"We've got a situation." His voice is level, but I can hear the weight beneath it. "The facility is Ostium-built. It's a mining operation. And we've got two Ostium males here. Civilians, not combatants. They say they were forced laborers. They've been abandoned here since Diamalla fell."
A beat of silence. Then D'Rett's voice, sharp and urgent. "Say again. Ostium? On Ceraste?"
"Confirmed. A'Vanti is able to communicate with them. These guys are in rough shape, D'Rett. They need food, water, and medical attention. I don't believe they are a threat, but I'm taking no chances."
L'Zaen cuts in, his tone carrying a gravity I've rarely heard from him. "Secure the area and hold position. We are already on our way. Keep the Ostiums contained for now. We will be there within the hour."
"Copy that."
The comm goes silent, and Cody exhales. A slow, controlled breath like he's steadying his nerves.
The males have finished the water. Every drop. Now one of them looks up, his hollow eyes meeting mine, and speaks again in Ostium.
"Food," I translate. "They are begging for food."
"A'Vanti, L'Stourn, cover me. I'm going to check them for weapons," Cody says, his eyes never leaving the two figures. He hands me his sidearm and moves forward, slowly and deliberately, hands visible. The males flinch as he approaches but don't resist as he pats them down with quick, practiced efficiency. He steps back and shakes his head. "They're clean. Nothing on them."
Cody takes his weapon back from me and trains it on the Ostium males.
"Dr. Reyes, there are emergency rations in the shuttle. Can you grab them?"
"On it."
She returns minutes later with an armful of ration packs. Cody tucks his sidearm into his belt long enough to take them from her, then walks forward – slow and deliberate – to set themon the ground within the males' reach. He steps back and draws his weapon again as he returns to my side.
They tear into the food with the same desperate abandon as the water. I watch them eat, and I think of flavorless Ostium porridge on a metal tray. Of Sator sneaking me extra portions. Of the hollow ache of a body that has forgotten what it feels like to be properly nourished.
I was them. Not so long ago.
The thought cracks my composure. I turn away from the others, pressing my fist to my sternum, and breathe. In and out. The desert air is hot and dry against my face, and I focus on that. Just that.
Cody nudges me.
"You okay?" he asks.
"I will be."
He nods. He trusts me to know my own limits. Another gift he gives me without realizing its value.
They arrive in force.
Three transports crest the horizon less than forty minutes later, their hulls gleaming in the Cerastean sun. They set down in a ring around the facility, and armed Cerasteans and humans pour out with faces grim and weapons drawn. The sight of them should be reassuring.
But the storm of emotions rolling off D'Rett hits my nostrils before he even reaches us – fury and alarm and something sharp and territorial that makes me want to bare my teeth.
L'Zaen is with him, along with a full tactical squad and a medical team. The medics move immediately toward the Ostium males, who flinch at the approach of so many Cerasteans but aretoo weak to resist. They submit to examination with the limp compliance of creatures who have exhausted their capacity for fear.
D'Rett draws Cody and me aside, and L'Zaen follows.
"What have you learned from them?" D'Rett asks.
"They were slaves," I say. "When Diamalla fell, the supply of pheromone stopped, and the control over them broke. There were others with them. But they left the facility and headed south, looking for help, while these guys stayed behind." I pause, making sure I have the translation right. "They say they were mining a mineral called velith. I do not know the word."
The shift in D'Rett is immediate. The fury drains from his scent. What replaces it is colder, something that smells like dread.
He looks at L'Zaen. L'Zaen closes his eyes briefly, then opens them.
"We need to see what they were mining," L'Zaen says. His voice is very quiet. "Ask them to show us."
