Being called a kid amused Tatehan. Although technically his body was one, his mind wasn't, and that alone was a massive difference.
If not for the incident that destroyed Earth, he would have been married by now, maybe even expecting kids. A completely different life. A normal life.
But well, he decided to play along. It seemed he was the only special case here. This man probably came to Mars normally,by himself, his body and identity still intact. He wasn't a reincarnated soul trapped in a stranger's body.
Tatehan was a completely new person on this planet, in ways Kael couldn't possibly understand.
He thought carefully about how to answer without giving too much away. He didn't want to let Kael know that his real aim for fighting the Mauler was to extract the core from its head.
