by Gwynn White
Ehli had one more thing to say, then she'd focus entirely on surviving to get to their son. "Schaefer."
He punched the last button and the light turned green. Locks disengaged atop and below the door. "Yes." He looked her in the eye with an unfamiliar moment of patience. If he'd given her this look more often, their marriage might have been stronger.
"I hope you'll get time to convince us about all the steps you've taken since we last saw you, but one step that you'll need to repent of is not telling us from the start. That lie has scared us all, and it'll take time to forgive you for it. For both of us." Stroman's anxiety made her fingers fidget. She had to hurry. "No more lies."
His lips parted in the beginning of a response.
"Never." This was her last offer of peace between them.
"Right. Never. You've earned that."
"Good." She pushed open the door to a wide hall, pitch black save for the beam from her flashlight, which did not reach its end. "Now I need to concentrate. We will return to our son."
"Yes, we will." Schaefer took out a levitor pistol and clicked on the flashlight attached to its top.
34
Emmit created a workstation on a table with an extendable arm so that Cullen could watch him working on the wristcom while Sara finished his stitches. They had the new power source installed, and many of the wires spliced and repaired. The cooling system was busted, but Cullen had said they should be fine to create the Mericure bubble without it overheating. If they made it to Vijil, he could handle a replacement then.
"You shouldn't have let your mother leave."
Willo's voice interrupted Emmit as he snipped a wire casing. He cut clean through the wire, meaning he'd have to remeasure and cut a longer replacement wire.
Cullen looked up and locked eyes. "Emmit?"
"No," Willo said. "This is between us."
The way she said it, and the hold she suddenly had on him, he didn't think he could do anything against her will. "Sorry, just nervous," he told Cullen, then unspooled a new length of wire. What have you done?
"Nothing yet, but time's running out on that gift."
Anger surged. She's stronger than you realize.
"Oh, I'm fully aware of her strength. Haritz can attest to that. But I have two hundred rejects waiting my command to overwhelm her mind and make her ours—for good. See, we couldn't have done this if she hadn't come closer, and she took that bait oh so easily. Schaefer too?" She laughed through their connection. "Do any of you have any idea what to do if he doesn't come back? I could take your mother and still have enough leverage to barter him back to you for whatever I want."
Hold your threats, reject. Emmit finished splicing the wire, and thumbed the tiny power button inside the casing. The wristcom hummed and lit up.
"Yes." Cullen tightened a fist. "Great job, Em."
"Sure." Emmit nodded at the door. "I better get out there. Sara, do you know how to reach Adi's father?"
Sara checked her watch. She walked after Emmit as he left Cullen to put the final pieces of his wristcom back together. "Yeah, we can get started while we wait on your father."
"See, she doesn't care about your mother," Willo taunted as Emmit approached his neuronet seat. "And we don't need to wait on your father. I can show you how to link into Adi's father's ship."
Emmit sat on the chair beside Adi. He couldn't help but notice his friend's shiny eyes, his grin so wide his cheeks must hurt, his fidgeting as he tried to wait. He wasn't sure he wanted to help Willo, but if he didn't, Adi would never meet his father again.
"I say all that," Willo continued, "not to imply that we want to harm your mother... or your father. He'll need punished, but for your sake, we can let him live. We'll also let Adi enjoy this moment with his dad."
Sara parted Emmit's hair behind his ear and inserted the net jack. His brain blinked as code uploaded via the high-speed cable. He'd done this enough not to let the data stream slow his thoughts. I'm here to help my mom and dad. And Adi, Emmit thought.
"And you will, as long as you comply," Willo 'pathed. "First, send Sprinkles to give us a ride."
Sprinkles. He was sitting guard outside the ship's doors. He's injured.
"I said comply."
Emmit resisted for a brief second, before sending Sprinkles. You make sure he gets back.
"Don't worry, he will. Next, once you're connected with Hopper Brinoway—"
"Son?" "Emmit?" his dad and mom's voices and connection severed Willo's strange, oppressive one. The channel was a calm river in comparison to that pouncing bear.
