ART gets the shuttle into the transit ring by forging the permissions and payment a human captain would normally provide. After docking the shuttle inside an empty lab module, Murderbot carries the badly wounded Tapan to ART’s MedSystem, where medical drones begin treating both of them. While Tapan is kept unconscious for surgery, ART cleans the shuttle, wipes the pilot bot’s memory, deletes security data, and sends the shuttle back to RaviHyral so the surviving kidnappers will reappear far from ART before anyone can investigate.

Murderbot asks how ART identified it as one of the Ganaka Pit units. ART explains that once it saw where Murderbot had gone in the abandoned installation, it calculated that Murderbot was probably connected to the massacre. After that exchange, Murderbot orders the captured ComfortUnit to drop its wall, enters its system, and nulls its governor module. Murderbot then sends the ComfortUnit away instead of destroying it, because the ComfortUnits at Ganaka Pit tried to save others of their own free will, and Murderbot refuses to punish this one for being controlled.

Later, after the MedSystem has healed Murderbot and stabilized Tapan, Tapan wakes and learns that they escaped to Murderbot’s friend’s ship. Murderbot returns the memory clip containing her files, explains that ART must leave immediately, and tells Tapan to contact Rami and Maro to meet them outside the embarkation zone. Tapan apologizes for not listening earlier, but Murderbot tells Tapan the attack was not solely Tapan’s fault, and the two quietly agree to stop arguing about blame.

Murderbot and ART erase the last physical and digital traces of their presence before leaving the ship. Outside the embarkation zone, Tapan reunites with Rami, Maro, and the others, who have already booked passage out. Rami pays Murderbot with a hard currency card, Maro tries to offer affection in a form Murderbot can tolerate, and Murderbot leaves quickly. As ART disconnects, it tells Murderbot to be careful and to find its crew, and Murderbot departs uncertain whether learning the truth about Ganaka Pit has really changed its larger plan.