Kilchas squints, leaning closer to read it through. 

"Huh," he says at the end. "Better than getting yourself set on fire, I guess, but - I don't know. Sure seems like She had an agenda for you." 

"It seemed like her agenda was 'don't let the mind control creep mind control creep on me' but now I'm all kinds of confused!"

:Chosen–: Rohan starts. 

:Can you wait two minutes?: Kilchas barks back. :I'm a little busy: And Rohan's inexplicable restlessness and discomfort is very distracting. Kilchas tightens his shields. 

:Chosen, please. Whatever Taver saw in Foresight, it really scared him! And I have a bad feeling - I don't think we should be standing around talking and delaying like this...: 

Kilchas takes a deep breath. 

"Cam, I'm really sorry, but my Companion - and Taver - are getting really bad Foresight feelings. I'm worried that means Vkandis or one of the others is about to try something else. Can you trust me that I'll summon you back as soon as we have a better idea of what's going on here?" 

"- I mean if you mean right now right now you will otherwise be stranded in space till you starve so, uh, sure, but have some circles," he makes circles, "have some food," a few days' worth of canned stuff with pull-tabs, pile of hay, "and like, write me with updates while you're working on it, if you want to summon me back just long enough to get you planetside or make more food we can do that..."

:See?: Kilchas thinks sharply at Rohan. :He's being reasonable! No need to go behind his back!: 

"- Thank you. I might be able to Gate to the nearest point on the ground but it'd be tough. And while we're not sure, it might be a good idea to stay up here anyway." He chuckles without much humour. "Harder for Vkandis to set me on fire, you know. Er, is your space station going to stay put, relative to Haven?" 

"It is now. Uh, let me think if there's anything else I need to change - sealing the biolab, check - water recirculator's running all green - air too - yeah I think you're fine till we figure out what the fuck Vicky's problem is and how he can stop making it ours."

"Right. Sounds good. I'm really sorry about this - I know you were being careful... We can write to you even when you're back in your own world?" 

"Yes, I just won't be able to write back."

"Right." Kilchas takes a deep breath. "You take care of yourself. We'll do our best to sort this out sooner rather than later. Like I told Rohan - people are still going hungry, right, it makes a difference whether you're bringing them food now or in a week..." 

"Yeah. I can keep up with biolab stuff at home, anyway. You know how to use the phone, right?"

"I should manage fine." 

"Okay." Sigh. "Dismiss when ready."

Kilchas nods, and focuses on wanting to send Cam home. He has an easier time with it than Jisa did. 

And he's gone.

Kilchas rubs his face, then turns to his Companion. :All right, what's got a bee in your bonnet now?: 

Rohan is silent, holding himself stiffly. 

:Well? What is it?: 

Kilchas starts to roll his eyes, but it's suddenly not funny at all. Something feels wrong. And now that Cam is gone, it's sinking in that he's stuck here. In space. Alone with his Companion, who ten minutes ago he would have said that he trusted more than anyone else in the world, but who has been behaving very oddly. 

He sighs, glances around, and sits down. :Come on, love. Talk to me. What's eating you?: 

There's an unbearable sense of pressure, crushing him - and of tension, tearing him apart - and of something else, neither and both of those at the same time, indescribable.

His Chosen needs him and he wants to be there and at the same time he wants to run toward the horizon and he can't, because there isn't a horizon, here, only airless void on the other side of too-thin metal - he wasn't claustrophobic before but he is now...

:I, I - I don't - I can't - no, please -: 

...

Kilchas isn't sure he's ever been this confused. 

:- I'm sorry, love. No to what? You can't what?: 

Answering that question is among the many things it feels like he can't do. 

But. 

His Chosen. His. 

:I - I can't think about it: 

Kilchas starts to reach out to stroke his Companion's mane. And stops himself. Something is telling him that Rohan needs space right now. 

:You can't think about what?: 

:....About -: 

It hurts so much. 

:About Vkandis: 

Except that's incomplete - and finishing it hurts even more, but he has to. No other choice. They're falling forever through vacuum, around and around the planet, contained in a thin skin of metal and air, and there's no other way out. Except for forward. 

:......About - you: