Filled with high-level Liberty Union officers, the post-mission debrief in the command center was tense. It was just as Commandant Carnasi had said—they had discovered contradictions to things many in the galaxy held true and sacred. Tamiyo relayed the operation summary to the room, and once she finished, it was a long time before anyone else spoke.

  Many in attendance were non-human, and thus were understandably shocked by the truth behind their origins. The Commandant was more composed, though he was human—but even he was visibly surprised.

  Finally, the Commandant said, “Thank you,” to Tamiyo, who had already made her way back over to her team.

  “Naturally,” the Commandant addressed the entire room now, “everything here is classified at the highest level. I do not need to tell you this, but it is worth repeating anyway. If I find out anyone here breathes a word of this before a measured public announcement is made, you will spend the rest of your life in a military prison.”

  His tone wasn't cruel, he wasn't flexing power for no reason. The matter was just too sensitive—if not handled properly, panic, rage, even war could break out.

  The majority of the room was dismissed, but Commandant Carnasi requested Commander Garrin, Admiral Marrow, and the Nox team to remain behind.

  As the small crowd dispersed, Tamiyo spotted Garrin. It looked like he still had not received any medical attention for his snapped arm-blade. Tamiyo made her way over to him, activating her eye scanner.

  “Stop pretending you're not in pain,” Tamiyo told him.

  “I'm fine.”

  “No, you're beating yourself up for losing so many men, that doesn’t mean you need to sit here and suffer. Let me treat it.”

  Garrin didn't respond, he wouldn't even meet her eyes.

  “Garrin,” the Commandant called out.

  “Sir!”

  “Sit down and let her treat you, that's an order.” The Commandant's tone was kind.

  There was nothing Garrin could do but resign to Tamiyo’s help.

  She started by applying a local anesthetic, then she began to clean the wound.

  “Any other injuries?” Commandant Carnasi asked while she worked. He was looking at Veolo.

  “Oh,” her silver eyebrows raised, taking his meaning. “Uh, no sir, none of this blood is mine.” She let a small, awkward laugh out.

  “Violet,” Aurania spoke up, leaning against a wall. “How are you feeling?”

  The gunslinger was sitting with one knee atop the other, half-reclined in a comfy chair she had stolen from an officer before the debrief started. Her hair was still slightly frizzed out, but she covered it with her hat worn low, eyes barely visible.

  “I feel like Soren owes me a drink,” she said casually, looking at him. Then slightly more serious, she asked, “what the hell actually happened out there?”

  Tamiyo paused for a moment to look at Soren.

  He was quiet for a beat, then said, “I finally managed to use this power with some control,” he looked at his palms.

  “But… it built too quickly. It's still unstable.”

  He turned to Violet. “I'm really sorry.”

  She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head. Then she shrugged. “We're good, Big Man.”

  Tamiyo smiled and started dressing Garrin's wound.

  “I would also like to know more about your abilities,” Commandant Carnasi said.

  Soren looked at him but didn't immediately speak. First he glanced at Riza who was seated across the room—as if wondering how much to trust the Commandant—then he looked back and said, “Well, Aether Dust affects gravity, right?”

  Carnasi nodded at him.

  “My body is infused with Aether Dust. I can channel it.” Soren reached an arm out casually toward the Commandant's coffee cup, palm open. A moment later, the cup floated smoothly through the air into Soren's grasp.

  “Fascinating,” Carnasi said.

  “Woah!” Amalia let out from her seat at the back of the room. Everyone turned to look at her.

  She glanced around the room, then back to Soren. “The cup didn't fly through the air super fast! You're gaining more control of it!”

  Soren's expression lightened a little. He looked at the cup in his hand, then opened his grasp, and it stayed floating. He shifted his palm facing up to the ceiling and the cup hovered a couple inches above it, slowly rotating.

  “Yes, for small things,” he said. “But I definitely need more practice. The harder I have to focus, the harder it is to control. And, there's no denying it now…”

  He glanced briefly at Aurania. “My emotional state amplifies it.”

