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Chapter 112

MILLICENT: Millie rolls her neck. “Well, then. Any last words, boys?”
TUELLER: “Uh, I believe ‘It’s been an honor’ is the traditional?”
MILLICENT: “A classic. It’s been an honor, captains.”
TUELLER: “Though honestly I’m mostly thinking about how this is the most stressed I’ve ever been for a woman to like me.”
ALEJO: Alejo laughs and takes Millie’s hand. “My best days have been with you two. Thank you.”
TUELLER: “Aww, back at ya, kid.”
ALEJO: “I’m not missing this opportunity ever again.” He kisses Millie.
ALEJO: “One way or another.”

STORY: “…Where’s Noma?”
MILLICENT: She pulls out a stethoscope and does a quick check up while trying to stay out of her way.
STORY: She’s okay, Millie. Like someone who has been in a coma for a month.
TUELLER: “Oh, she went home.”
STORY: Cali nods.
STORY: “I remember her.”
STORY: “I just don’t have her in there anymore.” She points to her head.
TUELLER: “And, uh, we think she’s explaining to the Collective why we should all be friends.”
STORY: “Well, that’s good.”
STORY: She looks around.
STORY: “Do you think it’ll work?”
MILLICENT: Millie shrugs and grins delightedly. “We don’t know!”
TUELLER: “I certainly hope so! If not the universe drowns in fire!”
ALEJO: “They’re just hedging their bets. Yes. It’ll work!”
STORY: “Huh!”
STORY: She sits back.
STORY: “Well, either way it’ll be interesting.”

STORY: Three idiots and their companions take off in our beloved ship, dozens of smaller craft chasing them through the atmosphere, bullets and lasers flying around them as they dodge and weave and disappear into the black.

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Chapter 111

STORY: He waves a hand and the dozen AIs who surrounded you become red mist, floating away. You are alone, and a fifty-foot tall armored chieftain stands before you.
ALEJO: Alejo squares up, next to Tueller, shoulder to shoulder.
STORY: He takes a knee, looking down at you.
STORY: “Little humans.”
STORY: “Even now, you think you can battle us.”
STORY: “We have won.”
TUELLER: “We didn’t come here to battle.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods and shakes his head all at once.
STORY: “You have lost anyway.”
TUELLER: “So have you.”
TUELLER: “You just don’t know it yet.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods.

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Chapter 110

TUELLER: “We’re shooting the moon here.”
TUELLER: “Sorry, game terminology. Big risk, big reward.”
TUELLER: “We’ve got four…I guess I could teach y’all.”
TUELLER: “But Alejo would cheat and Millie would count cards.”
TUELLER: “And you’d read our minds, so I’d be fucked.”
ALEJO: Alejo dries his hair. “I would never.”
ALEJO: He smiles.
TUELLER: “You would and have.”
TUELLER: “That’s how we got out of Ganymede alive that one time.”
MILLICENT: “Who doesn’t count cards?”
ALEJO: Alejo raises his hand. “Easier to just cheat.” He shrugs.
MILLICENT: “It’s not. How could it be easier? You just keep track of the cards.”
MILLICENT: She looks around flustered.

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Chapter 109

ALEJO: Then Alejo goes to the bay, gets buck naked, and crawls into the tank. “Damn! This is colder than last time. Seriously!”
TUELLER: “It was open to space for a bit, buddy.”
TUELLER: “These things happen.”
STORY: “Space is cold,” Erwin says, then sinks into the water.
MILLICENT: “There wasn’t enough time to add the seat warmer.”
STORY: He pops his head back up. “I just realized those might be my last words and wanted to come back and say something better.”
MILLICENT: “Oh shit me too.”
MILLICENT: “You first.”
STORY: “Well… honestly, now that I’m here I got nothing. Can we go with ‘space is cold’ again?”
STORY: “Space is cold,” he announces formally and then dips under the water.
ALEJO: Alejo dances a bit in the water of the tank before nodding and sinking down slowly. “Space is fucking coooollld.” Alejo finally is in all the way. “Shit.” He puts his head under the water.
STORY: There are little mouthpieces for the humans to get air through, Alejo, so you can pop that in while you float and watch Erwin and wonder which parts of him are representing clothes and why he got to keep his on.
MILLICENT: “I’m going to go with ’The only journey is the one within.”
MILLICENT: “Because I have read a book.”
MILLICENT: Millie grins and ducks under.
TUELLER: Tueller waits until everyone else is underwater, “I love you guys, goddammit.” Then he goes in too.
STORY: “I HEARD THAT,” Figgan shouts over the intercom. It’s the last thing you hear before the water floods your ears.

