Brennan can remember asking herself that question when she was not quite Hannah's age. And under circumstances that, at their core, were not entirely dissimilar.

She draws back so that she can look Hannah in the eye.

"We," she says, "are going to check in regularly with this Commodore Lyon in case there is any new information. We will offer assistance if there is anything we can do to help, though given that this seems to involve magic, we should be prepared for the possibility that we won't be able to."

"And in the meantime we are going to go about our lives, as difficult as that may sound. But we can't just stay here indefinitely hoping to hear something. It won't do anything to help the situation, and in the end it's not healthy."

She hopes that Hannah doesn't think her unfeeling. Because that's not even remotely the case. But it's the only advice she knows to offer.

"It's hard, I know, when there are no answers. But until we have more data, and data that we can act on, it's all we can do."