To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

The humans are suspicious of Itari and confine it to the airlock. Of the crew that went to Nidus, only seven Marines survived along with the Wallfish crew and the Entropists. The crew notices Kira’s missing arm, but she does not explain. It looks as if the Wallfish has escaped, but then two nightmare ships follow. The Darmstadt appears and gives them time to get ready for light speed travel. 

Kira asks Itari, who calls her Idealis, if it can improve their Markov Drive, and it agrees to try. They go to engineering, but for Kira translating between Itari and Hwa-jung, the machine boss, is difficult. Itari can make the Drive stronger but needs equipment from a Jelly ship. The Entropists bring the object they found on a Jelly ship to engineering, and Itari is able to retrofit the Drive to charge more quickly. 

Itari knows that the Corrupted came from Idealis and is surprised that Kira did not. She explains how the Maw was made, a combination of a Jelly, a human, and the Idealis. Itari tells her that because she created the nightmares, the Jellies had thought she was allied with them. However, even now that they know the truth, their plans to destroy the humans have not changed. This is why Itari and his faction want to work with the humans to destroy the Maw and challenge the leadership of the Jellies. 

Kira goes to sickbay to consult with Vishal about her arm. He says they will grow another arm for her, but she worries that the xeno will not let them connect it. She visits Trig in cryo and sees Nielsen there. They both feel responsible for what happened to him.

Suddenly, one of the nightmare ships destroys the Darmstadt. The soldiers from the Darmstadt who are stationed on the Wallfish will now travel with them, which means that they will be four cryo tubes short. Falconi suggests that Itari wrap some of them in the same protective shield in which it wrapped Trig. 

Hawes, the Marine in charge, arranges to interview Itari the next day, with Kira acting as translator. She is withdrawn from the group, thinking about the creation of the nightmares. Falconi introduces her to a card game, and they make a bet that whoever loses will answer a question. She wins the first round and asks him about his scars and how he acquired his ship. When he wins the second round, Kira tells him about the creation of the nightmares. She also confesses that she is responsible for the deaths on Adra. He tells her that sometimes no one is to blame. They talk for a while, and there seems to be an attraction between them. Kira still feels guilty and returns to her cabin. She wakes up to the notification that they have jumped to light speed.

Falconi is evading the nightmare ships by dropping in and out of light speed and changing direction. Their final destination is Sol. Itari explains to Kira and Hawes why the Jellies call humans two-form, which is a reference to humans having a second form in the ship minds. Then, after some resistance, Itari tells them about the Soft Blade. A long time ago, they had discovered materials the Vanished had left behind, which gave them light speed travel, and they eventually discovered several Idealis as well. They do not know who the Vanished were. Kira tells Itari about the Great Beacon, which he calls a Whirlpool, telling her that they have found six, but do not know their purpose. Itari thinks Kira is lying when she tells it that humans discovered space travel themselves because they believe the Vanished are the source of all knowledge. It is disturbed by the humans’ capabilities and admits that, if not for the nightmares, it would now be allied with the plan to destroy the humans.

Itari tells Kira that every molecule of the Corrupted must be destroyed or they will form anew. His group, called the Knot of Minds, formed to protect the secret of where the Idealis was hidden, which is where Kira found it. Itari then mentions Ctein, a name the xeno responds to, as the Jelly that has ruled for centuries. Kira realizes that the Jellies do not die unless they are destroyed; otherwise, their life cycle just starts anew. Later, Itari cocoons the soldiers as a substitute for cryosleep. Falconi asks Kira to watch Itari during the trip, so she sets up her hibernation nest outside the airlock door. She and Itari speak further. Kira asks if it knows a way to separate the Idealis from its host, but it does not beyond death. As the ship prepares to jump, Kira prepares to hibernate. She keeps herself busy until she feels her body slowing as a response to lack of food and activity. Once each week, she wakes up and trains with the xeno.