“We are nothing alike. You adopt the ways of these lesser humans so easily and–”
“Like you,” she said stubbornly. Her brow furrowed. “Why are you pushing me away? Why are you saying things you don’t mean? Can’t mean?
Again, she was so intuitive. He wondered if his plan would work at all!
She shows her Xi. She wants friendship. She has been open with me. I must cut her to the quick.
“Because you are not the quality of soldier–or person–that I wish to associate with. Returning to the Ashaton has reminded me of that,” he said with cold precision.
He saw the moment his words hurt her. Some of the color ran out of her face. Her eyes stopped sparkling with brilliance or fun. It was like something died inside of her. The fact that they had just met should have made him judge her as foolish. But he did not. In fact, even though he knew this was best, he felt the desire to tell her that he didn’t mean what he had said. That she was one of the finest pilots he had met and thought of her fondly, but he couldn’t. If he were truly her friend, he had to do this.
“I thought you were different,” she said abruptly. “Maybe I was wrong.” She turned on her heel and started walking back to the Kryptoria II. She tossed over her shoulder at him, “Maybe it’s better if you mess up now so Jace sees the quality of person you really are.”
He watched her go. Perhaps he should tell Jace to order her to the Ashaton. That way there would be no doubt that she had nothing to do with what he was about to do. His heart seemed strangely heavy and it was hard to breathe or swallow around the lump that had formed in his throat.
The flashing lights seemed to urge him on to get to Jace. He turned and blindly followed them. The interior of the Osiris was, of course, familiar to him. It had the same white and black corridors as before with holographic signage. It was slightly unnerving to be walking these empty hallways when it felt like they should be filled with people. But Jace had only allowed a handful of people onto the Osiris. The likelihood of him bumping into anyone he did not want to was minimal. The flashing lights led him to a lift. The doors whooshed open and--
“Commander Voor!” General Intoshkin’s voice boomed. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Indeed, it is highly unlikely we should meet,” Khoth stated.
The general grinned even as he held up his hands. “You got me. I was looking for you. The moment I realized you had come aboard the Osiris, I thought we ought to have a chat, you and I.”
Khoth considered pulling the man out of the lift and sending him reeling into the hallway so that he could get to Jace. But instead, he joined the general inside the lift. The doors silently closed once more. He did not have to indicate the floor as the Osiris had already taken care of that.
“So how did the meeting go with your mother?” General Intoshkin asked. “When I get to see my daughter, I find myself spending hours with her. I don’t ever want her to leave.”
“My mother is High Councillor. Her time is limited,” he answered coolly.
“Oh, yes, a very important person. The most important person in the Alliance and she comes here,” General Intoshkin said with a bob of his head. “She’s already tipped her hand about Jace and the Osiris’ importance to the Alliance.”
“Jace and the Osiris are important to the Alliance,” Khoth agreed. “Notice that neither of us included humanity in that list.”
The doors to the lift opened on a floor that was different from the others. While the corridors below had been slightly sterile and uniform, this one showed subtle warmth. The lights were not as stark. The walls were still white, but the floor changed colors like a swirling night sky.
Portions of the walls projected images, not only of the view outside, but of various worlds that Khoth did not recognize. He stopped by one that had pinkish-orange clouds that parted for a moment to reveal a floating city. His breath caught at its beauty. It was Altaeth. But they had never found a floating city on any of the worlds discovered so far. This was a new world with tech they had not encountered!
His heart was hammering in his chest as General Intoshkin said, “Jace represents not only humanity but the United States of America, as well.”
“That is one of the meaningless divisions of your world, correct?” Khoth asked as he studied the flying city.
He could almost hear General Intoshkin’s teeth grinding. “Hardly meaningless, Commander. But Jace knows that he’s one of us, not you. And we’ll be by his side during any negotiations tomorrow. So if your mother believes she’ll be facing a young man on his own, she’s got something coming!”
Khoth nodded. “Understood, General. At least as to your position. Have you asked Jace if he agrees with you?”
“I was just heading there right now to speak with him after you. His quarters are this way,” General Intoshkin said as he started down the corridor past Khoth.
But suddenly a door to their left opened and Colonel Diane Parker stepped out.
“General! I’m so glad to see you. Won’t you please come in? We need to discuss a few things before the meetings tomorrow,” she said with a smile.
“I need to speak with your son--”
“We need to discuss things first,” she said, the smile dropping away.
Despite General Intoshkin outranking her, he gave a curt nod and entered what must be her and Jack’s quarters.
“He’s just down there, Khoth,” Diane said with a tilt of her head towards the end of the hallway. “He’s waiting for you.”
