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  “We have our own physicians, thank you.”

  “Yes, I guess so. My brother and I had always dreamed of going to Oconodos, but when the outbreak of…Well, now isn’t a good time.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Trying to be cordial since it wasn’t the young woman’s fault Spinner had wowed her, Dael asked something in return. “What do you and your brother do, Miss…?”

  “Do Voy.” Darmiya smiled. “We’re in the same field, but from different angles. My brother is a computer engineer and I hold the same degree, but I invent software and operating systems.”

  “Really?” The wheels started turning faster inside Dael as they reached the part of the freighter where Spinner was still on a gurney. She was sitting up, her back against the wall, her arm in a sling. She looked much better but was still pale and bruised.

  “There she is!” Darmiya scurried between the other gurneys and medics. “Commander Seclan, you’re here.”

  Spinner turned her head, her eyes widening at the sight of Darmiya. She smiled warily as the young woman clung to her uninjured arm.

  “The admiral brought me here. I just needed to see with my own eyes that you’re okay.”

  “And I am. And you have.” Spinner chuckled, only to grow serious instantly. “Your brother? How’s Calagan?”

  “He’s a bit hypothermic, but he’s already getting better. Your crew gave him a special blanket.”

  “Good.” Spinner turned her gaze to Dael. “Thank you for taking personal care of Darmiya. Without her and Calagan, I’d be dead, or perhaps lynched. Some of the people on the island thought I was behind what happened to the moon.”

  “Ridiculous.” Darmiya huffed. “They were acting out of fear and rage.”

  “Well, I owe you a favor for your part in keeping my best pilot safe.” Dael quoted Darmiya and was only half joking. Spinner was no doubt the most skilled and fearless pilot on the Exodus mission. Darmiya’s description of Spinner’s ordeal caused her to shiver deep inside, a novel reaction she couldn’t explain.

  “Oh, no. You don’t owe me anything, Admiral. On the contrary, if the commander and your people hadn’t passed our world when you did, many more of the Gemosians would have perished.” Darmiya looked so earnestly at Dael she couldn’t help but like the young woman. “It’s all so unfathomable and overwhelming. I can’t even imagine where Calagan and I will go from here. Our research and our work have been destroyed. We have only each other.” Tears fell down golden-brown cheeks.

  “Let me see what I can do.” Dael spoke impulsively, which was totally out of character, and she regretted it almost immediately. “Do you wish to stay and visit with Spi—Commander Seclan, or should I ask someone to escort you back to your brother?”

  “Oh, I’d love to stay here and get to know the commander better. At least I’ll have that as a memory if I never see any of you again.”

  Dael spoke firmly. “Very well. We’re about to land on Alino One at their premier medical facility.” She glanced at Spinner, who was leaning against the bulkhead, looking like she was about to fall over. “Rest up, Commander. Once we’re back aboard Espies Major, you’ll be taken to the infirmary.”

  “Fantastic,” Spinner murmured. “My favorite place.”

  Dael disliked the infirmary as well, at least if she was the patient. She remembered the scratches she had on her abdomen and thighs, which would need attention too. Though she had used temporary sanitizing wands, she knew that wasn’t enough. Disregarding the dull sting, she left Spinner and Darmiya.

  The Gemosian woman was obviously taken with Spinner, fawning over her and gazing at her with that particular glitter in her eyes that spoke of early stages of infatuation. A tiny knot just below Dael’s sternum formed as the words hit home. Annoyed at such a foolish reaction, she merely walked away. How could it possibly concern her if Darmiya was attracted to Spinner? Her reaction didn’t make sense, and she refused to give it a second thought.

  Chapter Ten

  Spinner walked from her bedroom into her small living-room area, grimacing at her stiff body’s unwillingness to maneuver as smoothly as it normally did. “Enter,” she said. Who was it this time? Since being discharged from the infirmary, she’d had a steady stream of visitors, mainly her pilots but also some unexpected ones. She wondered if this would be the admiral, but then mentally smacked herself on the back of her head. Why would Caydoc pay her a visit when she would return to her duties as CAG in two days? She would’ve gone back today if the doc hadn’t threatened to ground her for ten days.

