by Sarah Noffke
“Or Starboards put a lot into producing it,” Lewis countered.
Jack shook his head. “Monstre created it, and now Vance is putting a lot of pressure on Starboards to get the monster back.”
Bailey looked between Lewis and Jack, trying to understand. “Harlowe, do you not think that Monstre Corp is connected to this?”
Lewis shook his head, pulling his gaze away from his uncle. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m reserving judgment until we have more information.”
“Well, there are a lot more files to review,” Jack said. “And we have time to investigate.”
“Actually, something in this system has come to my attention,” Ricky Bobby said.
Bailey looked up, her eyes wide with anxious worry. “What is it? Are we in danger?”
“Not as long as we remain stationary,” Ricky Bobby told her. “However, a nearby planet is in trouble and needs our help. It’s dying.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Hatch’s Lab, Ricky Bobby, Davida System
“Upon arriving in this system, I became aware of a distress call from the planet Berosia,” Ricky Bobby stated.
Hatch let out a long groan as he paced back and forth in front of his main workstation.
“Yeah, I know,” Jack agreed.
“What’s the significance of Berosia?” Lewis asked.
“It’s the planet our cloaking crystals come from,” Hatch told the detective, his head down.
Jack gave Lewis a pointed look. “The only planet where the crystals can be found.”
“Okay, so we can’t let that planet die,” Bailey said matter-of-factly.
Lewis nodded. “What’s happening?”
“Berosia has two artificial suns,” Ricky Bobby explained. “Its original sun burned out fifty years ago. One of the artificial suns, Alpha Tari L, has lost its power source and isn’t operating.”
“Why hasn’t anyone fixed it?” Lewis asked.
“That’s a good question,” Jack said.
“According to the distress call, the planet is without means and was hoping to contact a passing ship who might have access to the sun,” Ricky Bobby related.
“And then we popped up, literally,” Bailey said.
Jack nodded. “Good timing. Or horrible timing, depending on how we look at it.”
“Well, we have to help them,” Bailey insisted. She looked at Hatch and Liesel. “I mean, can we?”
“It’s actually a relatively easy fix,” Hatch began, “although a bit dangerous, especially for the untrained. One of the suns heats the planet, while the other provides light. Alpha Tari L is the latter. When it went out, Berosia was cast in darkness, putting everything on the planet in danger.”
“No photosynthesis,” Lewis stated.
Liesel nodded. “That’s correct. In essence, the light bulb went out.”
Hatch scoffed. “You are severely oversimplifying things. The power sources for these types of suns are incredibly unstable. They are prone to langmuir waves and thermal runaway.”
“So, we need to buzz over to this sun and replace the power source?” Bailey asked. “Is that difficult?”
Hatch shook his head. “I have most of the material on hand because the design is based on a xenon arc lamp. That’s not the tricky part.”
“Do tell, the anticipation is killing me,” Lewis said.
“These suns are big orbs. The power supply is inside the orb; getting down there is the hard part,” Hatch explained.
“Usually a droid will access the source during setup,” Liesel added.
Hatch nodded. “The droids are small and can navigate the narrow shafts leading to the power supply.”
“I’ll do it.” Dejoure spoke up for the first time since the jump, gaining everyone’s attention.
“What? Of course you won’t,” Lewis said dismissively, looking at the small girl. “No one was asking you to volunteer.”
She nodded her head insistently. “They say the area is small. You need someone who can get in there easily. That’s me.”
Lewis was shaking his head when Hatch cut him off.
“She’s right,” the Londil said. “You need someone fast and small who can get down there.”
“Why do they have to be fast?” Bailey asked.
“Well, once the power supply is in place, the sun will illuminate again…”
“And blind anyone near it,” Lewis guessed.
Hatch nodded and turned to Dejoure. “You’d have roughly sixty seconds to clear the shafts, get back to the surface, and get away from the sun before it damages your eyes.”
“Can’t you make her special glasses?” Jack asked.
“I could, but I’d need time,” he explained. “I have welding goggles she could use, but they are so bulky that they’d slow you down for how often you’d need to adjust them. And actually, anything I could make would only lessen the damage that would be done if she doesn’t make the sixty-second window.”
Lewis shook his head. “DJ, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “This is what Ghost Squadron does, and I want to be a part of this team.”
Lewis looked at Jack. “Tell her this is crazy. This isn’t what the team does.”
His uncle looked at him heavily. “I can’t. She’s right. If Julianna and Eddie were here and had heard that distress call, they’d respond.” Jack lowered his chin, his eyes finding the girl’s. “But, DJ, you don’t have to do it. We can find another way.”
“But time is a factor. This is my decision, right?” she asked him, her chin low.
“Of course it is,” he conceded. “We don’t own you. You’re free to leave Ricky Bobby, stay with us, or go back to Starboards.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere; I want to stay. And if this is my decision, then I’m doing it. I’m the only one who can fit down the shaft, and I want to do something that matters. I want to help a planet and be a part of this team.”
Lewis looked at Bailey, silently urging her to say something to change Dejoure’s mind.
The lieutenant approached the girl, and leaned down a little so she was the same height. “Then we’d better get you suited up."