Yeah. Are you guys okay? Do you see the rejects?
"We are. Your mother is busy keeping our minds safe as we get closer to the inner defensive block.
"I'll be fine, hon. We'll see you soon."
"Listen," his father continued. "We don't have much time, and in case I can't reply before I get back, I needed to tell you the favor I need you to relay to Adi's father."
Okay, I'm listening.
"The Solvent, the ship you're on, doesn't have the ability to pull all the way to Vijil."
Emmit saw where he was going, and didn't like the ramifications. Cullen wasn't going to buy this, and he didn't exactly like the idea of visiting an Osuna ship.
"When you talk to Hopper Brinoway, you'll negotiate opening a bubble into the A wing of the civilian population in his ship. I've already recruited a small team to clear it."
Cullen's doing this to go home, but—
"Yes, that's another part of the favor, but first, when you speak to Adi's dad, you'll offer him his son back in exchange for using his ship to pull to Vijil."
Emmit could see Adi's dad taking that offer. He would, if he were Adi's father. But how?
"You did a great job, Emmit," Cullen said as he entered the cargo hold. He tapped at his wristcom with a smile as he took careful, unbalanced steps toward the ladder leading up to the cockpit. "I'll be ready in a few minutes. Any word from Schaefer or your mom?"
"Yeah, talking to my dad right now. He said to get ready."
"It'll just be a few minutes."
"You'll need to get in his head, but without him knowing."
That's not how it works, Dad, Emmit 'pathed, remembering how Cullen had doubled over in agony when Emmit had tried to connect with him.
Cullen grabbed a rung and grunted as he pulled himself over the top of the ladder and onto the new level heading into the cockpit.
"We don't have a choice."
What do you want me to do?
"Pretend you're on Sprinkles."
This evoked a pang of guilt at the hidden lie of sending his wolverine to Willo.
"You're going to ride Cullen's pull. He's going to think about going home. I've adjusted the specs in our drive system to make it look like the engine will handle it through a system of skips. What you're going to do is share what you're seeing of A wing on Brinoway's ship while tapping into Cullen's bubble for a detour so quick he'll think it's just the first of our skips. You'll need to keep him locked in his memories of home so that he doesn't realize he's boarded an Osuna vessel. When we get to the Eon, Adi's dad's ship, you'll tie his dad to Cullen's memories, and together, a multi-bubble will power us enough to pull us into Vijil."
If it weren't for the clenching in Emmit's stomach, and lack of air passing through his throat, he might have laughed at the absurdity of his father's request. I've never done anything like this. What would... he pictured the Eon splitting in two the second Emmit lost concentration, or if he thought of a sun, the bubble dropping them off into bright light and fire so sudden they wouldn't feel their burst to cinders.
"Emmit, your mother needs to let us go now. Find a way to help Cullen, and while you're doing that, make this work. I'm counting on you. And I know you can do it."
But what happens when an Osuna ship appears on Vijil? Won't we be attacked immediately?
"As soon as we arrive, Cullen will be mic'd and we'll let him plead for our safety. The Eon isn't a war ves
sel. It's a civilian trainer. It has weapons, but... well, I'm sure it can withstand anything the Ruciens can deliver, at least in time for Cullen to convince them we're not there for a fight. Okay, I have to go. I love you, Son. Make me proud."
Emmit held a finger up to Sara and looked away in concentration as his father finished. He wanted to make his father proud more than anything, and the request spoken in ignorance of his possible betrayal—at worst, slight omission at best... what will he do when he finds out?
"Finds out what?" Sara 'pathed, slipping seamlessly into the connection. He'd have to get better at locking his thoughts.
"Something my dad asked me to do," he said out loud, hoping vocalization might help push her out of his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm ready for Adi's dad. Are you going to get us linked, or will Cullen?"
"I can't wait, Em." Adi grabbed Emmit's arm. His smile lit light a full moon.
"Me neither." Surrounded by so many oppressive and haunting circumstances, Adi's joy was real, and helped calm the river they rode on. Ride like a wolverine.
