by Saxon Andrew
“You can give it to me and I’ll ask around.” Lauren lowered her head and looked through her eyebrows at her. Lauren held up her hands and laughed, “I understand. If I think of anyone, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate it a lot.” Salud turned around in her chair and started looking at other people in the restaurant. Whoever made the insertion had to be a regular. The odds were clear about that. Whoever did it had to have seen her working on the equation many times and felt pity for her. Who was it? Thirty minutes later, she saw another bus boy, much taller than the first one, come walking around the bar with a full tub of dishes. He turned the corner walking carefully through the standing room only crowd and looked up to see her staring at him. IT’S HIM! He quickly lowered his eyes and went into the kitchen. Salud turned and motioned Lauren back over. She walked up and Salud smiled, “You have a busboy that is tall, well-muscled…”
“That’s Lukas. He’s pretty hard to miss. Isn’t he gorgeous?”
“Did he come over here while I was gone?”
Lauren looked at the bar and after a moment said, “I think he did. I called him over to get a glass of orange juice.” Lukas came out of the kitchen moving quickly and Lauren yelled, LUKAS! Come over here!”
Lukas stopped and knew to ignore Lauren would be worse than going over. Something about the female professor made him nervous. Lukas walked over and smiled at both of them. Salud saw he had himself under control. Lauren said, “Have you lost a piece of jewelry?”
“No, I don’t wear jewelry.”
Lauren looked at Salud, “Sorry, I guess it was someone else.” Salud stared Lukas directly in his eyes and saw he was not giving any more clues. But, when he was caught by surprise, his eyes gave him away. Salud smiled and said, “Let me buy you a glass of orange juice.”
Lukas smiled and shook his head, “I get it free. Besides, Tony and I are not keeping up with the crowd. Thanks anyway.” He turned and walked away. Salud watched him go and knew he was the one that made the insertion. She couldn’t tell how she knew, but she was certain about it. She would pay him another visit after she confirmed the equation would do all she hoped. Then, she’d have a piece of jewelry for him that he would want to accept.
• • •
“We’ve got problems!”
Lukas pressed the button on his wrist unit to connect him with the Pod, “What is it this time?”
“A Stalker Searchship has arrived in orbit and is scanning the planet.” Lukas stood straight up and felt his fear immobilize him. Don’t freeze. Keep doing what you’re doing?”
Lukas forced himself to pick up the dirty dishes, “We need to get out of Boston!”
“You need to slow your pulse down and force the adrenaline out of your bloodstream. Contact me when you can think.”
Lukas continued cleaning the table as he forced his body to remove the fight or flight enzymes out of his circulatory system. After he had cleaned three tables he thought, “Let’s try this again. Why shouldn’t we leave?”
“If a place is robbed. Where is the safest place for the robbers to hide?” Lukas thought for a moment and his eyebrows went up. “That’s right; close to the robbery location. The Stalkers will know that you have an advanced Escape Pod and it would see the developing fetus. They would expect you to put as much distance between you and that child as possible.”
“But they might scan me.”
“The paraffin will prevent that. You’re only showing the mental energy of ninety percent of the local population. If they find you it won’t be because of their scans.”
Lukas began thinking and saw Jack standing close to the front door greeting customers as they entered the restaurant. He walked over and Jack smiled, “You need to get to work.”
“I am, I just have a question.”
“What is that, son?”
“If someone asked you how long I’ve been working here, what would you tell them?”
Jack’s brow furrowed and he said, “Six months. Why do you ask?”
“I keep getting other restaurant owners asking me if I’d be interested in going to work for them. I tell them I’ve been here two years and really like it. I just don’t want to upset them if they ask you and you tell them something else.”
Jack was angry. Well, it stood to reason, it was clear Luke was a hard worker and any good restaurant could use a good busboy. “Forget two years, make it three from now on.”
“Thanks, Jack.” Lukas turned and walked back into the restaurant. Jack forced a smile and greeted a family as they walked through the door. Lukas hated to do it but he went in the back office and changed the employment date on his applications. His trail needed to be covered up. The pod made the necessary changes to his Social Security account and IRS tax returns. The Pod made the changes while the Stalker vessel was on the other side of the planet. Once it completed its work, it sent a thought to Lukas, “I’m shutting down all systems. If you need to communicate, you’ll have to come and do it inside.”
“Got it!” Now Lukas felt completely alone. He continued to clean tables and forced his fear away.
• • •
Salud walked into the lab and saw her five doctorial students waiting on her. She smiled and said, “How is it coming?”
Orin said, “We have four completed but they don’t do anything but shine light out of the glass prism. Is that what they’re supposed to do?”
“Are you sure you have the energy source directed properly at the exact center of the glass?”
Regina nodded, “All the beams from the four emitters are hitting at the exact center of the glass.”
“I want you to recheck your findings and have it done within three days. I want to see the report on the emitters on my desk no later than Friday morning. I want the power of the light measured exactly.”
