He pointed at the arm, crossed back over and picked it up. “You’ve seen one of them?”
Molly nodded.
“And they look like us?”
“A lot.”
“I—” Saunders looked around the cargo bay. “There’s nobody else aboard, is there?”
Molly couldn’t help but glance at the cargo cam.
“Just us,” she said.
“We’ve been getting some weird orders lately. And there’s been a ton of sealed communiqués between interfleet staff, stuff I can’t even access. Then Alpha fleet was called out of Earth orbit and sent to—Flank! They’re defenseless. Earth—I how could I be so stupid? We need to get to a long-range radio. We need to—”
“And call who?” Molly asked. “Don’t you see the problem? Call a Bern, and you’ll get yourself killed. Call a human, and you’ll start a panic and get everyone killed. Trust me, I was in the same place as you not that long ago. Hell, you’re coming around faster than I did.”
“Your parents knew this, didn’t they?”
Molly nodded. They know this, she thought, but kept that secret to herself.
“I feel so idiotic. It never occurred to me that orders could be ques-tioned. You obey, right? How many kids did I teach to obey? Oh, gods, the Academy. I—”
Saunders fell silent; his face went white, his fat, rosy cheeks turning to ash. Molly reached out for him as he stumbled forward, his eyes becoming unfocused. She grunted with effort, catching him under his arms and guiding him gently to the ground.
“Admiral? Saunders, are you okay?”
He didn’t respond. She reached up and grabbed the towel from the counter, placing it under his head, then ran for some water. The ship’s collection of assorted cups and mugs were completely gone, so she held a clean rag under the faucet, then twisted most of the moisture out of it. She ran back to Saunders and draped it across his forehead.
“Sir, are you okay?”
He blinked several times before his eyes gradually came together, focusing on Molly’s face. He looked up at her in shock, his pupils twitch-ing back and forth between hers.
“Lucin—”
“I’m sorry?” Molly leaned closer and dabbed the cloth across his forehead.
“Lucin,” he said, his face contorting into something between nausea and fear.
“What about him?” Molly asked, but the answer started coming as Saunders whispered his name again.
“Lucin—”
It was all he could say.
“Lucin . . .”
Over and over.