the app, selecting a message.
Kathryn had requested a meeting for the following day.
"Annie, get the crew together. Looks like we're taking a trip to Mulholland Station," Nolan said, hitting the Reply button.
Chapter 15- Mulholland Station
Nolan was more than a little jittery as he entered Mulholland Station's food court. Hundreds of people flowed between tables, each carrying trays from one of the station's eleven restaurants. They were all different flavors and cuts of the same basic soy protein served in backwaters like this, but after three months in dead space they smelled heavenly.
"It's so weird being around this many people," he muttered under his breath, knowing Hannan would pick it up. She'd injected him with a sub-dermal transmitter just before they'd arrived. He couldn't hear his team, but they would know everything he knew, as soon as he knew it.
Nolan carried his tray to an empty table and sat down to wait. He glanced around him as he used the chopsticks to shovel noodles into his mouth as quickly as he could get them from the bowl to his face. God, he'd missed real food. As the noodles disappeared, his pace slowed, and he began to survey the crowd a little more carefully.
The guards lurking on the fringes of the crowd carried stun batons, but no firearms. That made sense. The super-dense hull of a starship was designed to pass through a star. Small arms had no prayer of punching through them, no matter the caliber. But stations like Mulholland were built cheap, and since they were stationary the developers hadn't given them more than a thin steel membrane. Bullets were a real hazard here, which was why station security was so strict.
Nolan had no firearm, but he did have a plasma blade. He'd tucked the bracelet under the leather coat he'd borrowed from Annie. The coat was loose around the gut, but fit snugly around his arms and shoulders. The bracelet didn't even make a bulge in the arm, and whatever scan the security guards had used hadn't seemed to pick it up.
"Nolan?" came a familiar voice from behind him. It cut through the din, drowning out everything else. He shifted in his seat to see Kathryn, just as she dropped into the chair across from him. She shot him a dazzling smile, but there was something... off about it. It didn't quite reach her eyes. Stress maybe?
Nolan wasn't really sure how he felt about seeing her. They'd never been a couple, not officially, but things had been headed that direction right before he'd been exiled to the 14 th . She'd been wrapped up in that, though he didn't hold it against her. Admiral Mendez had likely strong-armed her just as he had Nolan. Either way, Kathryn had helped them a lot. It was only because of her that they'd even known about the Ghantan system.
"It's good to see you, Kathryn," Nolan said, smiling back. He meant it. It was good to see her, even if he couldn't stop looking over his shoulder.
"I know we could go on for a while with small talk, but we can do that when we're somewhere safer. Bring me up to speed," she said, lowering her voice. "Where have you been, and what the hell happened out there?"
Nolan considered the question for half a second before answering. Could he trust her? Could he trust anyone? Right now he needed her, and that made the decision for him. He'd trust her as far as necessary, but he wasn't taking any chances.
"The war with the Tigris is the most massive coverup of all time," he said, hunching over his noodles and leaning a little closer. "The Tigris were there to help us against the Void Wraith. We blew up a factory, and stopped a bomb we believe they intended for Theras Prime."
"Theras Prime?" she asked, cocking her head in surprise. The gesture was a little too practiced, a little too OFI.
That gave Nolan pause, because he'd received the same training. Kathryn's surprise was feigned. Did she already know about Theras Prime? If so, how had she known? Why hide it? Nolan thought quickly, not liking where his
Kathryn had requested a meeting for the following day.
"Annie, get the crew together. Looks like we're taking a trip to Mulholland Station," Nolan said, hitting the Reply button.
Chapter 15- Mulholland Station
Nolan was more than a little jittery as he entered Mulholland Station's food court. Hundreds of people flowed between tables, each carrying trays from one of the station's eleven restaurants. They were all different flavors and cuts of the same basic soy protein served in backwaters like this, but after three months in dead space they smelled heavenly.
"It's so weird being around this many people," he muttered under his breath, knowing Hannan would pick it up. She'd injected him with a sub-dermal transmitter just before they'd arrived. He couldn't hear his team, but they would know everything he knew, as soon as he knew it.
Nolan carried his tray to an empty table and sat down to wait. He glanced around him as he used the chopsticks to shovel noodles into his mouth as quickly as he could get them from the bowl to his face. God, he'd missed real food. As the noodles disappeared, his pace slowed, and he began to survey the crowd a little more carefully.
The guards lurking on the fringes of the crowd carried stun batons, but no firearms. That made sense. The super-dense hull of a starship was designed to pass through a star. Small arms had no prayer of punching through them, no matter the caliber. But stations like Mulholland were built cheap, and since they were stationary the developers hadn't given them more than a thin steel membrane. Bullets were a real hazard here, which was why station security was so strict.
Nolan had no firearm, but he did have a plasma blade. He'd tucked the bracelet under the leather coat he'd borrowed from Annie. The coat was loose around the gut, but fit snugly around his arms and shoulders. The bracelet didn't even make a bulge in the arm, and whatever scan the security guards had used hadn't seemed to pick it up.
"Nolan?" came a familiar voice from behind him. It cut through the din, drowning out everything else. He shifted in his seat to see Kathryn, just as she dropped into the chair across from him. She shot him a dazzling smile, but there was something... off about it. It didn't quite reach her eyes. Stress maybe?
Nolan wasn't really sure how he felt about seeing her. They'd never been a couple, not officially, but things had been headed that direction right before he'd been exiled to the 14 th . She'd been wrapped up in that, though he didn't hold it against her. Admiral Mendez had likely strong-armed her just as he had Nolan. Either way, Kathryn had helped them a lot. It was only because of her that they'd even known about the Ghantan system.
"It's good to see you, Kathryn," Nolan said, smiling back. He meant it. It was good to see her, even if he couldn't stop looking over his shoulder.
"I know we could go on for a while with small talk, but we can do that when we're somewhere safer. Bring me up to speed," she said, lowering her voice. "Where have you been, and what the hell happened out there?"
Nolan considered the question for half a second before answering. Could he trust her? Could he trust anyone? Right now he needed her, and that made the decision for him. He'd trust her as far as necessary, but he wasn't taking any chances.
"The war with the Tigris is the most massive coverup of all time," he said, hunching over his noodles and leaning a little closer. "The Tigris were there to help us against the Void Wraith. We blew up a factory, and stopped a bomb we believe they intended for Theras Prime."
"Theras Prime?" she asked, cocking her head in surprise. The gesture was a little too practiced, a little too OFI.
That gave Nolan pause, because he'd received the same training. Kathryn's surprise was feigned. Did she already know about Theras Prime? If so, how had she known? Why hide it? Nolan thought quickly, not liking where his
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