She found the power distribution board covered in handwritten repairs.
Many had been performed by Nerin herself.
The repairs were improvised but careful, preserving emergency lighting and medical airflow at the expense of unused research equipment.
Imani told her that she had kept the people alive with parts that should never have been expected to last so long.
Nerin replied that the equipment had been designed to serve a research project, not the people trapped inside it.
She had simply changed its priorities.
The last patient crossed into the rescue ship six hours after the first medical supplies arrived.
The platform’s laboratory sections remained sealed under remote surveillance until a specialized containment team could recover the specimens safely.
Sepha insisted that no biological samples be brought aboard the rescue ship without proper isolation.
The commander agreed.
Hamish looked relieved.
He told Imani that he had finally discovered a journey where leaving the interesting cargo behind was the best possible outcome.
Imani said she would remind him of that the next time he accepted a suspiciously well-paid freight job.
On the return flight, Nerin slept for nearly ten hours under medical supervision.
She woke in time to see the distant lights of Meridian Exchange approaching through the cockpit window.
Sepha asked whether she wanted to speak to Vela before they docked.
Nerin nodded, then hesitated.
She feared that her daughter might blame her for sending her away alone.
Sepha said the child had been frightened but had understood why the case mattered.
Nerin asked whether Vela had managed to eat and sleep.
Sepha told her about the nurses, the fruit bowl, and the drawings.
She said the girl had also asked more difficult questions than many trained investigators.
Nerin smiled weakly.
That sounds like her, she said.
When the ship docked, a medical escort brought Nerin to a quiet family room rather than the public arrivals hall.
Vela was waiting beside Hravik and a counselor assigned to support displaced families.
She stood when the door opened.
For a moment she did not move.
Nerin took one step forward and whispered her daughter’s name.
Vela crossed the room so quickly that Sepha barely saw her move.
The mother and daughter held each other for a long time.
Neither made a speech.
Nobody asked them to turn toward a camera.
Sepha stepped outside and closed the door softly.
Hamish was leaning against the corridor wall with his arms folded.
