Return. Морган Райс

it exited the larger vessel that held it, sliding down toward the surface.

      As they descended toward the world below, Kevin could see the greenery ahead of them, so great that it seemed to encompass everything. For the first few seconds, it was just one giant wash of green, but then he started to make out different shades and textures within it. There were areas that appeared to be open grassland, and far more that seemed like nearly endless forests. There were patches of dark green similar to firs, and others that looked like tropical palms.

      As they got still lower, Kevin started to get a sense of the scale of them. Many of the trees seemed to be normal sizes, but there were others that were as tall as cathedrals, and whose canopies spread out to cover huge swaths of land, so that the ground beneath seemed almost like an afterthought.

      “It’s a beautiful place,” General s’Lara said. “So much lives here, but it was never intended to be a world for us. It is too wild, and too many of any species will upset its balance.”

      She took her ship down low, and Kevin could see buildings now, nestled amongst the trees, disguised so well that for a few seconds it was hard to pick them out from among the foliage. They hung like great fruit, or balanced in the branches, so beautifully constructed that they might have been a natural part of the forest.

      “How many people do you have here?” Kevin asked.

      “A few thousand. Not enough for a true civilization,” the general replied. “Even with all the people we’ve brought with us… we’re a shadow of what we were.”

      Vehicles shot between the trees, moving rapidly, high above the ground. More moved slowly at ground level, disguised by shifting fields of color that changed as they caught the light.

      “Do you have weapons here?” Kevin asked. He had to hope that they would have something that might destroy the Hive.

      “Some,” General s’Lara said. “We like to be able to defend the places where we have bases, but the main defense we have is secrecy. This was always supposed to be a hidden place.”

      “But we’re coming here now,” Chloe pointed out.

      “We’re desperate,” General s’Lara said. “We’re out of people, out of places, out of everything except this. We’ll hide here for as long as we can.”

      “And if the Hive finds us?” Kevin asked.

      General s’Lara shook her head. “We lost them when we started to bend space. Even they can’t track us at those speeds. Unless you know something we don’t?”

      There wasn’t any note of suspicion there, but even so, Kevin felt as though he wasn’t entirely trusted. He looked over at Ro, who shook his head.

      “The Hive has stolen many technologies before, but they cannot track the Ilari. It was why they required you, to trace their signals. Without you…”

      “Without me, they would never have been able to destroy the world they ran to,” Kevin said.

      General s’Lara shook her head. “There will be others who try to blame you for it, Kevin, but I do not. You were controlled, and we are safe now.”

      They flew forward, in amongst the trees, the ships finding their way between the trunks to land on great platforms that extruded from the side of the buildings amongst the trees. This close, Kevin could see that there was a whole city there.

      The ship touched down and they stepped out. Inside the landing craft, surrounded by walls, there hadn’t been the sense of space there, but now, Kevin could see just how high up it all was. It was high enough that the air felt thin and made his head hurt, while he stumbled unsteadily. His brain felt bewildered by the sheer height.

      “Come on,” General s’Lara said. “I announced that we were coming as we approached, and people will want to meet you. They’re excited by the prospect of people who could break free from the Hive, and they think that you, Kevin, are very special.”

      “Now I’m feeling left out,” Chloe said, but she didn’t sound as though she meant it that much.

      Kevin put a hand on her shoulder. “I think you’re special.”

      “You are,” General s’Lara assured her. “If you will let our scientists study you all, we will potentially learn so much.”

      Chloe looked worried by that. “I’ve had enough of being studied for a lifetime.”

      “We won’t force you,” General s’Lara said, and there was something understanding about her tone then. “It’s your choice. Now, come on. I’ll show you the base.”

      Inside, it was every bit as impressive to Kevin as it was outside. The corridors had the same impossible scenes on them as had decorated the inside of the ships, each one turned into a canvas that it seemed the Ilari’s AIs could manipulate, since Kevin saw one of the blue-skinned aliens manipulating the wall into a strange kind of abstract work as they passed. He turned to look at them, offering a kind of bow to the general.

      “Oh, stop it, Cler, you know I’m the one who should bow to you,” the general said.

      They kept going, and the general started to explain the buildings they passed through as they went.

      “In theory, people take whatever rooms they need for whatever they’re trying to do, and reshape them to suit, but there tend to be common areas to it all,” she said. “There are living spaces on either side here, in pods branching off the main corridor. These spaces seem empty. You can have those.”

      Was it really as casual as that? They needed a room so they got one? She led the way into a big open living space with couches and beds set out around it. The whole place was empty and still, but didn’t seem sterile in the way that Kevin knew from the Institute, and it lacked the precise opulence of the Hive’s golden towers. It was comfortable instead, and felt as though it could easily be someone’s home.

      “So we just wander in and take a room?” he asked, leaning against a couch as a brief wave of exhaustion hit him.

      “How else would you do it?” the general asked, sounding genuinely puzzled that there might be another way to do things. She gestured to an open slot on a wall. “This is where we get food. It will be a little slower for you since you don’t have AIs, but you can still ask for what you want. Here, let me.”

      She paused for a moment in front of it, and a tray of food just… appeared. Steaming strands of blue mixed with what looked like red berries sat there.

      “My AI tells me that laxatha should be safe for you to eat, and it’s one of my favorites,” she said. “Here, try it.”

      She set it out in front of them and sat down beside them, in a way that seemed strange for a general to do. Chloe was the first to taste the dish, and the surprised delight on her face told its own story.

      “This is… good isn’t enough. It’s amazing. You have to try it, Kevin.”

      Kevin took a tentative bite, and was surprised by just how good the mixture tasted. There was only one question on his mind, adding a slightly strange note to the meal while they ate.

      “General s’Lara,” he said, “why are you here serving us food?”

      “Because you’re our guests,” the general said.

      “And that’s very kind, but you could have sent someone to do all of this. Don’t you have meetings and things you need to be at?” Kevin had met at least some important people, and he couldn’t imagine them doing this. “Why you?”

      General s’Lara nodded. “I’ll admit that there are plenty of talks I should be having, but my AI is having at least some of them with others. Besides, here with you may be one of the most important places I could be right now.”

      Kevin didn’t get it for a moment, but then frowned slightly as he did. “Because of everything that we might know?”

      “I won’t lie to you,” General s’Lara said. “I think that you three may hold the key to this. We’ve been able to beat individual members