“Vaguely.”
“It is often an unanswerable question. I want you to expand your vision and this is one way established among humans that is most attuned to what you need to accomplish. Instead of me simply giving one to you, I want you to think of your own unanswerable question and I will evaluate its suitability for the task. You may begin.”
Gus twitched a little bit at the unexpected task.
“Umm, can you give me a little help, maybe?”
Nick had gone mute so Gus sighed and let his mind wander. What even is an unanswerable question? What’s the meaning of life? What’s the best thing I could be doing right now?
“What about those?”
“Keep trying.”
“Can you give me some examples?”
“I can. But I will not. Examples often direct you along certain paths and this is your personal journey. Look inside and find what your question should be. This is the way.”
“Alright,” Gus said, exhaling again, trying not to get frustrated. He let go of any worry or expectation with each exhalation. He imagined blowing out stress with every breath. Then just letting go and following where his mind wandered.
At first, he was monitoring closely, looking for any inkling of inspiration, but this attention seemed to be inhibiting anything from developing. For a while he simply sat, feeling the light on his closed eyes and face, the occasional caress of a cool ocean breeze, the screech of a bird looking for food. His increased attention to his non-verbal senses seemed like it was a distraction, so he gently steered it back to the question of “What?” What the hell am I doing?
He laughed a little and returned to his breath.
What.
Unbidden, he recalled the experience where he was making constructs and he had seen the ether interacting up close.
What.
His mind tried to make sense of exactly the reason for this memory, and what he was to learn, but as he tried to wrestle the answer, he could feel himself pulling away and things becoming less focused. Relaxing, he surrendered to the experience. Trying just to be an observer. Floating on the river, letting it take him where it wanted to go.
The memory crystallized again and he saw the interaction of normal matter hitting the ether and how it reacted. There was nothing really new here, as far as he could tell. But he just watched. It became almost soothing, seeing the molecules bombard the ether and how they just kept absorbing the stresses put upon them.
At the corner of his vision, Gus thought he saw a flicker. When he moved his mental focus, he could see nothing as he looked more fully at the expanse of small black particles. Looking directly at it instead of the borders, he couldn’t tell if it looked more like an ocean made up of marbles or desert dunes of black sand. Occasionally the mass would undulate like a wave, other times they seemed totally static.
Flicker.
There it was again. But gone as he looked directly at where he thought he had seen something.
What.
Exactly. What is doing that? What am I supposed to get from this?
The out of focus sensation returned so Gus calmed himself yet again, surprised at how hard it was to just let go and observe. It took longer this time, but things slowly came back into focus.
Flicker.
Instead of trying to find out what was causing it, Gus just stared ahead. As if it were a skittish creature, the flicker began to appear more at the periphery of his awareness more frequently the less he tried to get an exact look at it.
What.
The flicker began to become more prevalent, although the intensity dropped as Gus began to notice its presence more and more until it transitioned from a random flicker to a low glow present all around except where he was looking.
Suddenly everything became unfocused and Gus felt a backward pull similar to when he was done using the Quorian cube.
“Gus, Gus! Are. You. Reading. Me?” a voice asked impatiently on his comm.
Disoriented, he couldn’t tell who was talking to him. He blinked his eyes open and staggered back into the room, closing the balcony’s sliding glass door behind him.
“Who is this?” Gus asked, still feeling a bit groggy.
“It’s your father. We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for a while. Did you forget we’re having a quick post-mission debriefing? Everyone’s waiting for you. Head back to the conference room, and hurry.”
“Already?”
“It’s been four hours since we got back, Gus. We need to plan what’s next.”
“Okay, sure.”
That can’t be right. Can it? Four hours?
Gus followed his display to the new conference room that had been recently unlocked by Basileus and company during their brief reign at the manor. Entering the room, there was a large table in the middle and screens along the walls. Tempest sat at the head of the table and motioned for Gus to take the foot on the other side.
“Okay, from what the Oracle told me, we have to get into Hinansho city. How are we going to do it?” Tempest started.
“They can detect supers, so don’t forget we have to get by that,” Yuki said.
“We can use the old Manticorps transport, it shouldn’t stand out,” Grimdark added.
“That’s good, what else?” Tempest encouraged.
“What about Leto? He’s gotten us in before. For relatively cheap too, we just need to get him memory modules for his network,” Darik suggested.
“He’s still working on that thing?” Seneschal asked in surprise. “How many years has it been?”
“Decades, at least,” Darik replied. “And he never leaves his little lab. You sure his stuff is current enough to get us in?”
“He’s a hermit, but he’s connected,” Tempest said. “But that brings up a point—What can we expect to find there? Anyone else been to Hinansho before?”
Prime nodded slightly and Grimdark raised his arm, as if he were answering a question in class.
“I wouldn’t trust seeing Kenway with less than four people,” Grimdark warned.
“Agreed. I would prefer at least six, but we’ll have to see what Leto can get for us. Yuki, I assume you can make contact with him and make him an offer? Start with the standard and see what he counters with,” Tempest said.
