Defending the Galaxy: The Sentinels of the Galaxy

by Maria V. Snyder

Stay the course, you can see the message when you’re back with us. Don’t forget, you’re Ara Yinhexi Mouse Lawrence, Refuses to Be Ignored. Love, Toad.

  I laugh over the additional middle name and wonder if it would make a cool acronym. AYML. Uh, no. Then I wonder if I fess up to seeing the other message, if I’d get into trouble. I decide I don’t care. Not anymore. What will they do? Put me in detention? At least I wouldn’t have to go to soch-time.

  2522:252: Hey, Mouse. I can’t believe how much your absence is being felt and not just by me, but the rest of the security team as well. Elese is snapping at everyone. Morgan is gruffer than usual—I know, hard to believe. Beau is grumpy and tired—I think he’s putting in extra hours in the Q-net. Even my dad. I catch him glancing at your room as if expecting you to come out and join us for dinner. And I keep thinking I’ll see you in the hallway or in the training room or at Dad’s only to be disappointed when you’re not. At least I’ve been cleared for regular duty. I’m assigned to guard detention. I think my dad’s afraid I’ll freak out if I go back to the archeology lab since I almost died there. I believe I’ll be fine, but I can’t go until I touch a Warrior heart and I’m waiting for the one you promised me. You literally and figuratively have my heart, Mouse! Love, Toad.

  Ha! I must admit to being happy that everyone is cranky. Perhaps Radcliff will talk some sense into my parents. I’ve warring emotions about Niall’s heart. I took a Warrior heart for him from the factory, but then we received a warning of Jarren’s attack so I’d set it down in the archeology lab and just haven’t gone back there to retrieve it yet. He shouldn’t wait for mine. If the HoLFs return, he’ll need to see them to fight them. Although, I’m touched by his loyalty and his sentiment. Love you, too Toad.

  2522:253: Wow, I didn’t expect it to take this long! I hope you’re okay, Mouse. Your parents won’t tell me anything. Your Mom practically ripped my head off when I asked when you’re coming back. I’ve a bad feeling about this. But no matter what happens, you’re still mine. Okay, that sounded very possessive and maybe a little creepy, it’s not. It’s supposed to reassure you. I remember that you were worried that I’d break up with you because of your super Q-net power. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. If I have to sneak into the infirmary to see you, then I will. In the meantime, here’s an update about the security team. Dad tried to interrogate Jarren again and got nowhere again. Beau’s been working hard, trying to break through the security around the looters’ base.

  If I don’t hear from you soon, I’m going to arm myself with a couple candy bars and attempt a break-in. I might have to bribe a nurse or two with the sweets, but I’m sure you’d rather see me than eat chocolate. Right? Mouse? Hello? Hmmm. You do have a serious sugar addiction. Love, Toad.

  No surprise Jarren won’t talk to “Officer Tight Pants.” He hates the DES and won’t give them anything. Niall’s messages have soothed my soul and I compose one for him so he doesn’t storm the infirmary.

  2522:253: Hi Toad! I’m free! Well, not quite. I’m currently grounded and in my old room in my parents’ unit. Go ahead, laugh. This is despite my clean bill of health from the very sweet Dr. Bharathi. She thinks my belief that the Q-net is sentient is a coping mechanism because of all the stress and trauma with Jarren, the murdering looter. I’m quite content with that diagnosis and plan to say no more on the matter. However, my parents are freaked out big time and have decided I need to stay out of the Q-net so my brain can heal. As you can tell, I didn’t promise to stay out. They believe they still have the power to prevent me. It would have worked with Lyra. But Ara Yinhexi Mouse Lawrence refuses to play nice. Funny, that if it was an order from your father, I’d listen. Don’t tell him that! And you’ll get a bigger laugh out of this—I’m to report to soch-time tomorrow! Yes, my parents have gone insane.

