to convey their utter horror at the concept. So, they were like Cuna. Outwardly insistent on peace. I knew the truth.
“Winzik,” Cuna noted, “is head of the Department of Protective Services. He has a great deal of experience with isolating dangerous species.”
Head of . . . head of the group that kept my kind imprisoned. In a strange, surreal moment, I realized I was talking to the general of the Krell forces. Winzik didn’t seem much like a warrior to me, but I wouldn’t let mannerisms fool me.
This was the person who, ultimately, was responsible for the way we’d been treated. And for the death of my father. But why would such an important person be here, dealing with something as minor as Alanik’s supposed breach of protocol?
I glanced from Cuna to Winzik, and wondered if this was all an elaborate charade for my benefit. Cuna showed up, acted nice, and offered me a deal. Winzik arrived with sirens and threats, doing the same. They really wanted to control cytonics. And no wonder; people who could hyperjump threatened the Superiority’s travel monopoly. Were my powers truly even dangerous, or was that all a sham?
I remembered the terrible image of the delver destroying the humans of Detritus. No. The danger was no sham. But it certainly seemed that the Superiority had played off these fears and used them to establish control over the galaxy.
The human woman, Brade, was watching me. While the other two made gestures and noises to indicate they weren’t being aggressive, she stood with a relaxed air. Her place here was obvious. She was the weapon. If I couldn’t be controlled . . . she’d stop me.
“I need you to promise,” Winzik said, pulling a datapad from the bag at his side—Cuna had used a male pronoun to refer to him. “No, vow! My my, it must be forceful. You will not attempt hyperjumps near Starsight. You must follow the regulations on cytonics—no mental attacks, or even prods, upon the minds of people here. No attempts to circumvent the shields preventing cytonic jumps in the region. Absolutely no mindblades, though I doubt you are practiced enough for that.”
“And if I disagree?” I said.
“You’ll be ejected,” Brade said. “Immediately.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Brade,” Winzik said. “No need to be so forceful! Emissary, surely you can see the need for us to be careful in this matter. Simply give me your word, and we shall take that as enough! Cuna is vouching for you, after all.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll follow your rules.” Though hopefully I would be back to Detritus with a stolen hyperdrive before too long.
“See, Cuna?” Winzik said, marking something on his datapad. “All you needed to do was bring a proper official with you! Now it’s all done right. My, my.”
Winzik retreated, his human guard trailing along behind him. I watched them go with a frown, confused at the strange interaction.
“I am sorry for that,” Cuna said. “Particularly the human. The Department of Protective Services apparently felt the need to send you an explicit message.” Cuna hesitated. “Though perhaps this is for the best. It would be good for you to have an ally here, among so many strange and new experiences, wouldn’t you say?”
Cuna smiled again, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Anyway,” Cuna said. “I have assigned you requisition privileges so you can stock this location for your needs. Consider it to be an embassy of sorts—a sanctuary for your kind on Starsight, once we successfully build a new future together. If you wish to communicate with me, send a message to the Department of Species Integration, and I will see to it you receive a quick response.”
With that, they excused themself and walked down onto the street, where the crowd had gone back to its ever-flowing stream.
Feeling worn out, I sat down on the steps to the building and watched the people pass. An endless array of creatures, with seemingly infinite variety.
“M-Bot?” I asked.
“Here,” he said in my ear.
“Could you make any sense of all that?”
“I feel like we stumbled into a contest of power,” M-Bot said, “and they’re using you as a piece in their game. That Winzik is an important official, as important as Cuna. It seems remarkable that either of them would come in person to deal with such a seemingly insignificant race’s visit.”
“Yeah,” I said, then looked up from the crowds of people toward the black sky. Somewhere out there was Detritus, square in the sights of Superiority battleships.