“On it.” Yuki began typing furiously.
“Where do we get memory modules? Does the manor have any?” Aurora asked.
“If it did, they’d be pretty old, and there have been massive changes in data storage capacity since the manor was made. I have some contacts that can get us what we need,” Seneschal offered.
“So assuming Leto can get us the codes to get in, what about cloaking so we’re not detected as supers?” Darik asked, putting his hands on his hips.
“Leto has access to that, but he is outsourcing it to someone. He’ll do it but he’ll charge us a premium and we won’t be able to get a lot of cloaks either,” Yuki added, blowing a large bubble and popping it with a *crack*.
“I can outfit the ship so anyone inside would be able to avoid the sensors,” Grimdark volunteered.
“Good, anyone able to help Grimdark with the ship?”
Yuki raised a hand quickly without looking away from her screen and resumed typing.
“I might as well volunteer too. Everyone needs me to crawl around dusty innards of ships to connect things. I’ll pitch in too.” Darik held the back of his neck and leaned his head backward, anticipating the cramped spaces in his future.
“I can help with the scramblers and configuring everything,” Aurora added.
“So we’ve got our transport, and Leto has the rest of what we need. Anything else we need before we go?” Tempest asked, leaning on the table and assessing his team proudly.
Aurora raised a hand a bit tentatively.
“I’ve been working on some new suit designs, if anyone is interested. I was going to head to the Foundry to see if I could perfect some prototypes. We need to unlock Fabrication, if it’s okay with Gus,
but then we can manufacture designs I have been working on.”
“I’d be interested to see what you’ve come up with.” Tempest nodded to Aurora. “What do you think, Gus?”
“Yeah, that sounds good, allocate the points. We’re still good on FP, aren’t we?”
“Uh, boss…” Yuki interrupted. “We got a problem. Leto says he’s finished his network and doesn’t need any memory cores. Says he doesn’t need money either.” Yuki winced as she read the demands.
“So what now?” Tempest rubbed his eyes then slid up to massage his temples. “There’s nothing that he wants?”
Yuki typed some more then settled back in her chair.
“There is, but I don’t think you’re going to like it…”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bad Times
“Lay it on me,” Tempest groaned dejectedly.
“Well, don’t kill the messenger… but Leto says that he doesn’t need anything from anyone anymore.” Yuki held her breath expecting Tempest to explode at yet another obstacle.
Instead he just hung his head and asked, “And?”
“…and that includes credits or memory modules. He does say that you can run an errand for him and that he’ll get us what we need.”
“That sounds ominous,” Grimdark stated in his deadpan voice.
“It gets better. He says he already has two interested parties en route to do this task and he doesn’t care who does it, but he’s only paying the first to get there.”
“Where is it? We may not have time for long detours.”
“The good news is that it’s in Hinansho, so two birds with one stone.”
“If he gets us into Hinansho and gives us cloaks then that’s all we need, right?” Tempest figured, voice sounding more optimistic.
“Yes and no. If we fail, he says he’ll turn us in for a bounty for being in Hinansho without authorization and disable our shrouds so we’ll be stuck inside—”
“That little snake!” an incensed Aurora shouted. “After all we’ve done for that little creep.”
“How much of a lead time do we have?” Tempest asked Yuki.
“Only a couple of hours…”
“Dammit! No rest for the weary, I suppose. Can you track our competition?”
“I can but as soon as I connect, they can track us as well… Is it worth it?”
“Yes, no use in rushing over there if there’s no chance of success.”
“On it. Okay, two other identical pings to the data package we need to deliver, and one’s from the mainland, one from the Communist Conglomerate, but they’re far enough away to not be a factor. We should be able to arrive with a sliver ahead of the mainland team if we leave in, like… ten minutes.”
“You heard her, let’s get that transport ready! You three will have to make your changes and outfit the ship on the trip there. Grab everything you’ll need—no, grab more than you need, just in case, but make it fast!” Tempest barked at Grimdark, Yuki, and Darik, and the rest of the Crew took off.
“Is this how it always is?” Gus asked BoJack in a stage whisper.
“Pretty much par for the course. Usually it’s like running down the street naked at ninety miles an hour with your hair on fire,” he replied with a grin.
“Yeah, I’m kind of getting that,” Gus said wryly as he ran to grab his things.
“I assume you can pilot the ship?” Tempest pointed to Seneschal, who nodded curtly and headed purposefully to the lifts.
Was she the pilot all along? Gus wondered as he jogged back to his room. His pack was still there, leaning against the wall, so he just grabbed it and headed out and hit the button for the lift.
When it came, Grimdark and Pulse were already aboard. The car rose, heading to the roof. Gus assumed a forward-facing stance, observing proper elevator etiquette: he stayed absolutely silent, preserving the awkward silence that must prevail when riding in elevators with acquaintances.
As the doors opened, they all were hit with a big blast of exhaust as a transport landed on the tarmac. This ship was much less sleek than the previous Faction transport, and looked to be cobbled together of scavenged parts from at least three different models of vehicles.