  “Hmm,” the Commandant was thinking, elbows on his armrests and fingers steepled. “There are still more of those creatures around, and it will take some time for our troops to sort through all of the data and technology down there. Perhaps you could get some more practice providing security.”

  Soren floated the cup back to the Commandant then crossed his arms. “With all due respect sir, our priority is Nox.”

  “Yes, and what data did you find down there that may help Nox?”

  Soren looked uncomfortable. “Not much, actually. That doesn’t mean nothing is there, we’ve only scratched the surface of Enderfield’s notes.”

  The Commandant nodded, but was silent for a moment. He was thinking over everything that had relayed to him. Then his gaze landed on the Commander. “Garrin, you are not to return to the field until Miss Tamiyo clears you for duty.”

  Tamiyo looked up from her work quickly, looking back and forth between Commander Garrin and Commandant Carnasi.

  Garrin looked like he wanted to argue, but he suppressed it almost immediately. “Yes sir,” was all he said.

  “Thank you all for your hard work,” the Commandant said. “I’m sure you would all like to rest, you are dismissed.”

  The team rose slowly, their bodies beginning to ache after the intense mission. Tamiyo gave Garrin detailed care instructions to follow for the next several weeks and told him she would check on him over the next couple days.

  A couple hours later, Tamiyo strode casually into the common room, her blonde and pink hair hung down and loose—slightly damp from her recent shower.

  “Hey Brolgar.”

  The d’moria was hard at work preparing food for the team, but no one else was currently around. The ground team was washing off the grime from The Cradle, and Brana was busy with her routine maintenance on The Ghost of Mandachor.

  Tamiyo sat down on a bar-stool at the counter, taking a deep whiff of the spicy stew he had brewing. He poured her a refreshing drink that had several mixes of various fresh-squeezed fruit juices, then turned and pulled a huge tray of freshly baked bread from his oven.

  Tamiyo took a sip and said, “Brolgar, this drink tastes amazing!”

  “Thank’ye lass,” he said as he spread butter across the hot bread loaves.

  “How are you holding up with everything?” She had told the two d’moria about the non-human origins before she left to go shower. They hadn’t said much afterward.

  “It does nah bother me much,” he answered gruffly. “Though I see why it bothers the others.” He topped off the drink in her glass, as she had already downed half of it.

  “Do you mind if I ask why you don’t feel bothered?”

  He was quiet for several moments, thinking and working on their dinner. Finally, he asked, “You were created somewhere, were y’not? Not born, like most of folk?”

  “Yeah,” Tamiyo said curiously.

  “So would you say the factory y’were built in matters so much to’ye?”

  Tamiyo found herself caught off guard, but she didn’t disagree. “That… a really good point, Brolgar.”

  “It doesn’t matter where y’came from, lass,” he set down a plate in front of her with a chunk of carved bread. Then he leaned against the counter with both hands, looking right at her.

  “Fact o’the matter is: y’are more human than some of th’natural born bastards I’ve met in m’time. What matters is the connections y’form with others. The impact y’have on their lives.”

  Tamiyo stared back at him wide-eyed for a moment—completely lost for words.

  “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Riza strode into the common room.

  Aurania followed a moment later. “You’re saying it doesn’t bother you at all?!”

  “I didn’t say that,” Riza answered simply. She grabbed a plate of bread, “Thanks Brolgar. How long until that stew is ready?”

  “Not long,” he already had his head back down, toiling away.

  “I’m not saying your feelings aren’t valid, Aura,” Riza sat down next to Tamiyo. “But we have more important things to focus on, and it’s not like nothing good came from all of this.” Her hand settled gently on her belly.

  “So the ends justify the means?” Aurania stopped halfway across the room and crossed her arms.

  “No,” Riza said calmly. “The target is just dead and instead of protecting what matters, you’re sighted in on a ghost.”

