She winced. “Did I kill all the higher-ranked guys?”
“Yes.”
“Merde. Once I started cutting a swathe through them, they came at me in such numbers that I didn’t have time to stop and look for uniform insignias.“ Her brow furrowed. “Do they even wear insignias? Because there isn’t much to their uniforms.”
He smiled. “They burn their ranks into the skin on their chests.”
“Hmm. I vaguely recall seeing scars on some of the Gathendiens, above their hearts, but I assumed they were old war wounds.” She shoved a hand through her long hair, which had drawn up into soft waves as it dried. “I shouldn’t have let my temper and thirst for vengeance get the best of me. I can’t believe I blew it.”
“You didn’t blow it. A few of the soldiers we interrogated were of sufficient rank to be privy to at least some of the information we sought. But they refused to talk, choosing death over—“
“Dishonor?” she scoffed. “Everything they do is dishonorable.”
“Agreed. But they chose death over the prospect of having their rank stripped from them by their emperor, which would’ve been their fate if we’d let them live and their betrayal had become known. That involves more than him simply removing the small patch of flesh their rank has been seared into.”
“Now you’ve sparked my curiosity. You’ll have to tell me about that later. What about the rest?”
“They could only confirm things we already suspected and offer up limited bits and rumors.”
She frowned. “Like what?”
“They confirmed that their ship was the one that attacked the Kandovar.”
A muscle in her jaw twitched as her brown eyes acquired a faint amber glow. “Did they confirm that the Kandovar was destroyed? The AI in my pod said it was, but—“
“Yes. They destroyed it.”
She swore.
“They had just finished repairing the damage inflicted by the Kandovar‘s counterattack when you found them.”
“Did they say why they attacked the Kandovar? Were they attempting to kill the royal family? Or driven by old grudges?”
“No.” Janwar wished he didn’t have to tell her. He would not take the news well in her position. “The Gathendiens only had one goal when they attacked—to capture every Earthling on board.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“You and your friends were their targets.”
Her hands curled into fists as her face flushed with fury. “They killed all those people just to get their hands on a few Earthlings?“ Her volume increased with every word, ending in a shout.
“Yes.”
“What the hell?” She rose so swiftly that her chair toppled over, then began to pace. “Why would they do that? Kill so many for so few?”
“Because they want to know why the virus they released on Earth didn’t kill you all.”
Halting, she turned to study him.
“I know about the virus that infects you,” he stated calmly. “I know you’re an Immortal Guardian.”
Her expression revealed nothing of her thoughts. “How? Eliana said she didn’t tell you.”
“She didn’t have to. T slipped into the Segonian’s systems and found the information for me.”
“It was quite difficult,” T mentioned merrily. “They have been very careful to keep all mention of the virus that infects you and Eliana out of their primary records. The only place Chief Medic Adaos stores information about it—and the research he has conducted thus far—is on a single personal datapad that is not connected to their AI.”
“Then how exactly did you access it?” she asked.
“I saw him download his observations on your recovery and the bosregi antidote onto the datapad, then delete the data from their primary system. I was curious about what else the device might contain, so I infiltrated it the next time he made a momentary connection. I am very good at what I do,” T boasted.
Janwar smiled. “He is.”
“The only other evidence I could find,” T continued, “that the Segonians had made contact with an Earthling was a recording on Commander Dagon’s personal datapad of Eliana singing an Earth song called ‘At Last.’”
Simone blinked. “What?”
“According to his datapad, he has listened to it many times, usually upon retiring for the night.”
She met Janwar’s gaze, hers full of bafflement. “That’s just… weird.”
He grinned. “Eliana and Dagon are lifemates.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“I take it she didn’t have time to tell you that?”
“No.”
He winced. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, that’s fine. I’m sure she didn’t withhold it on purpose. We just didn’t have a chance to catch up.” Bending, she righted her chair and sat at the table once more. “Lisa and Taelon said being lifemates is the same as being married.”
He nodded. “According to my translator, yes.”
She bit her lip. “Does he know she’s… different? That she’s infected with the virus?”
“I assume so. T, can you confirm that for us?”
“Yes,” T said. “He is aware of her differences.”
“All of them?“ she pressed.
“Yes. Chief Medic Adaos keeps meticulous records on his datapad, and I perused them all. One of his goals in studying the virus is to help Commander Dagon and Eliana find a way to conceive a child without transmitting the virus from mother to fetus.”
She flattened her palms on the table. “Okay. That’s a lot to take in. But if you could ferret out that information, T, can’t the Gathendiens do the same?”
“No.”
When he didn’t elaborate, she shot the ceiling an exasperated glance. “Why not?”
“They are not me,” T replied simply.
She looked at Janwar. “He’s kidding, right?”
Janwar smiled. “No. Gathendiens wouldn’t be able to sneak into the Ranasura’s system undetected. That isn’t their strength. And T can do things ordinary AIs can’t. The fact that he’s sentient gives him a huge edge over the others because he can think outside the box, as Lisa would say.”
Her lips curled up in a faint smile. “You guys picked up a lot of Earth slang while Lisa was on board.”
He chuckled. “Yes, we did. T is one of the reasons I’m able to traffic in information so often. Interrogation doesn’t always yield what I’m looking for.”
“So T finds it for you?”
“When we’re lucky.”
“Were you able to get any other information from the Gathendiens you interrogated?”
“Only rumors they’d heard of a classified outpost where more extensive research is conducted. Since I’ve heard the same, I took it as truth.”
“Did they tell you where it is?”
“They didn’t know with certainty but thought it might be near Promeii 7.”
“Which means…?”
“We’re on our way to Promeii 7.”