The BP Crinkler engine works in silence as it compresses large sections of space. The rectangle is on a much smaller scale, but there wasn’t any noise. Except the distance between Yulin and Dongguan is…uh, I’ll have to look it up. Would the time dilation also be a factor? One of Jarren’s goons said the time dilation sucks for us, implying it didn’t for them. So say Jarren is using the Warriors to travel around the Galaxy like my mom speculated, then there isn’t a time jump. That would be amazing! And it would explain so much.
“Oh no,” Niall says next to me.
I jerk in surprise, reaching for my gun. “What?”
“Your brow is furrowed and you have that look.”
“What look?”
“That you’re thinking big dangerous thoughts.”
“I’m not—”
“Lawrence, are you ready to go?” Beau asks.
“No, sir.”
“Then get your ass in gear. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
Niall mouths “later” as I hurry off to pack my ruck. I shove everything in and am back in time to climb into vehicle three. Kier drives while I scan the horizon and my thoughts mull over impossible things.
We arrive an hour before sunset. Radcliff is waiting for us in the empty port. I’m confused about the lack of workers until I remember that I’m supposed to be dead. It was nice not to worry about that at the camp. Really nice. Add in the fresh air and night sky to the things I’m going to miss. Sigh.
Radcliff approaches us. His movements are stiff with anger and a white-hot rage burns from his gaze. I brace for the reprimand.
“Report back to my office, now,” Radcliff says in an even unemotional tone, which is worse than any of his growls. “Lawrence, keep your hat and sunglasses on and follow close behind Dorey and Radcliff.”
“Yes, sir,” we all say in unison and hurry off.
I glance back. Radcliff is aiming for my parents. I suspect this might be an end to family dinners.
No one says a word as we travel through the mostly empty hallways—good thing it’s dinner time. The few people we encounter don’t bother to do more than glance at us. Both Niall and Beau are taller than me so I doubt the couple of scientists even noticed me.
When we enter the office, Morgan is sitting behind Radcliff’s desk. “That must be some kind of a record—shortest field trip or maybe shortest time to trouble,” she says.
Ha ha, not funny. I resist the temptation to explain. I’m sure Radcliff is going to want a complete report—no sense telling it twice. We pile our rucks in the corner.
I spot the guest terminal and that reminds me. “Did anything unusual happen in the Q-net yesterday afternoon?” I ask Morgan.
“Unusual as in…?”
“While you were testing the blockade and setting off Jarren’s alarms. Was there any…indication he might have noticed what happened in Pit 21?”
“No, but you and Dorey probably have a better handle on that. Maybe you’ll see something when you go in again.” She pauses. “If you go in again.”
Beau and I share a horrified look. Radcliff wouldn’t ban us from the Q-net? Would he? No. It’s too important that we find a way to reach DES. Then I remember my promise to Niall to tell my parents about my terrifying new abilities. Yeah, I’ll be a hundred A-years old before anyone lets me near a terminal again.
The wait for Radcliff is torture. I’m ready to confess all my transgressions. And it’s scary just how many I’ve had over my very short life. When Radcliff does arrive, his presence slams into us like a supernova. It’s an effort for me to remain on my feet. We all straighten to attention, standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder in front of his desk. Morgan relinquishes the seat and stands behind Radcliff. Her expression remains neutral.
Radcliff accesses his terminal and pulls up a report on the screen before he turns his attention to us.
“Tell me everything,” he orders in that chilling monotone.
I start with the discovery of the boot prints. And we all take turns describing what happened. Elese doesn’t say much because she was on the surface most of the time. When we reach the decision to turn on all eight glyphs, Niall fails to mention that he advised against the test. It’s a nice gesture of solidarity, but I’m not going to let him get into trouble when he was being sensible so I speak up on his behalf.
Radcliff grunts but doesn’t say anything. We continue with the story and end with our arrival at the base. Silence fills the room. It thickens and presses on us. And I swear all four of our heartbeats are audible. The air in the room is pulsing along with the quartet of thumping sounds.
“Keir and Radcliff, you’re dismissed,” Radcliff finally says.
They hesitate for a fraction of a second before bolting. Not that I blame them.
“Lawrence—”
“It’s my fault, sir,” I blurt out. “It was my idea to turn on all eight symbols.”
“Why would you suggest it if you had no clue what would happen?” Radcliff asks. His words are ice cold. “Do you have any sense of how dangerous that was?”
“But that’s the thing, sir. I sensed it was safe. That the Warriors would protect us.”
Radcliff stares at me as if I’ve gone insane. Morgan struggles to keep her neutral expression. One day, I’m going to make that woman laugh out loud, but obviously not today.
It takes him a few minutes to form a response. “That type of thinking is going to get you killed, Lawrence.”
I dig my nails into the palms of my hands to keep my snarky response inside. It’s an effort.
“You don’t…” He rubs a hand over his face. “You’re new to this, and you weren’t in charge. Except for a complete disregard for everyone’s safety, you are not at fault.” Radcliff glances at Beau.
I sense it isn’t going to go well for my partner. And I decide to risk what’s left of my credibility. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”
His shoulders droop and he leans back in his chair. “This should be good. Go ahead, Lawrence.”
