Arin wanted to rail at her. She wanted to throw something at the screen and scream:why didn’t you fucking come when we were there the entire time, waiting to be rescued?
But she already knew the answer. Her mother was trained in the Federation way, and all she understood was hierarchy and protocol. There was no way she would have gone against orders from Nova Terra. When her mother joined Federation forces, she would have sworn to uphold and defend the people of Earth above all else.
Above all else.
Above family ties.
Above flesh-and-blood.
Sometimes, Arin wondered if these Federation people even remembered what it was like tothink.
If Rykal’s brainwashing had been undone by time, hers had been undone by spending two long years with borderline criminals on a dilapidated, remote mining station.
The Federation wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” her mother said finally, shocking Arin to the core. For the first time, she noticed the dark circles under the general’s eyes. The lines at the corners of her eyes had become more prominent, and the hair at her temples had turned completely grey. “Is anyone else with you?” She spoke in Universal, the standard language of the Federation forces. If she’d wanted to be informal, she would have switched to English, but they just weren’t that close.
Rykal had found a patch of shadow in the corner of the pod; he was well out of sight of the holoscreen’s camera radius.
“I’m alone,” Arin replied, schooling her features into a blank expression. If it got out that there was a Kordolian on board, there would be trouble.
“When I heard that you weren’t on the last transport out, I sent a retrieval team in to find you.” Her mother sat ramrod straight, not moving a muscle, but her voice carried the heavy weight of responsibility. On paper, sending in a valuable retrieval team to rescue a single soul might be considered irresponsible by the bigheads in Nova Terra.
But General Varga had sent them in anyway.
Sometimes, actions spoke louder than words.
The senior Varga sighed. For the first time, Arin saw a woman who’d sacrificed family for duty and ambition, and had probably struggled with the weight of that her entire life. “We lost six datafeeds in the blink of an eye.” There was nothing more to add to that. They both knew what it meant. The retrieval team was dead. “How did you get out, Arin? What happened?”
“There was an explosion from a volatile gas leak. The freighter’s taken a lot of damage from the Xargek. I managed to get out, but they weren’t so fortunate. I’m sorry.” She held hermother’s gaze, a tumult of conflicting emotions coursing through her. She was surprised and grateful for her mother’s intervention, but survivor’s remorse stung hard.
“The freighter has become extremely volatile,” the general said softly, unable to offer Arin any sort of consolation. “I knew that when I sent in the rescue squad. Questions are going to be asked, Arin. Nonhuman Affairs are already on my case. According to your squad members, you were seen with a Kordolian shortly before the last transport departed.”
“Negotiating isn’t a crime.” Arin froze, hoping Rykal would keep his cool. If they found out that he was inside the pod with her, listening in on a secure conversation, she could be in big trouble.
She discreetly tucked a hand behind her chair, motioning to Rykal towait, because he could be unpredictable at times.
“I told them you couldn’t possibly be involved in anything untoward, but they want to bring you in for questioning anyway. I’d rather bring you to theMarciaimmediately, but they assured me it would be brief.”
“Who?” Arin blinked in confusion.
“Nonhuman Affairs. One of their surveillance cruisers is in the vicinity. They’ll be retrieving you shortly.”
“But-” Arin opened her mouth to protest. This situation was getting way out of hand, and the last thing she wanted right now was to be put through an interrogation. She was hopelessly compromised, and she knew it. “I don’t have anything new for them.”
Except for her relationship with Rykal. Would they see through her? She was supposed to be collecting data on him, not sleeping with him, although she could spin the latter to her advantage if she really wanted to.
Sleeping with the enemy. Spies did that kind of shit, didn’t they?
Not that she’d ever have the stomach to lie about such a thing.
Sweet Rykal. How could she betray him when he’d saved her life and stuck with her every step of the way?
“I’m afraid this is out of my hands, Arin. It’s above my security clearance. Just comply with their requests, and everything will be fine. I’ll see you planetside.” Her tone softened. “Even if I’m going to be reprimanded for breaching protocol, it doesn’t matter. We managed to get all those people off the freighter with minimal loss of life.”
“Yeah.” That was something, at least.
“FNA will make contact with you shortly. Stand by.” And just like that, the comm ended, and Arin was left wondering how she was going to get out of this galaxy-sized hole she’d dug herself into.
