Book IV

A Cook Serves Up A Revolution

Goodbyes Are Hard

The trip to Temuur took a little over a week, but it seemed like only hours. Yalna had arranged for a transport to take the Mercury to the surface. Sophia wondered if she could somehow convince the AI to give them the technology to land their ships on planets. Most fleet warships were designed only for space travel.
Yalna was waiting for them when they exited the transport — a first. Sophia suspected that this was not a warm welcome but more of a “nice to see you,” but it was the "read jack” sort of greeting. However, she was mistaken. While he acknowledged the five of them, he made it plain he was there to greet Kim.
He walked them to the compound built for them, then left. Nobody was particularly surprised. It was an AI. Their behavior was a little unusual.
Sopia was the first to speak. "You could still change your mind."
"I could." Kim zipped the bag shut. "But I don't think this was ever really my decision to make. It's more like something's been calling me home since before I knew there was a home worth answering to. I'm just finally listening."
Sophia went quiet in a way that wasn't like her. She had spent months not asking the question everyone else asked first—why they wore the same face, why it had never once felt like meeting a stranger—and standing there now, watching Kim say it out loud, she understood with a certainty that had no evidence behind it at all that it was true. Whatever was pulling Kim toward Darkann was real, and old, and larger than either of them, and no argument Sophia could make would be louder than it.
Elena and Marcus stood together near the hatch, and neither of them tried to dress up what they felt about it.
"We're going to miss your cooking," Elena said. "I mean that. Genuinely. The rest of the galley has been coasting on your talent for months, and none of them know it yet."
Harlan finally spoke. "For what it's worth—and I say this as someone who's spent a career watching people talk themselves into terrible ideas—this is a good one. Badly timed. Insanely dangerous. Good."
"High praise, General."
"Don't get used to it."
Sophia almost laughed. It caught somewhere before it became one, and what came out instead was quieter, sadder, the sound of someone recognizing a joke as the last one they'd get to share with her for a long time.
Gor’Vath leaned against the bulkhead with his arms crossed, saying nothing until now. "If you ever need someone big and dangerous by your side while negotiating, here's my comm code. I excel at intimidating others. It's my..." specialty."
"I'll keep that in mind."
People quickly reach agreements when an eight-foot reptile, showing teeth and snarling, stands behind them. It is very effective.
That, finally, pulled a real laugh out of her.
Sophia stepped forward, embraced her, and with passion said, "Take care of yourself. If you ever need help, call us. We'll be there for you. And keep us in the loop."
"When there's something worth mentioning,” Kim said, "I will."
After saying their goodbyes, they returned to the Mercury and set sail to meet the Odyssey II, while Kim stayed behind to follow her own path.

As the Odyssey’s Journey Continues… Kim Tseng Begins Hers

Coming 2027