The first night Ava comes back, the Halo blinks “she heard you” before adding a “at the portal”.

Oftentimes, it tells her about Ava’s day. A she missed you here, and a she wasn’t okay there. Once, it exhausted itself just to spell out she didn’t mean to yell at you and she really is sorry.

Sometimes, Beatrice talks to it, too. She whispers things she didn’t have the courage to say out loud during the day, opting to confess them in the Halo’s divine warmth. “Thank you,” she says one night, stroking Ava’s hair. “For keeping her safe.”

Once, when Ava’s recovering in Jillian’s med bay after a serious injury, the Halo glows weakly, in front of everyone. It’s stuck on one word, “-... . .-”. Jillian asks if the Halo’s malfunctioning, the OCS answer in unison no.

At Beatrice and Ava’s wedding, the Halo signals I do in time to Ava’s answer. (It signals out other phrases during their consummation, but Beatrice can’t really see them, not when Ava hovers above her, dark eyes staring into her soul.)