A warm hand touches my shoulder.
“Time for a break,” Radcliff says.
I want to protest, but I don’t have the energy. We return to his unit and he gestures to my bedroom. “I’ve been ordered to ensure you don’t overdo it until the doctor gives you the all-clear.”
“What happens when I get the all-clear?”
“Training.”
My brain tries to rally my thoughts to form a coherent reply. It fails.
“Officer Morgan made a very good point about you being in the middle of trouble. If you’re going to be where the action is, you’ll need to learn how to defend yourself. Now get some rest.”
I go lie down. I’ll worry about training later…much later. Although…I do look good in that jumpsuit. It might not be that bad. Perhaps I’ll get to wrestle with Niall. That would be fun. Except I doubt my idea of wrestling matches Officer Radcliff’s idea. Not as much fun now.
A knock wakes me from a light doze.
“Lyra, time for supper,” Radcliff says.
I groan into the pillow. Who knew that just being able to go eat whenever I wanted would become so appealing. What was that saying…something about missing something only when it’s gone? I run my fingers through my messy hair and consider pulling it into a ponytail for a half a second. Nah.
When I open the door, I immediately regret my sloppy appearance. My parents and Niall are in the common room talking. A lump grows in my throat and I’m going to blame the concussion for it—not the fact I’m overwhelmingly glad to see them. My mom spots me first and swoops in for a hug. I lean into it. I’ve been needing that hug all day.
“What are—” I ask.
“Tace invited us for supper,” Dad says, taking a turn to squeeze me.
“We heard he’s quite the cook,” Mom adds.
Hurt, I stare at her.
But there’s a glint in her brown eyes. “You didn’t think we abandoned you. Did you?”
“Uh…I thought you were mad at me.”
“Officially, we are,” Dad says. “Unofficially, we’re so proud of you, Li-Li! For someone who claims she doesn’t want to be an archaeologist, you certainly have made a number of vital discoveries.” He claps me on the shoulder and I almost topple over.
I meet Niall’s gaze. He’s grinning and mouths Li-Li. I’m about to scowl at him when I notice he’s not in uniform. Instead, he’s wearing jeans and a form-fitting black T-shirt. Oh my. I really should have fixed my hair.
“Food’s ready,” Radcliff announces.
My parents head to the kitchen.
“Did your dad invite you, too?” I ask Niall.
“Sort of.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He hesitates, then says, “Since my mom died, my dad and I make a point to eat dinner together. Unless one of us is on duty or something big is going on. When I moved out, he asked me to continue the tradition.” Niall shrugs. “Captain Harrison is…was his closest friend. Being down here has to be rough on my dad, too.”
He has a point, and I regret all my unkind thoughts about Officer Radcliff…well, most of them.
Niall steps closer and lowers his voice. “Do your parents know about us?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t know about us until last night.”
He grabs my hand. “Then this should be an interesting meal. Come on, Mouse.” He tows me into the kitchen.
My mother is talking about the new Warrior planets. She doesn’t miss a beat when we enter, but she notices our laced hands before we break apart to sit down in the two empty seats at the table. Radcliff sets out a steaming white cheesy-looking casserole that smells divine and tastes even better. A man of many talents. I might actually enjoy this probation. Conversation ceases as we all enjoy the meal.
“Too bad we can’t use the Q-net to map those planets,” Dad says before he shoves the last of several huge forkfuls into his mouth. “Not a single scientist on this base has an old-fashioned paper star map.” He says it like it’s an insult.
“Is there a way to discover how the looters are accessing DES’s data? Or where they breached the security?” Mom asks me, changing the subject before Dad gets into full ranting mode. “I’m not comfortable with keeping critical information from them.”
I consider. My activities last night focused on the star roads. Then I remember my message to Jarren. I tell them about it. They stare at me as if I’d done something wrong. Again.
“You reported the looters to DES right?” I ask to break the silence.
“Yes,” Radcliff says. “Did you consider that asking Jarren to find information on the perpetrators might endanger him?”
Uh. No. “But he can’t go that deep.”
“With his record, I’ve no doubt he will ignore his restrictions and try.”
“He’s good enough not to draw attention, he should be allowed to search,” I say. No response. “I’ll send him another message. And, if I’m permitted, I can try to find the security holes they used to worm into DES and trace them.”
“Won’t that endanger you?” Mom asks.
“She’s well protected,” Niall says almost hotly.
My hero. Dad covers his smile behind a napkin.
“And we’ve already been hit,” Radcliff adds. “The looters might target Suzhou because of Jarren.”
Never thought of that! I swallow. “I’ll do it tonight.”
Radcliff agrees. “Niall, take her to my office. Morgan’s on duty, she can supervise.”
Niall stands. “I can stay with her.”
“No. You have an early shift tomorrow.”
His shoulders stiffen, but he doesn’t argue. “Come on, Lyra.”
I glance at my parents. Mom says, “Don’t worry, we’ll be visiting again.”
Relieved, I follow Niall out.
“Gotta make a quick stop,” he says, pausing at entrance number three-oh-four, which is two doors down and across the hall from Radcliff’s. Pressing his palm to the lock, he opens the door and hustles inside.
