Soon, Beryl offered them strange food, nothing like Qalu had ever eaten, cut and processed and covered in liquid, but it tasted good. Helix seemed pleased as well, though not on a roast nornroot level of enjoyment. They talked of inconsequential things while she waited for Helix to work up the courage to speak of what truly must be on his mind.

“Thank you for the food,” he said eventually. “But you must be wondering why I risked returning, all things considered.”

“Don’t you want to see Zylar? To let him know how you’re doing. It seems less risky to do that in person than to put certain things on the comm.”

That made sense to Qalu. There were hate groups that would absolutely spring into action and carry on hunting Helix if they realized he was an embodied AI. Thus far, they’d stayed under the notice of such fringe factions, and she’d prefer to remain that way. Otherwise, the quiet life she wished to lead on Tiralan would be forever denied them. But Beryl Bowman was wrong; that was not the primary reason for the visit. She let Helix speak in his own time, however.

“That is part of it, certainly. I…” He hesitated and Qalu leaned into him, offering her silent support. Grateful, he let his head tendrils brush hers briefly, nothing too illicit since they had company. “I came to make amends. You will say that I apologized before and I did. But…only because I was told that I had erred, not because I truly understood the wrong.”

“You said it, but you didn’t mean it?” Beryl asked.

“I did insofar as I was capable. But I lacked the capacity to grasp fully how my actions impacted you. And now…I truly regret making you feel lonely and frightened—without recourse in a strange place. I wanted you to know that.”

“Thank you. But I’m happy now, happier than I’ve ever been in my life. While I wouldn’t advocate doing that to anyone else, your meddling worked out great for me.” Beryl truly seemed like a gentle, gracious being.

She marveled over how well Beryl seemed to have adapted to being snatched unceremoniously from her homeworld. If such a thing had happened to Qalu, she suspected she would’ve spent half a cycle trembling, not risen to the various challenges and seized the opportunity to build a whole new life for herself with an unforeseen romantic partner.

Beside Qalu, Helix eased, leaning into her slightly. They chatted for a bit longer, and then the door opened again. “I hear we have guests?”

“Snaps told you?” Beryl called back.