Third Floor

Jake felt bad when he saw her helplessness, but not so bad as to offer her a fraction of his precious supply of alloy liquid. Maybe if the two of them had a good relationship and he was sure he could trust her he would have made a kind gesture, but right now it was just a futile effort to expect any altruism from him.

What this made him realize, instead, was that it was in his best interest not to put all his eggs in one basket.

Instead of carrying around all his liquid alloy to keep his Orace Device at peak performance, he would now store the bulk of it in several places, including his Oracle Cabin, the Faction Vault, and his Floating Island for starters. If there was also a universal bank established in the Mirror Universe or even B842, he intended to open an account there.

"I'm going now." Jake looked away to avoid being gripped by compassion for this total stranger.