“What did you think ‘irreversible depletion’ meant?”
I asked Rowan first. He had already opened his mouth to answer for the others.
We were still in the atmospheric station. The restraint lines held me within a three-step radius around the console. Halden stood by the door, present as administrator but silent.
Rowan read his acknowledgment without touching the display.
“The term appeared beneath a resource continuation notice,” he said. “The origin balance was described elsewhere as off-world capacity.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“I assumed your reserve was substantial.”
“How substantial?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Did you ask?”
His gaze moved to mine. “No.”
Tess whispered his name, warning or plea.
I kept my attention on him. “Why not?”
“At the time, the northern route network was fa