  Thanks for the messages, they were sweet and what I needed right now. And I did see your other…communication. Don’t jump to conclusions. I was missing you and thinking about you when a photo of you popped up on the portable’s screen. It was a shot taken from the camera feeds. It was from my unconsciousness—I didn’t seek it or connect to the Q-net so I kept my word. I even offered to stay out of the Q-net if my parents allowed me to continue training and working with security. That was a big fat no. So here I am. If I’m still stuck here when I turn eighteen in sixty-one days, my status officially changes from grounded to kidnapped. You have my permission to grab Beau and Elese and come rescue me! I hope I’ll be able to have visitors, but normally being grounded means no outside contact expect for soch-time. Yes, this isn’t my first time. I miss you like crazy, too, Toad. I love you more than sugar, Your Mouse.

  Satisfied with my message, I send it to Niall’s portable since he can’t access the Q-net because of his injury. Then I worm deeper into the Q-net, searching for Beau. And find him gently poking at the defenses around the looters’ base.

  You’ll never get in that way, I say, popping up beside him.

  Ahhh! What the hell? Ara you scared the bejabbers out of me. There’s a pause. What are you doing here? Are you allowed? Does Radcliff know?

  I came to help you. No. No.

  Another significant pause. You gave your word. Disappointment weighs down his words.

  I did and I kept it, enduring five days of no Q-net while I cooperated fully with the entire medical staff. Then my mother turned insane and decided to ground me despite Dr. Bharathi’s diagnosis of, and I quote, “According to all the tests, Ara is completely healthy, both physically and mentally.” It’s something I’m never going to forget. I can send you all the test results if you want.

  No. Don’t. I trust you.

  That’s nice. I wish more people would. However, I did not give my word to my mother that I would stay out of the Q-net. You can decide if you want my help. Or if you want to inform Officer Radcliff. Or if you want me to go away.

  And if I pick go away?

  Then I’ll find a way into the looter base without you. But it’ll be boring without my partner.

  And if I inform Radcliff?

  I’ll be sad and in trouble. I give him a mental equivalent of a shrug. And then I’ll find a way into the base without you. Again, boring.

  If I let you help, this isn’t going to end well, he says.

  Probably. But what’s getting into trouble compared to figuring out what they have at that base? I’m willing to risk it. Are you?

  Hell yes. Welcome back, partner.

  We work for a couple hours, but the security around the looter base is super tight and I might have to fly with the Q-net in order to get inside.

  Try again later? Beau asks.

  Yes. It’ll have to be late so my parents don’t interrupt me. Does twenty-three hundred work?

  Yup. See you then.

  Dinner is an awkward affair. My parents try to engage me in conversation and explain their reasons for their decision. I respond with one-word answers. Afterwards, I bolt for my room. I plan to spend as much time in here as possible. Unpacking my bag takes all of three seconds. Niall’s drawing goes next to my bed and I send him a quick message, asking if he’ll lend me some of his other drawings so I can use them to decorate my room. He hasn’t read my first one yet, but that’s because he’s on duty until twenty-one hundred.

  I rummage in my desk drawer and find a deck of cards. Perfect. Sitting at my desk, I angle my body so the camera only sees the side of my face. I shuffle the cards and play solitaire. It’s something I can do while touching base with Q. I can’t go in too deep just in case Mom or Dad tries for another heart-to-heart. Good luck. Plus playing cards will appease my parents if they check the camera feed.

  Accessing Q is just a matter of thinking about it. I check on security and catch up on what’s been going on regarding the prisoners. They’re not happy being forced to reconstruct the Warriors that they’d smashed into thousands of pieces. Too bad. Not sad.

  Then I dip into the astrophysicists
’ notes regarding the shadow-blobs and that rift that is still in Pit 2. Seems Drs. Zhang and Carson are building another sensor to send through the rift. I wonder how they’re going to collect the data. Can you communicate between dimensions? Would be interesting to find out.

  A light tap on my door interrupts me. No way to avoid it, I grunt a “come in.” My father pokes his head through the gap. The sweet smell of cookies melts some of my resolve to be surly and monosyllabic. Careful to avoid my cards—I’m just about to lose again—he sets the plate on my desk, but remains mostly outside.

  “May I come in?” he asks.