The students groaned but took the four round devices off the table and placed them in a series of machines. Salud walked out of the lab and left the campus. She went to Cohen Jewelers and asked for Joseph. She stood at the counter for a few minutes and then Joseph came out from the back of the store and smiled, “I’ve missed you.”
“You always miss me, even when I’m with you.”
“That’s because I know you’re going to leave.”
“Why don’t you admit that you’d kick me out if I stayed with you longer than twelve hours?”
“It’s fourteen hours now that your mother is no longer with me.”
Salud leaned over the counter and kissed her father on the cheek, “I miss her, too, Father.”
“What brings you here?”
“I was hoping you still have the diamonds Mom left me.”
“Do you honestly think I’d let anything happen to them? Have you decided how you want them cut?”
“I think I have.”
Joseph grabbed his forehead with his right hand, “Oh, I feel the earth is going to fall out of orbit. You’ve made a decision?”
Salud pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it on the counter, “Can you cut four of them to match this?”
Joe stared at the diagram and looked up at his daughter, “Where did you get this?”
“I’ve been working on the right cut for a long time. A very long time.”
Joe nodded as he stared at the drawing, “I found those years ago and your mother insisted that you should decide how they should be cut. After a moment he said, “The dimensions you’ve put on it, are they flexible?”
Salud stared into his eyes and said, “No, they must be exactly as you see them.”
Joe looked back at the drawing and shook his head, “It may take eight or ten of the diamonds to make four.”
“I’d rather have four exactly like I want them, than twenty not done as I want.”
Joe looked at the drawing again and looked up at Salud, “You’re so much like your mother.”
She smiled and softly said, “I know.”
Joe st
ared at the drawing again and said, “If I cut them like this…the light entering the stone will gather in the center before it’s reflected.”
“That should make it really sparkle.”
“It will also increase the brightness of the light exiting. How did you come up with this?”
“I used one of the University Computers to help me.”
“Would you mind if I cut some other stones like this?”
“Only if you intend to give them all to me.”
Joe laughed out loud, “Now you’re acting like my daughter.”
“I’m so much like you, Dad. When can you have the first one ready?”
“I can have two of them ready in three days.”
“That would be wonderful. I’ll be back on Friday.” Joe kissed her again and Salud left the store and headed back to the lab.
Lukas sat in his apartment with all the lights off. He focused on his vision and watched the street and hoped he was wrong. He stared at the doorbell on the house across the street until it filled his vision. It had a dark spot on the center where someone with dirty fingers pressed it. He looked back out at the street and closely examined every vehicle that passed. He thought about the Stalkers; how long would it take them to be fully operational to drop on a planet? The Sentinels had placed restrictions on the Stalkers that made it extremely difficult for them to enter a primitive civilization. He leaned back and wondered why they had issued those restrictions. His former Commander had suggested that it was for the best outcome for the members of the Fellowship. The more advanced a civilization was, the more value they had to the civilization that claimed them. The development of a star drive was the perfect time to invade because it didn’t allow a new civilization to build up a war fleet.
He looked back out of the window and decided that was a good explanation…but not the real one. Those telepaths were too far beyond his understanding. Whatever reason they chose to issue the restrictions, no one in the Fellowship would understand it. He sat up straight in his chair. A car had come up the hill and pulled next to the curb across the street from Kathy’s house. He glanced at the clock above his fireplace and saw it was three in the morning. The time most humans were asleep and inactive. He forced his body to move into alpha rhythms and leaned back in the chair.
He stared at the vehicle and saw the front and rear windows on the side closest to Kathy’s apartment roll down. He watched closely and saw the occupant in the backseat raise a device and point it at the upper level of the old house. The car moved back a few feet and stopped. He squinted and saw the driver’s face. It was narrow and moved down into a chin that was almost pointed. The eyes were deep set and he couldn’t see their color in the shadow. The device was pulled back in the car and the windows went back up. The car pulled away from the curb and passed by the front of his house. He looked carefully and saw four individuals in the car. The Stalkers were here.
He guessed they underwent DNA modification on the way to the planet. They must have also been given the probe’s data along with any other information their ship’s systems could extract from the planet’s millions of broadcasts. He didn’t doubt their skills far exceeded what his escape pod could do. This was their specialty. Their ship was currently examining every document on the planet looking for a clue as to his whereabouts.
The pod was right about one thing, their scan did not see him. He started to close the blinds but stopped before he did. The ship in orbit would see the slightest change in any building around Kathy’s building. He left them open and remained in the chair. He hoped they would think he was asleep and restless. He closed his eyes and forced his body to stay in alpha rhythms. The only way to survive was to follow his normal routine and do nothing suspicious. He fought fear all night and didn’t allow his body to betray him to the ship in orbit. Its scanners were set to sense any change in metabolic rates around their vehicle. He forced himself to lose consciousness and slumped in the chair.
• • •
The driver of the car looked over his shoulder, “Report.”
“There was no abnormal response from any of the buildings within sight of the target.”
“Nothing?”
“Several of the beings saw our lights and looked out of their windows. But there was no increase in their emotional states. One of them appears to be sleeping in a chair next to a window and our lights appeared to awaken him.”
