A sharp whistle cut through the forest. I turned to see Vax standing at the wall’s edge, one hand raised in the signal for urgent summons.
Thehyajawould have to wait.
I moved through the underbrush with practiced silence, covering the distance to the wall in moments. Vax’s expression was grim. His eyes were a troubled dark red.
“What is it?” I asked, scaling the wall with easy movements.
“Water system.” He fell into step beside me as we headed back toward the village center. “One of the purifiers failed. The engineers can’t figure out why.”
I swore under my breath. We had three water purification systems serving the village, all salvaged from the tower ruins and repurposed over countless cycles. Losing one wasn’t catastrophic, but it put strain on the others. And if we couldn’t fix it quickly, we’d need to implement rationing. “Which one?”
“Eastern sector. The system that serves the market.” Vax’s jaw was tight. “The engineers say it’s beyond their ability to repair. Too much ancient technology they don’t understand.”
Ancient technology. Off-world systems that our ancestors had adapted but never fully comprehended. We kept them running thanks to our “engineers,” which was a generous term. Those who worked on the old tech knew how to operate and repaironlyas they had been shown by their predecessor, and much knowledge had been lost over the generations. All it took was a little sloppiness, forgetfulness, and sometimes an untimely death, for key mechanisms to become enigmas.Even after records began to be kept, our engineers were limited in what they could do with devices and systems designed and made for other species and purposes.
When something went wrong that we couldn’t fix through standard procedures, we were helpless until trial and error, and more than a little luck, enabled our engineers to bring a disabled device back to life. The water systems were some of the most complex. It would take many cycles to find out what had gone wrong, unless…
I’m an engineer. I’m trying to understand how everything works.
“Bring the human, Cleo, to the purification station,” I said, the decision forming even as I spoke it.
Vax stopped walking. His eyes flashed from red to black. “What?”
“You heard me. The human female. She’s an engineer. She has knowledge of technology beyond our understanding.” I met his stare evenly. “Ask her to look at the system.”
“Absolutely not.” He moved to block my path, which took courage. Few challenged me directly, even when they disagreed. “Lord Rezor, we don’t know what she’ll do. She could sabotage it. Make things worse.”
“She could.” I stepped around him, continuing toward the eastern district. “Or she could fix it. And I’ll be watching her every move.”
“This is madness. The council will never approve using an outsider for something so critical to our survival.”
“The council does not rule this clan.Ido. The female and her crew have shown no signs of malice and I want thatsystem functioningnow.” I glanced back at him. “Unless you have a better solution?”
He didn’t. We both knew it.
“Get her,” I ordered.
Vax looked like he wanted to argue more. But after a moment, he inclined his head. His eyes flashed black, showing displeasure even as he obeyed and turned toward the guest quarters.
I continued to the purification station. It was a low building near the eastern wall that housed the filtration systems. Several of my best engineers were gathered around the main unit, tools spread out, expressions frustrated.
“Lord Rezor.” The lead engineer, a weathered male named Korin, looked up as I entered. “We’ve tried everything we know. The system just won’t engage. Something in the core processing unit has failed, but we can’t access it without risking damage to the entire array.”
I studied the system, the familiar tangle of pipes and crystalline components that we’d salvaged and integrated over generations of careful work. It hummed with residual power but produced no water, the flow completely stopped.
“Show me what you’ve tried,” I said, and listened as Korin walked me through their troubleshooting attempts.
None of it had worked. And from what I could see, they’d exhausted their knowledge of the system’s function.
Which confirmed we needed someone with different knowledge.
The door opened behind me. I turned to find Vax leading Cleo into the station, flanked by two guards. Cleo’s eyesimmediately went to the purification system, her expression shifting from wary curiosity to focused interest.
She looked rested. Well-fed. Her hair was pulled back in a practical knot, and the borrowed clothing—made for children—fit her small figure well. When her eyes met mine, even from across the room, I felt my marks flare with heat.
“Lord Rezor,” she said, her D’tran now smooth and nearly accentless. “Vax said you needed an engineer?”
“Our water purification system has failed.” I gestured to the unit. “My engineers can’t determine the cause. You have knowledge of advanced technology that might be useful.”
