Chapter 25: Markus, the Stargate, and a Deadly Confrontation

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

At the donut shop, Edwin asks Markus what a certain insult means. Arlene Herrera has arrived with her boyfriend, Thinh Dinh, and his friends, and they have been using the insult about the captain. Markus confronts them, already in a bad mood from cleaning kitchen equipment, and is ready to use force. Edwin steps between them and incorrectly assumes the conflict is about homophobia, telling Thinh there is nothing wrong with being gay. The group mocks them, demands Markus serve them, steals chocolate milks, and leaves cash before knocking over the trash can. Markus nearly follows them outside, but Windee texts to remind him of the technical staff meeting.

During the meeting, the crew discusses the stargate project. Because donuts are now being made in the kitchen, the replicators can be devoted to completing the stargate. The plan is to draw power from the region's tectonic faults, but the unpredictable timing of earthquakes remains a problem. Windee proposes using a modulated graviton pulse to initiate discharge, essentially causing earthquakes and immediately capturing their energy before the planet can be damaged. Shirley agrees the concept is promising but warns that the calculations must be perfect.

Markus then shows Shirley a secret communications net he has built. He asks her to share the ship's space-time variables so he can contact their original timeline, but Shirley refuses, reminding him that the captain gave orders against it. Markus becomes convinced that his mother is hiding the coordinates and has even controlled Shirley.

Later, Windee notices Markus trying to back-calculate the navigation data. Assuming the captain requested it, she works on the problem herself. In two hours, she derives the space-time variables by processing the current space-time resonance through a transforming function. Markus is awed by her brilliance and asks her to keep the work a secret so they can surprise the captain. Using her data, Markus gains a direct connection to home. Then, without explanation, he smashes his workstation to the floor.

Shirley later hears Markus arriving late again, but this time he is wearing an Imperial battlesuit and carrying a combat sidearm. She activates the shop's defenses, locks the doors, places customers in stasis, and raises deflectors. Markus breaches the defenses and leaves in a cloaked car. Aunty Floresta rushes out, erases the customers' memories, closes the store, and begins scanning for energy surges. Lan is dining with Shizuka Satomi, but she receives a Code Red and returns immediately.

Markus tracks Thinh and his friends to a warehouse parking lot. He attacks Thinh, demanding to know what Thinh called his mother, and brutally kills both Thinh and Arlene. Lan arrives and orders Markus to stop. Aunty Floresta uses a stabilizer to shrink Markus into a grapefruit-sized sphere, then vaporizes the bodies so nothing remains. Lan wipes the minds of the surviving witnesses, and the two women erase all traces of their presence before returning to the shop.

Back at the shop, Lan questions Windee. Windee explains that Markus said he missed their father, so she found him by calculating the space-time variables. Shirley points out that Windee made errors, and Lan corrects the equations, revealing that she led a study on the same approach years before Windee was born. Lan then sees an alternate timeline from Markus's account, one in which the Endplague ravaged the Empire, war broke out, and the Imperial Army was decimated. Windee realizes that her miscalculations led to two deaths and to Markus being placed in stasis. Lan limits Windee's computer access but decides not to give her further discipline, saying that knowledge is often the worst punishment. Finally, Lan apologizes to Aunty Floresta for not telling her about the link to their home timeline, but Floresta says there is nothing for her back there; everything she loves is right here under the Big Donut.

Key Events

Thinh Dinh and his friends insult the captain at the donut shop, and Markus nearly attacks them before Edwin intervenes with a confused peacemaking speech.
Windee proposes using graviton pulses to trigger tectonic discharges as a power source for the stargate.
Markus asks Shirley for the ship's space-time variables, and she refuses on the captain's orders.
Windee secretly calculates the space-time variables and shares them with Markus, who uses them to gain a direct connection to home.
Markus arrives at the shop in an Imperial battlesuit, escapes through the defenses, and tracks down Thinh.
Markus kills Thinh and Arlene; Aunty Floresta shrinks him into stasis and vaporizes the bodies, while Lan wipes the witnesses' memories.
Lan corrects Windee's equations and discovers a horrifying alternate timeline tied to Markus's actions.
Windee is punished by losing computer access, and Lan reflects that knowledge itself can be the heaviest punishment.
Aunty Floresta affirms that her home is now the donut shop, not the world they left behind.

Character Development

Markus Tran moves from barely restrained anger to outright mutiny: he builds a forbidden communications net, exploits Windee's genius, and turns his weapon on civilians before being contained in stasis.
Windee Tran shows both her extraordinary intellect and her dangerous naivety. She genuinely believes she is helping Markus, and her shock at the consequences drives her to collapse with guilt.
Shirley Tran remains loyal and dutiful, refusing to share the coordinates and attempting to stop her brother even as he powers through the shop's defenses.
Lan Tran reveals hidden depths. She can follow and correct Windee's advanced mathematics, and she responds to Windee's failure with measured restraint rather than cruelty.
Aunty Floresta becomes the crew's enforcer and cleanup specialist. She does what is necessary, apologizes to the dead, and ultimately chooses her found family over her old world.
Edwin Tran remains gentle and naive, misreading a bigoted confrontation as a simple misunderstanding and trusting Markus despite the growing danger.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Prejudice and retaliation: The chapter begins with hateful language and ends with Markus's violent overreaction. Neither response offers a real resolution, setting up a contrast with the family's deliberate choices later.
Knowledge as a double-edged sword: Windee's math solves a problem but also enables destruction. Lan's comment that knowledge is often the worst punishment turns a technical breakthrough into a moral lesson.
Family loyalty versus duty: Markus acts to defend his mother's honor, but his defiance of her orders makes him a threat to everyone. Shirley, by contrast, prioritizes the mission and the safety of the community.
Home and chosen home: Markus wants to return to the Empire at any cost, while Aunty Floresta decides that everything she loves is already with her under the Big Donut.
Erasure and memory: The crew erases witnesses, vaporizes bodies, and removes traces of their presence, showing how carefully they must protect their secret lives on Earth.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a major turning point in the novel. Markus's betrayal changes the family dynamic, Windee's miscalculation has deadly results, and the stargate project moves forward at the same time. The donut shop is no longer just a hiding place; it becomes the stage for a confrontation between Markus's desire to leave and Floresta's decision to stay. The chapter also deepens Lan's character by showing that she understands the very science Windee used, and it sets the story up for the consequences of Markus's reaction and the family's ongoing mission.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Markus go after Thinh Dinh? Markus is already furious after hearing Thinh and his friends insult his mother at the donut shop. After Windee gives him the space-time variables and he gains a direct connection home, his anger boils over. He tracks Thinh to a parking lot and attacks him, demanding to know what Thinh called Lan. His violence is a distorted act of loyalty to his mother, but it violates every rule she has set for the family.

2. What does Windee calculate, and what goes wrong? Windee back-calculates the space-time variables from the current space-time resonance, believing she is helping Markus contact their father. Her method is brilliant but contains an entire class of unknowns, as Lan later explains. Because Markus uses Windee's incomplete math, he is able to reach an alternate timeline rather than the true home timeline. The miscalculation leads to two deaths and ends with Markus trapped in stasis.

3. How does Lan respond to Windee's mistake? Lan does not scream or punish Windee harshly. She corrects the equations, explains what Windee missed, and limits her computer access. When Shirley asks about additional discipline, Lan says it probably will not be needed because knowledge is often the worst punishment. Windee already understands the scale of what she caused, and Lan's response reflects her belief that understanding the truth is more painful than any formal consequence.