Page 48 of The Last Hope

“Better my head blown off than yours,” Mykal says with a cigarette between his lips. “Nothing’s changed. Must be broken.”

Stork speaks in a throaty language that has some flair and flourish. But his words make no sense to me.

Mykal feels the opposite of confused, and then he starts replying in thesamelanguage Stork used—Court rocks back. My mouth unhinges again.

Mykal must feel our shock. He swerves to us, frowning. He plucks his cigarette out of his mouth and says words that we can’t understand.

Court cuts him off. “You’re not speaking Saltarian.”

Mykal laughs heartily and gestures for us to try the EIs. He also offers me the cigarette, but I decline. Not as interested in smoking. At least not now.

I fumble with the disc, and I stick the device behind my ear. Court is faster than me, already putting his on.

“What’d you say to Mykal?” I ask Stork.

“That the discs are waterproof and can be worn at all times. If the adhesion wears off, spit and reapply.” His lips are moving oddly, but I understand each and every word now.

And what he said sounded like a fib. “Really?”

“That was a joke.” He laughs with a shake of his head and reaches back into his satchel, setting his bottle on the bar. “EIs are expensive. They take a big chunk out of the fleet’s budget, so treat them like they’re your favorite pet.”

I crane my neck to see into the satchel.

“No one has pets on Saltare-3,” Court tells Stork in a tone that very much says,you’re not as smart as you believe.

Stork glances back. “It was a figure of speech.” He snatches abookout of the bag and tosses the hardback to Court. “Here you go.”

Mykal slumps at the sight and curses under his breath. Grabbing his wood and knife from his pocket, he complains, “No one said this mission involved reading.”

“It doesn’t, but this book is the key to everything,” Stork says.

We all tap the disc behind our ear so we can read the human language.

Court angles the worn hardback toward us. I mouth the words as I read:The Greatest True Myths of the 36th Century,by Sean Cavalletti.

“There is no such thing as atruemyth,” Court says flatly.

Stork subconsciously touches his sapphire earring, shaped like some sort of bluebird. “There is, actually. Some myths that were believed to be false have been proven true.”

Court’s interest piques, but his features don’t change. I suppose he wants to keep Stork further than arm’s length and not be reeled in too easily.

As they face one another, both assertive, both domineering, and both dressed in Earthen clothes—military skirt for Storkand simple tunic for Court—at more than a glance, I’d think Court has belonged on theLucretziafor years.

He’s good at seamlessly fitting into new environments. A skill that extends beyond our planet.

“What myths were proven true?” Court questions, disbelieving, but he silently thumbs through the book and begins to pace slowly around the strategy room.

“Just last month,” Stork says, “a new mineral was discovered on the planet Prydorium. A pliable powder-blue rock, which has become one of the universe’s first naturally occurring fertilizers in over a century. That book described the mineral in detailyearsbefore it was ever found.” He points at the hardback in Court’s hands. “And there are two other myths inside those pages that have come true.”

Fighting the urge to smile, I ask, “So Court is wrong?”

Court flips a page. “I’m not wrong.”

“Haven’t we just decided?” I wonder. “Myths can be true.” I lean my shoulder into Mykal while he whittles.

Court stops in place near the map that’s shaped like a game board. “I’m not having this argument.”

“Read up.” Stork nods to him. “You might enjoy what you find.”