Chapter Three

Murderbot flies with the team to survey a strange unmapped region of the planet, where they discover their mapping systems are corrupted by what appears to be deliberate sabotage. After returning to the habitat, the team loses contact with the DeltFall Group survey team on the other side of the planet and decides to mount a rescue mission, with Murderbot insisting on going despite initial reluctance.

The chapter begins with the team preparing for an aerial survey flight. Murderbot is distressed to discover they must ride in the crew cabin with the humans and learns from reviewing HubSystem records that the team deliberately chose not to push Murderbot after seeing them without armor, which causes profound embarrassment. During the flight, the autopilot fails but Mensah's quick reflexes prevent disaster; Murderbot identifies the cause as a HubSystem glitch. The team reaches the previously unmapped region and discovers the scanners act strangely around dark volcanic glass formations. When Arada and Ratthi accidentally cross the survey perimeter, Murderbot realizes their maps are corrupted—hazard markers have been wiped out on their displays while Murderbot's actual map shows them correctly. This suggests either deliberate sabotage or a serious mapping error. After spending the morning guiding the humans away from unseen hazards (including pulling a mud-covered Ratthi from an acidic pit), they return to the habitat. Later that day, Mensah informs the group that they have lost contact with DeltFall Group, another survey team on the opposite side of the planet. The emergency beacon has not launched, which is unusual. The team discusses the situation and debates whether to attempt a rescue mission. Despite Mensah's initial plan to leave Murderbot at the habitat, Murderbot argues they should go as the only one with experience in hostile situations. After others support this, Mensah agrees. Murderbot preps the large hopper for the overnight journey while trying to suppress concern that they will only find dead bodies.