“Everyone’s been reunited.” Commander Shealynn Rhodes Miados stood in the catwalks above one of the many decks of engineering operations, watching Gracie Lothan work. Beside Miados stood Fleet Captain Geronimo Fontana, a PADD in hand.

“She knew.” He said it with a sigh, “She knew when we went to rescue the people on the planet, and she knew when they came back.” They watched Lothan sequence out the data chips, check each one with elegant precision, and then slip the drawer back into the wall, moving on down the line.

Miados felt a surge of sympathy for Lothan. She had led a group of one hundred kids during an alien invasion, held them together once they had ended up back at Montana Station, and painstakingly worked the rosters to be accurate for each child and their family. Miados had searched the lists several times for Lothan’s family. It was only when the roster from the destroyed colony was updated that the truth dawned on her.

Gracie Lothan’s family had been on Bunden III. She was the last of the Lothans.

“I haven’t had the courage to talk to her,” Miados confessed. The girl’s rote motions were comforting and heartbreaking. She turned to her CO, “I’m not trying to avoid the duty, sir. I just think…”

He kept his eye on Lothan as she worked, “You think she needs the highest-ranking officer on this boat to talk to her?” His head swiveled to face her, “I think there’s a little avoidance in there, Commander Miados. However…I’m going to agree with you.” He stepped away and climbed the ladder, joining Lothan at the next pull-out unit. “Good morning, Gracie.”

She glanced up, her eyes drawn along with her face. Sleep hadn’t been agreeing with her, Miados had warned him. Her voice was quiet, “Good morning, Fleet Captain Fontana.” She continued her work, her eyes back to the task at hand.

“You knew.” His tone was gentle, but his eyes stayed on her face, waiting for her to respond.

She checked the last data chip, shut the drawer, and moved to the next. Her hands were trembling now, and her eyes quietly filled with tears. She whispered, “Yeah. I knew.” The flickering lights on the chip drawer blinked back at her, and her head shook, “I knew the moment they dest…,” her voice trembled, yet she held on, blinking back the avalanche of emotions. “I knew the moment they destroyed the colony. I watched it happen. But…I couldn’t react.” Her eyes slowly moved to meet Fontana’s, “I had to keep it together for them. And even when Falcon arrived…I couldn’t feel. I needed to get everyone home safe. I needed to stay strong.” A pause as she went through the chips, slower this time around. Sliding the drawer shut, she leaned against the wall, “Life without them…I don’t know how it works, Fleet Captain Fontana. I don’t know how it works.” Tears ran steadily as she hugged herself tightly, eyes red, “How does it work? How?”

Fontana held his arms open, and she fled into his gentle embrace, sobbing loudly into his chest.

“She’s stable.” Lieutenant Juliet Woodward stood outside the doors to the quarters where she had moved Lothan. “We’ve put out an ask to the Bunden community at large.”

Fontana cocked his head to the side. There was something in her tone. “You’re worried nobody’s going to take her.”

Woodward shrugged, “Based on my research and second-hand interviews, the Lothan family was something of an…outlier in the community. They moved to Bunden III out of necessity – they lived on the outskirts. More old school when it came to technology. People thought they were eccentric and odd.”

Fontana felt a frown deepen on his face, “Even after the work she did to save those kids?”

Another shrug, “Gracie put together that field trip. From what I’ve been able to piece together, there are a lot of parents who think she put their children at risk.”

The station CO grumbled, “So, rimward colony politics as usual.”

Juliet smiled slyly, “Aren’t you glad you took the job, Fleet Captain?”

He harrumphed, “Don’t you start.” He stared at the closed door. “Get with Director Courtemanche…let’s see how we can help support her and give her a choice about what she wants.”

“Will do…and Fleet Captain?” He turned. “She wanted me to thank you for earlier today. It meant a lot that you were the one who talked to her.”

He didn’t reply, but the beginnings of a smile were enough before he walked down the corridor.