Lewis looked at her with disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re going to take her to do this?”
Bailey gave him an unapologetic smile. “Yes, I am. And so are you, detective.” She looked at DJ, still smiling. “I’ll fly you to the orb, but you have to do the rest.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Q-Ship,Davida System
A dark orb hung in the blackness, with distant stars and planets sprinkled around it.
“Pip, how much longer does Berosia have?” Bailey asked.
“The planet has been in the dark for approximately sixty-eight hours and forty-three minutes,” the AI stated. “Irreversible damage to the planet, tides, and wildlife will set in after three days of no light.”
“I guess I’d better speed up.” Bailey ignited the thrusters, seemingly at one with the Q-Ship. It hadn’t taken her long to feel like the spacecraft was an extension of her own body. She had so much more to learn as a pilot, but the anxiety during flying was gone. Every flight was a thrill; even though they were on a risky mission, soaring put her at ease.
Lewis turned from the copilot’s seat.
“Don’t you dare ask DJ how’s she’s doing,” Bailey spat before he could say anything.
He cut his eyes at her, a perturbed look on his face. “And why the hell not?”
“Would you ask me how I’m doing before a mission?” she asked.
“No, but you can take care of yourself,” Lewis shot back, and then shrank back a little, shaking his head. “Yeah, fine, point taken. But I’ll remind you that she’s only twelve years old.”
“Don’t underestimate people based on age or appearance. Ever,” Bailey said, tightening her grip on the controls.
Lewis studied her quietly for a moment. “Okay, fair enough,” he said finally
and turned to face Dejoure. “So, super-secret agent. You have any questions?”
She shook her head, her black hair pinned out of her face. “Hatch gave me my instructions. He said to replace the power supply, and then hurry the hell out of there.”
Lewis laughed. “Gotta love that guy’s brevity.”
“Pip, please set us on course for the access point on Alpha Tari L,” Bailey stated.
“Done,” he said, keeping his tone businesslike for once.
Bailey had almost been expecting a joke from the never-serious AI. Maybe he’s nervous for Dejoure, too.
“DJ, I’m going to land as close to the access door as I can,” she said, looking back at the girl.
Dejoure nodded, her face pale. “I’ll be fine.”
“Of course you will,” Bailey agreed as they neared the strange artificial sun.
Its surface was slick, unlike the rough, liquid, molten lava exterior of other suns. It was just a giant light. Such a strange thing to hang in space.
She thought it was incredible that Berosia had found a way to reach out for help, to survive, even when it seemed like the end had befallen them. It supported her belief that giving up was usually a choice made by the weak and uninspired.
“We’ll be on comms, so if you need anything…” Lewis told the girl. He looked at Bailey before finishing his sentence, reading the tough look on her face. “Anyway, it’s an easy job. In and out. Nothing to it,” he assured her instead.
Bailey set the ship down six meters from the opening that led down into the internal workings of Alpha Tari L. She stood, grabbing the toolkit that Hatch had put together for Dejoure. It contained the power supply, which was ridiculously small considering how important it was. But she had told Harlowe not to judge based on age or appearance; that went for size, too.
Bailey handed over the toolbox after the girl’s gloves were secured. She looked so small in the space suit, like a doll dressed up as an astronaut.
“Remember to guide the power supply into place gradually,” she instructed her. “You don’t want to risk breaking the fragile filaments.”
Dejoure nodded, looking to be having trouble swallowing.
“And don’t forget that there’s a breakaway piece that falls off when the power supply is put into place,” Bailey added, suddenly feeling out of breath.
“I remember,” the girl assured her.
Of course she does, Bailey thought.
The girl had been paying close attention during Hatch’s instructions, but so had Bailey. She wasn’t narrow enough to fit through the series of shafts, but she wanted to believe she could make herself fit if, for some reason, Dejoure backed out.
Lewis eyed his watch. “Okay, we have less than thirty minutes, but you don’t need that long. Two minutes down there, less than one minute back, okay? Observe all potential hazards on the way to the target, so you’ll have an easier time working around them on your way back.”
Dejoure smiled, a rawness in her eyes like she might cry. “I’ll be back in forty-five seconds or less. I want to give us plenty of time to get away.”
Bailey nodded and walked past the girl to secure the chamber. “Once you’re ready, give me the signal, and I’ll open the airlock.”
Dejoure moved slowly behind her, each of her footsteps weighted. “Okay. No problem.”
Bailey opened the secure chamber, and waited for the girl to lumber through to the other side before closing it. She peered through the viewing window as the child clamped her helmet into place.
Dejoure turned, a forced smile on her face as she looked back at Bailey and Lewis.
“Seriously, why do the shafts down to the target area have to be so narrow?” Lewis asked, pacing.
“Because they weren’t designed for humans,” Bailey answered steadily as she checked over her controls, readying the ship for flight.
Lewis nodded, but it was still shitty in his mind. Humans were never meant to do upkeep on these artificial suns, yet who steps in when a planet can’t afford a galactic maintenance crew?
“You sure are protective of DJ,” Bailey observed, flicking her eyes up to watch him as he paced. “Do you have a younger sister that she reminds you of?”
