{Earth}

John stared at the object on the table. So did Kyle, Pablo, Lynn, and Silence. Tameka and Lucas went to check in on Andrew. Caedes took Pax to the conservatory. Tumu guided Abresson through the labs.

The door opened with a soft hiss, and Smith walked in. “Whoa. It’s tense in here.”

Kyle groaned in frustration before he gestured at the object. “We don’t even know if it belongs to that Imminent soldier.”

Lynn offered, “We can test it though. If it has the same spotty memory bank—”

“—We can work on the decryption,” Pablo finished, beaming at his brilliant wife.

John was happy for them. “It sounds like a good plan.”

Silence knelt until her eyes leveled with the nacre on the table. She asked in a voice filled with curiosity and a hint of skepticism, “Why go through the trouble of taking the soldier if she intended to leave this?”

The room went quiet to her namesake. It was a good question. John thought about the tiny woman he once saw from a distance. T.a.o. once Seamswalked Tameka back to the Volcano Day battle so the powerhouse could drain an entire army. Then later he heard of the ancient Progeny’s capture and felt sad for her. They tried day in and day out to find Celindria’s lab and rescue the First Wave Progeny. The founding experiments of the hybrid race deserved better.

John assured while tugging on his pendant, “She wants to help us. We don’t know her circumstances or her motives necessarily, but we know that woman is a hero. Not a villain.”

Kyle nodded encouragingly. “That’s right. Let the nacre do the talking.” He turned to the power couple in the room. “Can you two get to work on it for me? After you finish, we’ll see if I can get into it without a brain attached.” He tapped on his temple to emphasize his point.

“We won’t let you down, Story Taker.” Lynn snatched the amber pearl from the table.

Kyle winced at the name to which Pablo mouthed, “Sorry.”

Only Tameka liked her name. And John would tell no one that she picked it herself.

The door opened, and the devil he thought of walked into the room. The redheaded Progeny searched their faces before asking, “How are things in here? Did we decide?”

John noticed Silence stood and peered over Tameka’s shoulder. Was she searching for Lucas? That seemed odd. But what didn’t seem odd after today?

Smith edged for the door and muttered to John, “Getting a bit crowded in here. Let’s head for the cafeteria and grab some food.”

With his head reeling from recent events, John didn’t argue. After retrieving two trays of food, they sat together and chowed down. The cafeteria sported the same interior decorating attributed to the Iona facilities. Light gray slate tiles, charcoal gray walls, and a black drop ceiling. It smelled of roasted rosemary chicken and garlic mashed potatoes.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Of which Smith shoveled a large forkful into his mouth. He swallowed hard before asking, “So, how are things with you? Are you returning to Enki soon?”

John slurped some juice and sighed in satisfaction. Cranberry. So tart. “Yea. I’m gonna miss the food here more than anything. Tritans don’t really eat, and it shows.”

The other man laughed, full and rich. “Of course.” He shook his head, exasperated. “Man… it just keeps coming, doesn’t it?”

Yea, it did. What the hell were they supposed to do with this flaming pile of—

“How are you? Are you returning to the arsenal soon?” John wished more pleasant topics came to mind, but alas.

“Where Lynn goes, I go.”

The younger man frowned. Odd way to phrase it.

Smith changed the subject, “You gonna open a school on Earth and on Enki? An exchange program?”

That was a great idea. “Maybe. I like the sound of it. Kinda hard to do with—”

“We’ll get John’s school started as soon as we get back.”

They whirled to find Caedes getting a tray with Pax. Tameka entered the cafeteria at the same time.

“Hot damn. All four of my favorite Enkians in one room.” Smith smiled and waved at the toddler.

The kiddo ducked his eyes and darted behind Caedes’ legs. The Icarean “uncle” chuckled and nudged him out. “You don’t need to be shy, kiddo. He won’t hurt you.”

Tameka glared at the weapons expert for the cursing around the minor.

Smith sheepishly mouthed an apology. He hopped up and held out his hand for Pax to shake.

After a pause, the young boy accepted it. “Hello, Mr. Smith.”

John frowned. Odd. Were they introduced before—

“You’ve shown me the cafeteria four times now, Tumu.” Abresson sounded irritated and inconvenienced. Both Tritans entered on their unofficial tour of the grounds.

“Yea, but this time there are other people available for me to foist you onto.” Tumu folded his arms and leaned back against the nearest wall. “He’s all yours, peeps. I’ve earned a break, and the King Regent is still waiting to hear from me.” The taller Tritan kept his eyes on the shorter one as Abresson wandered further into the cafeteria.

The short, dark blue, almost indigo, alien considered the company. Tameka hugged Pax and glared at Abresson with barely veiled distrust. Caedes looked poised to attack. Always.

Smith raised his hand. “Me and John can keep you entertained, Eminent.”

Fuck off, Smith. Keeping up an act for Abresson drained the life out of John. The stress of the last twenty-fours tightened the amputation site of his leg even with a nacre. After ten minutes with Abresson, John might not walk tomorrow.

“How pleasant of you, Smith. Now, can anyone put together a decent plate for me or will I require a poison checker?”

“Mommy, can we eat in our room?” Pax whispered at Tameka’s knees. Eagerly, he beseeched her from their height difference.

Caedes chuckled and headed to the door with both their trays. “Let’s go.”

Tameka grinned gratefully at him before turning a frozen mask to Abresson. “Good night, Eminent.”

“I leave with them tomorrow.” The indigo Tritan’s voice went flat. No smug satisfaction. No anger. The absence of negativity made John’s ears pop.

Tumu went to follow the family out of the cafeteria. Over his shoulder, he called, “That embargo won’t last forever.”

With his back to John and Smith, Abresson bristled by clenching and unclenching his fists. When he turned, he reapplied the smug superiority like a disguise. “Food?”

Smith made him a plate, careful to eat a forkful from each item. This pleased Abresson immensely. John rolled his eyes and lost the desire to finish his food.

After all that, Abresson sat at the table and talked without touching his plate. “I’m glad I came to Earth when I did. It’s incredibly beneficial to see how your people respond to a crisis, Educator.”

John rubbed his nub where it sheathed into the prosthetic. It hurt. Much more than usual—

“Smith, do you have a knife?” A pain needled John’s skull as he reached for the two-inch the Weapons Engineer offered. Without preamble, the younger man cut the back of his hand. Shallow, in case…

One heartbeat passed. Two.

The room held a breath. Even Abresson sat stone still. Soon, their eyes widened, and their mouths gaped. The wound didn’t heal.

“Oh, what next? Will Imminent steal my leg gear, too? Fucking. Assholes.”