“Thanks, Moss,” Dutch called.
“That was an observation. Do not take it as a compliment.”
Dutch sighed, waving that away. He set the noodles in front of Torian, right beside her half-finished model of theDestitute. The ship Torian had thought would be hers forever—but now she braced herself, waiting for the inevitable moment this alien took it back. Torian glumly stared at the bowl of cheesy noodles, but didn’t move.
Dutch dropped to the couch, positioning himself in her peripherals. “Eat that, please. Let me guess. The University’s current headmaster wouldn’t allow you to take their exams.”
“He said I was too old,” Torian muttered.
Dutch was tall enough that he could fully lean back on the couch, which explained why it was deep enough that Torian couldfold herself on it comfortably. He hooked one arm over the back of the cushions. “If it helps, Captain Razner, Rhymarra is known outside of this solar system as a stiff, impossible entity. They think they’re nearing CSS admission—but the fact that they’re willing to separate from the rest of your species to achieve it told the Council everything. Rhymarrans are a poor reflection of your kind.”
“They’re the best of our kind.” It was a mantra she’d been taught since childhood.
“Oh, that isn’t true.”
“Truer than us on the colonies.”
Dutch shook his head, eyes sparkling. “Also incorrect. I’ve been watching humans for millennia. The best of your kind aren’t defined by a birthplace or exam score. They’reindividuals. People who make selfless choices, even if they’re hard, to better the lives of others.”
“My data proves that you are one of those individuals, Torian,” Moss intoned overhead.
She laughed, the sound watery. “That’s flattering. Untrue, but flattering.”
“My assessments are ninety-seven point five four percent accurate. Do not question them.”
Hearing that she might be special less than anhourafter Headmaster Nuun told her the opposite was giving her whiplash. She picked up the bowl of noodles, taking a small bite. It was probably very good, creamy cheese mingling with vegetables, but it tasted bland to Torian right now.
“Thanks for the pep talk,” she said around the pasta. “Are you taking back your ship?” Because that was the important thing right now.
To her surprise, Dutch pushed off the couch, stretching as if there wasn’t a care in the world. His voice was mild. “Oh, I wouldn’t dare; Moss might deplete the oxygen overnight.”
“That is also an accurate assessment,” Moss said.
Torian looked at Dutch, then at the cameras overhead, butno one said anything else. Zen wasn’t here, either, so if Dutch’s plan was to bodily remove her from the starship, he’d come unprepared.
Or maybe he was telling the truth, and one simple crisis had been averted.
Torian swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Okay… then why did you follow us to Rhymarra? Just to—to laugh when I inevitably failed?”
“I don’t make it a habit to kick folks when they’re down,” Dutch said, and his easygoing manner had vanished in favor of something far more serious. “Captain Razner, Moss and I would like to offer you an alternate option to Rhymarra.”
The alternative was flying around the galaxy in theDestitute. “Celise won’t live here—”
“Not here.Vaesa.” Dutch spread out his hands.
Everything in Torian went cold. She was no longer gloomy, despairing—now hope flickered like the spark to ignite a blowtorch. She pushed the pasta away, pivoting in her chair to meet his gaze better.
“What do you mean, Vaesa?”
The alien shrugged. “These humans don’t want you—but that old space station needs you.” He stepped back to the table beside the kitchenette, retrieving something off the counter. Torian hadn’t noticed it before, but a section of Moss’s colony had been meticulously cut and stored inside a clear container.
“You’re stealing a piece of Moss?” Torian spluttered. “You can’t do that!”
“This is the correct response in ninety-nine percent of other situations. In this percentage, Igiftedhim a thriving part of my colony.” Through the speakers, Moss sounded pleased. “Without my support, Vaesa will rot. Kerracia does not realize this, because trees are stupid.”
Dutch cleared his throat. “Vaesa’s a big space station, with multiple auxiliary domes. You haven’t seen even a quarter of it. All of those secondary domes once housed thriving biomes, butwithout anyone to manage them, they’re falling out of balance one by one. And frankly, that’s a damn shame.”
The dots finally connected. Her eyes widened. “You actually want us to move to Vaesa?”
