Erik's lips pressed together in chagrin, an expression of almost comic self-deprecation. "Apologies," he said. "I'd forgotten you might not know me."

He searched for a way to explain that wouldn't make him sound insane; finding none, he shrugged and said simply, "Before I came here, I was trapped somewhere else— somewhere similar, but... in space." It still sounded ludicrous, said aloud like that. "You were there as well. Or at least, some version of you was."