The guns had silenced, and the most prevalent noise was the smack of waves against the hull. A light, misting rain fell, covering her helmet and gloves with milky pearls. She shrugged further into the borrowed fleece coat that had been cinched up with somebody's belt so it didn't drag the deck. Despite the coat, the wind found all her aches, bandaged or unbandaged, and sharpened them.
Neys and Silv stood at the rail. Lynn walked stiffly over to them.
“Praeis will be good,” she said huskily.
“We saw Theia go in,” Silv touched her arm. “Thank you. We could not have done that.”
Lynn looked across the white-tipped waves. “Yeah, well,” she said in English. Then she switched back to t'Therian. “We all needed to find out if Theia would go back to her. How's the fight going?”
Neys waved her ears. “It is war. The ’Esaph are killing our sisters out there. We have been able to dig in on five of the islands and hold our own. We wait for reports. We got one of their airports, and they've stopped their flyovers for the moment. Soon their fleet will be here, and it will be our turn to remind them whose children we are.” She bared her teeth to the wind. “The Great Families who dispute our rights can declare themselves our enemies and we will take care of them in good time.”
Lynn felt herself go very still. “What do the other families say about this … attack?”
Neys said nothing. A shiver ran up Lynn's spine. Oh no, no, not a real war. Not an all-out war. Bioverse would never stick around. They'd cut their losses. They'll scrap the whole thing, leave the Dedelphi here to die. Her heartbeat doubled, and doubled again.
Calm down, Lynn. Calm down. There's nothing you can do until you get back to Base.
Over the sudden thunder of her heart, she said, “Have you heard from Keale's people yet?”
“Yes,” said Neys. “They will be here in about an hour.”
Lynn nodded. She realized she didn't want to be near the t'Therians right now. “I'll go tell the boys.”
She climbed down the ladders, gritting her teeth against the pain in her leg, and her ribs and her hands, and navigated the metal hallways that were grimmer than anything she'd ever seen, even aboard a cheap, short-range shuttle to the sick bay.
Like all Dedelphi workplaces, the sick bay was one big, open chamber. The wounded lay in pairs on hard beds, groaning softly, sleeping or whispering back and forth. The cases of plague or suspected plague were separated in side alcoves that had been closed off by metal-framed windows and primitive filter doors.
The iso-ward at the farthest end of the bay had been set aside for the unexpected Human guests. She could see Arron perched on the ward's one chair. Cabal sat at the head of the wide, high bed, where Lynn had spent the last six or eight hours recovering from the worst of the shock and exhaustion. He had his knees bent and his back leaning against the wall. Cabal had taken off his helmet and gloves, but Arron was still completely suited.
Well, after ten years, it probably feels strange to be out of it.
Both of them waved at her as she worked the wheel on the outer door. She stepped into the narrow sterile area, closed the outer door, and slid open the inner door.
“Are they all right?” Arron asked immediately.
“They will be.” Lynn sat at the foot of the bed and took off her helmet. “I figured if I could make Praeis scream, Theia would come running to see what was wrong, and they'd both know they were still family. It worked.” She folded her arms and held on to her own elbows. Ideas flooded her head as soon as Theia burst into the cabin to embrace her mother. Lynn saw the future, clear and strong and full of possibilities, and she hadn't liked any of them. There's got to be time to come up with something better. There's got to be.
“You sound distracted,” said Arron.
I feel distracted. I'm getting ideas I'm not sure I want. She didn't say that. She said, “Well, we've got what might be a full-blown war starting out there. It's distracting.”
“Your people seem to think it's definitely a full-blown war.” Cabal scratched his scalp vigorously. “We're probably the last Humans on the planet. Have you heard anything about when our rescue's due?”
No. That can't be true. There's still got to be time. There's still got to be something I can do to stop this. Lynn rested her elbows on her knees and hoped neither of the men noticed her hands shaking. “Keale's people will be here within the hour.” At the most. That's at the very most.
“Then what?” Arron lifted his eyes to her.
“Then, I imagine they'll take us all to Base.” Where I'll have to stop them from pulling us all out of here. “Then, we can see about getting you two home, or wherever you need to go.” Arron's gaze dropped until he was staring at the tips of her boots. “What is it?”