“I can see not mentioning Lee because Nataw’s brother is in the Destroy faction, but is there more than that? Does he just not like Lee?”

Kee sighed, “No. Lee and Govan were good friends. Back when Lee was in Destroy and I was pretending to be, they became closer—because they were both worried about Nataw. When Lee left with the Galaxy Core Device, Govan felt personally betrayed. Govan isn’t vengeful, but I think he feels very hurt. He’s not a terrible being, but I can imagine that he’s felt abandoned by us over the last few thousand years.”

I thought back to Mars and being contacted by Lee there. “Should I mention how Nataw is stuck in the device right now? Lee’s there too, but we’re going to be trying to get them both out. That might be a plus, but if he decided to come along with us and took the device after we got Nataw out, that might be a problem.”

Kee took long enough to respond that I began to wonder if something had happened.

“You’re going to have to use your own best judgment on that. I haven’t seen Govan in ages. I’ve sensed him once or twice, but only at a distance, and I hid. I didn’t talk to him. Destroy is what he has now. He might not be the person I remember, but unfortunately, he is also one of the most powerful of us. Be careful.”

Halfway into another dimension, I sensed stars, planets, galaxies, and the distances between them. I wondered if I could find Govan this way, but decided not to experiment. I’d already unintentionally connected with Artificers this way, and it wasn’t a good experience.

“How far away do you think he is? More to the point, how soon do you think he’ll get here?”

“Hmmm,” she said, and I could feel her attention turning outward from the space our consciousnesses used. The movement felt quick, but powerful. It felt like standing next to a highway while a truck passed me.

“My sources sensed him in Ascendancy territory. Knowing how quickly we travel when we want to, it could be as soon as an hour, but remember, we’ve outlived universes and don’t think of time the same way you do. I think he’s in a hurry, but if he discovers something important on the way, it might be weeks or even years. Remember, though, he’s almost certainly sensed you and will appear wherever you are.”

Though I knew time passed more quickly here than in the normal world, Haley appeared to be giving me side eye. Meanwhile, the hint of a frown on Rachel’s face made me suspect she felt the conversation.

“If you can,” Kee continued, “try to keep your sister nearby. The Ghosts have a way of stripping us of the bodies we create in a reality. Though they don’t do it often, they even have ways of killing us permanently. All of our factions know it. It’s one of the reasons Destroy doesn’t simply destroy all life in the universe. The other is that it would be a great deal of work. Still, they know the Ghosts will go after them if they go too far.”

“Wow,” I thought back to Rachel destroying the Artificer power-ups that Magnus’ people had enjoyed. “How do you know about that?”

Kee laughed, “The Ghosts and the Live faction enjoy a good, if sometimes distant, relationship. I’ve helped them improve their methods. You don’t need to know more than that, and your friends are probably sensing your distraction by now. We’ll talk at our next lesson, possibly in person.”

Not giving me time to respond, she shut off the connection. I found myself fully aware of the world around me again—the sirens that were growing closer, the burned, torn-up lawn I stood on, the goobot strands covering the grass around me, and the people and cameras recording around the block.

The people had been hiding inside or around the corners of buildings, but now that the action appeared to be over, they were standing openly on the sidewalks. I couldn’t describe them as a crowd. It was maybe 30 people, scattered in all directions around the open rectangle of land surrounding Justice Fist’s base.

Glancing up at the base, I only now appreciated how bad the fight had gotten. Every window past the first floor had been shattered, and the top floor had had windows all the way around. A chunk of wall under one of the windows was missing. I’d missed when that happened.

“Rocket,” Haley asked, eyes narrowed, watching me, “are you okay?”

“Fine,” I said aloud. Through my implant, I told everyone, “We should probably leave as soon as we know everyone’s okay, and maybe even evacuate everyone to our base. It turns out that a member of the Artificer’s Destroy faction is on his way to Earth to meet me. At any rate, that’s what Kee says. He could arrive as soon as an hour, or a year, or when we’re in the middle of attacking Magnus. There’s no way to know right now.”