Endgame by Ann Aguirre

question solemn consideration. “As to the former, I have done it many times. People never want to believe there could be something wrong, so they write off any behavioral changes, ascribe it to stress.”
    “So you’re telling me not to worry.”
    “Precisely.”
    “I can’t help it.” I feel odd and raw. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
    “You won’t. This is my forte, Sirantha.”
    Knowing that intellectually doesn’t dim my worry any. Because after he goes inside, Vel will be out of touch, beyond my help. As a copy, he’ll live this centurion’s life while the original babbles Imperial secrets as fast as we can record them. And if this guard doesn’t know what we need, then we’ll take someone else. This is only the first sortie in the war.
    “I know. But imagine if it were me.”
    “I could not bear it,” he says quietly.
    “But I’m expected to? Not fair, Vel.”
    He furls his claws in subtle response. “That is a childish complaint, Sirantha.”
    “Sorry.” But I’m not, really.
    Constance interrupts before this can become an issue. Vel feels like the last person in the universe who belongs to me. There’s March, of course, but he’s gone, and not all mine. There’s a large portion of him bound up in raising his nephew, and I have no role in that.
    “There’s a small problem.” She never wastes time on a greeting.
    I invite her to make use of the other chair. “What’s up?”
    “Infiltration of Titus’s life may prove problematic.”
    “Why?” Vel asks.
    “He is recently married.”

CHAPTER 11
    This is indisputably a snafu.
    A new bride pays attention to things a wife of many long turns ceases to notice. She’ll expect regular sex from Vel, as they don’t call it the honeymoon period for nothing. There will be little in-jokes that he’s expected to remember and understand.
    “Damage control,” I mutter. “How do we fix this?”
    “He’ll be useless as a centurion,” Constance replies.
    True. The machine she used on him is wildly addictive. If we cut him loose at this point, he’ll go mad wanting that pleasure again. He’s ours to keep, now.
    “The solution is simple,” Vel says, after a few moments’ thoughtful silence.
    “It is?”
    A flicker of amusement twitches his mandible as he reads my doubt. “I can take the second one’s place,” he offers.
    Since the man is short and compact, as Doc was, it will be physically painful for him to compress his body, but he’s done it before. Vel is willing to suffer for the cause. I just wish he didn’t have to. But our first choice is off the table, so we’ll work with what’s left.
    “Constance, see to the second prisoner,” I order. “Find out if he has any dangerous demographics. Then report back.”
    “At once, Sirantha Jax.”
    After she departs to deploy her infernal device, I sigh. “All told, it’s not too bad.”
    “There are worse disasters that could befall us,” Vel points out.
    “Will the op require surveillance?”
    He lifts a shoulder. “It might.”
    Someone should watch his back if he’s in the field alone. Unfortunately, Vel has the most experience stalking targets, but he can hardly guard himself. Which means I’ll do it for him. I can be quiet and patient, if I have to be; I just can’t get too close or arouse suspicion while I’m there. Whatever the mission requires, Vel will do it properly. I can count on him. Vel’s here because of me, and I didn’t even have to ask. That’s a type of friendship of which I’ve known little in my life.
    Constance returns an hour later. “The second centurion is single. He has no close family on La’heng. He was recently punished for something he did not do, and he has a mild addiction to chem.”
    Nothing in those facts will make Vel’s mission more difficult. It’s within acceptable parameters, so we’ll greenlight the mission. I turn to him, but he’s already come to the same conclusion.
    He says to the PA, “I need