“One of the reasons my parents pushed to test my idea was because they were afraid you wouldn’t allow them to experiment later.”
“And they were right,” he says.
“Not even with a full security team nearby?”
His gaze is hard. “No.”
“No offense, sir, but that’s the wrong thing to do.” I hold up a hand to stop the tirade that’s twitching his lips. “Look, Jarren killed me so I wouldn’t figure out what he’s doing. If we’re afraid to investigate every possible clue to determine what he’s up to, then he wins. He’s coming for us before that Protector ship arrives regardless. We need to take risks so we’re ready. Officer Dorey recognizes this need, which is why he allowed the test.”
“Are you done?”
“I’d like to add that I have a special connection to the Warriors, which cannot be refuted as I…er…woke them. They are protecting us. And I think we should find another intact pit that has the symbols for an active Warrior planet and try to contact the scientists working there and have them alert DES about the blockade. Now I’m finished, sir.”
Radcliff once again studies me as if I’m stark raving mad. I suppress a sigh. Without any scientific proof, no one is going to take my advice. And without experimentation, we won’t gather any evidence. It’s one of those paradoxical situations—a catch something or other. Basically, it’ll all come down to trusting a teenager with brain damage. So not happening.
“Your comments have been noted. You’re dismissed, Lawrence.”
I meet Beau’s gaze. He nods and I give him an encouraging smile. Poor guy is about to have his ass handed to him. I grab my ruck and leave. When the door closes behind me, Radcliff’s muffled voice sounds and I rush to increase the distance. No way I want to overhear that lecture.
Niall’s door is open and I pause outside. He’s sitting on his couch, but jumps to his feet when he spots me. Niall grabs my arm and tugs me inside his unit. “How was it? Bad?”
; “No. Other than being told I have a complete disregard for everyone’s safety, I did more talking than your father.”
“You did? Should I be worried?”
I recount my comments. “He gave me permission to speak freely,” I add before Niall can tell me I’ve just dug my own grave.
Niall laughs. “And I bet he’s regretting that.”
“Hey!” I punch him on the bicep.
He rubs it even though I didn’t hit him hard. “I wonder if he’s going to take your advice.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Doubtful.”
Turning serious, Niall steps closer. “You have a point. We should test another pit.”
Mr. Sensible agrees with me? That’s scary and sweet. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. It starts out chaste but soon turns deep and passionate.
Sometime…later, Niall breaks away. “Wow, I should…agree with you…more often.”
“You…should.” I’m having trouble catching my breath.
“Now that I have the proper incentive…” He dips his head for another kiss.
This one is just as fiery. And my two layers of clothing are suddenly hot and restrictive. I’m about to suggest we continue this in the shower, when he stops. I groan.
“We need to be on our best behavior, Mouse. My dad’s bound to be upset for a few days.”
“Fine, but in ninety-eight days, you’re mine.” I poke him in the chest. “You and not Mr. Sensible.”
He smiles. “It’s a date.”
“Good.” I step to leave.
Niall touches my shoulder. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For standing up for me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Niall fidgets with his sleeve, yanking on the stretchy material. “Beau and I don’t have the best relationship so I didn’t know if he included my objections in his report. And I didn’t want to come off all, ‘I told you so.’ Plus we’re a team.”
“Were a team. I doubt your dad will let us be one again.”
Niall meets my gaze. “Then my dad’s an idiot.”
“Is that so? I wonder what he would say to that?”
“Mouse.” He mock growls.
“Oh, look at the time. I better get to my unit since I’m being on my best behavior and all.” I smirk.
He raises his hands, bending his fingers into claws. “Don’t make me resort to tickling you into submission.”
“An empty threat. Remember what happened last time you tried?” I did. His touch had been far from ticklish.
Dropping his hands, he says, “Ah, hell.”
“Later, Toad.”
After a long shower, I help myself to leftovers. When Radcliff arrives, I brace for…I’ve no idea. However, he doesn’t say a word as he heats up a dish. I’m almost done with my meal and I gauge the distance to my room.
He grabs his meal and pauses. “You’re to report to training with Keir tomorrow morning and then a meeting with the astrophysicists at thirteen hundred hours in the conference room.”
“Yes, sir.” The words pop out of my mouth automatically.
Nodding, he heads into his bedroom, leaving me wondering what the meeting is going to be about. Did he consider my idea? Will my parents be there? Have the astrophysicists discovered anything about the shadow-blobs? I hope we’ll actually get some answers this time and not a lecture.
I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but after two days of doing nothing but guarding the workers at Pit 21, I miss the physical activity. Who knew? Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn into one of those exercise nuts. It’s just nice to stretch my muscles. Also, so far, my experience as a security officer is not what I expected. At all.
“Pay attention, Recruit,” Elese says as she sweeps my feet out from under me.
I land on my back with an oomph. Obviously, I still have much to learn.
Elese grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. “Again.”
Then it hits me. Not Elese, but the realization that being a security officer is all about again. Training is life-long. There’s never going to be a point when I can say, yup, I’m done. But I guess that’s true of any career—learning never stops.
