AS SHE LEFT HER CABIN the next day, Cariad met Kes, who was coming to see her. Guilt immediately swept Cariad. She’d lost count of the number of comms from him that she’d ignored. She realized that she hadn’t seen or spoken to him since meeting him at the xenozoologist lab for the first and only time after he’d been revived.
He held out his arms to her, and she forgot her guilt and awkwardness. They hugged. Cariad relaxed into the hug. She felt like she hadn’t been hugged in a long time. When she looked up at her friend, he said, “What’s up, Cariad? I know you’re busy. We all are. But this isn’t like you.”
“I’m so sorry, Kes. I should have made time to talk to you sooner. But you have to understand, I was revived two years before you. Things are different for me. It’s been a long time si
