Chasing the Shadows (Sentinels of the Galaxy Book 2)

by Maria V. Snyder

  “First I thought it was just a delusion due to dying. I’m not a big believer in the afterlife, but if there’s a heaven, flying through the Q-net would be my own personal version.”

  Niall huffs. “By yourself?”

  Ah the fragile male ego. “You were still alive.”

  He crosses his arms. “Delusions don’t have to be logical, you know.”

  “I do, but then when I finally was able to access the Q-net after I died, it felt different. Which made me suspect it might not be a delusion.”

  “Except you weren’t entangled at that time.”

  “I know, but it’s the only explanation for my improved worming abilities.”

  Niall relaxes. “Maybe the energy from the weapon affected the sensors in your brain.”

  That’s not a lovely thought. As if in response, the pain in my head intensifies. I rub my temples. “Does it really matter why? Do you think having a reason will make everyone more comfortable?” Including you, but I’m not dumb enough to say that aloud.

  “It might. Or it might not. Everyone’s on edge waiting for another attack.”

  I drop my hands. “That’s why we need to locate Jarren and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  He agrees. We enter the unit. Radcliff’s on the couch and demands a report right away.

  “The alarm is installed,” I say.

  “It’s well hidden,” Niall adds.

  My chest warms. Perhaps Niall isn’t as freaked over my abilities as I thought. “Tell the officers on duty that if a siren sounds they should leave the lab right away.”

  “I will. Good job, Lawrence.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I’m going to bed.” Radcliff gives us one of his forceful stares, meaning we should follow his example. Now.

  Except Niall and I are somewhat immune. We say good night, but remain in the living area. Once his bedroom door closes, we plop onto the couch. A spike of pain jabs into my forehead.

  Niall notices my wince. “You did too much today.”

  “Probably.”

  He waits.

  “Yes.”

  Standing, Niall grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. “Come on.” He tows me to my bedroom. “Take a painkiller. Change into your pajamas.”

  I’m pushed inside. The door closes behind me. Annoyed, I open it only to be confronted with Stubborn Niall. Nothing I can do or say will influence this man. I try anyway. “No good night kiss?”

  “Not until you’re in bed.” He shoos me.

  I hurry and change into a soft T-shirt and shorts, downing a pill. Ah, better living through chemistry. The legal kind, people! I already had a concussion, no need to kill off any more of my brain cells. Hopping into bed, I call Niall.

  He enters. “Bunnies?”

  Most of my clothes are hand-me-downs from…others. I’ve no idea where my mother found them. But after Jarren took off with my bag of clothes in his shuttle, I’ve had to lower my standards—not that they were very high, but a girl likes to look nice on occasion.

  “Not just any bunnies, Toad. But dust bunny assassins.”

  He smiles at the memory. “I stand corrected.” Moving closer, he points to my pillow.

  “I’m technically in bed.”

  Doesn’t matter. Niall’s not to be deterred. Only when I’m lying down with the covers pulled up to my chest is he satisfied. He sits on the edge and leans in for a kiss. A frizzle of heat shoots through me when our lips connect. I yank my hands free from the covers and pull him closer, deepening the kiss. Then it’s the taste of Niall, his familiar scent, his hands in my hair causing goosebumps to spread over my skin.

  He stops and rests his forehead on mine. “My father…” he says.

  “Yeah.”

  “Night, Mouse.” He turns off the light and leaves.

  I groan into my pillow. This lack of privacy sucks. Not that I’m planning on going wild, but Niall and I need some serious make out time.

  Over the course of the next few days, I train with Elese in the mornings and work with Beau to probe Jarren’s blockade in the afternoons. We worm deep, searching for a hole in his defenses while moving with the ultimate care. Which means, so slow a snail could lap us. It’s also delicate work, as if we were navigating through a tunnel of playing cards. One wrong move and… Poof! Everything collapses, revealing Beau and I trying to sneak into Jarren’s fort.

  Radcliff has yet to give me a security shift. And I have to admit I’m glad, as the long hours spent crawling through the Q-net are mentally exhausting.

