“Were you detected?” Your eyes fix on his with laser precision and intensity, ready to ferret out any attempt at deception.

“Discretion is my trade.” An arrogant smirk creases his mouth.

“Perhaps you were not discreet enough. Geoboe received word of some sort of security issue.” Remaining unconvinced, you take him by the elbow and walk back toward your quarters. “What did you find?”

“In the transfer logs, someone whose identification papers didn’t match any known person.”

“How could that not be detected immediately?” You lower your voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

“The data profile was thorough. It would take deep-level decryption protocols to beat it.”

“Which you did?”

Ishant cocks his head at you as if the question didn’t warrant a serious response. A few heartbeats later, his smile falters for an instant. “I admit, the resources to do so may have triggered some safeguards I hadn’t anticipated.”

“We’re looking for a ghost. Do you think this person had something to do with Xola’s death?”

“Anyone who can move so invisibly through our system is certainly worth questioning.”

“Then you should focus on tracking them. Report back as soon as you find anything,” you say.

You plan to part ways and round the corner to walk back to the dinner before anyone notices. When you approach the juncture, a squad of Niyabinghi block the hallway. Footfalls stamp from behind, and you turn around only to find another group of them closing in.

A Lij steps forward. His gold chakram lies flat in a circle about his neck over his iridescent breastplate jacket. “You two need to come with us.”

17 STACIA CHIKEKE
The Cypher (Returning to Titan)

“Don’t touch anything.” A buzzing began in the back of Stacia’s mind, her thoughts becoming a jumble collapsing into noise. She studied the scene of Paki’s abduction. The blood-strewn walls. The destroyed workstation. The level of violence evident in the room caused her to imagine the worst.

“We have to examine the scene.” Hondo placed a hand on her shoulder, meant as a reassuring gesture. The familiarity of it burned.

Stacia glared at it until he removed it.