after I finished that I realized I forgot to tell her that we registered Sloane’s ownership to Precious Mineral, the company we’d created for Opal. Everything happened so quickly we’d been forced to make a decision even though neither human was able to discuss it. We’d done what we thought the humans would want.

I hoped neither of them would be angry. Of course, if Sloane was angry at us, that meant she survived with her mind intact. In that case, I might welcome her negative emotions.

Narmuna was proud that no one questioned the company ownership of the humans. He’d done an amazing job of legal and property subterfuge.

After I finished explaining that Opal wanted to return to Bright Star Station, I outlined three options and went quiet.

Mieshorum didn’t need to think about it for long before he replied. “If the others are willing, you can all leave and come back later. Sloane won't be ready for a trip any time soon, and it sounds like Opal is determined to go as soon as she's well.”

I sounded a rumble of agreement. “I respect your decision and agree.”

“What decision?” Narmuna asked. I hadn’t heard him walk up behind me, and his voice made me jump despite the low volume.

Mieshorum sounded a rumble of amusement. He must’ve seen Narmuna but decided not to say anything.

“I'm going to make sure your tlash tea is always cold,” I threatened, which only made him rumble with amusement again.

Lexarit was standing behind Narmuna and was also rumbling with amusement. “I thought Opal was the one taking sedatives, not you,” he teased.

“If you're done being entertained, I need to talk to both of you in the hall,” I said.

Narmuna and Lexarit led me out into the hall, and I gave them the same breakdown as I had Mieshorum, then included Mieshorum’s wishes. After I was finished I expected questions or a request to think about it.

Instead, Lexarit and Narmuna exchanged a look then both rumbled in agreement.

“We’ll go,” Narmuna said. “We talked about it before. We need to make amends to Opal. Returning to Bright Star Station to get her things seems like an acceptable way to do that.”

“I only have one concern,” Lexarit said. “If we get there and Opal decides to press charges instead of saying it was a misunderstanding, we could find ourselves incarcerated."

“That is a possibility,” I said. “If we do this, we’re going to have to trust her.”

“This feels like the ultimate test to prove our sincerity,” Lexarit murmured.

He wasn’t wrong.

Opal

I was shocked at how tired I was after only two laps around the medical facility. The lights were all on bright to mark it as the daytime portion of the day-night cycle. Tolly was next to me and there were healers in front and behind me, all focused on my movement.

It felt a little weird to be the center of attention. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say my leg was the center of attention.

They’d pulled out area three's walls so Sloane and Mieshorum were tucked away and not bothered by all the brightness and movement. It was a little weird that there weren't any doors, but then I watched the front wall sink down into the floor to allow a healer access.

I admired the clever design. I’d only ever seen that once on a very expensive yacht that docked on Bright Star Station for repairs.

Because my legs were shaking, I decided I’d do one more lap. I was used to working all day; walking around a room shouldn’t be an issue.

But it was.

Halfway through the lap, I gave up. “I need to sit down.”

Tolly was quick to scoop me up before my legs gave out and dumped me on the floor. Healer Grifforum said once I could do four laps I could leave. I didn't even make it through the third. I guess I wasn’t leaving today.

Purring, Tolly carried me back to bed. All the healers that had been walking with me followed us. The moment he set me down, they pushed him out of the way. One held my leg up and another ran a scanner over it while a third studied the results on a display over my bed.