  Aurania didn’t answer, but she shifted her weight to one leg and unfolded her arms. Her hands went to her hips as she gazed off at the floor, lost in thought. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly.

  Finally, Aurania looked up. “Are you really leaving us?”

  Tamiyo whipped around to Riza. “What?”

  Riza’s eyes flicked to Tamiyo as she tore a piece of bread and popped it in her mouth. “Yes, until the baby is born, at least. Where you all are going, it’s too dangerous for me to come.”

  Aurania's brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

  Tamiyo felt completely lost. “Yeah, where are we going?”

  Riza’s expression didn’t change, she just chewed calmly, watching Tamiyo with a kind expression.

  She looked back to Aurania. “I’ll tell you both once everyone gets here. But if I’m not here to hold your hand, you need to keep your head straight. Be Aurania.” She winked. “Not the Ender Child.”

  Aurania, having made her way slowly over to the food, took a plate of bread from Brolgar. She threw a chunk at Riza’s head, but Riza just leaned to one side, easily dodging.

  “You think you’re real cute,” Aurania said, walking over to lean against the back of the couch.

  Tamiyo smiled, enjoying the banter. She looked over to Brolgar and asked, “There’s no alcohol in this drink, right?”

  He shook his head wordlessly while adding spices to the stew.

  “Here!” Tamiyo excitedly offered her drink to Riza. “I don’t know what he put in this but it is delicious.”

  “Oh, no, it’s oka—” Riza tried protesting but Tamiyo pushed the drink into her hand, then grabbed the pitcher over the counter and refilled it.

  “Aura, do you want some?” Tamiyo found herself suddenly cheerful after what Brolgar said. She knew the rest of the team might feel heavy, so she wanted to be strong for them.

  “Thank you, Tamiyo,” Aurania said. “You don’t have to though.”

  Tamiyo’s brow raised slightly, then she filled a glass and took it to Aurania.

  “So stubborn,” she muttered after handing the glass off.

  “I’m going to go round everyone up,” Tamiyo said and strode towards the door, not waiting for a response.

  She figured some of the team may still be showering, so she made her way down to the hangar to fetch Brana first. The d’moria woman was hard to find at first, until Tamiyo spotted her feet sticking out of a maintenance hatch underneath the ship. Tamiyo abruptly popped her head up into the hatch with her.

  “Gah!” Brana shouted and dropped the wrench in her hand, causing a loud clang that echoed in the enclosed space.

  “What the fuck, Tamiyo?!” Brana yelled out.

  Tamiyo just smiled at her. “Find a stopping point, Riza needs all of us in the common room.”

  Brana gazed down at her, grease in her braids and expression mildly irritated. “I just started.”

  Tamiyo stuck her tongue out playfully. “Well just stop then.” She turned and walked away before Brana could try arguing more.

  Raine and Inelius were in the middle of enjoying each others’ company when Tamiyo knocked. She apologized and said unfortunately they would have to finish either quickly or later. Then she left to find Amalia.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The bubbly girl didn’t immediately answer her door, but Tamiyo was pretty sure she could hear the shower running inside. After knocking intermittently for over two minutes, the door finally opened and Amalia stood there spilling out of a towel, looking like she was only half-done showering.

  “Hey…” Tamiyo narrowed her eyes. Something was off. “How are you not done showering yet?”

  “Oh!” Amalia answered with a smile. “Garrin needed help washing up, you said he has to keep his arm dry. So I’m just now getting myself washed up.”

  Tamiyo’s antennae wiggled slightly. “How nice of you.”

  Amalia beamed back innocently.

  “Riza needs to talk to everyone,” Tamiyo told her. “Get dressed, and GARRIN YOU COME TOO.”

  There was a moment of silence, then a quiet voice echoed from Amalia’s bathroom.

  “...okay.”

  Tamiyo snorted a little and left Amalia giggling in her doorway.