  The door swooshed open, revealing a deceptively frail-looking elderly woman. Not the admiral, clearly, but one better. A fleet admiral. Retired, yes, but that didn’t matter. Helden Caydoc was a legend, stroke or no stroke.

  “Sir!” Standing at attention, which made her brain gyrate on the inside, Spinner met the fleet admiral’s steely eyes.

  “As you were, CAG,” the woman said. “May I come in?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Naturally. Come in. Not a lot of space, but—”

  “Just move that chair a bit and my own will fit nicely.” Fleet Admiral Caydoc turned to the young woman guiding her chair. “You may step out, Minna,” she said. “I’ll page you when I’m ready to leave. And no, you don’t have to hover in the corridor. Go put your feet up.”

  Creator of Oconodos, she’s going to be here awhile. Spinner maintained an amicable smile. What the hell was going on?

  Minna left after making sure her employer was comfortable. She looked pointedly at Spinner, who nodded imperceptibly. If anything were amiss, she would have Minna back here faster than magnetar drive.

  “Can I get you anything to drink, sir?” Spinner asked, not quite sure what else to say. You really didn’t question a woman like Helden Caydoc about her reasons for visiting.

  “I’m quite all right, CAG. Just sit down and relax. I know you’ve been out of the infirmary for only a few hours. I had my caregivers spy and also interrogated the hell out of my granddaughter.”

  “Really?” Sitting down on one of the two armchairs, Spinner tried to fathom why the old woman would take such measures. “What can I do for you, sir?”

  “Well, you can cease, once and for all, to call me sir. I’m retired. My name is Helden. May I call you Spinner—or Aniwyn?”

  Licking her dry lips, Spinner croaked, “Spinner’s fine, sir—I mean Helden. I’m sorry. This will take some getting used to.”

  “I bet. It’s enough that you have to stick to protocol with Dael. Two Admirals Caydoc is one too many, in my opinion.” Helden raised her good hand. “Are you feeling better?”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be back on duty—”

  “No. I want to know how you’re feeling. You sustained a nasty crash.”

  “Yes. Yes, I did. But you know, when you walk away from said crash, it’s not as nasty as it could’ve been.” Spinner pulled a small cushion onto her lap and rested her left arm on it. “They cemented my fracture—it wasn’t misaligned or anything—but I’m a tad sore.”

  “I would think so.”

  “I can’t forgive myself for losing a valuable assault craft, though.” Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Spinner looked carefully at Helden.

  “You haven’t heard? Dael had one of the last freighters lift it off the surface and bring it back. As she put it, we have ample time to fix it.”

  That was the best news so far. Spinner smiled broadly, dry lips or not. “She’s resourceful and detail oriented, your granddaughter,” she said brightly. Then she caught herself. “Oh, for the love of the Creator, I—”

  “Isn’t she?” Helden looked proud. She leaned forward very slightly. “It is one of her strengths, but it can also drive me insane. Especially when she’s trying to meddle with what she thinks I can and can’t do.”

  “That would have the same effect on me. Still, I might have tried to tough it out and heal on my own if the admiral hadn’t made sure someone took me to the infirmary.”

  “Dislike the place,
do you?” Sounding pleased, Helden snickered. “So does Dael—almost as much as I. And look at this.” She gestured to her chair. “I can’t fend for myself to save my life.”

  “But you and Chief Dioga saved a lot of other lives today,” Spinner said. “I know it must be a pain to have to rely on others for even the most personal things. I do get that. Today, you showed us all that this doesn’t mean life is over or that you can’t contribute. Age or disability aside, I agree with those who claim you have the sharpest, shrewdest mind of the entire advance fleet.”

  Looking shocked at Spinner’s words, Helden nodded slowly. “You speak with such immediacy and conviction, I’m inclined to believe that you believe this. Regardless, that’s a nice sentiment.”

  “Sentiment?” Snorting, Spinner shook her head. “I don’t do sentiment, Helden. I get in trouble a lot for not being as correct as the CAG is expected to be. I’m still baffled that I was promoted. I know why, but Admiral Caydoc had the last word, and she isn’t impressed with me.”

