Ultima Ratio

Chapter 17: To-Do List

"That's..." Jivan's eyes drifted to their right, and although they couldn't actually see Danya watching from the far corner without turning their head, the action was clear. "I don't think we can talk about it here."

"You know I got cleared a few days ago," Danya spoke up for the first time since the team arrived, glaring at Jivan before relaxing her gaze when she turned to Akira. "The giraffe found something in the nanobots that were in my leg that he stole. Apparently, they all have an uptime of around thirteen hundred years, proving that everything I said was true. So you're just going to have to get used to me, buddy."

"I don't know about 'everything,'" Elodie hurriedly said before Jivan could say anything snarky.

"She's fine," Akira assured, mainly because she knew Danya would find out herself anyway, but partially because she needed her curiosity immediately sated. "What happened?"

"Concordia wasn't in range," Quyen eventually answered when Jivan still seemed skeptical. "They managed to attack from the other side of the planet."

The revelation made Akira's stomach sink. Throughout the war, their one advantage was that a Concordian city had to be directly above their target to do the most damage with their favored attacks. While the UN now had ways to defend their populations in most scenarios, thanks to Ex Deo, there were still some situations where they were helpless. In those cases, they at least had the resources to strike Concordia first, and to protect those measures from Concordia's ground troops. But if they didn't even have that reassurance now...

"And it was probably just a test, considering there wasn't much left in Dubai," Quyen continued. "Which means the real attack will likely be worse."

While her added bit of pessimism seemed unnecessary, Akira had a feeling Quyen had ulterior motives. The majority of the team knew there was more in Dubai than what it seemed, and the fact Quyen made a point to not reveal the reality to Danya hinted that the information definitely needed to remain confidential. As concerned and curious as Akira was, she forced herself to hold her questions for a later time.

"Look on the bright side," Danya offered chipperly, thankfully not noticing Quyen's hidden message. "At least you know that Ex Deo didn't betray you. That's what you were worried about, right?"

Judging by the lack of response she got, she was absolutely correct.

The team began to file out a few minutes later; Elodie and Navin had a "prior commitment," and Jivan insisted they would tag along to chaperone the "definitely not a date." They invited Quyen too, but she turned the offer down with a gruff "I'd rather not."

Akira did have more questions though, and while their brief meeting had exhausted her more than she would've liked, her need to know greatly exceeded her desire to rest. Thankfully, Quyen agreed to stay back for a moment while the others left, and she only made a point to glance at Danya who remained in her corner. In turn, Danya stared back with a neutral expression.

"Danya, could you give us a few minutes please?" Akira asked, not having enough energy to think of an excuse.

For a few seconds, it didn't seem like Danya was going to listen as she kept her gaze firmly on Quyen. Eventually, she turned to Akira, stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"I'll be in the mess," she announced as she strode across the room to the exit. "I'll be out of earshot in two minutes. Call me when you're done."

While Akira trusted Danya's word, Quyen didn't, and she followed Danya out into the hallway and returned three minutes later.

"With all due respect, Captain," Quyen began, closing the door behind her. "Is it really okay to let her wander around Base like this?"

"The commodore cleared it," Akira said, knowing full well that the fact probably wouldn't make a difference to Quyen. "But I trust her. She...may have a different demeanor than the rest of us, but I believe we have the same interests."