Tiger, anwhile, had begun to sniff Nataw and Lee, starting with their butts and crotches.
I wondered if he’d still do that if he understood that they were older than our universe. Then it struck that, given his understanding of English, he might have decided to start there because he’s a dog.
Nataw watched him and then scratched Tiger behind the ears. Then he said a word that my implant translated as Hideaway’s na in the language of a long-fallen galactic empire. “[Hideaway]. You’re a long way from ho. I never liked the Abominators, but I did like what they did with your people. Dogs for hunting dinosaurs. Who’s a good boy?”
Tiger leaned in to the head scratches.
Grandpa turned to , “Dinosaurs?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, “and I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to tell it.”
Speaking aloud, Daniel said, “The long version is a bad idea, but if you don’t explain why you’re there, the short version works.”
Jaclyn stepped closer to us and said, “We were on an alien planet with dinosaurs, and his pack had died. I took him in.”
C shook his head. “Dogs are so much work. I fought too many supervillains, knowing that if I didn't finish them soon, the dog wouldn't wait until I had ti to bring him outside.”
Grandma glanced over at Grandpa, folding her arms over her chest, “You're not the only one.”
Lee looked around the group, eting everyone’s eyes, and with that small gesture, drew everyone’s attention. “I’ve identified our visitors and let them know they're welco. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to have a quiet and productive conversation. If not, the prison will have one new inhabitant.”
Grandma pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her utility belt.
Rachel, who’d been standing next to her, said, “Grandma, I can tell you for a fact that those will kill you.”
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It had co out in a rush. We’d all heard Grandpa tell her the sa thing dozens of tis when she was alive. I could see from the widening of Rachel’s eyes and how the last word trailed off that she’d spoken without thinking.
Through an implant channel, I told her, “There probably aren’t any consequences if you say that. I checked. It’s okay.”
“Probably?” Rachel asked. “I’m not sure if I should be happy that I haven’t destroyed the future because it’s impossible to stop her.”
Grandma, though, didn’t behave as if it were impossible to stop her. Her jaw dropped as she looked from Rachel to Grandpa and put away the cigarettes. It probably wouldn’t last. She’d tried to quit a few different tis, always failing in the end.
As the lighter disappeared into one of Grandma’s belt pouches with a click, Lee said, “Our first guest has arrived. This is my friend Kee. So of you have already t her. I want to say I chose to bring her in first, but she designed this place and let herself in—which is nice. I’m going to need all the support I can get with our next guest.”
Next to Cassie, Captain Commando asked, “Do we need to be in position?”
Lee shook his head, “If Govan and I fight, I’m sending you all back where you belong.”
As Lee finished, Kee was simply there. It was less that she appeared out of nowhere and more as if she’d been there and I hadn’t noticed her yet.
She stepped out from behind Tiger and walked over to Nataw. She’d chosen to wear a body similar to the one she’d been using when Marcus and I t her. Wearing a blue jumpsuit/thin vacuum suit, she appeared to be a brown-skinned woman in her thirties. In typical spacer style, she kept her black hair short and easy to wear inside a helt—not that she needed one.
On the bright side, she hadn’t appeared as Tikki, the persona who’d been romantically involved with Marcus. That would have been weird.
Marcus had distanced himself from for a little bit after that was over. I’d always assud it was because I’d known Tikki was essentially an avatar for an ancient space god, but that might not have been it. We’d all been through a guerrilla war, and I’d needed a little space after that myself.
Kee, anwhile, had pulled Nataw into a hug. “You should have stayed in touch. We’d never have let them keep you captive if we’d known.”
Then she let go, looking him up and down. “That’s the body you chose?”
I saw her point. Between his spindly fra, the dandruff, and the suit coat, it did lean a bit into the absent-minded professor archetype. He shrugged, “It felt good.”
“Are you two ready?” Lee asked. “I’m about to let our next guest in. Govan’s sounding a little annoyed at the wait.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Nataw said.
Kee spoke in my head, talking Artificer to Artificer, “Good job. You did practice your exercises, and you survived. How do you think you did?”
The whole trip passed through my mind—through the portal to future Mars and back. “I don’t think I’ll know until I go back to my own ti, and it turns out I didn’t destroy my past or future. Plus, there’s whatever happens next with Govan.”
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