Page 44 of Agent's Integrity

I followed the directions and administered the serum via injection, and then set it aside. “Is there anything else you need?”

Julia shook her head carefully and deliberately. “No. Though I want you to wake me up before we get there. I’m going to need to eat and wash all this dirt and dust off. I don’t think it will be good if we show up looking like we just came from Cadium.”

“You’re right.” I swiped at some of the dirt coating my pants. “That might not be prudent.”

She almost smiled, but it didn’t fully form. “Thank you, Ethan, for everything you’ve done. I mean it.”

I nodded and gave her hand another squeeze. “We’re going to make it through this.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s a feeling I have.” I shrugged. “I guess I have faith.”

“You should rub some off on me.”

I laughed quietly. “If only it were that easy. Get some rest. I’ll be waking you up before you know it.”

Her eyes drifted shut, and I closed the door behind me when I left. I eyed Andy where he sat on the floor with a wire running from his side into the terminal. It was sad for me to see him like that and know he would be off for a while. I liked the android.

“How are you?” I asked.

Several seconds passed before he responded. “I do not understand the question. The power transfer is going well. I should be fully drained in another five minutes.”

I smiled sadly and sat down against the wall opposite him. “That wasn’t what I meant, but it’s okay. Thank you for doing this. Giving us your power to survive.”

“You do not need to thank me. My job is to assist you in whatever ways I can.”

“Do you always have to talk like an android, Andy?”

“But I am an android.”

I shrugged. “Do you like me, Andy? Do you like working with me?”

Andy merely stared at me. “I am an android. I do not have feelings.”

“Do you feel any differently about different people?”

“I do not feel,” he repeated.

There was no getting an answer out of him, so I sighed and leaned my head against the wall. “I like working with you. I’m sad you’ll be off.”

There was silence, and then Andy blinked. “Thank you.”

Whether he was a computer or not, he was still a friend of sorts, and I didn’t have many of those. “I hope to see you again soon.”

“And I hope to see you again soon as well. I must completely power off now. You may disconnect the wires in approximately four minutes. There will be enough power to get the ship to Esmuna.”

I nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Goodbye, Ethan.”

“Goodbye, Andy.”

His eyes stared off to the side, and he stopped moving. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I stayed there on the floor for ten more minutes, trying to focus my mind, to clear it of all worries and distractions. I would need to take time to refocus for the next part of the journey. It was going to be dangerous, without a doubt, and Julia would need my help. I was sure of it.

I looked at Andy, my friend the android, unmoving, and I let myself feel sad until it didn’t feel quite so awful. Then, I got up to finish preparing. There was a lot to do before we reached Esmuna.

CHAPTER EIGHT

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