  Violet was sleeping off the battle, she didn’t look happy to be woken up. But she didn’t complain when Tamiyo told her why she had come knocking.

  And Veolo’s door was closed but unlocked. Tamiyo just walked in once she didn’t answer.

  Veolo was still showering too, but at least she had a better excuse.

  “V, it’s Tamiyo!” She stood just outside Veolo’s bathroom. “You good? Need a hand?”

  She didn’t respond right away.

  Then finally, Veolo yelled, “I can’t get it out of my hair!” She sounded on the verge of tears.

  “I’m coming in,” Tamiyo said, and stepped through the door.

  Veolo had a pitiful look on her face. The fists and bravado weren’t helping her with dried blood and whatever else was stuck to the back of her head. She looked long past running out of patience.

  “How long have you been trying to get it out?” Tamiyo asked, kicking her boots off.

  “I don’t know, like an hour?” She squeaked.

  “Aww. Crouch down.”

  Tamiyo stepped into the shower, not even bothering to try staying dry. She carefully began working at the matted blood with a brush and her fingers.

  “It’s really in there,” Tamiyo muttered.

  After a moment of silence filled only by sounds of the shower, Veolo asked, “So what brings you by, anyway?”

  Tamiyo applied some shampoo and worked it in, trying to break up the matted mess. “I could hear you complaining from my room.”

  “Really?!”

  Tamiyo giggled a little. “No.”

  “I did yell a couple times…” she sounded so small—she was really frustrated with trying to get this clean.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll have it out in a minute.” She started rinsing Veolo’s hair and brushing the chunks out—it was finally coming free.

  “Riza needs to talk to all of us, you and Soren are the last ones I need to round up.”

  “Hm,” was all she said.

  A couple minutes later, Veolo shut the water off and started toweling herself down. “Thanks,” she said quietly. She was actually blushing a little.

  “You’re welcome,” Tamiyo said with a smile. “I’m gonna run and grab some dry clothes, can you round up Soren if I don’t beat you there?”

  “Uh, sure,” Veolo said, squinting one eye and aggressively trying to get water out of her ear.

  Tamiyo left her there, returning quickly to her room and changing. She just threw some comfy sweats on and padded barefoot over to Soren’s room.

  Veolo was already at the door knocking, loose gray robes covering about as much as they usually did.

  “He’s not answering,” Veolo said. “I’ve been knocking for a minute already.”

  “Hmm,” Tamiyo looked at Veolo, then the door. “I don’t think he locks his room when he’s here.”

  “Eh, me and him are cool, Tamiyo, but not cool enough for me to just waltz in unannounced.”

  Tamiyo just shrugged and opened the door.

  The room was dark, and as they slowly made their way inside, they heard muffled snoring. Tamiyo activated her eye scanners.

  “Oh man,” she said quietly. “He’s out. Deep REM, I don’t think we’ll be able to wake him up.”

  “That fight must have taken it out of him.”

  “Yeah,” Tamiyo said. “Using the Aether Dust must be exhausting. Makes sense that it has some drawbacks.”

  “Well, what do you wanna do?” Veolo asked.

  “Hmm… he’s too heavy to carry. Even with both of us.” She turned and looked innocently at Veolo. “Think he’s ticklish?”

  “I’m not testing that.”

  Tamiyo thought again for several moments. Then she said, “Oh! I have an idea.” She walked over to a wall terminal that all of their bedrooms had and called up a communication line to the common room.

  When Brolgar answered, she asked him to grab Aurania.

  “Hey Tamiyo, what’s up?” Aurania said.

  “Soren’s knocked the fuck out,” Tamiyo said simply. “Can you—I don’t know—use your mental link somehow and wake him up?”

  One of Aurania’s eyebrows slowly crept upwards on the video feed. Then she closed her eyes.

  For a couple moments, nothing happened. The room was quiet. Soren snored into his bedding. Veolo shifted her weight to her other leg.

