“Thanks, Vytln,” Grace said before looking past him to Haven. “And thank you as well. You helped, didn’t you?”
Haven made a single noise of confirmation. “I like fixing. Would do more if I could getting into out please.”
“I was actually coming to check you over,” Goldie said, looking at her curiously. “Youareokay, aren’t you?”
“Wonderful,” Haven gave her a thumbs up.
“The way you speak is… strange,” Grace said, voice polite but cautious as Vytln began moving around his workroom behind them, not saying a word but still somehow grumbling and fussing at nothing. “Was there a problem with your language imprint?”
Haven shook her head. “I didn’t having an imprint. Learning myself.”
The three of them all gave her similar looks of surprise.
“You learned Standard by yourself?” Garnet repeated, impressed. “That’s incredible. But why? Did you refuse the imprint?”
“Could you not get it, perhaps?” Grace asked.
“Not meaning to being here,” Haven said, resting her hands on the edge of the hole again. “Not meaning to being caught either.”
“Do you speak English?” Grace asked, easily switching to that language instead.
“I do,” Haven responded happily, also in English. It was, admittedly, a bit weird since she hadn’t used the once familiar words in so long, but itwaseasier to speak.
“How did you get here?” Garnet asked, also in English.
“I snuck aboard the ship that took people to the moon for the lunar experiments,” she smiled. “Then, I snuck on the ship that took those who wanted to leave Earth away. I’ve been following Grace since I left.”
Grace jumped, startled. “Me? Why me?”
Haven shrugged. “Seemed as good an idea as any. And you kept taking me to great places.” She smiled fondly around Vytln’s workroom.
Grace blinked, then giggled a bit awkwardly. “Oh, okay. I guess.”
“What will it take for you to tell us how you’re hiding from Alred?” Garnet asked. She was nicer than Tanin, but there was a directness in her gaze that was similar to his.
Haven rested her head down on her hands, not talking. “I’ll tell you where I was hiding and where the broken pipe is, but my secret is mine.”
Garnet crossed her arms, staring at her with an unreadable expression. Goldie looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding once.
“Okay,” the medical officer said. “But you know that means we can’t let you go, right?”
Haven just smiled. Unconcerned. Having an absolute blast playing this game. It was like she was winning without even trying.
Grace took over. “What’s your name?”
“Haven. Haven Clarkson.”
“Okay, Haven. Can you answer some other questions at least?”
She hummed in agreement, nodding her head once.
“You snuck off Earth. Does that mean no one knows you’re here?”
“Yes. I’m a total stowaway. And I’ve been gone so long, and I know so much about advanced tech, that they can’t send me back.”
“Right. That’s true,” she mumbled.
“What are you thinking?” Garnet asked, looking around her sister at Grace.
