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“Because the Khul are on Haseon and I may not get another chance,” she answered. Her eyes were full of meaning, of emotion.

But he could not interpret them. Or perhaps he would not. Because even if she was saying far more than those spoken words, there was too much he could not say back. Words of recrimination. Words of anger. Words of despair, too. She reached up to brush her fingers over his missing selchitte, her eyes growing so sad. He jerked away from her and continued down the next hall.

“Khoth!” she called softly, but insistently.

“No, you do not have the right to do that. You cannot regret,” he hissed, not turning towards her.

“I know I owe you far more than a few words in a hallway--”

“You think an ocean of words would undo what you’ve done?” he asked with a bitter laugh. “I’ve left you! Father’s left you! You’ve lost your position! And now we matter!”

“You’ve always mattered,” she insisted.

“Not enough,” he muttered under his breath. “And I don’t truly think you know what that means!”

That was when he saw the final door in that hallway. It was open. The calcanth security door had not fully closed, having jammed a quarter of the way down. A sickening dread spread through him like ice frosting a window pane. He pointed towards it, both of them slowed their movements, and moved as quietly as they could. He crouched down by the door, listening, but like before, he heard nothing. He glanced inside. A Cetix lay dead on the floor. Its body coiled around itself in an almost neat circle. The floor and bed smoked. There was no dead Thaf’ell inside.

“They could have escaped,” his mother offered.

“Or they were captured,” Khoth said numbly. “The Pilot believed the Khul would attempt to use hostages to get him to reveal himself to them.”

“Please tell me that he would not do that,” his mother said, but then closed her eyes. “Of course, he would do that. He’s a hero.”

Khoth stood up. “We have to catch them.”

“And when we do?” she asked.

Khoth’s eyes narrowed. “We ensure that Jace does not play hero.”

Elsewhere in the Moturin Compound on Haseon...

Jace was “riding” Gehenna. They were rolling down the hallways. It had been quite a bit of fun rolling down the stairs. Gehenna could have transformed into her footed version, but rolling was faster.

I detect Khul life signs straight ahead! Gehenna told him. And Thaf’ell, too. Looks like the Thaf’ell have the Khul pinned down at the end of this hallway at a T-intersection.

And she was right. Anytime, a Khul emerged to send a larva ball spinning down the hallway, a laser blast from a draagves headed towards it heads. The wall back there was scored with plenty of blast marks and there was Khul blood smoking and hissing on the ground.

Can that blood hurt your outer shell, Gehenna? Jace asked, not having investigated the specs of her Star Wars ball body.

Nope! I’m pure calcanth, baby! She cried with glee. I’ll just feel gross, but it won’t hurt me.

That’s good to know, because I think we need to do some up close and personal wet work, Gehenna, Jace told her. We don’t have to worry about you being infected.

Oooh, I like how your mind works!

You did help train it, he reminded her.

I did! But you always had all the good ideas. Shall we roll ahead and go in like a mofo? She sent him emojis of a laughing, evil smiley face.

Actually, I was thinking about you flanking them, Jace suggested as he showed her a route that would lead her behind the Khul.

That way had been blocked by calcanth security doors he’d sent crashing down the moment that Khul had entered. But he could open them as necessary for her.

Righty ho! Besides, they might blast us too many times before we got to them, she admitted as she whizzed away.

The Thaf’ell they saw and passed all got instructions on their comms about what was coming. They laid down covering fire as she whizzed part way down the hall and then turned a corner at high speed. She hit the wall a few times rather like a pachinko ball before straightening out. He opened the doors just enough for Gehenna to roll through before shutting them firmly behind her. That was wise, because some of the Khul had become curious if they, too, could flank the Thaf’ell.

CETIX! Gehenna cried.