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THE LONG, OBLONG CAPSULES reminded Cherry of the vessel she and Ethan had traveled in to visit the Fila’s ocean-bed metropolis. Perhaps that was where Wilder had got the idea for the design. She’d had many long discussions with Quinn about jump tech before he’d left Concordia with the rest of his kind. The aquatic aliens couldn’t risk coming into contact with any remaining biocide, and the chances of encountering it were higher for them than land-based life forms.
It made sense, but Cherry had wondered if they were also leaving because associating with humans had brought them so much trouble and loss of life. That made a lot of sense too. Until the arrival of the Nova Fortuna, the Fila had lived on Concordia in safety and peace for many years, not attracting attention from the