  Chuckling, Helden tilted her head in a way that reminded Spinner of how Caydoc regarded her at times. “I beg to differ. She grudgingly admires your skill and courage, and one day she will know you well enough to be less bothered by your shortcomings when not in the pilot seat. And you, Spinner, will grow into the part of being an officer during this mission. Of that I have no doubt.”

  “Why is that?” Spinner frowned. “I mean, how can you possibly know?”

  Her voice growing impossibly soft, Helden maneuvered her chair close enough to pat Spinner’s knee. “Because I knew your mother, Spinner.”

  Spinner just stared. “What?” she whispered.

  “Pamas Seclan was my aide de camp. I knew her well.”

  Chest constricting, closing around her lungs like an ironclad barrel, Spinner could hardly keep her temper down. Only the fact that Helden was a frail old woman kept her from shouting at her to get out. “Then you should know that her leaving me and my father when I was eight meant she couldn’t have much impact on my life or my character.” Spinner knew she sounded borderline rude.

  “I beg to differ, Aniwyn.”

  The soft use of her given name made Spinner recoil. “I’m not comfortable talking about my mother. My head hurts. I need to lie down. I’m sorry to cut the visit short—”

  “I’m sorry, Spinner.” Helden withdrew, even backing up her chair a little. “It was ill-advised of me to bring that up—I shouldn’t have, not now when you’re still not feeling well.”

  “I honestly can’t think of a time when bringing up my mother would be a good thing.” Spinner fought the nausea; she really didn’t want to throw up all over Caydoc’s grandmother.

  Helden regarded her in silence, her eyes pensive, perhaps even sorrowful. She tapped a sensor on her armrest. “Minna? Sorry to cut your break short. I need your services.”

  Minna answered mutedly, acknowledging she would be there in a minute. Spinner groaned inwardly; a minute right now seemed like a lifetime.

  “So that you won’t withdraw from me for all eternity, let me fill you in on some interesting news.” Helden managed to sound entirely casual. “We have intel that the moon did not explode due to any malicious activity. The Gemosian officials—I should say the surviving officials—have a theory that the mining operation on Tegia used garnet oil.” She looked expectantly at Spinner, who tried to process this new information and shove any harsh personal subject far back into her subconscious, where it belonged.

  “Garnet oil?” She realized what Helden was in fact saying and closed her eyes in dismay. Opening them slowly, she sighed. “What in the hell possessed them?”

  “I’d like to know that too. I guess they’d mined this moon for centuries, and the conventional blasting and drilling at the immense depths were becoming unprofitable and difficult. So, some genius says, why not just pour a few drops of garnet oil into one of the shafts, not realizing how those drops would spread to the inner core of the moon.”

  “Which consisted of?”

  “From the debris scans, frozen water.”

  “Damn.” Spinner was no geologist, but she could easily picture the disastrous chain of events when some idiot’s so-called bright idea about how to make more money had killed thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Gemosians.

  “Damn indeed.” Helden regarded her with softer eyes. “I would say that your initiative, your crash, if you will, expedited the saving of far more people. With you planetside, Dael could get the rescue operation going much faster and with much less discussion.”

  “Screwing up has its advantages on occasion, you mean?” Snorting joylessly, Spinner plucked at the hem of her shirt. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

  “So you’re still not going to take credit for anything. I’ll have to try harder.”

  Spinner was about to argue when the door chime buzzed. “Enter,” she said instead, expecting Minna. But it was Caydoc, who looked taken aback at Helden’s presence in Spinner’s quarters.

  “Nania?” Caydoc remained just outside.

  “Ah, well. I was just leaving. There’s Minna now.” Helden motioned behind Caydoc. “Great timing, Minna. Let’s leave these two to talk among themselves.”

  Minna whisked Helden, who merely waved her good hand as a good-bye, past Caydoc and out into the corridor. Caydoc looked after her grandmother, seeming puzzled, before she turned back to Spinner.

