Chapter Two

Murderbot flees HaveRatton Station on a fast crewed transport using a forged identity from Wilken and Gerth's emergency kit, then hops through a transit hub to reach TranRollinHyfa Station. Upon arrival, Murderbot discovers that Dr. Mensah may be in danger on TranRollinHyfa, with a company gunship in position and the Preservation team members apparently having independently arrived via shuttle.

Murderbot determines that taking bot-piloted transports is too risky and instead books passage on crewed passenger ships with forged identities. After acquiring Wilken and Gerth's go-bag containing hard currency cards and temporary ID markers, Murderbot inserts an ID marker under its shoulder joint and boards a seven-cycle transport as "Jian from Parthalos Absalo," hacking weapons scans and adjusting personal augmentation readings to avoid detection. During the voyage, Murderbot deduces from news reports that GrayCris likely believes Dr. Mensah deliberately sent Murderbot to Milu to sabotage them, since Mensah had publicly called for investigation of the facility. The chapter notes Murderbot's anxiety response—watching entertainment media—and includes extended reflection on a historical drama showing earlier human-augmented relationships, which Murderbot finds implausibly optimistic. After a ten-hour layover at a transit hub gathering intelligence on TranRollinHyfa, Murderbot switches to a second identity marker ("Kiran") and boards another transport toward TranRollinHyfa. Before departing, Murderbot mails its data clips from Milu, plus Wilken and Gerth's clip, to Dr. Mensah's marital partners on Preservation, considering the information too dangerous to carry into GrayCris territory. During the approach to TranRollinHyfa Station, Murderbot intercepts a newsburst showing Dr. Bharadwaj making a cryptic statement about Preservation "taking steps" regarding GrayCris, which Murderbot interprets as possible evidence that Mensah is being held hostage. Upon arrival, Murderbot hacks the company gunship's encrypted feed via stealth contact, learning that a retrieval contract for Mensah has been suspended due to "Neutral Party Access Denial"—meaning TranRollinHyfa Station has refused the gunship docking rights, preventing the company from mounting a rescue. The data also reveals that secondary clients (likely Pin-Lee, Ratthi, or Gurathin) have left company protection and are "in the wind," implying they escaped via an unarmed shuttle that was allowed to dock. After disembarking among a large passenger group and navigating the station's tighter security protocols, Murderbot discovers the Preservation team's shuttle is docked and traces them to a station hotel. Murderbot hypothesizes that GrayCris may have deliberately leaked information about Mensah to lure Murderbot here, though the logic remains unclear. Murderbot resolves to locate and contact the Preservation team members as the only available source of intelligence about Mensah's situation.