Her smile disappeared. “Hmm, I must have gotten confused. I was reading a recipe collection and a Centaxian weapons guide while I was cooking.”
Under the table, Mal gripped Xander’s thigh. He glanced her way, his big hand covering hers, his fingers rubbing across her knuckles.
“I am very…honored you made this, Lala.” He glanced at Mal, then back at Lala. “Maybe I can use some of the tetronide later to make some chemical grenades?”
Mal’s heart melted. She knew there was more heart in him than he gave himself credit for.
Lala’s smile was back. “That’s so sweet. But for now, why don’t you try some Terran chocolate mousse. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get that mixed up with a poison.” She nudged the brown dish forward.
Everyone started eating and soon worked out what was palatable. The other dishes mysteriously disappeared from the table. Lala was beaming, reigning from her chair at the end of the table.
A chime sounded and one of the many screens lining the far wall lit up. “I’ve finished my searches.” BEll’s voice filled the room.
Beside Mal, Xander stiffened.
BEll let out a sighing noise. “I have no record of a planet called Technis in any recorded star system in my databases. I’ve checked current and ancient sources.”
Xander planted his palms on the table and stared straight ahead. Mal didn’t know what to say or do to help him.
“Technis?” Lala popped a red grape in her mouth and chewed. “Of course you won’t find it in any star system.”
All sound at the table ceased. Mal set her knife and fork down. “What do you mean, Lala?”
“It isn’t in a star system.” The girl licked her fingers. “Is that where the Antikythera was taken?”
“Yes.” Xander leaned forward. “You know where Technis is located?”
“No. But I knowwhatit is.”
“Lala!” Mal was worried the tension in Xander was going to explode all over the table.
“It’s a rogue planet.”
Everyone broke out talking at once.
Eos straightened. “A planet that doesn’t orbit a sun?—”
“They’re also called nomad or orphan planets, right?” Zayn said.
“Can life even survive on a rogue planet?” Dathan frowned. “Aren’t they just ice?”
A fist slammed onto the table, and everyone went quiet. Xander stood. “I’m searching my databases, but BEll, do you have any information?”
“Coming through now. I had to pull it from the Galactic Institute of Astronomical Charting database.” An image flashed onto the screen on the wall. “This is the last known image of Technis.”
It was a plain, dark-blue planet, almost unremarkable.
“Can it sustain life?” Xander demanded.
“Some rogue planets can. It depends on their size, how they were formed. After being ejected from their sun, the surface usually freezes, but under the thick ice there can be subsurface oceans. Life is sustained by geothermal energy.”
Why would anyone want to live somewhere so harsh? Mal wondered. “Technis is like this?”
“No. Technis is a little different,” BEll said. “It has a thick atmosphere rich in molecular hydrogen. It provides enough insulation and pressure to keep the oceans liquid at the surface and sustain some life.”
“That’s incredible,” Eos said.
“Don’t be fooled. It is still very inhospitable to most humanoid life. Reports are that most of the indigenous life forms are very…primitive. There is a colony near the equator, built underground and fueled by the planet’s geothermal energy.”
