Night was never truly dark on Reject-20, thanks to the sunlike gas giant planet it orbited. Vy saw a juvenile sky croc soaring through the canyon below her, illuminated by the diffuse glow of nighttime clouds.

She knew it was dangerous to sit outside. The adult versions of those animals were a lot like dragons, and they were carnivores. But she was not going to sleep in the hovel Evenjos had so charitably made for her. A misty drizzle kept falling, off and on, and the shack’s roof was full of holes.

So Vy hunkered in the doorway, protected by the lintel. She kept a flashlight in one hand and a blaster glove ready on the other.

Without her data tablet, without her supercom, without people around … all she could do was think.

Right now, she thought she was imagining the distant lights of a transport flying towards her.

Perhaps some pilot was out for some random pre-dawn practice?

Vy flicked her flashlight on and off, signaling. After a moment, the transport banked towards her. It hummed over the cliff and alighted near the shack, gentle as a dragonfly.

Vy hurried to the passenger door, which slid open invitingly. She bundled herself into the dry warmth.

“Varktezo?” Vy was astonished. The adolescent lab assistant was not officially part of the fleet. “How did you know to find me out here?”

“Thomas told me.”

Of course.

Vy huddled closer to the heater vents. The blush in her cheeks had nothing to do with the temperature. Thomas knew. That meant he must have absorbed the whole situation from somebody. Besides Evenjos … well, who else knew?

Was Vy going to have to endure people snickering behind her back?

“Who else knows?” she dared to ask.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to.” Varktezo sounded irked, piloting the transport towards the distant glow of the city. “Nor do I know what you were doing way out there.” He gave her a curious look. “Um, can I ask?”

Vy warmed her hands, trying to study his expression without being obvious. Varktezo looked genuinely curious.

“I’ll tell you later,” she said.

Varktezo looked unsatisfied.

The drizzle was becoming a downpour. Varktezo banked towards the main part of the city, where the largest buildings had rooftop docking zones.

“I assume you want to go to the war palace?” Varktezo said.

That was where her bedroom suite was located. Vy pictured herself slinking past Ariock’s bedchamber and trying to curl up under her blankets.

Or she could barge into Ariock’s suite without knocking.

She could interrupt whatever Evenjos was doing. Maybe she would throw something heavy at them? Shout something that would humiliate Evenjos—and Ariock?

They would probably just shove Vy out of the room with a bubble of air or a tendril of dust.

That’s not fair to Ariock, Vy told her cynical imagination. He cares about me.

But why?

Why should Ariock constantly have to worry about Vy? Why did he have to protect her all the time? Wasn’t that a drag on him? Didn’t Ariock have enough to worry about, what with saving the universe?

Vy was tired of being his burden.

She realized that she did not want to confront him and Evenjos. She might as well be a mouse yelling at two titans. And she was so tired of feeling that way. Small. Inadequate. Inconsequential.

“Not the war palace,” Vy said.

If Ariock truly preferred the power of Evenjos? Then he should be allowed to make that choice. Let him decide entirely on his own, without any pressure or outside influence.

It hurt. It was agony. But Vy was done trying to compete with a goddess-empress. She was done struggling to prove herself worthy. She was human and fragile and underpowered, and if that wasn’t good enough for Ariock, then Vy needed to move on, and give her heart time to heal.

She could not handle a devastating conversation after a sleepless night. She needed to cry, first. Or scream.

Or gather some solid advice from someone who knew her well.

“Do you think Thomas is still awake?” Vy asked.

“I’m sure,” Varktezo said. “He prefers to work at night. He doesn’t sleep enough.”

“Do you think he would mind if I visit him?”

“He said you are welcome to visit.” Varktezo banked the transport towards the complex of cliffside buildings that comprised the Academy, with its many annexes.

They landed on the rooftop lot. Varktezo led her inside, through a myriad of laboratories.

