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Her roly-poly body rolled up to Jace and rested against his right leg. He reached down and patted her head. She vibrated with happiness.

There is only one Pilot, the Osiris said waspishly.

Yes, I know. I learned that lesson, Gehenna replied, sounding a little sheepish but defensive still too.

Why can’t there be more than one Pilot? Jace asked. I can die. Maybe not of old age or disease, but shoot me without my armor, cut my head off, well, you get the idea.

The Thaf’ell are not… suitable, the Osiris said.

Really? So no Thaf’ell could be the Pilot? Jace was surprised about this.

No, the Osiris answered.

After all, the Thaf’ell had a special relationship with Altaeth tech. Surely that meant it was because of all the Seeded species they were the closest to the Altaeth and would be the most logical species from which to draw a Pilot.

Okay, so humans are closer than Thaf’ell to the Altaeth--

No, the Osiris answered bruskly.

Gehenna’s flash-light head was moving anxiously around on her ball body. They were so clearly hiding things from him and he was too damned tired, hurting and everything else for that right now.

Why am I the Pilot? Jace demanded. Why me and only me? C’mon, guys! You need to fess up now. I can’t be focusing on this and handling all the rest of it!

“So everything here is original Altaeth technology?” Dr. Hayter’s voice rose up, distracting Jace.

“This whole city is almost the same as it was the last day the Altaeth walked here,” Typhon answered evenly, but his hands curled into fists in his lap.

Why does that bother him?

“You can tell our repairs from the original buildings,” Thadden said with a shrug. “We cannot make things the way the Altaeth did despite all our efforts.”

“Even after all this time?” Davies’ forehead bunched.

“We live in a city of the dead,” Typhon said, his voice darkening. “A whole planet of the dead. Perhaps a whole empire of it.”

Dr. Hayter blinked at him very slowly behind his glasses.

“Every Seeded species has adapted Altaeth tech and lives in the remnants of their worlds. But, until now, it was like children playing with their parents’ things,” Typhon said, his hands lacing together as he spoke. The darkness in his voice lifted as he looked up at Jace and said, “The Altaeth left behind so much, but they took with them so much more when they abandoned us.”

“Do we know they truly left us or were they wiped out by the Khul?” Davies asked.

“If they died, they did so elsewhere. But maybe not all of them did. Maybe they left more of themselves behind than we thought,” Typhon said, still staring at Jace. “Your family, Pilot, are extraordinary, are they not?”

“Ah… my parents are… yeah, they are,” Jace admitted.

Guys, what’s he hinting at here? Jace pushed the AIs.

Neither answered him.

Guys?!

“But not just your parents, but their parents and the ones before them, too, yes?” Typhon pressed. “They were leaders. They were warriors. They were different from those around them, yes?”

Jace said nothing. He stared down at Gehenna but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. Everything was so quiet in his head.

“The Pilot’s lineage is not important,” Khoth said stiffly, reading Jace’s confusion, but not understanding all of it.

Gehenna, Osiris, what is Typhon getting at?