As it rotated into position, it made a pitiful moan reminiscent of the TARDIS before setting down with a heavy *thunk* like a weary beast of burden.
“Perfect.” Grimdark clapped his hands with approval, showing a hint of a curved lip, which was the closest thing to a smile Gus had ever seen the super achieve. Pulse shook his head and jogged under the ship, disappearing into a thick cloud of exhaust and steam-like emissions.
No one really could have done a better job of arranging a mismatched conglomeration of parts and wear to simulate a broken-down transport if they had tried. Manticorps must have been down on their luck indeed, if this was the best they had to send over to take the manor.
“Do you think it’s safe?” Gus asked, slack-jawed.
“Maybe. Maybe not. But perfect,” Grimdark said, shrugging. He clapped a hand on Gus’ shoulder and they walked to the ship like they were old pals.
Grimdark carried him along to the underside of the transport as a gangway lowered with a rumbling hum of hydraulics, spilling a miasma of exhaust and steam as the ship ticked and rattled as it cooled down.
Up close, the preponderance of duct tape and jury-rigged improvements were painfully evident. Grimdark patted the scored dark paneling under the ship, eliciting a hollow noise as he *thunked* away. Gus looked sideways as a small plate came loose and began swinging back and forth from Grimdark’s love pat.
“This is made to last. Reminds me of home.” The rest of what Grimdark was saying was lost as he stomped up the gangplank and disappeared inside.
Gus tried in vain to reclose the loose plate, finally giving up and letting it swing free. The elevator slid open again and two mounds of cables shuffled out. He rushed to help, relieving a large toolbox that was heavy and unwieldy, even with his increased strength. The three hobbled up the gangway, the rest of the Crew joining them, picking up components that had dropped on their trip.
Darik muttered angrily as he put his hands in the small of his back and stretched. After an audible *pop*, he reached into a satchel and threw a magnetized net over the cables, holding the gear secure as Seneschal fired up the repulsors.
“Looks like we’re all here. Hang on, ladies and gentlemen,” Seneschal said over the comms and the ship shimmied and shook as it slowly pulled away from the manor.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Gus, Darik, and Yuki held on as the transport lumbered into the air and banked to their new heading. Darik pushed a button on the side of the toolbox with a kick. A low hum, audible over the transport’s engines, could be heard. The toolbox that was slowly sliding away stopped abruptly and fixed in position as its base magnetized.
After quickly reaching their cruising altitude and leveling out, Darik grabbed an armful of materials and motioned for Gus to follow him. He disengaged the magnet and carried the toolbox over to a small panel on the side of the wall. Opening it revealed a small passage with a myriad of colored wires in a tiny room beyond.
This must be where Aurora hid, Gus noted as he saw the brownish gray dust disturbed on the floor of the small passage and a hand-print along one wall. He never would have considered himself claustrophobic, but the area inside was tight. The thought of getting turned around and stuck inside unsettled him. Yuki pushed past, dragging cables and a Ziplock bag with various chips and wires within.
“Are you in the control room, Grimdark?”
“Yes.”
She curled into position inside and began connecting wires like an old-time phone operator. Gus wondered how she was going to get out as the tiny cords crisscrossed back and forth in the tiny space. She disappeared from view, moving upward. Every once in a while, her hand could be seen as she grabbed a cord and pulled it upwards out of sight as Darik held the line and fed it to her, ke
eping it from pulling or getting tangled on anything.
“Gus, go grab BoJack, I’m going to need him for this next bit,” Darik asked over his shoulder.
When they arrived, Darik instructed BoJack to hold various cables and connectors in place as they were positioned against the walls and attached to various ports and others were directed to the other floors. BoJack made staple-like fasteners of ether which allowed the cables to remain up and out of the way. Yuki poked her head out of an opening in the room above and BoJack extended the ends of the cords up to her.
“Gus, while many supers can manipulate ether with their powers, shaping it into permanent constructs is a lot more rare. Maybe one in four can create something that will last longer than a day. If you do make something like this,” he gestured to the staples, “you have to make sure that you’ll be around to take them down. Due to the nature of ether, they are very hard to destroy outright when done properly, and it could cause problems if no one can undo what you have done.” BoJack instructed as they headed out of the cargo area up a small stairway to the commons room above.
Gus bit the inside of his cheek, wondering if he had permanently tied up those pirates what felt like a lifetime ago.
“So… hypothetically, if I did something like this,” Gus made some of the ether ties form around his own hands, “just how durable are these?”
BoJack stepped out of the stairwell and looked at Gus’ restraints.
“Yeah, these are like what you’ve done before. They’re not infused, or that is to say they’re only infused with your MP. I’d give it two, maybe three weeks then it would dissolve on its own.”
Gus was simultaneously relieved and worried at the news. On one hand, he hadn’t shackled people for life, but on the other, what if the trip took that man and his family more than a couple of weeks? Did they get free and overpower the family again? Why didn’t I get a name or contact so I could follow up with them? I probably could have even used Wreckognize and they wouldn’t even have to know—
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