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Cinq
Face down in the gravely dirt of X-113, I’m injured, badly from fighting with the Kostans. I wince and try to get up, my fuzzy mind full of how S’Tou went with them, saying he’s a member of the royal family on Ghar. One of them grabbed my arm to pull me along until S’Tou stopped him, letting them know I’m a common criminal. Yeah, his dismissal could have hurt, but I know why he did it.
Maybe if I lay here long enough the problems will disappear. S’Tou will come back. Jessica will realize we’re mates and that she loves me. The emperor gives me back my access and innovator status. Nilt and Quin will find acceptance among their peoples.
Yeah. My brain is still stunned, clearly.
“Come on, Cinq. Stop faking death.” Nilt comes up to me, pressing his fingertips against my neck.
“Who’s faking?” I say, my voice as coarse as the ground I’m prone on. He helps me to first my knees, then my feet. “Thanks.”
“They weren’t playing, were they?” he says, nodding at my torso.
I look down to find my left side seared. The fabric sticks to my skin and I wince, imagining how painful peeling it off will be. “Yeah, great time to lose my nanos.”
“Quin said you have medical capabilities,” he says, panic in his voice. “Don’t you?”
“Doesn’t feel like it.” I let him support me somewhat as we head toward the forest. “Stepping over anything is going to hurt like a fleegan fucker.”
“I’ll see what I can do to keep the pain to a minimum.”
Despite how my body hurts, worry for my mate overrides everything. “You’re here so I assume Jessica and Quin made it back safely?” I ask.
“They did. He took her through the back tunnel, which isn’t as sexual as it sounds.”
I laugh, the action painful but unavoidable. “No, I don’t suppose it was.” I need to tell Nilt what happened, in case they’re not aware. “They took S’Tou.”
“We heard. He sent us a message.”
“Us?” I joke. “Not me.”
“About that. There’s more you should know.”
The furtive tone to his words worries me he’s about to give me an awful update on our situation. “Are you sure? Because I don’t want anything but good news.”
He laughs, but it’s weak. “You might as well hear it from me how Quin gave Jessica some nanos. She was able to receive S’Tou’s last message, too.”
I stop, wincing when Nilt’s continued motion twists me. “Tell me you’re joking with me. She’s an Earther and he’s, well, not. We don’t know what Vahd nanos would do to her.”
“She seems fine so far.” He takes a few steps away from me, which is a good idea. “He wouldn’t have unless the first round went well. And it did, so it’s good, right?”
Breathing hurts enough that I can’t give him the verbal bashing he and Quin deserve. “Origins take you all. He could have killed her,” I growl, shuffling on, hurrying to Jessica. “I need to make sure she’s all right.”
“Come on, you know she’ll be fine. She’s humanoid like we are.” He comes back to help me around a particularly high rocky outcropping. “You can’t be too angry. You just wanted to give her the nanos yourself but Quin beat you to it.”
“That’s part of it, yes,” I concede. “Then, I’d know they were programmed specifically for Earther brains.”
“Yeah, that was a concern we had.”
I roll my eyes and give him a sharp look. “Did she know what was happening?”
Nilt shoots me a scowly expression. “Of course, she did. She wanted the access for a lot of reasons.”
“Jessica told you she wanted access before or after Quin worked his magic?”
“Well, she said she was glad when Quin gave her his and wanted a few of mine to be sure in case something went wrong. I wasn’t around so I’ll have to do the transfer later,” he says, and I nudge him hard. He stumbles. “Or never. Never is good. Anyway, soon after the transfer, she came online and told us more of her new functionality. Also told us what to retrieve after we were sure the Kostans were gone. She’s rather happy to use the innercoms, actually.”
“I’ll bet.” I sigh, not sure if I’m disgusted at what they did or pleased at how she has more of what my people can offer her. “At least she has Quin’s coding and not my own in her transactions.” Musing aloud, I add, “I can help her program her own signature, possibly. I’ll have to go in blind.”
