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19
"Uh, fuck yeah."I cradled the mug in my hands and inhaled the smell. Marshall was kind enough to give me a spoonful of coffee from her own stash. Even with synthmilk and whatever passed for sugar out here, it smelled like pure heaven. The fact all my guys were here in one place made this perfect. As perfect as sharing a tiny bunk room with Brinley, E'rel and two former hosts could be.
Slek smiled. "I feel the same way about this." He held up his half eaten sandwich.
Sometimes it's all about the small things.
I closed my eyes and sipped my coffee. It wasn't the best cup I ever had, but it tasted amazing.
Zarex sat against the wall, eyes half closed. "So the IF has ordered Yinika's companions to be locked in the brig until they can be interrogated properly. They've all been talking. A lot. I don't think that will save them from a lifetime in prison."
I couldn't bring myself to feel bad, frankly. They could rot there for all I cared. I only wanted to know one thing.
"What about this Tauri Empire she went on about?" I asked. "Is that a thing?"
"They all agree it was just her dream. Or the nanobots inside her," J'avet said. "They seem to have been some of the original ones who were banned so long ago. Somehow they hijacked her and made her do everything."
"At least she had that as an excuse," I said. "The others didn't. Unless they had bots too?"
"If they did, they deactivated along with the rest, but I think it was all their own actions. The kill switch was something the one who helped us put in. According to him, Yinika didn't know."
I frowned. "Why didn't he use it?"
J'avet scratched behind his ear. "I suspect he was scared it wouldn't work. Or at least, not fast enough that he wasn't killed while he waited."
Zarex made a sound of agreement. "They were all terrified of Yinika. She seemed to know everything that went on."
"Not everything," Slek pointed out.
"Enough of everything," Danec said. "The nanobots were scared of her too. Or, not her…" He looked uncertain.
"The idea of her," Slek said. "What she and her bots represented."
"Yes, that," Danec agreed. He and Slek exchanged a look.
I liked that they got along, but I hated that they had something so horrible in common. At least they had each other for support. They would both need it.
Silence fell for a long moment.
"Are we all going to Agus?" Zarex asked, breaking it.
"I am if you guys are," I said.
"I am," Danec said softly. "I have decided I will retrain. I think I'll go into something easy, like engineering."
"Hey," Slek protested. "Engineering is not easy, I—" He stopped when he realised Danec was teasing. He patted his shoulder. "I can teach you everything I know."
Danec smiled briefly. The first one I'd seen from him since he was freed. "I'd like that."
"I'm going too," Zarex agreed. "I'll be teaching computer stuff."
I grinned. "That's wonderful."
All eyes turned to J'avet. His brows rose. "You would all get into trouble if I wasn't there."
I laughed. "More like we'll follow you into it."
He snorted, but didn't deny it.