  Then Soren bolted up and yelled out, “What the fuck!”

  He looked around the dark room, slowly putting together what had happened. He looked over at Aurania on the wall screen and said, “Hey. This shit?” He pointed back and forth between his head and the wall screen. “Not an alarm clock.”

  Aurania laughed lightly and hung up.

  Tamiyo and Veolo just stared at him amused.

  “What did she do to wake you up?” Veolo asked.

  “Something mean,” he muttered. “Hey, throw me the robes out of the closet.”

  Veolo recoiled a little. “Robes?” She turned and opened the closet. “Since when do you wear—shit, these are nice. They look lacravida.”

  She threw them over to him.

  “Amalia helped me with them,” Soren said. “So I could have a date with Aurania.” He stood and started dressing.

  Veolo didn’t respond right away and Tamiyo looked to see her staring.

  “Veolo,” Tamiyo said.

  No response.

  “Veolo!”

  “Huh?” she snapped out of it.

  “You all have a one-track-mind sometimes,” Tamiyo rolled her eyes.

  “Oh come on! Look at him!”

  Soren laughed a little. He and Veolo had formed an interesting dynamic—they both knew Veolo was attracted to him, but also both knew nothing was going to happen. So they just did their best to be friends despite it.

  “Thanks, by the way,” Soren said, ignoring how flustered she was.

  “For what?” She had a healthy dose of her normal attitude.

  “For knocking sense into me during the fight. Hey, hand me the…” he pointed at a box on the counter next to Veolo. “Yep, that one.”

  He pulled two silver bracelets out and put one on each wrist. He also put on a simple necklace and a couple small earrings, which Tamiyo noted he hadn’t had on during the date. The whole set matched.

  “Soren.” Veolo glared at him.

  “What?”

  She gestured at his whole getup. “The fuck?”

  He smiled and walked toward the door. “Gotta get back at Aurania for waking me up like that.”

  Tamiyo and Veolo followed him out.

  “Are those clip-on earrings?” Veolo asked as they made their way to the common room.

  Soren sighed a little. “Yeah, nothing can really pierce my ears, so…”

  “Aurania better figure her shit out,” Veolo grumbled.

  “As always, V, your flattery is much appreciated.”

  “Yeah, yeah…”

  It wasn’t a far walk to the common room, but right before they reached it, Veolo asked, half-joking, “Hey, what if Aurania dies? Do I have a shot then?”

  Soren laughed genuinely. “You gonna kill her?”

  “I might!”

  “My god, V, you are insatiable.” He looked over at Tamiyo. “Is she supposed to be this thirsty?”

  “Eh, it’s supposed to peter off as she gets closer to thirty.”

  Soren rubbed the back of his neck. “Gonna be a long couple years. I’ll have to start being your wingman, V. Find you some marks to get it out of your system.”

  “Lucky me,” Veolo said sarcastically.

  As they walked into the common room, Aurania said loudly, “There you guys ar—”

  She cut off mid-sentence, staring at Soren as he strode through the room over to Brolgar.

  The stew had finished while Tamiyo was gone, and Soren graciously accepted a bowl from the d’moria before looking back at Aurania. He looked very amused.

  “...what took so long?” Aurania finally asked.

  Soren shrugged. “Veolo was devising ways to murder you.”

  “I was not!” Veolo said. “You make it sound like I was scheming to do it in secret.”

  “My mistake,” Soren said lightly. Then he slurped some stew from his spoon.

  “And Veolo wants to kill me because…?” Aurania looked around confused.

  “Because Soren is wining and dining you,” Tamiyo answered. She made her way over to get more of Brolgar’s fruity beverage.

  “Oh, this again,” Aurania said. She turned to Veolo and crossed her arms. “Think you can beat me in a fight?”

  “Fuck yeah I can,” Veolo walked right up to her. “Let’s go, you fucking giant.”

  “Bring it then,” Aurania threw back. “All six feet of you.”