As Sara tapped the holo screen beside his chair, getting their line ready, Emmit took a deep breath of preparation.
"Okay," Sara said, as the purple lights of their neuronet chairs opened up and swallowed them into the world beyond.
Hopper Brinoway looked to Emmit's left and slumped, as though someone had pulled out his spine and he'd lost the strength to keep his head upright. His eyes watered, and a hand went to his mouth.
"Dad!" Adi shouted. Emmit couldn't see him, but his voice sounded as if he'd tried to jump out of his seat.
Hopper Brinoway shook with sobs. His eyes, already puffy and straining veins, looked as much a mess as the rest of him. His hand trembled as he raised it in a mimed caress of his son's cheek.
Emmit's eyes burned, and his throat tightened, sharing in the joy that kept Adi and his father speechless. But his mom and dad were in danger. They didn't have time. "Hopper Brinoway, my name is Emmit Orson. My father hired a pilot named Cullen Re to rescue us from the prison on Setuk."
Adi's father switched from Emmit back to his son. "Setuk?" His sobs broke loose again. "Were... I..."
"We'll have time to catch up," Emmit interrupted. "We're under siege, and I have to make this quick."
Hopper Brinoway cleared his throat and wiped a tear. "Yes. How can I help?"
"My father would like us to pull onto your ship."
Hopper Brinoway gave a puzzled look. "That's... not possible."
Emmit leaned into the emotion he saw on the man's face, into the raw vulnerability of seeing his son and the possibility of being reunited after seven years. What did he look like when you saw him last? Emmit 'pathed.
The connection spiked, jabbing a point in Emmit's brain he associated with Hopper Brinoway's resistance to the connection. Despite the strange fear of having Emmit's voice in his head, he hadn't stopped picturing his son at the age of five. The moment that came to mind was the day that Adi had been lost, and then captured. The mental picture he'd kept of his son for these seven years had been taken only minutes before Adi had gone.
Adi ran between chairs in the cockpit and hopped up on his father's lap. He stretched his hands out on the armrests, smile a perfect picture of youthful joy—pure and hopeful for more and more.
But then Hopper Brinoway cut him out. "How?" Then, "What are you?" His suspicion drifted toward Osuna, then swung to the other side of the spectrum... where myth spoke of the Ancients who saved the Rucien by carting them off in a ball of light to live in the stars. This was that kind of unexplained power, and as he hoped for good, he also resisted, making Emmit's intrusion difficult.
"Please," Emmit said. "Without my ability, getting your son onto your ship will be impossible."
Hopper Brinoway glanced at his son and back. The resistance softened as his gaze locked with Emmit's. "Ancient?"
Close. Ultra. My dad did this. Each word 'pathed into the man's brain tightened their connection. He returned to the scene clothed in guilt, in which Adi's father had chastened his son for being rough with his chair—words he'd relived over and over in the darkness of long nights and the lonely silence of moments too frequent to number. Adi! Get off! The outburst had scolded him ever since.
It's okay. He's here now, and he loves you more than ever. The consoling words wrapped Hopper Brinoway's mind like a rope around Emmit's hand. He could do this. What we're going to do next is, as soon as my mom and dad, and….
"We're coming with," Willo spoke into his connection. "Don't need to name us, just if he needs a number, add plus two to however many make it onto the ship. When we arrive, hide us from the group. We'll stowaway in the generator room." Her connection faded out. How'll I hide them from the group? he wondered as his hold on Hopper Brinoway's mind slipped. He had to scramble to catch it before it was gone.
He caught on the last strand and pulled Adi's father back, latching onto the longing in the gaze directed at his son.
Sorry, this isn't easy. Adi's father's attention returned. We're going to need to park our ship in A wing.
Hopper Brinoway looked off in thought.
It's okay, my father has connections who've already cleared room. We just need you to get your p-drive and generators ready to go as soon as we arrive.
His confusion increased.
Emmit smiled. His dad's plan was going to feel great if executed. The risk made him tremble in anxiety. Our pilot doesn't know we're boarding an Osuna vessel. And it's a good thing too, because he's no ally.