“And?”
“He was back asleep before we were out of his sight. Several others were having nightmares; they weren’t conscious.” The backseat occupant looked up from his small monitor, “Did you really expect him to be here?”
“It’s what I would have done.”
“But you are not like most others.”
“I realize that. However, leave nothing unexamined. If he were here, he’d be much smarter than the average Welken.”
“Do you think he’s smart?”
“Have we detected him?”
“Point taken.”
“We’ll go back to the ship and see what they’ve turned up. There’s got to be something that will give him away.” The car drove away and after three miles, turned into a storage facility and parked in the rear. The four scanned the area around them and walked across the small parking and disappeared one by one. A moment later, the wind suddenly blew and then calmed down.
• • •
Friday morning arrived and Salud waited anxiously outside the jewelry store. It was ten minutes until ten o’clock and she hoped her father had kept his promise. She sat in her BMW convertible and watched the front entrance. An eternity later, she saw a woman open the door and then close it quickly against the cold air. She pulled her coat’s collar around her neck and stepped out of the car. She walked to the door and the woman smiled, “We’ve just opened.”
“I’m here to see my father, Joseph.”
The woman smiled and walked behind the counter and through a door. A moment later, her father came out of the door with a small bag. She smiled and he smiled with her, “Just as I promised, I have your two diamonds.” Salud squealed and hugged his neck across the counter. “Hey, hey, hey, not here in the store. What will the customers think?”
“Dad, get real, I’m the only customer in the store.”
Joe looked around and pulled out a black velvet square. He turned the bag up and two stones rolled out on the velvet. Salud looked at them and shook her head; they were incredibly beautiful. “I really wish you’d let me use this cut.”
“If you really want to, go ahead.” Joe nodded and Salud picked one of the diamonds up and stared at the fire inside it.
“The diamonds your mother gave you are flawless. There are no impurities in them and you could sell them for a huge number.”
Salud looked up at her father and shook her head, “I will never sell any of them.”
“I know. It took years of searching for them on our trips to Africa. I’m so glad we did that as a family.”
“It was your reputation that allowed us to search, Dad.”
He waved his hand and shrugged, “I guess they wanted me to continue being a good customer.”
“Could it also be that they didn’t recognize what you found?”
“Well, they were dirty and looked to be without value.”
“But you saw their beauty.”
“I knew inside the crusty outer shell there was beauty within.”
Salud put the two diamonds back in the bag and said, “Just like you, Pops. I’ll be back later for the other two.”
“Give me another week.”
She nodded as she ran out of the store.
• • •
She drove to the faculty parking garage and walked quickly to the lab. Her students were waiting on her and she looked at the clock, “Sorry I’m late. Do you have your reports?”
Orin lifted a three foot tall stack of paper and shoved it across the counter toward her, “Everything checked out.�
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Salud fought to keep her composure but still smiled brightly. “I want the five of you to jointly sign those reports you made and consider them you Doctoral Thesis. I am going to recommend to the University that you have completed the requirements for your degrees.”
They stared at her in shock and Trevor managed to say, “How does this meet the requirements?”
“The small power supply is enough by itself. Finding a way to reduce the radioactive material to a level that is safe to use as a power source will be a major development for miniature devices. You’ve managed to do more than enough.”
They looked at each other and began jumping up and down in celebration. “This calls for a party.”
Four of the five ran out of the room but Orin remained behind. Salud looked at him and he took a deep breath, “You solved the final equation, didn’t you?” Salud stared at him and he slowly nodded, “I thought so. Don’t worry, Doctor, your secret is safe with me.”
“What are you saying, Orin.”
“I don’t know what is going to replace the glass in the center of those devices but I suspect none of us really know what they are going to do. If you need help in the future working on them, I’m your man.” Salud continued to stare at him and he smiled, “It’s this device we’ve built that will be a world changer. I don’t like stopping just when our work is getting started. Please keep me in mind if you need any help in the future.”
Salud smiled, “Thanks, Orin. I will.”
Orin walked over and hugged her, “I know you, you are really special. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a party to attend.”
Salud watched him walk out of the lab and she went to one of the four small, circular devices and pressed the release. It opened and she removed the glass from the inside and replaced it with one of the diamonds. She closed her eyes and closed the device and, after a moment, held it at arm’s length and pressed the power switch. She was immediately surrounded by a shimmering field. She walked toward the heavy steel table and when the field touched it, the table moved away from her. She stepped back and began turning the tuning slides. The shimmering slowly disappeared and then became invisible. She walked toward the table again and it slid away. She moved the slide that controlled the size and the field moved in next to her body. She could no longer see it but she could feel it around her. He moved her hand toward the table and it slid away. She walked over to the mirrored wall and saw her reflection. She couldn’t see the field. She turned the power off and put the device in her pocket. She took another device and snapped it open. She put the other diamond in it and put it in her pocket as well. She jumped up and down and hugged herself. Now there was one more thing she had to do.