There were gadgets, there were beakers, there were test tubes, and clean rooms, and mysterious readouts on monitors. It was like visiting another world after sitting outside in the cold rain.

As Vy limped through lab after lab, she contrasted the bustling alien scientists and technicians with the dull-eyed laziness of every Torth she had ever known.

The Torth Empire claimed to value science. Torth scientists must be light years ahead of these trainees … but according to Thomas and Garrett, a lot of the Empire’s technology was quite old. And it was all stolen.

The Torth conquered civilizations and appropriated their technology. Why innovate? The Torth owned everything in the galaxy. They had near infinite resources and quadrillions of expendable slaves. The Torth Majority seemed content to entrust super-geniuses with all of the hard mental labor.

Maybe that was a mistake, on the part of the Torth.

Varktezo led Vy through a scientific labyrinth that he was obviously familiar with. He waved to cheerful aliens who wore goggles and lab coats, and they waved back.

Thomas wore a lab coat as well. He floated in his smoky-translucent hoverchair, engrossed in adjusting a complexity of circuits. The room was a chaotic mess of robotics equipment. Every surface, even the walls and ceiling, were layered with displays and shelves of gadgetry. Technicians worked at various workstations.

“Hi, Thomas.” Vy hesitated in the doorway. She didn’t want to interrupt important work.

“Hey.” Thomas switched to English, a language no one else in the room could understand. “Are you all right?”

Vy leaned against a cluttered counter, trying not to cry. She was so tired of being an object of everyone’s concern.

“Who stranded you out there?” Thomas’s gaze was intense.

“You mean you don’t know?” Vy could hardly believe it. She had assumed that Thomas knew every humiliating detail.

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“Well, I have a guess.” He sounded darkly certain.

“Then how did you find me?” Vy felt unnerved. Was she microchipped or something?

“Azhdarchidae,” Thomas said.

Vy recalled the juvenile sky croc she had seen a few hours ago. Was it possible…?

She stared at Thomas as implications took shape in her mind.

“I like to absorb his memories after he gets back from hunting, sometimes.” Thomas sounded embarrassed to admit that. “I wasn’t tracking you. I promise. I just happened to absorb his visual memory. Azhdarchidae thought it was weird to see a person way out there.” Thomas shrugged. “I tried to reach you on your com. No answer. So I figured you might be in need of a lift.”

“I was. Thank you.” Vy leaned against a counter, studying her foster brother. Had anyone else considered training sky crocs as military scouts?

“Will you let me, uh, see what happened?” Thomas asked.

For a moment, Vy resisted. But she had come here with a vague notion that she might gain advice. So she shrugged, and stepped into Thomas’s range of telepathy.

His curious expression swiftly changed to one of grim purpose.

“I don’t want anyone hurt,” Vy said. “I just…” She slumped. “I just want to feel safe.”

“You should feel safe.” Thomas made that sound like a threat.

Vy felt like crying. Should she break up with Ariock, so she could cease competing against a magical goddess-empress? Should she return home to Earth?

“I have a gift for you,” Thomas said. “It’s timely.”

“A gift?” Vy struggled to keep up with the change of topic.

“Over here.” Thomas floated to another part of the room and opened a well-lit drawer.

Vy followed him, peering over his shoulder. The drawer contained a prosthetic leg.

“Oh,” she said, marveling that Thomas had spent some of his work hours on a prosthetic that looked more high tech than her current leg. “Thanks.”

Thomas lifted the upper end of the prosthetic. His movements were so natural, it was jarring, compared to how underdeveloped he used to be.

“It’s an upgrade.” Thomas pressed the upper leg, and a previously disguised compartment opened up. “Storage,” he said. “For extra coms and data marbles and whatnot, so no one can easily steal them from you. I’ll give you trackers, if you’d like, so I can find you anywhere.”

Vy picked up the leg, examining it. A hidden compartment would be useful. She never had pockets.

“It’s also a weapon.” Thomas tapped the knee.

