"Which rule allowed you to call my family 'you people'?"
Rebecca went pale.
"I didn't say that."
"I recorded it."
The man from row fourteen lifted his phone.
"Audio is clear."
A woman across the aisle raised hers as well.
"I got it, too."
Another passenger said, "I have the part where she grabbed him."
Rebecca's eyes moved from one screen to the next.
"Passengers can't record crew without permission."
Marcus answered before Naomi could.
"Passengers may document interactions so long as they don't interfere with safety duties or violate other applicable restrictions. Our own policy says not to seize or demand deletion of a device merely because crew is being recorded."
Rebecca turned on him.
"Of course you'd take her side."
Marcus's expression hardened.
"I'm taking the side of what I saw."
"You people always stick together."
The words came out before Rebecca could stop them.
The cabin fell silent again.
This time there was no ambiguity.
Naomi looked at her for a long moment.
"Stop talking."
Rebecca blinked.
"Dr. Richardson, I-"
"Stop. Talking."
Naomi did not say it loudly. She did not need to.
The cockpit door opened and Captain Hendricks stepped out. He was in his late fifties, gray at the temples, with the slightly weary posture of a pilot who had spent decades managing weather, schedules, mechanical delays, and human behavior.
His first expression was irritation at a disruption in the cabin.
Then he saw Naomi.
"Dr. Richardson."
His tone changed.
Rebecca noticed.
So did every passenger watching.
Naomi disliked that change almost as much as Rebecca's earlier one.
"Captain, please don't treat this differently because of my title. Treat it according to the facts."
Hendricks nodded once.
"Understood."
He looked at Rebecca.
"Did you physically touch the child?"
"I guided him back to his seat."
"That's not what I asked."
Rebecca swallowed.
"Yes."
"Did he threaten anyone?"
"No."
"Was the seatbelt sign on?"
"No."
"Was there turbulence?"