Chapter 17
Leigh
Once Timber mentioned Xalan, things went from a dead stop to full-on action. She and my aunt jabbered animatedly with T’raat in Xalanite, occasionally muttering something in English to one of the two former officers whose home we’d taken over. They kept their voices low, low enough that I couldn’t understand even the English, but whatever they were talking about, it must have been something important and exciting.
I suddenly wanted nanites of my own, if only so I could participate.
I waited as patiently as I could for things to settle down to the point where someone would remember I existed. Being not only the youngest person in the room but also the only pure civilian of the group frustrated me because sometimes the few words or phrases I could make out made no sense to me, and no one bothered to explain.
Like what’s a stellar blockade, and why might we need to get “creative” about it?
After what seemed like an eternity of discussion, John and Marcus excused themselves to “take care of our part” while Timber and Aunt Ann stood to “make ready.” T’raat stayed with me, but I was so confused it didn’t make much difference. I was so out of the loop at that point that nothing I said or did really mattered. I could’ve been kidnapped right from under their noses without any worry of me blabbing their plans.
T’raat rubbed my back while staring off into space. I had no idea what was going on in his head, but after a few minutes he surprised me by speaking up.
“There. It is done.”
“Um … Good?”
He shot me a quizzical look before realization crossed his features. “My love! You did not understand much of what we said, did you?”
I shook my head. “Absolutely none of the Xalanite, maybe a few bits of the English. You guys kept your voices low enough that I didn’t really get an idea of what’s happening.”
“I am sorry. I did not realize we were leaving you out so completely.”
“Are you allowed to tell me?”
His arms engulfed me in a massive bear hug. “They could not stop me from telling you. You are mytyr’il; I am honor bound to tell you whatever you ask me.”
I didn’t fully understand whattyr’ilmeant, but since he’d just called me his “love” I assumed it meant “mate.” At least he was trying not to freak me out by using the wrong terms around me, though I wondered iftyr’ildidn’t basically mean the same thing as “mate” for him.
With that, T’raat launched into an explanation of how we were going to get away from the AARO that were in pursuit, howwe were going to sneak a Xalanite ship past a space blockade set up by the Xalanites, and how we were going to …
… Tospace?
“Wait, we’re going to Xalan? I thought you didn’t want to go back.”
He shook his head. “Earth is not safe for you. We have ruled out Xalanites as the perpetrators of the slanderous rumors that have turned the AARO on us. If it means keeping you safe, I will return to Xalan.”
“How did you guys rule out Xalanites?”
T’raat shrugged. “They have not found us yet. Xalanites would have access to tracking technology that can find us by our nanites.”
I cast him a dubious look. “What if they haven’t found us on purpose? Maybe they’re waiting. Shouldn’t we keep that possibility in mind here?”
“We are aware of that. However, unlike those inside Timber and your aunt, my nanites work both ways. I can detect and track other Xalanites just like they can detect and track me. There are no Xalanites on Earth closer than the intake center. Of that much I am certain.”
That in itself seemed weird to me. Why wouldn’t there be any other Xalanites outside the intake center? I mean, Aunt Ann had told me and Dad about the hassle of granting vacation passes and travel vouchers to various Xalanite visitors and dignitaries, so why was it that right at that moment, when everyone was a potential spy against us, no other Xalanites were traveling around Earth?
It was a little too convenient, in my opinion. I made a mental note to talk to Aunt Ann about it later.
Something else about this trip bugged me, and it had nothing to do with spies or devious plots. How was I supposed to communicate with anyone on Xalan? T’raat said John andMarcus were staying home to cover for us, so the Xalanite language won’t be an issue for them, but Timber and Aunt Ann don’t have to worry about communication; they’ve both got nanites. Unless I only talked to people who have English piped into their head with tiny machines, things would get pretty lonely.
Maybe it was time to rethink my stance on the devices.
“T’raat?” I put a hand on his shoulder to stop him as he got up to leave the dining room. “Wait. This ship that’s coming for us, will it have nanites on board that I can get?”
He paused, and his brows furrowed in confusion. “I thought you did not wish to learn that way.”
