You are the Pilot. You should know all the data–
People don’t work that way, Osiris. You can know everything and make all the wrong moves, Jace told the AI. I have to trust Khoth.
Until he proves he is not trustworthy? The AI countered.
He won’t. But I guess if–like you–he does something wrong, I’ll reassess, Jace replied.
“Jace? Anything up? Your eyes have gone all spooky there,” his father asked with a glance towards him.
“Oh, sorry, Dad, just talking to the Osiris about trust,” Jace said as he closed the holographic screen of the following ship.
“The Osiris… are you still mad at it?” his father asked.
“As mad as a hornet,” Jace replied with a grin.
His father chuckled. “But you’re giving it a second chance, I bet.”
“Ah, yeah, you’re right. Pretty clever,” Jace said as he stretched out his legs.
His father shot him another look. “I know you pretty well. Such as I’m going to take a guess at what you’re going to do tomorrow after the meeting.”
Jace lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t even know what I’m going to do tomorrow!”
“Oh, yes, you do.”
Jace shook his head. “Okay, Dad, predict the future.”
“Easy. You’re going to let everyone have their say,” his father answered as he touched the holographic screen like a pro to find out the distance to their target. “And everyone is going to think that they’ve gotten you on their side because you’re easy going and young and, therefore, must be pliant, if not stupid.”
Jace’s both eyebrows rose. “Okay. You’re suggesting I’m not pliant or stupid, which is good!”
“You certainly aren’t, because after they tell you why they’re right and the other guy is wrong and what they want and why they should have it, you’re going to tell them to all go to hell,” his father said with a grin.
Jace blinked. “Well, I’m…”
“Because you are the goddamned Pilot of that incredible ship and you’re going to do what you think is right,” his father finished.
Jace blinked some more. “That may have crossed my mind. But Mom would be really angry with me over that, wouldn’t she?”
“I think you would do it even if I said she would be,” his father answered with a purse of lips. “But if it makes you feel any better, she’ll be glad. She doesn’t agree with all that the higher ups want to do. But she’s stuck in the chain of command. If she disobeys them, she’s out and has no influence at all. But you don’t need to do what they say. You can do what’s right, because you’re beholden to no one.”
Jace stared at his father in a kind of shocked awe. “Don’t you think I’m a little young and inexperienced to do this all on my own?”
These were the types of arguments he thought that his father would make.
“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. You will need teachers, mentors and allies. You’ll find them,” his father said. “But you must never let their thinking replace your own. You were the Pilot for a reason. Not me. Not your mom. Not anybody else, Jace. You.”
“I thought you’d be all freaked out. Want to keep me safe and stuff,” Jace said after a moment. His throat felt tight with pride at his father’s belief in him.
“Oh, I am, son, I am.” His father gave a slightly shaky laugh. “But…” And here he glanced over at Jace more fully. “I look at you and I feel like I’m seeing you as you always should have been. I can’t explain it. You handled your limitations with a kind of grace I could not. You’re handling these powers with that same grace.”
Jace’s head lowered and he blinked rapidly. “Dad, I don’t know what to say.”
“Listen. Think. Learn. Then do what’s right, Jace,” his father said. “That’s all you can do.”
Jace thought about the Khul and what he had seen up here. Now there was just the beautiful blackness of space punctured through with the light of far stars. There were no Hives nearby. No sign of the Khul at all. That was a relief. But he knew it wouldn’t stay that way, which meant he had to convince Nova Voor that she must keep some ships around Earth if he and the Osiris were to leave it. He doubted that simply being protected would satisfy General Intoshkin, and he couldn’t blame the military man. This was Earth’s chance to jump ahead technologically and join other species.
“What do you want to talk about, Dad? What do you want to know? I’ve told you about what happened at the Hive and stuff. But I know you have other questions” Jace asked, putting his own thoughts and worries to the side.