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Chapter 108

TUELLER: Tueller starts to go after him, but thinks better of it after all his history. Shuts the door, clangs the lock on it.
TUELLER: “Doc, get us our ship back.”
MILLICENT: Millie attempts!
MILLICENT: “I’ll get the ship back you see if you can seal decks around Alejo!”
STORY: Alejo, the next meaningful sealable hatch from the bridge is one that locks down the top deck from the other two. It has to be cranked into place manually.
STORY: And there’s kind of a lot of wind happening, and it’s already getting a liiiiittle thin up here.
TUELLER: “Oh hell.” Tueller reconsiders, opens the door, and leaves the bridge, shutting it behind him.
TUELLER: He hurries off to assist Alejo, significantly behind him.
MILLICENT: “USING THE COMPUTER! USING THE COMPUTER SEALS!”
MILLICENT: “Goddammit.”
MILLICENT: Millie gestures at the empty seat next to her.

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Chapter 107

STORY: The fire flashes in Ryo’s eyes, but starts to dim. He takes a few breaths himself, then mutters to his feet. “Fuck.”
STORY: “Millie, we’ve already lost.”
STORY: He’s calm now, defeated.
STORY: “Why do we have to risk dying just to show them we know it?”
ALEJO: “I’ve thought like that, Ryo, for most of my life. Survival at any cost, as though taking the next breath was the same as living.”
TUELLER: “And I lived in comfort for most of my life, not paying attention to the fact it came on the exploitation and deaths of untold numbers.”
ALEJO: “I’m not saying you’re wrong, certainly about Erwin. But doesn’t he deserve a chance at something better?”

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Chapter 106

ALEJO: “We hack the Weave a second time, that also shows strength. Gives us maybe a bit more bargaining position.”
ALEJO: “If, you know, we don’t die.”
TUELLER: “Yes, well, there is that.”
MILLICENT: “I mean, the math for determining when to start the dream so that the optimum number of sentients from each system is sleeping alone is going to be a monumental task.”
TUELLER: “It’s always night on half the systems.”
MILLICENT: “But not every planet has counterweights continents like ours.”
TUELLER: “Anyway, that’s my proposal.”
MILLICENT: “I like it. It’s ambitious and utterly insane in a way I suspect was calculated to make irresistible to me.”

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Chapter 105

TUELLER: “Anyway, we got ahead.”
TUELLER: “Get it? Huh. Get it!”
MILLICENT: “Did you adopt?”
MILLICENT: “I really wish you’d talk to me before you adopted.”
MILLICENT: Millie considers. “I mean, she’s cute, but we should have had a conversation.”
TUELLER: “The doc didn’t get it.”
TUELLER: Tueller shakes his head.
TUELLER: “It’s because I have a head in my bag.”
TUELLER: “Your coparent’s.”
MILLICENT: “Oh a head!”
MILLICENT: “We do have fun!”

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Chapter 104

TUELLER: “What kind of scientific rigor do we need to establish that we have two genetic identical Alejos at hand?”
TUELLER: “That’s a long way of saying, do we need to take the head? Or merely borrow it?”
MILLICENT: “Well, the full-on head would be ideal. Rather dramatic, though. If all we were looking for was proof for ourselves that he’s been returned we could just get a sample of the DNA, but if we need to prove this to the system or the galaxy then we’ll need the full thing to prove where the samples came from.”
MILLICENT: “I suppose we could return it when we’re done? But I think we’ll all have more pressing concerns at that point.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks over at the box with his torso in it. “I’m no scientist, of course, but . . . don’t we have DNA now? Why do we really need the head, other than to make sure they’re not doing something gross or whatever with it?”
MILLICENT: “Attention galactic governments, in this beaker I have DNA from the man standing behind me and in this beaker I have DNA from the same man’s head which I pinkie promise was removed from his body no you can’t see it stop asking.”

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Chapter 103

ALEJO: He nods. “All good. You said the Exodus folks came and took the . . . my head right after I died?”
STORY: “Yes, and clearly reattached it to whoever’s body you’re walking around with now. Why are you asking me to repeat what you already know?”
TUELLER: “We have some gaps.”
STORY: “I’m impressed they found such a good match to your physique.”
STORY: She peers at his neck. “And no scarring.”
STORY: “Impressive.”
ALEJO: Alejo smiles again. “Well, this has been . . . enlightening. What Tueller said. Fun, thanks for the body.” He looks at Tueller and Millie. “We got what we need, yeah?”
MILLICENT: Millie swallows and nods.
TUELLER: “We are trying to track down what happened here to fill in the gaps. Do you know what system these particular Exodus folks were part of?”
TUELLER: “As Alejo says, he has some gaps, and so do we. And, as you say, this is very good work and we want to pursue it further.”
STORY: “Hm?” She’s distracted from her leering. “Oh. R&D, I believe.”
STORY: “Roti division.”
ALEJO: Alejo closes his eyes and sighs. “Right.”

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