CHAPTER 33 (Amara)

The dark space in the hub penetrated deeper with the lack of monitor holos. Nerzogk occupied himself with finalizing the system’s shutdown. His jade back remained turned to Amara.

“We shouldn’t be having this conversation,” he warned.

“We can’t abandon a comrade. Not like this.” Amara’s fists tightened around the comm band in her grip—a rudimentary prototype assembled in haste and in secret.

“You’ll get us both killed.”

“I can’t simply stand by and do nothing.”

Nerzogk’s shoulders tensed. The few remaining hints of light in the hub caught in his golden irises as he finally met her eyes. “They won’t kill him.”

“And that makes it okay?” Her whispered challenge came out weaker than intended. The lump in her throat made it difficult to form words at all. This wasn’t a project anymore, not for her. It was a comrade who had collapsed in front of her in the hallway—not a tool, not a machine. A friend.

Nerzogk returned his attention to the quieting system around them, not speaking. When he stood to leave, he paused at Amara’s side without making eye contact. “The Aviator was designed for a purpose. And it is not a purpose we are authorized to interfere with.” His whisper rumbled through Amara’s bones with an empathetic hum. “For your sake, you should forget about him. For now, at least.”

Rage knotted in Amara’s shoulders and chest. “This isn’t right,” she insisted.

“That’s not up to us to determine,” Nerzogk cautioned.

Before he could leave, Amara risked slipping the prototype band into Nerzogk’s pocket. He didn’t refuse, didn’t try to prolong this unsanctioned interaction. Instead, he shot her a dismissive sideways glance and left without another word.

Had she lost her mind? Amara remained unmoving for a long moment. She’d always been reckless, but Nerzogk was right. She was starting down a dangerous path. What right did she have to ask him or anyone else to walk that path alongside her?

Once the trembles were banished and the lump in her throat subdued enough to function, Amara left the hub’s silent confines.