Thirteen
Sithe
Consequences come just after we finish our first meal.
Catarine’s gaze edges toward me. She eats mouthfuls around reading aloud. The next story of Grundi looks like it will feature Amante, and it is interesting to settle into the rich landscape of this foreign planet, this world that I should have once called my own.
The communication panel chimes.
We both freeze.
My stomach traps the food, undigested, and acid burns the back of my throat.
She closes the data tablet and recedes above the resting nook to remain out of sight.
I rise soundlessly, float to the communication panel, and answer.
If everything is good, the captain will tell me the orders have been completed. There has been just enough time to accomplish them, I think. But if it’s bad, they’ll have only comp