  Aurania stared down at Veolo, over a foot taller and much stronger.

  Neither even tried to swing.

  Then they both smiled and gave up the ruse.

  “Damn,” Inelius said from over on the couch. “Thought they really might fight that time.”

  The team took a little time to all finish eating—Riza had fallen asleep on the floor cushions waiting for Tamiyo and no one was volunteering to wake up a pregnant legend.

  Garrin chatted with Inelius and Raine like he was one of them—and Tamiyo realized it felt more and more like he was every day.

  It was nice. It wasn’t The Resolute Wind, but it felt pretty similar—and they hadn’t had much time to just mingle all together like this in months. There had been downtime on Mol’eyne, but there was little to entertain themselves and everyone had always been covered in a layer of dirt.

  Neither Soren nor Aurania directly brought up his outfit. The two did seem to be passive aggressively flirting, however. At one point he even made a joke about her ‘having a certain aura about her,’ since she still refused to let him call her the nickname everyone else used.

  After an hour of hushed but amiable company, Tamiyo found herself seated on the floor cushions next to Riza’s head. She made the quietest little snoring sounds—only audible if one was less than a foot away from her. Tamiyo smiled warmly, looking down at her—she looked so peaceful, especially for one so deadly.

  “Hey, Amalia,” Tamiyo whispered as loud as she dared, and Amalia came over to her. “I read that lacravida ears are really sensitive. Do you think Riza might like it if I… pet hers?”

  Amalia’s eyes lit up. “Yes!” She whispered in an excited tone. “But it’s less of a petting, not like she’s a… well, pet. Do more of a gentle stroking—use your fingers, not the palm of your hand.”

  “Or scratch where her ears meet her head,” Veolo added, peering over the back of the couch. “That always does it for me.”

  “I bet your fucking leg shakes, too,” Inelius said with a grin.

  Tamiyo heard quiet laughter but turned her attention back to Riza. Slowly, she reached out and ran two fingers along the long, jackrabbit-like ears. They were soft as a cloud.

  Riza stirred a little at the touch, but then a moment later she nuzzled back into the pillow and started lightly snoring again.

  Tamiyo couldn’t help but smile.

  After a couple minutes, Tamiyo felt Soren crawl over the back of the couch and sit behind her. Raine also popped up right next to them.

  Tamiyo craned her head back, “What’s going on?”

  “Raine’s going to show me how to put your puzzle-cube of a ponytail together,” Soren said.

  Tamiyo’s antennae drooped slightly as she muttered, “Oh no,” but she let them continue.

  He was surprisingly gentle. It took him a couple tries to figure it out, but it couldn’t have been more than five minutes after he sat behind her that he twisted the last hair-tie in place and Raine said it looked great.

  Tamiyo felt the back of her head, then said, “Thank you,” still gently stroking Riza’s ear.

  Then she got an idea.

  “Hey Aura?” Tamiyo craned her neck, trying to find the tall matriarch.

  “Hm?” Aurania called from somewhere behind Tamiyo that she couldn’t see.

  “Can you come swap out with me?”

  “Uh, sure. Why, what’s up?”

  “Well, I was hoping…” Tamiyo sounded timid. “I’ve always wanted to braid your hair. If that’s alright. It’s so long and pretty.” She tried to sound extra convincing.

  She heard Aurania walking over and the two swapped over. Aurania was smiling warmly—once she was settled she said, “Ok, sure you can braid it.”

  “Oh, I’m not going to braid it,” Tamiyo said, tone almost bored.

  “What? But you said—”

  “I know,” Tamiyo shrugged. “I was just, um… lying.” She turned to Soren who was standing next to the couch. “She’s all yours.”

  Aurania looked around slack-jawwed as Soren climbed back onto the couch to sit behind her.

  “No fair,” she finally managed to get out.

  “Do you want me to stop?” Soren asked. His tone sounded genuine and kind.

  And a little flirty.

