Chapter 7 · You said you couldn't read the command language

She stared at me.

I could hear the guards breathing. One had a bad filter in his mask. The valve clicked every three seconds.

"You said you couldn't read the command language," I said.

"I said my people couldn't."

"But you can read pieces."

"Enough to know you are trouble."

"Then read this."

I turned my head toward the dead console. The screen flickered without anyone touching it.

A string of symbols crawled across the glass.

Sila looked from the screen to me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"You always say that right before something breaks."

"Try the second line."

She stepped toward the console but kept one hand on my shoulder, forcing me to move with her. My restraints pulled tight. Her body stayed against mine for half a second longer than necessary before she released me.

The loss of her heat irritated me more than it should have.

"This says containment failure," she said.

"No."

"I know what the word means."

"That word means the system thinks the prison has failed."

"It has not."

"Look at the third line."

Her eyes moved.

The color drained from her face.

"It says, 'Primary asset located.'"

"There you go.