Main Core Workroom
“Now, you’ve been here,” Tolly said to Theo, as they entered the workroom a few minutes later. He waved a negligent hand toward a workbench before he realized that bench had been an extra, and that the figure with her back to them, attention on the tiles she was slotting into a rack, wasn’t one of their regular crew.
The tip of the hips, the angle of the shoulder, the slight incline of the head—all of it was as familiar to him as if he were looking at himself. He felt his knees try to lock, but he kept walking, increasing his stride, and forcing a grin into his voice.
“Hey, Deels.”
Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t turn around.
“Tolly Jones. You need to be someplace else.”
He tipped his head.
“Is that the truth?”
“It’s an opinion,” she said flatly.
“I can work with that,” he said, moving forward, aware that Theo had stopped.
“Come to take me home?” he asked.
Delia’s shoulders lifted, like she’d taken a deep breath to answer—and then didn’t.
“Hey,” he said, soft and easy, “don’t hurt yourself.”
He turned, smiling broad and warm for Theo. “Cap’n Theo, this is Delia Bell. You might be especially innerested to know that she’s by way of being another cousin, her an’ me being—what would you say you were, Deels? My aunt?”
“Don’t be an idiot,” she told him, but she’d turned around at least, her eyes narrowing as she studied Theo.
“It’s a little complicated,” Theo said then. “The way I understand it, we were family back in the Old Universe, then…got separated.”
“Separated.” Delia shook her head, and threw Tolly a frown. “Where’d you find her? She’s funny.”
“Like she said, she’s family. Come to help out. Place needs some work. You’ll have noticed that.”
“I noticed,” she said shortly.
“So, what are you doin’ here, Deels?”
“Rack-and-tile work. There’s a bit of that needed, too. Talked to Seignur Veeoni, who said she can use all the knowledgeable heads and hands she can get.”
“She’s not wrong. News got out the Old Light’s dead?”
“Don’t know that it makes much difference, if it has. Still got a lot of work to do.”
“Can’t argue with that,” he said, and gave her his best and truest smile. “Good to see you, Deels.”
He turned back to Theo.
“What else can I show you?”
“I think I’ve seen enough,” she said, and nodded past him. “Technician Bell, I’m glad to have met you.”
“I’m glad to have met you, too, Captain Waitley,” Delia said, and turned back to the workbench.
“I’ll walk you back to your ship,” Tolly said, and followed her out of the workroom.
Theo gave him a look out of the side of her eye.
“I do know the way,” she said. “Back to my ship.”
“You do, and you can protect yourself just fine,” he said agreeably. “But I wanna ask a favor.”
Her eyebrows went up.
“A favor.”
“Between cousins,” he said, earnest as you please.
“I thought you weren’t a cousin.”
“Tree decided different is what I heard, an’ havin’ recently taken a zample of its work, I’m inclined to let the relationship stand.”
Theo thought about that until they reached the lift and stepped in.
“You want another pod?”
“I do. But not for me. For Delia.”
“She said she wasn’t your aunt.”
“No, she specifically didn’t say she wasn’t my aunt. Thing with Deels is that she always tells the truth. Until she doesn’t. In any case, she’s cousins, same way I’m cousins.”
“It’s not me you’ve got to convince,” Theo said, stepping off the lift. “It’s the Tree.”
Right.
“You mind if I stop in and have a word?”
“I don’t mind. I have a question, though.”
“Go ahead.”
“Is Delia Bell a danger to the Light?”
“No, but her Director is.”
Theo chewed on that for about six steps, and then, “Second question. Why do you want her to have a pod?”
“’Cause I’d rather not kill her.”