“I know. And she knows that, too. But let me ask you this, would you give up everything you have worked for to be with her?”
“I…What would we do? We can’t stay here and live a planetside existence.”
“It’s not just the battleships that will portal away. There will be one last traveler generation ship, too, for all us old folks.”
“You’re not old.”
Sie raised a chiding eyebrow. “What was it I said about your inability to lie convincingly?”
“I wouldn’t want you to be in harm’s way. You deserve to see a fresh planet, and have a peaceful life.”
“And you deserve your chance.”
“That’s what you made us for.”
“Now you sound like her.”
“You think that’s a bad thing?”
“No. I always said it would be a mistake to make you all arrogant; it leads to overconfidence. Better you have doubts. That way you will always question what you see.”
“Like she did. I prefer a simpler life. Give me a gun and point me at the enemy.”
“You can cut the humility routine, too. It doesn’t work with me.”
Dellian glanced down at the swans. Without tidbits of bread, they’d lost interest and were sliding away. “Will you tell her I asked about her? Tell her I’ll wait until she’s ready. That I still care. That I always will.”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
They embraced again. Dellian broke away, smiling. “Now I have to go scare the living crap out of those kids again.”
“That’s my boy.”
—
Alexandre had a wistful expression on hir face as sie watched Dellian walk away. After a minute sie turned hir gaze to the nearby clump of tall maples. The grass around them was smothered under a matting of fallen leaves. Yirella walked out from behind the widest trunk. She put her arms around Alexandre and bent down slightly so she could rest her head on hir shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said.
Sie patted her back. “I’m still not convinced this was a good idea.”
“I needed to know how he affects me. Seeing him in the flesh was a good indicator. I’m glad he’s got Xante. He needs someone.”
“I must be firmer with you. I’m too easily manipulated.”
“It’s called integrity, and caring. Without you I’d be sitting in a nice comfy room with lots of happy juice in my veins.”
“So what’s the result?”
“I looked at him and saw the false beauty of nostalgia for something that I’ve idealized. We were friends for eighteen years, then lovers, briefly; nothing will ever again be so important in my life. I’ve managed to self-edit the bad times.”
“I was there for all those eighteen years. There weren’t any bad times.”
Yirella pulled some of her wild hair from her eyes where the breeze from the river kept blowing it. “That’s very sweet.”
“He really does care, you know.”
“I heard.”
“Good. I’m not sure if we shouldn’t be filling him up with happy juice in the room next to you.”
“I’m happy enough without the juice, and that’s mostly down to you.”
“I didn’t want to raise any false hope.”
“He does question things now, doesn’t he? I think I may have infected him.”
“That’s not a bad thing. We don’t want gentens. We want humans.”
“You’re projecting a future you cannot possibly know.”
“And as he would say: That’s why we made all you wonderful binaries.”
She smiled sadly. “He is what he is. We all are. Humans adapt to the circumstances of their era. I think it’s time I accepted that and grew up. This is not what I wanted for myself, but in a thousand years’ time it could be. Imagine what we could accomplish as a species if we weren’t under threat, if we weren’t constantly running. We almost made it before. We were given a glimpse of how high we can climb if we didn’t have to huddle in the darkness out of fear. That’s probably why I always loved the Sanctuary star story, even though I knew in my heart it was probably just a lure. Every planet like Juloss has the potential to become more than a stopover, an island harbor in the long voyage; then just as the opportunity opens, we have to flee once more. Imagine what our knowledge and tools could birth if we were truly free, and had the luxury of time. I think I’d like to help bring that opportunity to the galaxy. I’m going to go out there and join the Saints in their battle.”
“I’m very glad to hear that, my dear.”
“I won’t be any use in the fighting, but there are other ways I can contribute.”
“There are,” Alexandre said. “But they must be ones you devote yourself to spontaneously. Not out of guilt.”
Yirella looked back down the promenade, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Dellian, but he’d stepped back through the portal. “This isn’t guilt speaking. It’s understanding. My graduation exercise is finally over.”
“Did you pass?”
“Yes. I believe I did.”
THE ASSESSMENT TEAM
FERITON KAYNE, NKYA, JUNE 25, 2204
“You killed them both?” Callum asked in shock. “You killed Javid-Lee and Rayner? Bloody hell, man, why?”
I have to admit, I was somewhat alarmed myself. Rendition I could understand, even almost approve of. But such readiness to kill another person was disturbing. I expected it from someone as damaged as Kandara, but I’d assumed Alik Monday was, frankly, more refined.