A strip glowed on the false skin. It looked like the display of a blaster glove.

Vy raised her eyebrow.

“Knee someone, or kick outward,” Thomas said. “When it’s in blaster mode, the action will cause it to shoot a blast from the knee or the foot, to a living target. Few people will anticipate that.”

“Wait a second.” Vy rotated the prosthetic, searching for signs of weaponization. “It’s not like I’m capable of kicking.”

“You will be,” Thomas said, “with this upgrade.”

Vy examined the top of the prosthetic more closely. A metallic mesh crowned the prosthetic, with sensors that looked like they were meant to touch her skin.

“It can read impulses from your nerves,” Thomas said. “It should work and react exactly like your natural leg. Only it’s stronger, and more durable. And also fireproof. Mostly blaster proof, as well. It will give you extra speed and strength when it’s in the right mode.”

Vy’s eyes widened. This prosthetic sounded like an improvement over a natural limb.

She had not imagined that such a thing was possible. She had been certain that she would never be able to run again.

She stared at the sleek new prosthetic. The upgrades sounded almost impossible to believe.

“It’s got a few other neat features,” Thomas said. “I figured I might as well see what I could build for you.”

He was trying to downplay the gift, but anyone could see that a lot of craft and artistry had gone into this prosthetic. Vy blinked away tears.

She threw her arms around Thomas. “Thank you,” she managed to say.

Thomas awkwardly reached around her, giving her a cautious hug. “It needs fine-tuning.” He pulled away and made an inviting gesture towards the prosthetic. “Try it out. You can make a list of fixes and improvements, and I’ll perfect it when I have time.” His tone darkened. “I’ll also add inhibitor micro-darts. That should make Evenjos think twice about messing with you.”

Vy bit her lower lip. She might scare any Yeresunsa, even Ariock—yet she liked the idea. Not the idea of power-tripping, but the protection. She would be harder to mess with.

Thomas spoke to an assistant, asking him to arrange for a delivery. That done, Thomas floated back to the robotic chaos on his work table. He picked up a tool and manipulated tiny pistons.

“What is that?” Vy asked.

“Just a side project,” Thomas said.

Vy went back to leaning on the counter, since every chair and table in the room was piled with robotics clutter. She didn’t want to go to her suite in the war palace, where she might accidentally overhear or see Evenjos and Ariock together. So she tried to think of a safe topic of conversation.

It occurred to her that Thomas had similar problems. Not only did he have to obey Garrett on a regular basis, and zombify prisoners, but he must miss Cherise.

And hadn’t someone attempted to murder him a few weeks ago?

“What happened to that rogue warrior?” Vy asked. “The one who tried to murder you?”

“Oh, he got sentenced to extra patrol duty on Jerja.” Thomas continued working.

As if that was an acceptable form of justice.

“What, really? No trial? No imprisonment?” Vy wondered if she needed to get involved with the justice system. Thomas shouldn’t have to spend every day looking over his shoulder.

“Our elite warriors are above the law.” Thomas tamped a bundle of thin wires into a shell designed to hold them. “They’re too valuable to waste away in prison. We need every one of them.”

He did not sound cynical. He sounded factual.

“You agree with that,” Vy realized.

“We’re not in the best position against the Torth Empire, despite our victories,” Thomas said. “We’re going to need a miracle. So I won’t get rid of any powerful ally, even if I can’t stand them. We need allies.”

Vy wished she could help. As she watched him tighten wires, she wondered if he was inventing power armor. That would be something.

“We need Evenjos, too,” Thomas said. “Unfortunately. But...” He made a biting gesture with delicate forceps. “I’m going to have a little chat with her.”

Vy remembered his “little chats” with bullies back home. There was a reason why most of the Hollander kids had been afraid of Thomas. Even Vy’s mother been cautious around him.

“That’s not necessary,” Vy said. She did not want to exacerbate the hatred of the Lady of Sorrow.

