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Jace glanced up towards the pilot’s seat where Khoth was flying them towards all their responsibilities. Yet with Khoth there, Jace felt he could do anything, be anything, handle it all. His father had to understand that Khoth was like the missing part of his soul.

“Hey, hey, Jace.” Jack’s hands were suddenly over his and his unopened bottle of planth. “I am happy for you.”

“Are you sure? Because you don’t look it. Now, I could chalk it up to you absorbing all of this, but… I know you, Dad.” He lowered his voice even though Khoth would know what happened simply by reading his mind. “Why aren’t you happy?”

“I am,” Jack insisted. He shook himself and drank another mouthful of planth. “But I think I know why the Osiris was practically pissing itself about your mating and what Diane and I were doing.”

“What? No, the Osiris isn’t upset about…” Jack stopped and frowned.

Are you upset? I thought you’d be pleased! My systems are running more efficiently with a mate, Jace tried not to make his voice sound accusatory.

I do not get upset, the Osiris claimed. Your mate improves your mental and physical acuity. You are more at peace and focused.

Okay, that sounds all good, so what–

His father though ended up answering the question Jace was about to ask the AI, “The Osiris was wondering why Diane and I have chosen not to both serve on the same ship with you.”

“Well, Mom is awesome at her job and will promote humanity’s interests–”

“Yes, she’s all of that, but that’s not why we chose this in the end,” his father answered and dropped his eyes from Jace. “Our concern was that if we’re both in the same place, on the same missions, that you could lose us both at the same time. We believed that as hard as it would to go on without each other, we couldn’t deprive you of both of us. One of us still needed to be there for you.”

Jace’s heart lurched in his chest. A cold feeling filled him that not even Khoth’s frantic warm mental embrace could stop.

His father lifted his head now and met his eyes. “Jace, the Osiris told me that Altaeth often… often die when their mates do.”

Jace blinked slowly as understanding filled him in another ice cold wave. He’d known this, but hadn’t known it at the same time.

Just like the Osiris.

“Khoth is your mate, and he’s also the Commander of the Osiris,” his father reminded him. “I’m just worried now that… Well, both of you are on the front lines, Jace, and it won’t matter any longer whether you or Khoth is out there fighting and one of you is staying behind, because if one of you dies so does the other one.” His father’s hands tightened on his. “At least the Altaeth one does.”

The Labyrinth

“You look ready for a war, Davies,” Thammah said as she once more took in the Lieutenant-Commander’s hardsuit and accompanying weapons.

They were preparing to go into the labyrinth beneath the Moturin Compound in search of Gehenna. They were on the lower level where the database had been stored by a doorway that had long been locked and forgotten. But the little AIs told them that Gehenna was through that door and down.

Davies handed her a packet of some small flechettes that could be ejected at speed from various locations of her hardsuit with a sharp twist of her wrist. “This is your homeworld, Pyrrhus. I thought what we saw and experienced here would make you feel the same way.”

“What way is that?” she asked.

“Unsafe,” Davies answered.

She was surprised, as she almost always was, by a human’s willingness to name what they felt right out in the open. To expose themselves. Not every human did it all the time. But it was so unheard of in Thaf’ell society that it still startled her. Davies, being this clearly skilled and capable warrior, surprised her even more by his blunt honesty. Matzen, who was loading small, sticky explosives into his waist compartment, was pretending not to have heard what Davies said, but she was certain that he was listening carefully.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of Matzen. He had ignored all protocol to follow Jack into the breach. He had served under Khoth with distinction. These two things should make her look upon him favorably. And they did.

But she didn’t trust him. Not yet. She’d have to see more of what he was made of to do that. She found it easier to trust humans.

She turned back to Davies and said, “Truthfully, I’ve never felt safe here.”

She saw Matzen freeze in his movements out of the corner of her eye before he went back to loading up his hardsuit with those graceful, economical movements of his.

“I thought the Khul had never breached Haseon before,” Davies said with a frown.

She shook her head “I’m not talking about off-world dangers. Thaf’ell society is highly-controlled, as you may have guessed. Not just in how one behaves–even if one comes from an artist family like myself–but also where one can go, how one is viewed, and more. It’s as if people are waiting to reject you at every turn for a wrong move.” Matzen’s head was down, but he was clearly listening closely. “I took pride in making wrong moves. So I always felt I was surrounded by enemies.”

“I have a feeling your penchant for making those wrong moves are why you’re so effective.” Davies gave her an easy smile.