Page 95 of Red Scale Daddy
Dux watches me for a moment, then nods once. “I believe you.”
That almost breaks me.
I turn back to the console.
“He’s alive,” I say.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t waste nine years.”
“No.”
The signal flickers.
Panic surges.
I lunge forward. “I need to lock the vector.”
“The drones are coming back,” Dux says, stepping closer.
“I need thirty seconds.”
“Roma—”
“I need thirty seconds.”
His voice sharpens. “Roma.”
I look at him.
“What happens after him?” he asks.
The question hits hard. “Now?”
“Yes.”
“This is not the time.”
“It is exactly the time.”
“My father is alive,” I say, my voice rising.
“And what happens after you save him?” he presses.
“I bring him home.”
“And after that?”
I hesitate.
“That’s what I thought,” Dux says quietly.
“This is all I have,” I admit.
His expression hardens. “That’s hollow.”
“No,” I snap.
