"There - with Nautilus - we showed up in the city, not just because we had potential, but because we resonated; some part of us experienced disconnect with our worlds, just before Waking. There's no sign the tether between passenger and voidtrain looks for anything like that."

She makes a pondering face. "... Hell, I'm not sure if there's a difference between a pilot's tether and just that of regular crew."

Maybe that was why Halo had faded away - crew was replaceable, but pilots were... for life?

It wouldn't be Nita's first engagement with things of that nature, anyway.