Lee and Nataw stepped up to the group. I overheard Lee say, “I told you that I couldn’t go with you because I was already inside but from a different ti. It wasn’t that far, but the future’s unpredictable.”
He looked over the group—both versions of the League and Jody’s unconscious body on the ground.
“This is Nataw. He’s a very, very old friend.” Then he winked.
Grandpa said, “One of your people.”
As the questions began, I talked over the group, “There are two more on the way.”
Everyone turned in my direction. Soone (I think Captain Commando) muttered, “Well, shit.”
Lee asked, “Anyone you recognize?”
“Even through the machine, they still look like massive, impossibly powerful beings,” I began, but then realized that the GCD recognized the one from deep space.
“Wait,” I said, “one of them’s definitely Kee. If I had to guess, the other one’s probably Govan. I last saw him a few thousand years in the future on Mars, but provided he ca back here, he’d be in the neighborhood. I’m not aware of any others who are around.”
Walking up to , Lee asked, “Would you mind passing the car keys? If it’s Govan and he’s angry, I can take him with this thing if I have to, but all I should need to do is tell him Nataw’s here.”
As I handed the stone over, he added, “But if it’s soone else, it’s going to get ssy. Maybe I’ll be able to lead him away from the solar system.”
I thought back to when Daniel, Cassie, and I tried to lead the Grey Giant away from Grand Lake. Lee would probably do a better job.
Not our finest mont, Daniel thought at , but we were new.
I noted that he’d brought Cassie in on that comnt. I just told Dad about that. He laughed, she said.
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Her mix of joy and sadness carried over the link.
That’s okay? I thought at Daniel.
I checked, Daniel said.
The stone disappeared in Lee’s hand and he said, “It’s Govan. How was he when you left him in the future?”
“Resigned to not killing ,” I said. “Maybe despairing.”
Lee raised an eyebrow. “No kidding? That’s the best case scenario. I think I’ll make contact then.”
Nataw turned to Lee, “Are you sure? He was always the most enthusiastic about family of any of us.”
Lee t his eyes, “You’re family to him. The rest of us also happen to exist.”
I hadn’t noticed but Haley had stepped up to stand next to . She was good at that. She asked, “What did you do with Ray? He was here and then not.”
I felt a knot in my stomach. “I sent him back to when he ca from. What sucks though is that he had control of the GCD. He stopped ti and wouldn’t let it move forward until I figured out a way for him to survive.”
Her eyes widened, “What did you do?”
“I figured out a way to do it, but it’ll seem like he died. It’s just that the Xiniti will take him and use him as a soldier. With any luck, he’ll never co back to Earth. Daniel and his grandfather erased his mory of what happened here. I don’t know the details. He might not even know why the Xiniti took him at first.”
She let out a breath, “That’s about the best way it could have ended up. If he doesn’t know who to bla us for it, at least our families are safe.”
Her eyes lost focus as she stared into the distance. I expected her to ask about Travis, but she said, “The Xiniti might get so good out of him.”
“Yeah,” I said, deciding not to bring up what I’d tried to do for Travis. Maybe I could ask Lee or Kee, assuming that Govan’s and Kee’s mutual appearances didn’t turn into a massive fight.
It didn’t seem likely, but they’d been on different sides for several thousand years.
Haley took my hand and I absorbed my gauntlet into the suit so we could touch. She had too. Her hand felt small and warm. I was reminded of how much I needed it after everything. I’d have stepped out my suit, but despite how little my suit would protect if Artificers fought, this didn’t feel over yet.
I asked Haley, “Did you talk to your grandfather?”
She smiled, saying, “Yes, but we couldn’t say too much.”
Continuing through an implant to implant channel, she added, “Daniel and his grandfather found out there were a lot of topics we couldn’t talk about. Travis, first of all. The family business. Marcus’ parents dating and marrying. That caused a lot of tension back in the day… Anything I want to say is a future destroying grenade.”
Her smile twitched. I knew why she’d gone to an implant channel. His hearing was as good as hers.
Aloud, she said, “But it was amazing to talk to him when he was only a little older than we are.”
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