They found her sitting cross-legged on the floor, in the heart of the ship, in front of the thilium core. She stared at it quietly.

“Ondine?”

She turned her head to look at Kaine, and a small smile formed on her lips.

Val thought she saw something in the girl’s eyes, but it was gone before she could see it clearly, let alone understand what it was.

“What are you doing here?” asked Kaine.

The child shrugged and looked back to the core.

“We need to figure out who she is,” said Val. “And why she was in the cube.”

The girl shuddered at the mention of the Kinzuki Cage, and shot her a pained look.

“Sorry,” she said, “but it’s true. We can’t help you if we don’t understand what happened. Can you tell us?”

The girl looked away.

Kaine dropped to the floor, sitting next to her.

“You’re safe with us. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”

She looked at him, then back at the core. Lifting a finger, she traced invisible letters against the wall.

Val tried to keep up, but it took too long. Kaine seemed focused, so she remained quiet and waited.

After a few minutes, the girl stopped waving her finger and went back to staring at the wall.

Kaine stood, a frown on his face.

“Well?”

“She says she woke up in there and doesn’t remember anything from before.”

“That can’t be all she wrote!”

“Well, no.” He looked troubled. “She wants us to take her to Derkanash. She doesn’t know why but ‘feels’ it’s where she needs to be.”

“Derkanash? I’ve never heard of it.”

“I have.”

“Where is it?”

“I’m not sure where exactly, but not in the rim. It’s further into the Imperium, and I don’t think it’d be wise to venture that far in.”

“You realize it’ll likely be safer than out here, what with all that mess the Qevahri have stirred up?”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

“I can tell something else is bothering you.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s just that Derkanash has a bit of a reputation.”

“How do you mean?”

“It’s kind of... seedy. A refuge for thieves and cutthroats in the heart of the Imperium.”

“You must feel right at home there.”

“Hey! I resent that. I’ve never even been there in my life!”

She smirked. “I bet you’d love it. Plenty of like-minded folks.”

He grunted. “The point is, why would a child feel like she belonged there, of all places?”

That was a good question.

Val looked at the girl, who still had her back turned to them. She wasn’t sure if she was listening to what they were saying, or if she was fully engrossed in whatever was on her mind.

“We need to go there,” she said.

“I was afraid you might say that.”

She pointed at the girl. “We can’t just go around carrying a child with us through the rim, not with all that’s going on—not to mention the people chasing you. We’d be placing her in way too much danger. Plus, her parents must be worried sick.”

“All good points,” he said with a sigh. “Alright. But here’s a question. How will we find her parents—assuming they’re even on Derkanash? It’s a big world. And not exactly safe, either. From what I hear, criminality there runs rampant.”

“Let’s worry about that once we’re there.”

“Okay. And here’s another question for you. What are we going to do with our two prisoners?”

“How many more of these do you have?”

He chuckled. “That’s the last one—for now.”

Val snorted. “Well, maybe we can find a place for them on Derkanash.” She glanced back at the girl. “Frankly, I’m more concerned about her. Why is she staring at that wall?”

“Maybe she can feel the thilium core on the other side?”

“And?”

“I dunno.” He shrugged.

“Why don’t you ask her? She seems to like you.”

He looked dubious, but nodded. “Can’t hurt to try, I suppose.” He went back to Ondine and, once again, sat next to her. “So, want to tell me what’s so fascinating about that wall?”

She glanced at him, smiled in a way that made Val’s skin crawl, and started tracing letters again.

After a moment, Kaine stood and walked back to Val with a startled expression on his face.

When he said nothing, she clicked her tongue.

“Well? What did she say?”

He blinked and stared at her.

“I’m not sure I understood correctly, but I think she said she was... feeding.”