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Kazi started laughing. Tiffany asked him why, and he told her. Tiffany covered her eyes and peeped at Aya. Aya snorted and pointed at the singer. “The courier.”

Kazi’s eyes went wide, and he spoke to Tiffany. They both turned to watch the woman who was singing from her soul, and her soul was filled with joy to be alive and away from death. Her joy was infectious, and the dancers were laughing as they spun.

Vecchin and his daughter and grandson gathered around Kazi, using the opportunity to speak with the ancient. Tiffany grinned and answered a lot of the questions. When someone challenged her on her information, she pulled a sword out of the ether and leaned on it while chatting with the Hmrain family.

Aya made contact with the singer, and when she took a break and wandered over, the woman nodded.

“You aren’t my contact, but I am guessing Devran is in the warship near the orbital station?”

Aya was surprised. “It’s a warship?”

“Yes. Few would attack it, but those who do get their butts handed to them.” The woman smiled. “Or they are still floating in space somewhere, trapped in an eternal moment.”

Aya stared at the woman. “How do you know that?”

“I am a courier between museums and archaeologists.” She smiled. “It is a niche market, but I am very good at security protocols and excellent at defending.”

“My name is Aya, soon-to-be assistant to Devran.”

“Oh, you want my name. Matilda. Courier to lost worlds and preservers of ancient realms.” She paused. “Peacekeeper and soother.”

Aya blinked. “You were a soother?”

“Still am when I need to calm shit down. You, too?”

“Devran helped me escape from a station that decided I was profitable.”

“Ouch. You were confined?”

“Yes. Four years. I have been out for a few weeks.”

“Well, you have lucked into a very reliable ancient. No mood swings, no agendas. He just likes the chance to live in the moment.”

Matilda and I have met. She is amazing considering what was done to her.

Matilda looked at Aya and grinned. “You are already linked to him. Your eyes go white when he’s talking to you.”

“Oh, good to know.”

“The marks he will put on you will flare silver when he runs power through you. You will get used to it. There is nothing like a flare to clear a crowd.”

Aya smiled. “So you have run into other ancients.”

“Yup. They aren’t all as camera-ready as Kazi and Devran. They prefer to take spaces over or even be the only being on a planet. That isn’t creepy at all.” Matilda smiled.

“You talk to them?”

“Well, we tried charades, but no one gets the references.” She grinned. “Pictionary was a disaster.”

Aya was astonished. “So you just casually meet with them?”

“It is always for a purpose.”

She nodded. “You were a peacekeeper?”

“I was. Crowd control. That blew up in my face, hence the scarring.”

“It looks like the kind we got in human-to-human fights.”