  Five days after Morgan asked me about working on the video feeds from the pits, Radcliff gives us permission. So after dinner, I return to Beau’s office. Except tonight Morgan, not Beau is partnering with me. She has access to the videos that I’ll need. I also suspect she wants to experience my worming for herself rather than watch on the screen.

  I’d planned to slow things down, but with her in my cluster it would be pointless. Hoping not to freak her out, I insert my tangs and get to work.

  Unlike Beau, Morgan is quiet. No grunts or huffs or whoops or sound effects. She’s silent and able to keep up with me. I approve her efficient style.

  When we reach my cluster, I check my security measures for tampering. There’s scratches on a few protective channels as if someone tried to find a way through and failed. I suspect Beau, but it could be Jarren. No, he wouldn’t leave a trace. Maybe one of his minions. Which is not much of a relief.

  Morgan brings in the video feeds. I pick one and pull it out like taffy, revealing ten-minute sections. It’s of Pit 2 from day one-sixty-three. I expect the Q-net to find all the shadow-blobs and outline them, but it doesn’t. It waits until I have outlined each one, then the Q-cluster takes over and finishes the job. Then it’s only a matter of opening all the video files, outlining the blobs, and letting the Q-net do the rest. I send the altered files to Morgan so she can do…well, whatever analysis she plans.

  Easy, right? Except a dawning realization hits me. Hard. That alarm in the lab won’t work. Not without me to point out the shadow-blobs. It seems the Q-net doesn’t recognize them until after I’ve outlined them. At least Radcliff was smart enough to keep security in the lab. I tell Morgan about the flaw in my shadow-blob alarm.

  Make sure to inform Radcliff, is all she says, and then remains quiet until we disentangle.

  “How did you find that cluster?” she asks me.

  Oh boy. “I didn’t. It found me.”

  “Can you clarify?”

  I wish. “I was using various empty clusters to help with organizing data.” There’s a million of them. “I used one for my friend Lan’s research. She was working on translating the alien symbols on the Warriors before Xinji went silent. Lan sent me her files, I didn’t steal them,” I add, just in case. “I didn’t have time to do much with them before Jarren looted the pits and I was shot. But the Q-net kept sorting the symbols and making connections. After I tried and failed to find out how Jarren traveled to Yulin without anyone knowing, I was detoured to this Q-cluster where all the results were arranged.” I shrug. “Ever since then, it’s been rather…perceptive about what I want to accomplish.”

  Morgan absorbs the information with a stillness that reminds me of a predator waiting for prey.

  “Do you have any more of these perceptive clusters?” she asks.

  “No. I—” A memory sparks to life. I’ve hidden files in a couple of clusters. I wonder if the Q-net has done anything with them. Then I remember— Oh boy.

  “You?” she prompts.

  “There may be other clusters.” One with files I accessed illegally.

  “May? Either there are or aren’t.”

  I debate what I should divulge. “There are, but Lyra might have been worming at the time she used one of those clusters.”

  Her focus sharpens and I squelch the desire to duck. “Just tell me. We’ll worry about the consequences later.”

  “Uh…okay. There’s a couple of files from Xinji th
at I copied to a cluster. This was after they were marked classified by DES.” I wait for the admonishment.

  Instead, she asks, “What are the files about?”

  “I did a search for Warrior hearts and any mention of an underground factory and had two hits, but I didn’t get a chance to read through them.” Because Niall caught me worming and threatened to arrest me. Obviously before we got together, but I called in a favor and then I promised not to rat him out. “The looters invaded the pits soon after.”

  Morgan’s gaze turns inward. “You were tasked to recover those files before Jarren attacked the base.”

  Nice loophole.

  “What about the other clusters?” Morgan asks.

  “Those are legit. Niall and I were sorting the alien symbols in Lan’s research notes, matching them to one of the eight rows of glyphs on that octagon we found on Xinji.” And we only completed five rows because, soon after, DES confirmed that everyone on Xinji died.

  “Is there any way you can reach the Xinji files now?”