  “It’s your unit. You can do whatever you want.”

  Dad presses his hand to his heart, miming shock. “Two full sentences.”

  I grunt. Stupid sugar addiction.

  “Truce?” he asks.

  The cookies are chocolate chip—my favorite—and they’re still warm. “Temporary.”

  “I’ll take what I can get.” He enters fully and peers at my game. “You want to play Sevens?”

  I shrug before I remember the truce. “Okay.” We pull the desk out and he grabs another chair so we can sit opposite each other.

  Dad shuffles and deals the cards. I watch his deft fingers closely—the man likes to cheat. I concentrate on my hand, searching for the seven of clubs. We share the cookies as we play for a while in companionable silence. It’s not horrible.

  After ten minutes, he says, “Watching you fly away, clinging to that shuttle with an explosive on your back, and knowing I’d probably never see you again was the absolute worst thing I’ve had to endure in my life.”

  It wasn’t a picnic for me either. But I clamp down on my sarcasm when I glance at him. Tears shine in his eyes. Oh no. Parental tears are lethal to snarky teenagers.

  “The only thing keeping us from freaking out was your message. You were so brave and calm. Tace said you did the right thing by jumping on that shuttle, but it didn’t feel that way at the time. I just wanted to do something to protect you. Tace promised to bring you back, but the wait was excruciating—the longest seven hours of our lives.”

  I sense where this is going.

  “So you’ll have to forgive us if we’re rather clingy right now,” he says. “We can’t help it. Just give us some time.”

  “I understand being overprotective. It’s your parental right. However, you’ve gone too far this time. Did Officer Radcliff tell you what he found when they landed at Jarren’s base to rescue me?”

  My dad gives me an I-know-what-you’re-doing look, but he plays along and answers. “Jarren unconscious and you hiding in the trees.”

  “That’s right. I still needed my team, but I rescued myself. The device was off. Jarren was drooling on the ground.” I wait for that to sink in. “I proved I can handle myself. I’m capable of protecting myself. And yet, you, Mom, and Radcliff—”

  “Tace disagreed with us.”

  Huh. Nice to know. “You and Mom didn’t bother having a discussion with me regarding the Q-net. What does that tell me? I get that it’s hard to believe that the Q-net is sentient, and perhaps it is a coping mechanism. However, it’s not that you don’t believe me that hurts, but the fact you don’t trust me. That’s what it tells me. You don’t have faith in me.”

  “We…”

  “I’m willing to give you some time. You and Mom can pretend we’re a happy family for a few days or a few weeks. But as soon as the base is in danger, I’m going to help my team.” And with that comment our temporary truce is over.

  At twenty-two hundred, my mother enters my room without knocking. I’m changed into my pajamas, and am now trying to build a house of cards. Seems the task of adding on a second story is equally as frustrating as my parents. Mom holds a glass of water.

  “Here.” She sets the glass down and hands me two brown pills. “Take these.”

  I drop them onto the desk. “No.”

  She gapes at me. “It’s not a request.”

  “No.” I meet her gaze. She doesn’t scare me anymore. Not compared to shadow-blobs and murdering looters.

  She’s not quite sure how to handle this. Fun. I’m fascinated by her struggle to keep her cool.

  After a huff, she says, “If you take your pills at night, I will allow Niall to come visit you.”

  Ouch, that’s underhanded. As much as I’d love to see Niall, I’m not negotiating. “No deal. You had your chance for a compromise.” Niall will be disappointed, but I know he’ll support me.

  Not expecting that answer, Mom jerks back. “If you don’t take your pills I’ll—”

  “Ground me?”

  She ignores that. “I’ll send you to help in the kitchens washing dishes.”

  I call her bluff. “All right. It’s better than being here.”

  Fury flashes in her eyes and I suck in a breath. Have I’ve gone too far? Mom grabs the pills and leaves. But I don’t celebrate the win. My mother is smart and I’m sure there will be consequences. And sure enough, a few minutes later the lock on my bedroom door engages. Ah, yet another alteration to my old room. The door now only locks on the outside. I’m torn between outrage and amusement. And decide on humor. It’s a petty revenge on my mom’s part. Besides I’m not planning to sneak out…well, not tonight. After Jarren’s invasion was thwarted, my parents changed the master code for the base. It’ll only take me a few seconds to find it.