“You’re my sister,” Thomas said. “You’re not a victim that she gets to mess with.”

Vy swallowed a mixture of feelings. She loved Thomas for his loyalty to her, especially when she had not always been the best caretaker or foster sister. But she did not want him to fight someone as powerful as Evenjos. One or both of them might end up dead.

“Really,” Vy protested. “It’s not necessary. I can—”

“You’ve been dealing with her crap for long enough,” Thomas said in a tone of finality. “If she’s unwilling to stop, then someone needs to clarify the boundaries for her.”

There seemed no way to argue with that tone.

“Although,” Thomas said, adjusting a wire, “it’s possible things didn’t go the way she expected. This rainstorm suggests that Ariock is in a mood.”

Vy gazed out the window at the city. She had completely overlooked the significance of the weather. The rainstorm had come out of nowhere, and it was only raining over the city, not the mountains. That was generally a sign that at least one of the Dovanacks was in a bad mood.

“You’re welcome to stay here tonight,” Thomas said. “But you may want to check on Ariock.”

Vy felt like collapsing into a puddle of relief. Laughter bubbled up, uncontrollable. Maybe she should check on Ariock, after all.

She held her new prosthetic. As long as they were conversing in relative privacy.…

“Um.” Vy looked around. Varktezo had left, probably eager to get back to whatever project he was in charge of. No one else in the room understood the human language.

But as she considered what her foster brother might infer from the question she wanted to ask about Ariock, she blushed. This wasn’t a topic for a child, no matter how mature he was.

It was too late. Thomas had floated close enough to read Vy’s mind.

“I wouldn’t trust Evenjos’s word,” Thomas said. “But yeah, it’s possible that Ariock will keep growing. Torth control for hardcore mutations via the baby farm pedigree system, but the Dovanack family went outside that system. Ariock seems to have inherited some heavy-G adaptation that got enhanced by his demigod power level. He’s been subconsciously incorporating extra energy all his life. That’s why he heals ultra fast, too. He’s got extra vigor.”

Vy removed her old prosthetic, then snapped the new one onto the ring encircling her amputated thigh. She tested her new leg, trying to cling to her good feelings. She didn’t want to feel crushed.

But if Ariock was going to grow into a titan, then crushed was a likely outcome.

Thomas put aside his tiny forceps and gave Vy an exasperated look of compassion. “What are you worried about, specifically?”

She blushed.

“Let’s say, fifty years from now,” Thomas said, “Ariock is taller than a two-story house. And you’re the same size. So what?” He emphasized that. “We’re not in the future. We’re living right now.”

Vy gazed at him, surprised. Maybe he had a point. She was fretting a lot over a distant future that might never happen.

“You can’t predict who you’ll be in fifty years.” Thomas floated to his mysterious project and fiddled with wires. “I mean, unless you meet an oracle. But I don’t think any are alive in this era.”

He went back to work.

His arms used to look like withered twigs. Vy thought about all doctors who had predicted that Thomas would die young. They had been right—and wrong. That guaranteed doom had not happened.

And perhaps no one—not super-geniuses, not oracles—had predicted the twists his life had taken. He had turned everything around.

“If I had worried realistically about my future,” Thomas said, “I never would have befriended Cherise. I would have been too aware that I would never grow up, so there was no chance of growing old with a partner.” He gestured at his skinny body. “I would have thought of myself as a burden, holding back good people like Cherise. So I wouldn’t have let myself get close to anyone. And when the Torth inducted me into their society? I would have stayed among them.” He gestured around. “And none of this would have happened.”

Vy straightened.

As she thought about it, she realized that not only was she denigrating herself, she was subconsciously denigrating all disadvantaged and disabled people. She feared that equality with someone as powerful as Ariock was impossible.

But what if she was wrong?

She kept obsessing over all the differences between herself and Ariock.

Maybe she ought to focus on the similarities, instead.