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“About water?”

“About losing the pleasure of feeding me.”

His eyes warmed.

“I will recover.”

Kesta turned back to the scan before the expression could do anything else inconvenient.

“There.”

She enlarged one small region near the lower spine. Dreven leaned closer. The implant’s primary lattice showed the wear she expected from years inside a living body. Mineral deposits had formed around the older casing. Scar tissue surrounded several anchor points. One component did not match.

A tiny transmitter node near the spine remained smooth, almost pristine. Kesta increased the resolution until a serial code appeared. Her stomach sank.

“I know this production format.”

Dreven’s expression hardened.

“How recent?”

“Current imperial year.”

Silence settled between them. Kesta checked the code again because she wanted to be wrong. She wasn't.

“How long has Horan been on Kharon-Veil?”

“Eight years.”

“This component is less than six months old.”

Dreven’s tail stopped moving.

“No imperial ship has landed in Ash territory in that time.”

“Could a small craft reach the surface without your patrols seeing it?”

“Possible.” His jaw tightened. “Difficult.”

“Could Horan have left Ash Camp?”

“Yes, but not off-planet.”

Kesta looked at the transmitter node again.

“Then somebody serviced the implant here.”

Dreven’s gaze became very still. The implication changed the room. The infirmary had felt safe to Kesta because people entered hurt and left alive. Because Sera guarded patient information more fiercely than supplies. Because Dreven had learned to stand outside a treatment curtain until invited in. Now Kesta looked at every doorway differently.

“The empire either has a route onto this planet that none of you know about,” she said slowly, “or it has people already inside the camps.”

Dreven did not immediately answer. His eyes had gone to the patients sleeping beyond the curtain. People he knew. People who trusted him. People he might now have to suspect. Kesta watched the realization strike. His first instinct would be to lock down the camp. She could almost see the command forming. Then Dreven looked at her.

“What would you do?”

The question surprised her. Kesta considered before answering.

“Nothing publicly tonight.”