Elese counters my jab with ease. She sidesteps my kick, grabs my leg, and slams me to the mat again. “What’s going on, Rookie? Two days away and you forgot everything I taught you.”
“Sorry, just thinking about my future.”
“You keep fighting like that, and you won’t have a future,” she teases.
Except she’s right. Like I told Radcliff, Jarren’s coming and I need to be ready. I focus on my training.
By the end of our session Elese gives me a grudging, “Better.”
I hurry back to my unit for a quick shower and an even quicker lunch. Shoving the last bite of the sandwich into my mouth, I wipe crumbs off my hands and shirt, swallow, square my shoulders, and enter the conference room.
My parents are sitting at the table with Drs. Carson and Zhang. Way over on the opposite side are Radcliff and Morgan. The tension is palpable. My mom is describing the light show the Warriors put on to the astrophysicists. I debate where I should sit—near my parents, near Radcliff, or in the middle. Sheesh, you’d think this wouldn’t be so difficult. In the end, I pick a chair closer to Radcliff. I am a security officer.
When Mom explains about the black rectangle, she defers to me. I tell them about the person inside.
“Probably an optical illusion. Or a reflection of one of the others in the pit,” Yenay says.
“No,” I respond. “The blackness had depth.”
“There are no alternate dimensions,” Bertie says rather gruffly.
“What about a portal to another planet? A shortcut,” I suggest. Like some of my worming tunnels. Where did that come from?
“The laws of physics—”
“Don’t apply to crinkling space.”
“Of course they do,” Yenay says. “Or we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Strangely that makes sense.
“Wait,” Dad says. “Are you saying that the black rectangle is crinkled space?”
“No, but maybe it acts like it,” I say. “If it’s a portal, then that might explain how it works.”
“There’s no engine, Ara,” Mom says.
“How do you know?” I ask. “You found alien equipment in the factory. Maybe one is a crinkle space…er…crinkler.”
“Except when you crinkle space to bring two points together, you warp the space around it. Which is why the ships do it far away from other planets and suns.” Mom flares her hands out in a V to demonstrate.
I appeal to my parents. “You saw the wave of lights. Maybe the Warriors can smooth things out. Or maybe the aliens are better at it than we are.” I pause, then ask Yenay, “How does the Bucherer-Plank Crinkler engine work?” The ship’s engine room is one of the places that are off limits to passengers and even I’m not brave enough to risk a peek.
Bertie and Yenay glance at each other. Then Bertie sighs. “We don’t exactly know. It’s a highly complex theorem that takes years of study. Aerospace engineers are the ones who designed the engine and who understand how it works.”
“I don’t suppose there’s one in the base?” I ask.
“No.”
That’s unfortunate. “We could test my theory in another pit and try to send something through.”
Everyone looks at Radcliff. He’d been quiet during the discussion. Too quiet.
“If we’re to figure out what is happening, we will need to see the rectangle,” Yenay says.
“It’s highly dangerous,” Radcliff says in an even voice. “We need to focus on the more immediate threat of the HoLFs. However, I don’t have the authority to stop you.”
“But you have the authority to prevent your officers from accompanying us,” Dad says.
Radcliff tenses so much I worry his lower jaw is going to crack. “If you decide to proceed with this line of inquiry, you can reques
t volunteers.” He shoots me a weighty glance. “I cannot guarantee anyone will do so, but I will support their decision.”
By my parents’ surprised reactions, I guess this is quite a change of heart for Officer Radcliff.
“When can you be ready to go?” Mom asks Yenay.
Once again she turns to her colleague and they do that silent communication thing.
“Officer Radcliff made an excellent point about the HoLFs. I think we should finish collecting and analyzing the data from Pit 1 before we make plans to go to Pit 21,” Yenay says.
“Good idea,” Dad says before my mom can voice her objections. “In the meantime, I’ll ask for volunteers.” Dad meets my gaze. “Officer Lawrence?”
Nice of him to ask me instead of assuming I’m going. There’s no test without me after all. And even though it’s my idea, I’m still smart enough to know there’s risk involved. “I’ll go as long as there are four other security officers with us.”
The silence is complete.
My mother is the first to recover. “That’s a tall order. We do have a number of techs who can use pulse guns.”
“They don’t have the experience. We need trained and seasoned officers, not rookie techs.” I’m probably imagining the warm glow of approval from Radcliff.
“All right,” Dad says. “Officer Morgan, will you volunteer?”
Asking the second in command—bold move.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” she says.
Crack—there goes Radcliff’s jaw. Not really, but the man is not happy.
“Thanks,” Dad says. “Three more to go.”
Mom breaks the tension by asking the astrophysicists if they have an update about the nature of the HoLFs.
“Not yet. We’re hopeful the data from the sensor will point us in the right direction,” Bertie says.
Yenay and Bertie then leave the conference room with promises to contact everyone once the data has been examined. I’ve no idea what they really thought of my theories. Time will tell. Speaking of tell, I’ve a promise to keep.
Chasing the Shadows (Sentinels of the Galaxy Book 2) Page 19