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“What?” she asks.
“Yeah,” he replies, giving me a wink. “S’Tou contacted me today saying everything’s fine and to meet him at the agreed location.”
“I hope you’re joking because anything else is just mean.”
Given how she’s glaring daggers at him, I’ll bet Nilt hasn’t shown his attempt at being humorous before now. I gather the empty dishes. “Ha. You know he’d contact all of us, not just you.” Going to the replicator to recycle them, I add, “Especially me, since I have his datapad.”
“Yeah, I’m joking. He just sent a message about being fine and the emperor is helping him.” He looks from me to a furious Jessica and back again. “What? It wasn’t funny?”
Her angry expression doesn’t fade. “No, not at all. I’ve been worried about him.”
“Didn’t you get the message?” Quin asks, going to the sofa to stretch out. “I thought everyone did.”
She frowns. “Was it garbled, like, well, you all wouldn’t know spam or phishing.” She snaps her fingers, smiling. “But, like a huge mistake a machine made?”
“Exactly like,” I tell her with a smile. She’s been so calm about adopting nanos and our tech. I’ve forgotten she’s so new to everything we take for granted. “He coded a message for all of us and you need to use the key to unlock it. He likes to use durika because one was his first pet.”
“Seriously? That’s the worst sort of password.” Her eyes cloud before she grins. “Well, that’s good to know.” Expression clearing, she visibly relaxes. “I’m glad he’s safe and the emperor is working on his behalf.” She grabs my water glass with her own and Nilt’s. “Want more to drink? I’m in the mood for something fun to celebrate S’Tou’s near freedom.”
Nilt’s brow ridges raise as I nod. “Sure. Carbonated water with rill flavoring, please.”
“Nothing alcoholic or stronger?”
“Not this time, thanks.” I watch as she retrieves our drinks, enjoying how she moves. Finding her unconscious at the base of the tree was my best moment since landing on this rock. Each moment since with her surpasses the one before. She smiles at me while going to the sofa, teasing Quin about something or other. I’m not paying attrition, lost in just how she’s here with me.
Soon, Nilt’s sitting with them, too, and the three of them talk like old friends. The datapad is in front of me and I’m paying more attention to it, only because it’s a way to access news from the empire. I’ve been without regular updates for so long that filling in the gaps will take time. Soon, I’ll set the pad aside and pay attention to my friends while we’re still together. When the lure of current events aren’t so compelling, I mean.
“Cinq?” I hear Jessica say after a few minutes of them talking in the background. “Your turn. What sort of job are you applying for after leaving X-113?”
“I’m not positive I’m leaving,” I hedge, not wanting to say the words severing our relationship. “I might not need any employment.”
“Come on, we’re pretending.” She leans forward. “If the planet blew up tomorrow and you had to live anywhere else, how would you earn your money, credits, or whatever?”
Nilt speaks before I can. “I said I’d go back to digging up and stealing artifacts. I made a lot of money selling to private collectors.”
I figured as much and begin to make up something when Quin interjects, “And you know me. I’m happy anywhere as long as I’m not a pet at the end of a golden rope. Even if my owner is my father, I’d rather be free.”
Jessica shakes her head. “I can’t get over how messed up that is.”
Quin nods. “It is and I’m done with being his possession.”
She pats his hand before nodding at me. “And you?”
I lean back in the chair, really thinking about what I’d like to do. “I’ve been forbidden to do the one thing I’m good at…” I start.
“Sorry, Jess,” Nilt quips, nudging her in the ribs.
“Yeah, didn’t know he couldn’t…you know,” Quin teases, nudging her other side.
“Guys,” she says, holding up her hands for a second or two. “He’s fine in every area, but let the man speak.”
“Thank you, my dearest.” I stare at the wall behind them as if I still had my bionans, searching my organic memory. “Well, I’m a hacker without a system, not a pirate, thief, or black-marketing type, so my skills are rather specific.”
“Uh-huh,” Jessica says.
I shrug, at a loss to what the empire could do with me. “I’m not sure. Something low level and easy, I guess.” I pull up a chair to join the conversation, making a mental note to order a more comfortable chair for our talks. Except, pless. I’ll be the only one here soon.
“What’s wrong?” Jessica takes my hand. “You look sad all of a sudden.”
