Nasra’s sparkling eyes glazed, and she giggled. “I know. Iknow. But humans are so disconnected—you have to remember—”
“Nasra,” Zen said politely.
She blinked, and the flashing lights in her eyes were gone.“Apologies. Gets loud sometimes. It is, in fact, a physical book! There’s a cavern around the core of our planet, and the Book fills every crevice of it. New pages are recorded in our cities and delivered to it daily.”
Thatwas why the tou’siil were admired and nearly revered by humanity. They possessed the largest, most comprehensive collection of knowledge in the galaxy—and their entire species was dedicated to accessing and preserving that information. Human AIs were a joke in comparison.
Torian couldn’t believe she was standing in Nasra’s vicinity.
She fumbled for a response, and settled on a very intelligent: “Wow! That’s incredible.”
“I suppose.” Nasra retrieved the big bag at her feet, shouldering it again. Her eyes went flat, disconnecting briefly. “Okay, Zen. I took the sabbatical—and Headmaster Nuun wasnotpleased. While we’re always happy to chat with Sequelta vel Dutch-Ath—” She grinned at Dutch, who winked back. “—tell me the truth. Are we truly visiting Vaesa?”
“Not just visiting. We’re going to restore it to its former state,” Zen said ever so casually, like they weren’t discussing a massive undertaking, like he wasn’t presenting a barely workshopped idea to one of the smartest beings in the galaxy.
Nasra squealed. Actuallysquealed.
“Depths and beyond, you’d better not be joking!”
Alarm bells were going off in Torian’s mind, and she raised a hand. When Zen gestured at her to speak, she tentatively asked, “If the CSS values Vaesa so much, why didn’t someone come and repair it earlier?”
What she wanted to ask was:What’s the likelihood of the Confederation of Spacefaring Species stealing Vaesa from Celise and me?
But Nasra gasped at the very idea. “We would never. The CSS respects every species’ right to their birth planet and subsequent outstations. Vaesa was a wonder, but that was generations ago. The nylarians didn’t give permission to alter or maintain it, so werespected that boundary and left Verdaan and Vaesa alone. But now that we’ve finally found you, Dutch…” Nasra gripped his arm again, trailing off.
“I heartily give permission to visit Vaesa and document what you find. Frankly, the humans who start a colony there could likely use the support.” Dutch cast an exasperated glance at the brick buildings beyond the landing dock. “We all know the Rhymarrans won’t help.” He squinted in the encroaching darkness. “In fact, I think one is coming now to tell us off.”
Sure enough, a solitary figure was approaching them. They had the stature of Dess, the person who’d greeted Torian earlier, but in the low light, it was hard to tell.
Nasra seemed unconcerned. “Humans don’t see aliens often, and they’re usually draics when they do. They’re nervous around us.” She waved cheerfully at the approaching figure, then turned to Zen and Torian. “So. Where do I put my things?”
There was something very satisfying about knowing Nasra was abandoning the University to help her, instead. In fact, Torian almost hoped this figurewasDess, just so she could see the look on their face when she whisked their tou’siil student away.
Zen, meanwhile, gestured at his starship on the landing pad beside theirs. “You’ll be traveling on my ship. Not a lot of room on Torian’s. She’s retrieving her sister, and then she’ll meet us there.” He took Nasra’s bag, shouldering it with ease. His wings spread to make room, and it made him look like a vengeful gargoyle in the dim light.
The person approaching them faltered.
“Probably time to leave anyway,” Torian muttered. “Good riddance.”
Dutch clapped her shoulder. “You’re too good for Rhymarra, Captain Razner. You’ll waste away here.” With a cheerful smile, he followed Zen to the other starship, his container of Moss tucked protectively under one arm.
Nasra briefly clasped Torian’s hands. “I cannot wait for that dinner.” And then she was gone, jogging after Zen and Dutch,her voice bouncy as she reconnected with the hive: “You all will notbelievethis—”
Just like that, Torian was alone again.
She drew a slow breath. The university official had pivoted from the aliens, approaching Torian’s ship instead—and as she got closer, Torian could indeed recognize Dess Philona’s stiff expression.
She had nothing left to say to Dess, or Headmaster Nuun, or anyone on this planet. Without waiting to be told off, Torian stepped back inside theDestituteand closed the cargo doors behind her.
Time to pursue a new goal.
IDENTITY: Mechanical Operations and Support Systems
→SUB-IDENTITY: Moss
TIME/DATE: 02:72/Januous 14, Year 90113 [System U2Ab Universal]
LOCATION: Vector 806, 293.42.1 over 58.12°