Hopper Brinoway had just as small a clue of where Emmit was going as when they began. "How are you..."
I'm taking care of the first leg. His memories will take us to the next, but we don't want to distract him long enough to realize where he is.
"Okay. So where is the next leg?"
Vijil.
Hopper Brinoway's shock flashed through their connection. He shook his head as a look of terror crossed his face. "No. I... If we lead the Osuna there.... Your pilot has memories of Vijil? Does he know what will happen if the Osuna find—"
You can get those generators warming now. We'll explain later.
Hopper Brinoway took another second to grasp what Emmit had just ordered, then snapped out of it and blazed through action points on holoscreens that rose and fell in a dance of commands.
He had work to do. I'm not leaving, but I have preparations to make as well. Stay with me.
"I will." Hopper Brinoway looked up to Emmit for a brief, "Thank you," then went back to his systems.
You're welcome. The next step wasn't going to be as fun. Emmit swept out to find Cullen, and connected as the captain watched a video message of Torek.
"Hopefully you haven't killed me by now," Torek said. "I programed this file to open only upon connection to the Solvent's system, which I'm sure you can tell..." as he spoke, numbers appeared on the bottom of Cullen's vision, blue to green as they synchronized with the Solvent's privacy code. Torek smiled acknowledgment of his plan's execution. "See, I'm going to hope that this risk, and I sincerely apologize for what has no doubt been more danger than we've... no, Romalus was pretty bad—but I know, going into this mission, that we can't protect anyone one hundred percent. But then, when can we ever?"
Torek's expression bent for a moment of pleading empathy, then sank as he prepared to deliver the hard truth this video was intended for. "We had to plant evidence to convince Oniz to think she could recruit you against us. If she played into our hand and showed you the call between me and Ocia about betraying you, know that never happened. Do you remember the dates and call numbers on those? Of course you do. Been more than a few times you've used those to track our bounties."
Torek flicked his finger up to produce a hologram mugshot of Jun Osan, a tan man with a nose like a downward footprint. Torek winked, and pointed at Jun's prison serial number. The same number as Ocia's merchant ID from Torek's conversation about giving Cullen up. Torek's face lit up, and he cackled. "When Willo showed y
ou our call logs, did you find that clue?"
You made Ocia's ID Osan's serial to show me the conversation was faked? Cullen thought.
The video played on. "See? I told you I was smart." The smile he shared with the camera was one shared between brothers. He gently shook his head. "Did you really think I could deal you out? I've thought a lot about this, about how our plan hinged on you believing I could betray you." He shrugged. "If the Ancients have truly blessed this mission, I hope they keep you from killing me. And if you haven't, thank you." Torek's face dropped in sorrow. "If you have… I'm sorry. It's been an honor seeing these stars with you. I'd take a few back if given the choice, Romalus included, but definitely not the choice to join wings with you, Captain Re.
"Anyway, hopefully that didn't happen," he said with a charmingly sarcastic smile, "and I'm not far, because I'm sure Willo's not going to like us stranding her here while we go off and unearth the Ancient's Cipher."
Torek's video timed off, and Emmit slipped into Cullen's relief at seeing his friend vindicated. The captain's mind was like a body-adaptable chair waiting for someone to sit down. Emmit tried not to let his guilt weaken his resolve to do the job they needed him to do. That was good to see, Emmit told him, tightening their bond as Cullen inwardly agreed. I don't mean to rush, but you—
"Emmit!" His dad broke into his connection. "We're on our way. Get the bubble ready. It's gonna be close."
He didn't have to ask Cullen if he'd heard, as the captain busied himself prepping the pullspace engines. What did he mean by, "it's gonna be close"?
35
They found Stroman whimpering in a corner of a bare stone alcove while Ocia and his group banged on the other side of the door and shouted to be let in.
Ocia. We're here, Ehli 'pathed as she ran to the door.
Schaefer punched in his code, but a red light flashed beside the keypad.
"He changed the access code," Ocia said through the door.
A jubilant laugh and then a shriek echoed from the other side, distant from Ocia's proximity, but not too far.