  A couple minutes before twenty-three hundred, I get ready for bed. Then I slip under the covers and turn off the light. Beau’s waiting for me in the Q-net.

  Any trouble? he asks.

  Some family drama. What do you think my odds are of being granted emancipation by DES?

  He grunts. That bad?

  Not really.

  Good. Because by the time you get a response to your request, you’ll be well past your eighteenth birthday. Hang in there, partner.

  We worm to the looters’ base and probe their defenses. I ask the Q-net to highlight the threads of the security programs.

  Beau doesn’t react to my request, but when the various colors snake through them, he says, Stars. It’s like a kaleidoscope. How are we going to make sense of that tangled mess?

  I suspect that’s the point.

  Uh, could you…ask…the Q-net…if there are any holes?

  I can’t keep the grin off my face as I make his request. Three bright circles of yellow glow. We move closer to get a better look. Could it be that easy? No. The circles are gaps in their security that have been heavily patched. We pick at the edges, hoping to peel the patches off.

  Any chance the Q-net could just…make a tunnel? Beau asks.

  CAN NOT.

  No, I say because only I can hear Q. We have to do it first, remember?

  But this thing is impenetrable.

  Nothing’s impenetrable. You taught me that, I say. They have to be accessing the Q-net somewhere.

  After two more frustrating hours, we stop for the night.

  Tomorrow? Beau asks.

  I have school work to catch up on in the morning and soch-time in the afternoon—don’t laugh.

  He chuckles. Too late.

  I’m glad someone’s amused. Are you going to be in the Q-net?

  Yeah. All day.

  I’ll join you if I can.

  And if you can’t?

  Then we’ll have to meet at twenty-three hundred again.

  A sigh. Time’s not on our side.

  Tell my parents.

  Radcliff’s tried. They’re not listening to reason.

  No surprise. We disconnect and, while I’m tempted to fly with Q, I’m also tired. I do the sensible thing and go to sleep. Mr. Sensible would be proud. I fall asleep thinking of Niall.

  My mother wakes me at oh-so-early. More revenge for my defiance. After breakfast, I follow her into her office. Mom gestures me to her work table. She cleared a space and now there’s a portable and a large screen on it.

  “They’re connected,” Mom says. “So I can see that you’re w
orking on your assignments.”

  I’m impressed that she thought ahead and also angry over the sheer waste of time. Sitting down, I cue up the first assignment. Her desk is right behind me so she has a good view of the screen. It’s been a lifetime since I’ve done any school work. The microbiology worksheet is written in a foreign language. Well, foreign to me. I don’t speak microbiology anymore. But Q does. I ask it to fill out the answers like it’s me, but at a fifty percent slower pace since it’s been a while. Q can go back into my school records and determine the exact timing. Answers start appearing on the screen. In my mind’s eye, I go into the Q-net and search for Beau. But he’s not entangled yet so I check my messages and there’s a new one from Niall.

  2522:254: Mouse! Getting your message made my day! And, yes, I laughed. Soch-time! Those poor kids have no idea what they’re in for. I’m flattered you want to hang my pictures and I’ll gather a few favorites for you. Hopefully, your parents will let me visit. I don’t think I can last another sixty days without seeing you. Don’t worry, we’ll bust you out if we need to. It might be sooner rather than later. My dad’s on edge and losing patience by the second. Beau hasn’t gotten any info on the looters yet. We need someone to look at it from a different direction.

  I stop reading. It hits me like an energy wave pulse. From a different direction. Why didn’t I think of it sooner? With excitement pumping through me, I quickly finish reading Niall’s message and send him a fast reply. Then I search for Beau again. He’s entangled and I don’t waste time on pleasantries.

  I know how they’re connecting to the Q-net, I say.

  Don’t keep me in suspense.

  Through the Warrior portals!

  Six

  2522:254