  “Not with Jarren’s blockade, but as soon as we find a way through, I might be able to.”

  That earns me a small smile. “You’re confident you’ll get through?”

  I consider. Nothing is ever completely secure. There are gaps in the Q-net, but many are so tiny that not even the best wormers can find them. “Confidence isn’t a factor, Officer Morgan. Our lives depend on it and I’m staying optimistic about our chances.”

  “Fair enough.” She leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees. “Since you marked those video files so fast, we still have another hour. Let’s go take a look at those files you recovered from Xinji.”

  “Yes, sir.” I insert my tangs.

  It doesn’t take long to find the hidden cluster and bypass my own security. In fact, it’s ridiculously easy and I make a mental note to fix all of Lyra’s protective measures.

  The files aren’t big. Morgan opens the first one. It’s about hearts and it’s a bit disjointed with references to romaine lettuce hearts as well as the blood pumping organs of a couple of the native animal species on Xinji. Not a big surprise as the Q-net had ripped apart hundreds of files and reorganized them into smaller groupings.

  I scan the text until my gaze snags on a reference to the alien symbols. My friend Lan sent her mother, Dr. Mindy Maddrey, who had retired to Planet Rho, a couple personal messages about her research.

  2520:072: It’s so frustrating! I’ve deciphered enough of the alien symbols to translate their language, but full understanding of what it all means just slips through my fingers. Here’s an example, I discovered there are eight symbols that are needed for the “heart” of the Warriors. Does that mean a literal heart or a symbolic one? And then once these hearts are woken—whatever that means—the Warrior then serves as a sentinel. This implies the aliens also believed the Warriors will guard them in the afterlife. But it made me think, do the Warriors have hearts? We’ve X-rayed the Warriors and examined broken ones, but what if the hearts are very fragile or dissolve when exposed to air—like the paint that had all flaked away as soon as the air hit the original Warriors on Earth. I know Havier will refuse—how dare I suggest we drill a hole into one of his precious Warriors!—but I’m still going to try to convince him to let me look inside—in a vacuum chamber of course. In other news, Kate is doing well at university and I think she’s fallen in love. Of course she won’t admit it to her mom—I’ve gotten the text version of an eye roll—but the way she goes on and on about Maddie has me convinced.

  Seems Lan was on the right track.

  Acts as a sentinel, Morgan says. Do you think that could be a reference to your Warrior ghosts, Ara?

  The desire to correct her—they’re not mine—pulses. But because I saw ghostly versions of the Warriors near the hearts when the lights went out, they will be mine until someone else confirms they exist. Along with being able to see the shadow-blobs, seeing the ghosts, I believe, is another side effect of picking up one of those hearts—sorry again, Mom. It’s possible, I reply to Morgan.

  I keep reading and after a few irrelevant passages and a recipe using chicken hearts—yuck—there’s another message from Lan to Dr. Maddrey.

  2520:104: Good news, Mom! I pestered Havier until he agreed to let me peek inside a Warrior with a camera. We found a black heart with silver symbols etched on it! The heart appeared to match a human heart in size and shape and was attached to the Warrior in the proper position. It proved to everyone I’ve correctly translated some of the symbols. And, all the archeologists are beyond excited. Havier picked me up and twirled me around. Then his team did open heart surgery on the Warrior to remove it, but as soon as Havier touched it, the heart disintegrated so fast no one was able to get a sample! Still, it’s a great discovery and I have more clout with Havier. Now to figure out why the Warriors have hearts! Also I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying retirement. Did Daddy really catch a fish that’s a hundred and twenty-five centimeters long?

  I wonder if Xinji’s reports about the hearts reached DES or if Jarren intercepted them. Are they important to what he’s planning? I remember the care his thugs took when they stole certain Warriors, yet they destroyed all the remaining ones. Was it to break the hearts? Hard to tell.

  There’s one last message from Lan to her mom.

