"I guess we'll be working together for a while."
"That would appear to be the case."
Sitting on the command chair of the mothership, Zo'or found his mind drifting to the previous day. The relic... the relic had been retrieved and Da'an's scheming thwarted.
His parent's single-mindedness in pursing his goal of being the keeper of the decoded Ma'el relic had been impressive. The ruthless manner in which the human woman had been reprogrammed to believe what Da'an wanted had harked back to the days before Da'an had become so enamoured with humanity; that was the Da'an of old. Bound and determined to do all that was necessary to maintain his place in the Taelon hierarchy and secure the survival of his species.
Sandoval's actions in supporting Da'an had been given a plausible explanation by the Implant. Plausible enough for him still to be breathing. Another thing that he had to think about. Sandoval had been assigned to Da'an long before he had switched his allegiances to him. Was it possible that Sandoval still had some feelings of loyalty to the North American Companion?
The thought that was most occupying his mind, though, was Major Liam Kincaid. He had killed the rogue 'reprogrammed' Volunteer as he had been ordered and, he had retrieved the relic and returned it to him. Not Da'an. It would not have been beyond the realm of possibility for the major to tell him that the woman was dead before presenting the Ma'el relic to Da'an as he had been ordered to.
The major had chosen - of his own free will - to tell him that the relic had been retrieved. Had the rift between his parent and his chosen protector really grown that wide?
He was going to be working closely with Liam Kincaid. A few months ago, that would have filled him with extreme displeasure. Things between them were different now; Kincaid had saved him more than once, despite his tacit disapproval of his methods that, while always present, was never voiced.
Zo'or frowned slightly. The thought of working together with Liam Kincaid towards a common goal was filling him with a feeling of anticipation. Why?