line of logic led. There's only one reason Kathryn would lie, one way she could have known. She'd been comprised.
How the hell was he going to disengage? If she was lying, had she brought friends? Or was he just being paranoid and misreading her emotions?
Chapter 16- Kathryn
Kathryn stretched out a hand, resting it gently on Nolan's for a moment. Then she leaned back, taking him in. He'd changed in the last few months, though it was difficult to put her finger on the how of it. He was more confident, certainly, but there was more to it than that. He moved differently.
"Yeah, Theras Prime," he said, after a pause. He busied himself with his noodles, scarfing them like a war refugee. Was he avoiding her gaze?
"Okay, so you dealt with this bomb," Kathryn said, picking her words carefully. He must not suspect the joining; her larva had been clear on that. "What happened after? Why have you been gone so long? And what ship are you on? The Johnston was presumed destroyed."
"One question at a time," Nolan said, his face unreadable. He was more guarded than he'd been when they'd last worked together. That was also new, and problematic. Earnest Nolan was much easier to read. "The bomb destroyed the star, and we had to fly to another one. It took a few months to reach another star with a Helios Gate, and we've been out of contact that entire time. My turn. What happened to you? Have you officially gone rogue? I notice you're still flying the Sparhawk ."
"I'm officially AWOL," she said, glancing around to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on. This part she'd been ready for. "Most of the admiralty has been infiltrated, I think. I couldn't risk sticking around, so I grabbed Sparhawk and ran." She took a sip of Nolan's soda, giving him a playful smile.
"And in the three months since?" Nolan asked, ignoring the theft. His expression remained impassive.
"My turn," she said, touching his hand again. "What ship are you on?"
"One of the Void Wraith harvesters. We commandeered it during the battle," Nolan said. He polished off the rest of his noodles, sighing as he set the bowl down. "Your turn. Catch me up on the last three months."
"I've been running from port to port. The war with the Tigris is heating up, so patrols along the fringes are next to nonexistent," Kathryn explained. "The only fleet defending the periphery is the 14 th , and they're stretched pretty thin. I figured I'd be safe out here, and so far I'm right. My turn. What did you learn about the Void Wraith? Where do they come from?"
The question was casual, but she felt the quivering around her spine. The larva was very interested in Nolan's answer.
Nolan was silent for a long moment. Too long. He knew . She must have done something to betray her true loyalties. That scared the hell out of her, because she knew what the larva would make her do. Perhaps they could finish the exchange. She'd get what information she could, and they'd part ways. The masters hadn't demanded his death, and that part of her mind, the part grown by the larva, was silent.
"They've been here a long time," Nolan said. He glanced right, then left, and his tone was even lower when he continued, barely audible over the hum of the crowd. "The empire before the Primo dark ages wasn't the first. My crew is investigating the empire before that. We believe it predated the Void Wraith, because the Primo DNA from that time wasn't modified. Their DNA now? It's got markers all over it. Someone or something engineered changes in the Primo. That something shaped the Primo into the Void Wraith, and I think we're close to cracking who it might be."
Fire raced up Kathryn's spine. It grew, spreading along her nervous system, flooding her limbs. She recognized the fire, of course. It was the larva connecting to its distant parent. It only did that when it needed to seek council about something, and in this case Kathryn knew exactly what it was doing--what question it was asking.
"If we can get to a
How the hell was he going to disengage? If she was lying, had she brought friends? Or was he just being paranoid and misreading her emotions?
Chapter 16- Kathryn
Kathryn stretched out a hand, resting it gently on Nolan's for a moment. Then she leaned back, taking him in. He'd changed in the last few months, though it was difficult to put her finger on the how of it. He was more confident, certainly, but there was more to it than that. He moved differently.
"Yeah, Theras Prime," he said, after a pause. He busied himself with his noodles, scarfing them like a war refugee. Was he avoiding her gaze?
"Okay, so you dealt with this bomb," Kathryn said, picking her words carefully. He must not suspect the joining; her larva had been clear on that. "What happened after? Why have you been gone so long? And what ship are you on? The Johnston was presumed destroyed."
"One question at a time," Nolan said, his face unreadable. He was more guarded than he'd been when they'd last worked together. That was also new, and problematic. Earnest Nolan was much easier to read. "The bomb destroyed the star, and we had to fly to another one. It took a few months to reach another star with a Helios Gate, and we've been out of contact that entire time. My turn. What happened to you? Have you officially gone rogue? I notice you're still flying the Sparhawk ."
"I'm officially AWOL," she said, glancing around to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on. This part she'd been ready for. "Most of the admiralty has been infiltrated, I think. I couldn't risk sticking around, so I grabbed Sparhawk and ran." She took a sip of Nolan's soda, giving him a playful smile.
"And in the three months since?" Nolan asked, ignoring the theft. His expression remained impassive.
"My turn," she said, touching his hand again. "What ship are you on?"
"One of the Void Wraith harvesters. We commandeered it during the battle," Nolan said. He polished off the rest of his noodles, sighing as he set the bowl down. "Your turn. Catch me up on the last three months."
"I've been running from port to port. The war with the Tigris is heating up, so patrols along the fringes are next to nonexistent," Kathryn explained. "The only fleet defending the periphery is the 14 th , and they're stretched pretty thin. I figured I'd be safe out here, and so far I'm right. My turn. What did you learn about the Void Wraith? Where do they come from?"
The question was casual, but she felt the quivering around her spine. The larva was very interested in Nolan's answer.
Nolan was silent for a long moment. Too long. He knew . She must have done something to betray her true loyalties. That scared the hell out of her, because she knew what the larva would make her do. Perhaps they could finish the exchange. She'd get what information she could, and they'd part ways. The masters hadn't demanded his death, and that part of her mind, the part grown by the larva, was silent.
"They've been here a long time," Nolan said. He glanced right, then left, and his tone was even lower when he continued, barely audible over the hum of the crowd. "The empire before the Primo dark ages wasn't the first. My crew is investigating the empire before that. We believe it predated the Void Wraith, because the Primo DNA from that time wasn't modified. Their DNA now? It's got markers all over it. Someone or something engineered changes in the Primo. That something shaped the Primo into the Void Wraith, and I think we're close to cracking who it might be."
Fire raced up Kathryn's spine. It grew, spreading along her nervous system, flooding her limbs. She recognized the fire, of course. It was the larva connecting to its distant parent. It only did that when it needed to seek council about something, and in this case Kathryn knew exactly what it was doing--what question it was asking.
"If we can get to a
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