  2520:147: I still can’t believe it! Yes, I know you verified my results and Havier is convinced (his archeologists practically carried me around on their shoulders as they opened the champagne), but it’s mind-blowing to finally understand why. The aliens believed there were demons that threatened our Galaxy—not ones that haunted an afterlife, but real ones. Believed it enough to build over two million Warriors with special hearts to act as sentinels and keep the demons from crossing into our dimension. And that’s mind-blowing as well. None of our astrophysicists have been able to prove there are other dimensions even with the help of the Q-net. Did the aliens discover an alternate dimension? Or did these demons arrive, surprising the aliens and they had to figure out a way to protect themselves? Yet more questions! Like are these demons real or part of the aliens’ belief system? Of course no one wants to test the theory. Can you imagine destroying all those Warrior hearts just to discover the aliens are right about the demons? How would we protect ourselves? Good thing we’re smarter than that.

  I re-read Lan’s message. Twice. Another dimension? Demons? Mind-blowing is putting it mildly. Did Jarren read this and decide to test the alien’s theory? That would be…horrific. No, he said he didn’t know about the shadow-blobs. But he is a murdering looter and has no trouble lying. Argh.

  Sucking in a breath, I calm my chaotic thoughts. No, Jarren isn’t trying to kill everyone in the Galaxy. He lives here, too. If murder-suicide is his goal, he wouldn’t have taken so many Warriors and he would have destroyed all of them on the planet. He has the heavy equipment to dig into the rest of the pits, he could just have—

  Oh my stars!

  Officer Morgan, I think—

  I see it. I’ll let the astrophysicists know about Lan’s speculation about a possible alternate dimension.

  It’s not—

  Her translation, whatever you call it.

  Not that. What if Jarren is planning to destroy all the Warriors except enough to keep him and his goons safe? He could have already targeted more pits on Yulin. Another idea stabs me in the guts. Or he plans to sell those Warriors to very rich people to keep them safe as well. Jarren’s goon mentioned an obscenely rich patron. Perhaps they are the first of many future rich clients. Then my imagination kicked it up another notch. Or he could ransom the Galaxy! Think about it! He could threaten to destroy all the Warriors unless DES pays him.

  Six

  2522:199

  You have quite the imagination, Morgan says, seemingly unperturbed.

  Niall once suggested that I could be a criminal mastermind. He’d been joking. Okay, half-joking, but still.

  We need to check the other pits. Ther
e was a gap in time between his two attacks. Jarren could have been raiding them. And it would either confirm my crazy theory or set my mind at ease.

  I’ll discuss it with Radcliff. In the meantime, let’s look at the other file. Unless you’re not done plotting how to overthrow the Galaxy?

  Nice. You’re just mad you didn’t think of it first.

  Oh don’t worry. I’ll give you all the credit.

  Smart ass. I pull up the second file. It’s much larger than the other. This one has references to factories. There’s a report from Lan about Havier opening a few more Warriors so they could examine the hearts. She speculated that they were made from a material not found on Earth and constructed in an alien factory. And her excitement when she matched the symbols on the hearts to those in her research is clear.

  Sadness wells inside me. Poor Lan would never learn the outcome of all her hard work. If I survive all this, I will ensure she receives full credit.

  There’s nothing relevant in the rest of the file. Morgan and I finish and disentangle.

  She stands and stretches. “Let’s go talk to Radcliff.”

  Radcliff is equally unperturbed. The three of us are sitting at the kitchen table in our unit.

  “Considering there is no proof of an alternate dimension, nor has one ever been discovered, that’s a huge leap in logic,” Radcliff says.

  “Those HoLFs came from somewhere,” I say.

  “And we will figure it out.”

  “Since your son and Officer Keir have volunteered, the expedition to Pit 21 is a go,” Morgan says.

  No surprise those two volunteered.

  “Don’t remind me.” Radcliff shoots her a glare, but it’s at half wattage—he must be tired.

  Unaffected—does anything upset the woman?—Morgan says, “At least the trip opening another pit will address some of Junior Officer Lawrence’s concerns. The initial planetary scans show Pit 21 is intact, but that was done before the looter attack. In the meantime, I’ll schedule a meeting with the astrophysicists.”