Ruins (Pathfinder 2)

“Expendables,” said Olivenko. “Can’t trust them, can’t kill them.”

“Get in the flyer and go back to the ship,” said Rigg.

Vadesh immediately started toward the ship. Then he stopped and said, “Rigg, if you only—”

“Go without stopping, without speaking. Go.”

Vadesh got back into the flyer. In moments it rose into the air and flew away.

“Maybe that was a mistake,” said Umbo.

Of course he’d say that, thought Rigg. Of course I was wrong. “Why?” asked Rigg, trying to keep impatience and resentment out of his voice.

“Because we could never get him to tell us how he knew we needed a ride,” said Umbo.

“That’s a problem,” said Olivenko. “We figured you’d ask him when we got back together.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t know?”

“It didn’t come up,” said Param.

“It’s our mistake,” said Umbo, “not yours.”

“He had some kind of foreknowledge, then,” said Rigg.

“So does that mean that in some version of the past, you actually did take him with you into the past?” asked Olivenko.

“We know there were multiple versions,” said Umbo, “because I came back and warned myself not to go into the tunnel with you.”

“But you could only have done that while you were still there,” said Rigg, trying to think through what those other futures, the lost futures, might have contained.

“Right,” said Umbo. “I think what happened was, the mask got put on you. And then we couldn’t go anywhere, because . . .”

Because Rigg was the only one who knew how to keep them alive on a long journey. Because until Rigg was able to take control of the ship’s computers, they had no way to turn off the Wall. They had nowhere to go, and no way to get there if they did.

“So you didn’t go back from here,” said Param. “The future you avoided with your warning—”

“I think that in that future, we waited until Rigg got control of his facemask and could tell us what to do,” said Olivenko.

“No,” said Rigg. “I think I never got control of it, or at least you didn’t wait long enough to find out. I think Loaf told you to go back and change who went into the starship. I think he knew that if he and I were the only ones who went in, Vadesh would have to put the facemask on him first, because if he went for me, Loaf would have been in a position to st

op him.”

“Sounds like Loaf,” said Umbo.

“So Loaf chose to be like this?” asked Param doubtfully.

“Good plan,” said Loaf.

“Terrible plan,” said Umbo.

“Excellent plan,” said Loaf. “Because I see clearly now. I have this gift.”

“I wish we could leave the facemask behind the way we got rid of Vadesh,” said Rigg.

“If you knew how to detach it,” said Loaf, “then I’d stay away from you so you couldn’t. I never want to go back to how it was before. It would be like blinding me, deafening me.”

“Says the facemask,” murmured Umbo.