From where she stood next to Nataw, Kee smiled. “You met him in the future, and he chose not to kill you. I think Govan will be reasonable, provided we’re talking to the version of him who spared you. If we’re about to talk to a version of him that doesn’t know anything about that, it could become messy.”

“Great,” I thought back to her.

“We’ll keep you out of harm’s way. I think you’ll be quite impressed at the systems I designed for controlling Artificers that make their way inside.”

She looked up, a hint of a smile on her face.

I couldn’t tell from her expression whether I should translate as pride in her design or nostalgia for the time of her life when she was doing the work, but a question did pass through my mind.

“Is there any chance that you might give me a full tour afterwards and maybe even explain how it all works? I’ve figured out a bit, but I know a lot of it is beyond me.”

I sensed amusement through our link, but she said, “Oh, no. Definitely not. Take that as a compliment. It’s much too early for your species to gain access to anything like this. So, if you’re inspired by anything you learned about here, please talk to me before you make anything.”

“Okay,” I thought back.

We might have continued the conversation further, but Lee addressed the whole group: “I’m about to bring in Govan. He’s another member of my species. Most of you have heard me talk about political and philosophical divisions within my species… Everyone here right now would be best considered a member of the Live faction. Govan’s best described as a member of Destroy, but he’s also Nataw’s brother, so it’s likely he’ll give us a moment to talk.”

As Night Wolf and Captain Commando asked Lee questions, Haley looked over at me and said, “You told Lee that when you left Govan, he was depressed?”

“Pretty much.”

In the next moment, Govan stood next to Lee, Kee, and Nataw. Because I’d been talking to Lee, that meant that Haley and I weren’t far from him either.

He looked like he had when I’d left him in the future. Someday, English might include a tense that describes that succinctly. Anyway, he still reminded me of Vengeance or a barbarian from Dungeons and Dragons. Tall, muscular men with chest-length beards gave that impression, even though his red-and-black suit worked against it.

On the League implant channel, Marcus said, “You know who he reminds me of? Lobo. Well, if Lobo dressed up.”

Vaughn asked, “Didn’t Lobo have a goatee and a motorcycle? Or was that only in the cartoons?”

“That’s in most versions of him,” Marcus said. “He also likes space dolphins.”

Jaclyn looked Govan up and down. “This doesn’t look like a dolphin kind of guy. He looks more like a Duck Dynasty kind of guy.”

“Then maybe he likes dogs,” Marcus said. “Besides, Lobo doesn’t look like a dolphin kind of guy either.”

Haley pursed her lips, adding her own thought to the chat. “He looks like he’s had a really bad day.”

She wasn’t wrong. If I had to guess, I’d have said that he looked like he’d spent a few days alone in that pocket universe where we’d talked, barely eating and either not sleeping or sleeping badly.

The bags under his bloodshot eyes and blotchy red skin gave that impression to me at least.

It’s as good a guess as any, Daniel thought at me. I’d try to pull it out of his head, but with the four of them plus you, it’s like being in the middle of a storm.

Oh. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. As invasive as our connection sometimes was, I missed it when it wasn’t there.

You’re not the problem, but you’re connected to them, which makes their aura of madness harder to filter out.

Govan, meanwhile, was taking stock of his surroundings. I could feel him reaching out with his power toward the suns above us, the spot where Magnus died, the other Artificers, Rachel, Grandma, and, of course, me.

He’d nodded in my direction as he scanned me, much like he did the real Artificers. He froze when he examined Rachel and Grandma, though—maybe a little longer with Rachel.

It made sense if the Ghosts could kill Artificers. It might even help. Wouldn’t he be less likely to attack if he knew he’d be facing three members of the Live faction plus Ghosts?

Probably. Well, assuming it didn’t cause him to panic and lash out.

While Govan scanned us, both Leagues watched. Our reactions were practically the same—watchful, but not hostile. I wondered if the original League were commenting among themselves via the Mentalist’s telepathy the same way we were over implants, but didn’t ask.

“Nataw,” Govan said, “where have you been and how is it that you’re here?”

Tiger chose that moment to pee on the floor. I couldn’t blame him. He was a dog. This might have been his first real chance since we got out of the jet.