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Stevie crowded into the airlock, ducking around the open inner hatch. Her face was pale and tight. She took one look at Blythe trying to get upright and went straight into bossy expedition leader mode.

“Layla, get that suit off her. B, stop moving.”

“I’m fine,” she said.

Layla gave her a look. “You’ve got a hell of a bruise coming up on your temple.”

“Good. Means I’m alive.”

“It means you got hit in the head.”

“Still alive, though.”

Layla reached for the fastenings at Blythe’s neck. Blythe slapped her hands away.

Stevie crouched in front of her, snapping her fingers in Blythe’s face to stop her glaring at Rann and look at her instead. “B.”

“No.” Her gaze stayed on Rann. “He’s lying.”

“Blythe,” Rann said quietly, and the use of her actual name slid right under her skin. She hated that it did.

“There’s no way he should’ve been able to reach me.” She jabbed a finger toward him, then winced. “I was drifting away from the ship. You had a tether on. Those uni-suits don’t have enough thrust to get you across that distance, especially not dragging me back.”

Rann’s jaw tightened as he stepped out of the suit’s torso, leaving it bunched around his waist. “The blast pushed us both toward the airlock.”

“Did it?” Blythe asked.

“Yes.”

“B.” Stevie put both hands gently on either side of her face, forcing Blythe to look at her. “Stay still and let Layla check you out.”

She shook her head, struggling to sit up again. Her stomach rolled, hot and sour, but she gritted her teeth through it. “No, he’s lying. I want to know why he’s lying. There’s no way he should have been able to reach me.”

“B,” Stevie said gently, “you took a hit. You’re remembering things wrong.”

Blythe locked eyes with her, willing the woman to listen. But Stevie had that look on her face. The calm one she got when someone was panicking and needed talking down from a ledge.

Blythe was not panicking. She was injured, pissed off, and apparently the only person in this airlock with a functioning brain.

“No, he shouldn’t have been able to reach me. Not tethered.” She shook her head again, then groaned as Layla’s hands ran down her leg.

Her thigh felt like it was on fire.

“Ahh, fuck. Yeah, that does hurt.”

“Medbay,” Layla announced, looking over her shoulder. Beyond her, the rest of the crew crowded the airlock entrance in a hard knot. Great. They’d all been standing there waiting while she argued about Rann.

“Pass me the body board,” Layla ordered, planting one hand on Blythe’s shoulder and pushing her flat again.

“I can walk, honestly!” Blythe tried to shove herself upright around Layla’s hand.

“How? By hopping?” Layla sat back on her heels, arms folded across her chest. “Okay, be my guest.”

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she started to push herself up. She got halfway there before pain tore through her side and down her leg. Her vision went spotty. Groaning, she dropped back with far less dignity than she’d intended.

“Okay,” she muttered through gritted teeth. “You win.”

Layla grunted in satisfaction. “I always do. You’re not walking anywhere until I’ve done scans and tests, woman.”