I trail behind him into a tiny housing unit. While he ducks into the bedroom at the back, I glance around. Large colorful paintings decorate the walls. Actual canvases. Not images. They’re gorgeous and so different from each other. A field of yellow flowers hangs next to a painting of a nebula cluster. I’m drawn to the one of a blue and white ocean wave crashing against a steep cliff face.
“My mother’s,” Niall says behind me.
“All of them?”
“Just my favorites. She painted…hundreds.”
“They’re amazing.”
I turn around. He’s belting on his holster, but his gaze is focused on a painting of a ringed planet streaked with purple and blue clouds. His grief is still raw. Stepping closer, I wrap my arms around him. He freezes for a moment then draws me tight against him. Warmth and the scent of sage envelop me.
“We better go,” Niall says in a rough voice.
I tilt my head back, hoping for a kiss. “You’re not in uniform.”
He laughs. “I’m armed. And there are cameras in the corridor, tracking how long we’re in here together.”
“They can be fixed.” I’m kidding, but he gapes at me. It’s kind of cute.
“Good thing I’m the sensible one.” Niall releases me and gestures to the door.
“I could fix them when I’m worming tonight.”
“Lyra.” He uses his stern Officer Radcliff voice.
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “I’m joking.”
Shooing me out, he shakes his head sadly. “Do you know most of the officers are betting on how long you’ll last before being sent to detention?”
Not so funny now. “No.”
We head to Radcliff’s office and I wonder… “Why are you armed?”
“Orders.”
“Oh no you don’t. Tell me why.”
There’s a tense silence.
“Does your dad think I’m going to run away? Or that
I’m going to cause prob
lems and have to be stunned?”
“I don’t know.”
I huff.
“Look, I’m the lowest ranked officer on this team. I’m not part of the decision-making process, I follow orders.”
“And your orders are…”
“To protect you.”
I wait.
“Either from invaders or from yourself.”
Great. Just great. I don’t know why I’m upset and I think it might have to do with the officers betting on me or maybe the fact I’m being supervised all the time and it’s like everyone is waiting for me to do something… stupid. When we enter, Niall explains to Morgan why I’m there.
Before he leaves, he leans close and lowers his voice. “My money’s on you, Mouse. Ninety days without a hitch.”
My bad mood dissolves in an instant.
I use the terminal while Morgan stands behind me with her thumbs tucked into her weapon belt. What does she expect me to do? Ignoring her, I worm into the Q-net.
First stop. There’s a message from Jarren.
2522:150: Wow! I AM proud of you, Lyra. Major points for getting thrown into detention. And WOW again for the ninety-day sentence. You must have been worming deep into illegal waters. Go you! Was it because I sent you those recovered Xinji files? They were a mess. I doubt anyone harvested any good information from them. At least not any details that would compromise the almighty DES’s security. Did Lan’s research have anything of interest? I miss her too. I’m sorry to hear about the looters. I’d love to help you out, but I can’t go that deep anymore. I’ve an Officer Even Tighter Pants tracking my activities. When I’m in a good mood it’s kind of cute—like an over-eager puppy following me around the Q-net. Other times it’s annoying—like an over-eager puppy following me around the Q-net.
Lamenting the loss of major points, I send Jarren a quick reply, telling him about my probation and not to worry about the looters. I downplay Lan’s research, saying that she sent it to me before Xinji went silent and it isn’t about anything important. I don’t want him to get into trouble trying to access the files.
Then I worm deeper, searching for evidence of another. I encounter a few collapsed tunnels of worms who have covered their tracks…well, inexpertly. There’s a number of abandoned holes from brand new worms. I’m amazed by how many people are worming into DES, but they’re mostly digging into minor areas. Allowing my instincts to lead the way, I sink into the levels that are between the surface systems and the star roads.
The clear purity and sizzling fastness of the star roads call to me, but this terminal doesn’t have permission to go that far. I glide above and eventually spot a smooth shimmer. I track it for a while and discover it’s a collapsed worm tunnel. But it’s so expertly done, it’s almost invisible. And impossible to trace back to the worm. I wonder if this is the work of the infamous Osen Vee. Once I know what to look for, I find more. Many more. And these are going into highly secure areas. Unease tingles up my spine. That’s scary.
Going a bit further, I almost trip over another worm. This one is active! That’s even scarier. My pulse jumps.
“Officer Morgan,” I squeak.
“What’s wrong?” She crouches next to me.
I explain what I have found, pointing to the screen. “What should I do?”
“Can you follow it to the source without letting the worm know you’re there?”
Can I? Before my time with Chief Hoshi—no. Now… “Yes.”
“Do it. I’ll contact Radcliff.”
I trail the worm by staying below it, as close to the star roads as I can get without setting off DES’s alarms. The fact that the illegal worm is this near to the roads sends bolts of panic along my nerves. This could be one of the looters.
Voices sound behind me, but I’m too focused on my prey to listen. Time passes, more voices arrive, and pain stabs my forehead. At one point the worm dips into DES’s sensitive database. I edge closer to see which one, and—
“Shit!” I bang a fist on the chair’s arm as the worm spies me and takes off, zigzagging and covering its tracks so fast I lose it. “Shit!” Disgusted, I turn and freeze. Radcliff, Morgan, and my parents are staring at me.
