For about half a shameful second, Palamedes considers saying all right, let’s do it. It would be so easy. He and Cam could get the hell out of here; they could find somewhere safe to hide, maybe even return home. Home. It’s not just a place, but a place in time—a world before Canaan House, and Dulcinea’s death, and ethical questions.

But no: that would mean pretending away everything they have learned in the last year. And it would mean abandoning people he swore to protect.

“I can’t do that, Lieutenant. I’m sorry. If you want to go at it alone, I won’t stop you. I’ll even tell you where the shuttles are, and try to distract Smokey.” A faint smirk. He’s going to remember that nickname. “You may not be home, but you are finally free of the Captain’s reach, and I am certain you could make a life for yourself here.”

He takes a breath. “Or, since you refuse to shut the door, I can take you to the storage bay, which should be empty now, and explain why I brought you across the multiverse. It isn’t because you can fly a shuttle, Tayray. It’s because you can negotiate.”

They are really cutting it close, and Pal will not put Camilla in danger for Ari’s sake. They have to act soon. “You have thirty seconds to decide.”