  “Come in. What can I do for you, sir?” Spinner stood, even if she knew protocol didn’t dictate her standing at attention in her own quarters. Perhaps the latest blow to her head had finally knocked some respect for the chain of command into her. She snickered inwardly. Not likely.

  “You can start by sitting down again. May I?” Caydoc gestured toward the other armchair.

  “Of course. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Why don’t I program some tea for us?”

  “By all means. Thank you.” Spinner fought the feeling of being in a completely surreal, upside-down reality.

  Caydoc rose and busied herself over by the kitchenette. The automatic hot-beverage dispenser quickly provided two mugs of steaming hot tea. Spinner preferred coffee but realized tea was better right now. More stimulating drinks than that wouldn’t be good for her jumbled brain.

  “May I ask what you’re doing here, sir?” Spinner sipped her tea and regarded Caydoc closely over the rim of the mug.

  “You may. First, I wanted to check on you. The last time I saw you, you weren’t looking well at all. Second, I had some news I thought you’d be interested in.”

  “Helden—your grandmother, I mean, told me about the red garnet.”

  “She did?” Caydoc’s eyebrows went up. “Well, that was part of my news. The Gemosian officials are scrambling to figure out where to send their people. Alino One can’t sustain all the survivors, so they’ve actually opened up communication with Oconodos as well as Loghia. The latter is a bit ironic, since they’re the ones who invented and manufacture red garnet.”

  “Oh, for the love of the Creator.” Spinner put her mug down. “So all are off the planet?”

  Growing serious, Caydoc spoke solemnly. “The ones alive are, yes. Some could perhaps still be left behind that our sensors cannot detect, but none of our scans shows any humanoid life signs.”

  “I can hardly believe it. Greed and ignorance caused this?”

  “Yes.” Caydoc sighed and leaned back. “We’ve done what we can so far. I’ve briefed the command on Oconodos, and they will continue to use our buoys to communicate with the Gemosians. If nothing else, they can offer knowledge and advice.” She straightened again, and for some reason she appeared ill at ease. “This brings me to another matter. When debriefing some of the passengers that we rescued from the archipelago where you crashed, the Gemosians came up with an unusual request. It seems that your friends, Darmiya and Calagan Do Voy, are not your average scientists. Apparently they are widely known among their people as the geniuses of their
generation.”

  “Really?” Spinner thought of the pretty young woman who seemed slightly naïve in her way of expressing herself. In a sense she wasn’t really surprised. Darmiya and Calagan had been forceful, and the rest of the Gemosians present had followed their example without objecting too much.

  “Really. Now, the Gemosian officials are, as I said, desperate to find somewhere for their population to thrive. They’ve asked to send Darmiya and Calagan with us on our mission. They offer us their knowledge, brains, and so on, and in return, they will keep in touch with their government. If necessary, the displaced Gemosians will join operation Exodus when the time comes.”

  Now this was unexpected. Spinner had to smile. “Things have a way of becoming tangled, don’t they?” She chuckled. “We run into totally catastrophic events and then our mission grows. Has the Oconodos government approved this addition?”

  “They have. They claim the ships’ designer took into consideration that we might need further accommodation. I suppose they meant if our population grew faster than expected.”

  “What numbers are we talking about? I mean, for the Gemosians to join the Exodus vessels?” Spinner rubbed her temple. Her head was pounding, but she wanted to know.

  “One more ship, I think. One hundred thousand individuals.”

  “Sweet Creator.” Spinner leaned sideways, closing her eyes. “And they still claim this change won’t jeopardize the essential mission?”

  “Not according to the command and the politicians back home. If they can dock twenty-two ships together, I suppose twenty-three isn’t such a stretch. As we have to find the homeworld before they can be underway, they have time to figure it out.” Caydoc stood. “I should let you rest. I just thought you’d like to know Darmiya will be assigned to the Espies Major. And her brother, of course.”

  Not entirely sure why Caydoc was so adamant to tell her this, Spinner nodded slowly. “All right. We’ll try to make them feel welcome.”

  “We return to magnetar drive in six minutes.” Caydoc hesitated, glancing down at her shoes for a moment. “May I ask why my nania was here?”