“Uh…sorry.”
“What happened?” Radcliff asks.
I explain.
He exchanges a glance with Morgan before asking me, “Can you go back in and track it?”
“Not on this terminal.” I rub my temples.
“What about mine in the Control Room?” Dad asks.
“No. You need—shit!” I swivel back, calculating how many days it’s been. About sixty days. Would they be in a time jump? I quickly access the information and— Yes!
“What are you doing?” Radcliff asks.
I hold up a hand. “Give me a minute.” I send a message and hope there’s not too long a delay—depends on how the Q-net is routing it. It’s out of my hands now. I relax and turn to the others. “We can’t follow the worm, but Chief Hoshi or one of the navigators can from their terminals. As long as they do it soon.”
“How soon?” Radcliff asks.
“Now.”
He strides over to his desk and consults his terminal. “They’re ten days away from a crinkle point.”
Which means they’re too busy getting ready to bring the Crinkler engine online to even see the message. If they do notice, they still won’t have time to do anything. “Shit.”
“Lyra,” Mom scolds.
“Sorry.”
“It’s certainly appropriate.” Radcliff sits down. Lines of exhaustion are etched into his face and his shoulders droop.
“I can set up an alarm on a few secure areas. If the worm encounters any of them, we’ll know,” I offer. Considering how vast the Q-net is, chances are slim.
“All right.”
“Not now,” Mom says in her it’s-pointless-to-argue voice. “You’ve been worming for hours.”
Hours? I glance at the clock. It’s oh-two-hundred hours. No wonder my brain feels like it’s turned into goo.
“Okay, I just need to erase my trail.” No way I’d want that worm to follow me home. And since the worm is an expert, it takes me another hour to ensure my tunnels have disappeared.
Just as I finish, I get a message— “Hoshi replied!” I shout.
Radcliff is next to me in an instant. “And?”
“She tracked the worm.”
“And?”
Oh. My. Stars. “It came from Xinji.”
Fifteen
2522:151
Stunned silence. I read the message again just in case my tired eyes missed a word or two. Or skipped something that would result in a different answer. One that made sense.
“That can’t be,” Mom says. “Did the Chief make a mistake?”
“Hoshi doesn’t make mistakes,” Radcliff says.
“Then that means there’s still someone alive on Xinji,” my dad says.
More silence. Everyone looks as exhausted as I feel. It’s oh-three-thirty-hundred—well past my bedtime.
“While it is possible,” Radcliff says, “it’s not probable. DES did a remote scan for life.”
“But that was…” Dad makes a circular gesture with his right hand. “…about a year and a half ago. Maybe the Xinji looters returned.”
“Or never left,” Officer Morgan adds. “There are ways to hide from a life scan.”
True, the satellites in orbit can’t penetrate bedrock.
“What about using the satellite relay to confuse a trace and lead us to the wrong planet?” Mom asks.
“It’s possible,” I say. “And if that’s the case, then…” Everyone is staring at me.
“Then,” Dad prompts.
“That worm is far better than Chief Hoshi and will be impossible to find.”
No one has the
energy to react.
I glance at Radcliff. “Jarren mentioned a wormer named Osen Vee. Have you heard of her?”
“Unfortunately. She runs with a dangerous crowd of wormers. Did he mention Warrick Nolt, Ursy Bear, or Fordel Peke? Along with Vee, they’ve been a menace in the Q-net for a couple E-years now.”
“No, but Warrick Nolt taught Jarren how to worm long ago.” I pause. Now that I understand the consequences of illegal worming better—messing with the star roads which might cause a catastrophe, looters stealing Warriors and killing people—I know what my next action should be. Yet reluctance causes me to hesitate. It’d be the same as telling security about all the hidey holes in the base, but this time it’s in the Q-net. From worm to rat. Then I think of Lan. I’m an idiot for even questioning it. Pass me that cheese!
I point to the terminal. “DES has a bunch of security holes that I can mark.”
Radcliff glances at Morgan and I wonder if they’d been hoping I’d suggest doing this during my probation.
“That’s a generous offer,” Radcliff says. “If you’re willing to flag those areas, our staff can fix them.”
“You’ll have to do that at another time,” Mom says. “Lyra needs to get some sleep.”
The door to the office opens. Niall strides in and then jerks to a stop. He’s in uniform and holding a steaming mug of coffee. Oh-four-hundred hours already?
“What happened?” he asks.
He slept through all the fun. I stifle giggles.
“I’m sure your father will fill you in,” Mom says to him. “Come on, Lyra, let’s get you to bed.”
Standing requires more effort than my body is willing to give. But I gather what strength I can and… Ta da! The room tilts under me. My father hooks his arm around my waist, supporting me.
“Should we call the doctor?” Morgan asks in concern.
“Yes, please. Tell him to come to Tace’s unit. I want to ensure she’s all right.” Mom drapes my right arm over her shoulders.
Navigating the Stars Page 19