  “...no,” Aurania finally admitted, voice impossibly small for one so large.

  Tamiyo topped off her fruit juice and then flopped back onto the couch, watching Soren gently work his fingers through her thick hair. He moved with such delicacy, it wasn’t sexual, but it was undeniably intimate.

  He was about halfway done with the long braid when he paused. Then his hands moved back up to her head, and he hesitated for a moment.

  “What are you—?” Aurania started. Then:

  “Ohh.”

  Soren lightly began scratching and massaging where her ears met her scalp. His fingers gently moved along her long ears—which to Tamiyo had always looked similar to a baby bovine—though she’d never say it.

  Aurania’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, and Tamiyo saw goosebumps go down her arms.

  Tamiyo cocked an eyebrow and subtly activated her eye scanners to assess Aurania.

  Soren was doing very well.

  But then Aurania shivered, and Riza woke with a start.

  “Shit,” Aurania said. “Sorry.”

  Soren hadn’t stopped, and Aurania sounded very happy.

  Riza’s brow furrowed and she looked back and forth between the two of them. “This is new. How long was I out? Do we still have a planet?”

  “No,” Garrin called from the other side of the room. “You’re all just squatters on my ship now.”

  Riza stood and stretched. “It’s not your ship, Stumpy.”

  There was some quiet laughter and more joking as the team shuffled around. They moved so everyone was gathered in the central seating area but facing the kitchenette. Riza leaned against the counter, choosing what to say first.

  Finally, she said, “I have chosen to return to Nox.”

  She waited while everyone absorbed the news. There were noises of shock, but it wasn’t as if it was completely out of the blue—it made sense given the pregnancy.

  “What I have to say next,” she continued, “Garrin, you may want to leave for.”

  Everyone looked at him.

  He had a serious look on his face. “May I at least know why?”

  Riza gave him a hard look. “I’m not kicking you out. But staying puts your career in danger.”

  Garrin was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded, but made no move to leave. “I understand.”

  Riza nodded back once and didn’t press it further.

  “I fear our credit with the Liberty Union is close to used up,” Riza said.

  “What?” Aurania exclaimed. Several others echoed the sentiment.

  “We’re still well within their good graces,” Riza continued. “It’s not like they’re going to kick us off or anything. But I know the Commandant, and I know a lot of the politicians he answers to.”

  She glanced at Garrin for a second. “I know how they think. And Nox isn’t their priority anymore. Never really was, but we’ve dropped far down after what we’ve found here.”

  The mood in their cozy room had turned so tense it made Tamiyo almost feel sick. This day just didn’t seem to want to quit.

  Amalia spoke up finally, breaking through the murmurs of discontent. “You have a plan for us, don’t you?” She wasn’t asking, she was confirming.

  Riza smirked at her. “Good girl.”

  Looking across the team, she crossed her arms and said, “We’ve always relied on each other. It’s been a wild couple months, but it’s hard to imagine this team operating without any one of us.”

  The tone felt somber for a second as everyone realized who was missing.

  But Riza kept moving. “Over the next couple days, as long as we’re still above this planet, no play time. Eat, work, clean up, rest, get back out there. Soren? You’re doing exactly what Kade mentioned: Get down there and figure out how to keep your light show under control.”

  Soren nodded firmly. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Amalia,” Riza said loudly, casting a cool gaze at her.

  “Yes?” Amalia’s voice was small.

  “NMW is yours now.”

  Amalia’s eyes went wide. She almost started crying, but Riza said, “No tears. Not now.”

  Amalia blinked them away and nodded, focused.

  Riza looked across them all. They held their breath, wondering who she’d address next.

  “Raine. Tamiyo. Brana.”

  They all sat up straighter.

  Tamiyo wasn’t sure what Riza needed of her. But she would do whatever the sniper asked.

  Colonel Riza Emberfell gave the three of them one of the hardest looks Tamiyo had ever seen.

  “Start learning everything you can about that fucking ship.”

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