Jade nodded. "I suppose so. In her condition, the ordeal might be traumatic for her, so seeing a familiar face might help."
She'd said it as if something like that could never happen to her, and Tula's need for a friendly face was a weakness Jade wouldn't suffer from.
When she returned her attention to Yamanu, Esag shook hands with Phinas, her partner, and nodded at Drova, who was sittingat the far end of the table, looking even more alien than her mother.
The funny thing was that despite Drova's alien features, she looked like a typical teenager. She was upset about something, the sour expression on her face capable of curdling milk.
Yamanu must have noticed because he walked up next to her and pulled out a chair. "What troubles you, my young padawan?"
She lifted a brow. "What's a padawan?"
"A Jedi apprentice."
Drova's scowl deepened. "I'm way beyond the stage of being an apprentice, and I should have been included in this mission. I'm stronger and faster than any of your Guardians, and I can compel. I could probably scale that rock face better and faster than Okidu, and I don't weigh a ton like he does, so I'm less likely to fall."
That might be true, but Drova was also seventeen, and Esag understood Kian's reluctance to let a kid join a dangerous mission.
"You're absolutely right." Yamanu leaned toward her and put his hand on her shoulder. "That's why I'm putting you on backup. If anything goes wrong, you're our ace in the hole."
Drova's scowl lessened fractionally. "What do you mean by backup?"
"Twelve Guardians will remain behind in the submarine as backup. Esag and Julian will be there too. You can join them and be ready for rapid mobilization."
Jade didn't look happy about Yamanu's offer, but she didn't say anything.
Drova straightened, looking marginally less homicidal. "I'll be ready."
"Good." Yamanu returned to his seat next to Jade. "Let's eat. We can talk later."
After they were done eating, Jade pushed back from the table. "We should adjourn to my office. I've scheduled a meeting with the submarine captain for fifteen minutes from now."
Yamanu wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned to the Guardians. "Anandur and I need to attend this meeting, but you can head out to the barracks and get some rest."
"Drova can show them around," Jade offered.
"Is it okay if I join you for the meeting with the captain?" Esag asked.
Yamanu shrugged. "Why not? Just remember that the captain doesn't know what we are. I will be shrouding Jade."
"I don't need you to shroud me." Jade cast him a haughty look. "I've already met the captain. Besides, I've managed for almost a century among humans." She pulled a pair of stylish sunglasses from her pocket and put them on. "See? Makes all the difference."
She was right about her face now passing for human, but she was still very tall and very thin. She also had small but noticeable fangs. Then again, humans tended to dismiss anything that didn't fit their worldview, and aliens living among them were certainly not part of their Weltanschauung.
"As you wish," Yamanu said.
They followed Jade through a series of corridors that still smelled of fresh paint, and at one point, they had to duck under scaffolding.
"I thought we would be done with all this by now." Jade waved a hand at the temporary structure. "But we are constantly running into problems. Getting materials here is a pain."
When they reached her office, Esag wasn't surprised to see that it was sparsely furnished. Jade didn't look like the type who decorated. It was large enough to accommodate a desk and a conference table that could seat ten, and the only decoration was a map of the surrounding waters covering one wall.
Esag followed Yamanu, pulling out one of the plastic chairs surrounding the oval table.
He was about to sit when one of Jade's underlings escorted a fifty-something human into the room.
"Captain Ramirez, I presume." Yamanu stood and walked over to shake the man's hand. "Turner has told me a lot about you."
"All lies." The captain grinned. "How is Victor? I haven't seen him in years. He only calls me when he needs something."
