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But she couldn’t

Too many childhood dreaertips Molly turned and rested her hands on the keys She cursed herself for being na&iu disappoint and soul-splintering as hope, that drug addicts felt the sa better, she typed:

MOM, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? I’LL HELP YOU ANY WAY I CAN_

I KNEW YOU WOULD FIRST, WE NEED TO GET TO DAKURA I HAVE MEMORIES THERE THAT NEED TO BE_ TAKEN CARE OF THEN WE MUST TRAVEL TO LOK, BACK TO WHERE THIS ALL BEGAN FROM THERE, WE CAN RESCUE YOUR FATHER_

The odfather Lucin had said She wasn’t sure how to break the news of his betrayal and subsequent death to her mom–if indeed, this was her mom–but Molly needed to knohat he hadabout Lok, about how her parents’ work there ht end the Drenard War

WHAT HAPPENED ON LOK? She typed LUCIN SAID MY BIRTH CAUSED PROBLEMS_

There was no answer at first It felt like hours went by for Molly; there was no telling what it felt like for her ly, froht:

BAD THINGS HAPPENED ON LOK_ BUT IT WASN’T YOU, SWEETHEART YOU WERE THE ONLY GOOD THING THAT EVER CAME OFF THAT DAMNED PLANET_

Molly read the sentence twice Then onceaorries she’d been harboring since that fateful conversation with Lucin Other parts caused tinges of doubt to creep up inside She’d never heard her father curse, even lightly And though she knew ale felt out of character

Whichtruly awful had happened on Lok, so that had to do with her parents

Either way, she could feel the buzz of her favorite drug wearing off

Hope began dissolving into dread

••••

As much as Cole wanted to feel excited for Molly, as happy as he would be if her parents were alive, his logical mind had settled on a si fro He’d recently used his co the Molly’s mom would be a step down for him--both in skill and moral depravity

He reo bay Part of hie for his betrayal--hoped he’d open Walter’s door and find the runt typing away on his little computer, an evil sneer on his htsuit had been a bit looser, Cole probably would’ve been rolling them up as he marched aft

He keyed open the door It was pitch black inside He could hear the hissing sound of Palanesque breathing leaking out of the boy’s bunk Cole flicked on the rooht and watched Walter pull his head under the sheets in protest

"Walter Wake up"

"Hnnn?"

Cole couldn’t tell what he was saying Right then, it was because of the barrier of blankets, but usually it was due to the dreadful lisping probleain

Walter flapped his covers back, clearly annoyed His eyes squinted against the light, two dark slits in a plate of dull steel

Cole pointed a finger at hi this, I swear on my life--you’ll be airlocked"

Walter cocked his head, opening his ht off, allowing his threat to linger in the darkness He stood in the doorway for a fewas possible, then stepped back in the hall and shut the door

Walter found himself alone In the dark And in more ways than one

Whatever they suspected hi injustice was that he was innocent!

For once

••••

Cole hesitated outside of Walter’s door If the kid was responsible for the nav co central shaft toward the cockpit, where Molly’s elbow could be seen jutting out over the flight controls, her fingers obviously still pecking away at the keyboard

If it wasn’t Walter, Cole wondered who--or what--was responding

What if that really is her s he’d seen in the last lanced toward the rear of the ship One of those crazier things could be heard snoring just down the hall, his low, ru out of the crew quarters Cole took a few steps toward the open door and checked in on the most unlikely of couples

He could see theht of her filled Cole withhe’d been programmed by the Navy to hate Here was the enealaxy, aone of the Milky Way’s spiral aro--before the nav co over whether Anlyn could be trusted Not to mention the sanity of their current plan to take her home, far behind enemy lines

Asendearing about the poor creature Maybe it was the , a slave in chains She still looked so thin and frail, her blue translucent skin catching the soft light,her look innocent, pure, and har videos had shown Cole what the Drenard people could do--at the helhter crafts and with their deadly lances He had no difficulty seeing past her fragility to the horrors her people had wrought This irl as he was around Walter--Anlyn because of her fierce potential, Walter due to his past treachery

Ironically, Anlyn’s sleeping companion was a perfect mix of these two horrible traits, and yet, Cole trusted him completely It didn’t ineering one of the worst tragedies in the history of the Milky Way It didn’t matter that the pup’s ferocious bulk and fierce claws could rend Cole in two They had fought alongside one another, forging that bond of war that overrode all else

Leaning against their doorja over him, Cole considered this bit of personal hypocrisy He feared an innocent-looking creature that had saved his life a week ago, but he coenocide against his own race He had to shake his head at how effective the Navy prograer he edies too vast in scope to properly coe Anlyn the same way: by her actions and not by the biases he’d formed over years of schooled hatred

Cole pulled hi couple and headed back to the cockpit, eager to see what the nav coo bay, he felt a stab of jealousy at having seen Anlyn and Edison snuggled together Ever since Lucin’s death, he and Molly had been working through so the subject of sharing a roo it up

Or perhaps he was just scared of what Molly would say once he did

She was still clattering away at her keyboard as he squeezed back into his chair "If Walter’s screith us, he’s doin’ it in his sleep," he told her

Molly stopped typing and looked over at him "Hey," she said "Be honest with ht bethat I really, really want to believe, and I’ lied to and disappointed"