He shook his head.
“Cousin?” she pressed.
Lewis paused, eyeing his partner speculatively. “No. I’m an only child. Jack is my only extended family, and he has no children.”
“Yet,” Bailey said with a sneaky grin.
Lewis cut his eyes at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” she sang.
“I’ve got the access door opened,” Dejoure reported through the comm overhead.
Lewis let out a breath. “Good, was it difficult?”
“The locks are a bit tight, but it only took me twenty seconds to open them,” she replied.
“Okay, plan for it to take you half that time to put them back into place,” Lewis said.
“I’m entering the shaft now.” Dejoure’s voice was slightly breathless.
Bailey flipped multiple switches on the dash, her shoulders relaxed. Lewis didn’t know how she could remain calm when they were sitting on a dead sun that was about to be illuminated and potentially blind them all, but he was glad that she was.
“Dog biscuits,” Dejoure exclaimed over the comm. “This shaft is tight.”
“Can you fit?” Lewis asked.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine, but I’m having to carry the tool box between my legs, which makes this pretty awkward,” she related.
“Well, be sure to hold on to the ladder tightly,” he advised.
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry,” Dejoure said lightly. “If I lose my grip, I just have to lean back, and the tunnel will catch me. Seriously, neither of you would have fit in here.”
“Are you calling me fat?” Bailey asked, a laugh in her voice.
“No,” Dejoure said at once. “Not at all. I just meant—”
“Ignore the lieutenant,” Lewis urged, shaking his head.
Bailey was grinning wide, a playful expression dancing in her eyes. “I think she was saying I have a big ass.”
Lewis put his back to Bailey, so as not to burst out with nervous laughter. “How far have you made it?”
“Not far,” Dejoure replied. “It’s going to take me longer than two minutes to get down there.”
“That’s fine,” Lewis stated. “Just take extra care to plan your escape. If there’s a slippery rung on the ladder, make note of it.”
The girl’s breath filled the comm for the next several seconds as she made the journey down to the basement of Alpha Tari L. “I’m almost to the end.”
“Okay, that means you’re coming to the horizontal tunnel,” Bailey said. “Remember that you’re going to have to back into it.”
A loud clattering echoed over the comm.
Bailey whipped her head up, her eyes startled. Lewis spun around, his eyes matching hers.
“DJ? What happened? Are you alright?” he demanded.
A sharp intake of breath reverberated over the comm. “I’m fine. But I dropped the toolbox.”
Dejoure took the rungs of the ladder faster, hurrying down to where the toolbox had fallen, following the trail of clanging noises it had made as it descended. It had been so difficult to manage it while climbing down in the cramped shaft.
If the power supply was broken, she’d already failed. The team will hate me. They might get rid of me. Worst of all, I’ll kill an entire planet.
Most twelve-year-old’s mistakes didn’t have such big repercussions, but Dejoure had wanted this. She’d asked for it.
With great responsibility, comes great risks.
When she thought she was close to the bottom of the ladder, she dropped. The fall was farther than she expected, and her helmet bumped back and forth between the shaft wall and the ladder. The light attached to her helmet bobbed, making a strange psychedelic show as she descended.
When her feet landed, t
hey hit the toolbox, and she nearly slipped as she kicked it farther back. Great, Dejoure thought.
“What’s going on?” Lewis asked. “Are you all right?”
Breathing hard, she crouched down. This was where the shaft curved and she had to scoot backwards.
“I’m fine,” she responded, “but I can’t check on the power supply yet.”
She didn’t remember ever feeling claustrophobic before, but stuffed inside a space suit and tightly encapsulated in the narrow tunnel, she could feel the world closing in on her. She took a deep breath and backed up, her spine scratching up against the curve in the tunnel. There was no room to negotiate.
She pushed her feet back behind her and moved them around, trying to find the toolbox. Her left foot knocked into it, sending it back an inch.
Dog biscuits. She clenched her eyes closed momentarily.
Shimmying backwards, Dejoure pressed closely to the right side of the tunnel. If she could slide back beside the toolbox, she could grab it.
This part of the shaft was slightly larger than the first, but only because there were no rungs. She hoped that the horizontal tunnel would give her enough room to clear the toolbox.
The corner of the box caught on her suit, dragging back several inches. Dejoure reached down to unhook it, and caught the edge with her hand. She encouraged it up, pulling it in front of her, then pressed back behind it until her feet came out over a clearing.
She was there. At the final drop that led into the source room.
“I’m almost there,” she said into the comm.
She didn’t know if she wanted a response. Bailey had put her at ease with her fat joke earlier, and Lewis’s protective manner made her feel good—and Dejoure couldn’t remember the last time someone really cared about her, and wasn’t just keeping her alive because her death would be a major inconvenience. So she wanted to hear Lewis’s and Bailey’s voices, but she also needed silence to concentrate.
“Good, we’re here,” Lewis said, keeping it brief.
Dejoure angled her legs down, trying to find the rungs. It was supposedly a short ladder, but she still didn’t want to fall. Unlike on the surface, there was gravity inside of Alpha Tari L. Hatch had explained why, but Dejoure didn’t understand half of what he said.