Defending the Galaxy: The Sentinels of the Galaxy

by Maria V. Snyder

  “And what about admitting I’ve failed my partner by not fully believing her?”

  “That, too. But I hear she doesn’t hold a grudge…well, not for long, and I’d bet if you back her up, she’ll forgive you pretty quick. That and bribe her with candy. I hear she’s addicted to sugar.”

  Beau laughs and we continue on to his office in companionable silence. I keep a sharp eye out for Niall—running into him would be a highlight. I guess I’m addicted to Niall as well.

  Except for a few early risers in the training room, we don’t see him or anyone else in security. We’re soon at Beau’s dual Q-net terminals. He entangles and I join him. Then we worm through one of the escape tunnels.

  I’m assuming the looters are hiding it from DES, so how do we find the Pingliang blockade? Beau asks me once we’re free of our own tumor…er…blockade.

  I’d been flying when I found it last time. Can Beau fly with us? I ask Q.

  NO.

  Can you highlight the best way to reach it?

  YES.

  A thin ribbon of yellow light marks the route.

  Handy, Beau says. Can I ask the Q-net for help like that?

  YES.

  Cool. Can you get me a date with Nina, the geology tech?

  NO.

  Beau, I mock scold.

  What? It was worth a try.

  Can we focus on getting to the blockade without alerting anyone?

  All right. Let’s follow the yellow brick road.

  The yellow brick road?

  Yeah, it leads to the land of Oz where all your dreams come true.

  Like getting a date with Nina?

  Exactly!

  Even though I’ve no idea what Oz is, I’ve missed this. We worm to the blockade-in-progress. Because it isn’t complete, the multiple layers of programming are exposed. It is a thing of beauty.

  Beau whistles. This is a masterpiece. No wonder it’s so hard to get through it.

  How many people worked on this? I ask Q.

  FOUR.

  Does that include Jarren?

  NO.

  Did he help with the other blockades?

  YES.

  So there are four other super wormers, Beau says.

  CORRECT. WARRICK NOLT. URSY BEAR. OSEN VEE. FORDEL PEKE.

  But they’re fake identities, I say.

  YES. BUT REAL PEOPLE.

  Ah. Jarren let me believe they were all him, but instead, they’re the disgruntled wannabe navigators.

  CORRECT.

  What’s that correct for? Beau asks.

  I connected the real people to those failed navigators and Q let me know I was right.

  It reads your mind?

  Well…yes, I guess. It’s usually when I’m interacting with it and am making logical correlations.

  Can you verbalize those so I don’t freak out?

  I don’t know. I haven’t seen you freaked out before. Could be fun.

  Ara.

  Yes, Beau. I consider the web of programs around us. What’s the best way to sabotage this without anyone knowing it has…leaks?

  What’s wrong with putting in some escape tunnels?

  They can be easily collapsed.

  There’s a long pause. What about changing the programs that block all messages to let some through that have a special code? It will work for both incoming and outgoing messages. As long as they have that code it will get through the blockade.

  I mull it over. Plus the wormers won’t be looking for tampering in their own programs. Great idea! See? I needed you.

  He grunts, but it’s a pleased sound. We need to pick these programs apart, see how they’re built and change the directions. Where do we start?

  HERE.

  A green light illuminates one of the complex routines. We pull the strands gently and alter a few commands.

  What type of code? I ask Beau. Numerical? Alphanumerical? Or a random sequence of numbers and letters?

  A word would be easy to remember but we can’t pick something that is commonly used.

  How about skedaddle?

  Perfect.

  It takes us a long time to alter the programming. Eventually we change all the different types of routines so Q can do all the rest. There’s quite a bit of redundancy in the blockade, which is a sign of an expert. Some of them are well hidden—another sign. Good thing we’re also experts.

  We finish and disentangle…well, Beau does. I just focus on my physical body and my location. Too bad that triggers a pounding in my temples. I rest my head on my arms.

  “Come on,” Beau says.

  “Can’t move.”

  “Not even for lunch?”

  I glance up. “It’s lunch time?”

  He studies me. “Didn’t you eat breakfast?”

  “Who can eat at oh-my-stars-early?”

  “Never skip a meal. Unless you can’t help it.”

  “Okay.”

  But his gaze sears into me. “It’s important, Ara.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “All right. Let’s go report to Radcliff. Then we’ll eat.” He pulls me to my feet.

  The security chief is working at his desk. We stand in front of it and explain how we sabotaged the blockade.

  “Skedaddle? You want me to tell them to use skedaddle on their important messages?” By the way Radcliff rubs the bridge of his nose, we know it’s a rhetorical question. “Good work, you two.”

  “Us three, sir,” Beau says.

  Radcliff looks at him. “Three?”

  “The Q-net helped. Otherwise it would have taken us four full days.”

  Aww. That’s my partner.

  “Noted. Anything else?”

  I say, “We need to discuss the portals.”

  “We do.”

  Beau shoots me a shocked look. “What about the portals?”

  “We need to test them.” Now I’m rubbing my temples. “Can you arrange a meeting with the astrophysicists, my parents, and members of the security team who aren’t on duty?”

  “Or sleeping,” Beau adds. “If you want them on your side, then you don’t disturb their limited rest.”

  “It’s not my side. It’s our side,” I snap, but regret it immediately. “Sorry.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Radcliff says.

  “Thank you.” I take a breath. “Can you also arrange for me to talk to Jarren again?”

  His gaze goes to my neck. “Why?”

  “I’ve a few more questions for him.”

  “I can arrange it,” he says. “But your parents will have to approve it before I do.”

  “All right. I’ll let you know.” I pull Beau out of Radcliff’s office. “We need to hurry. I don’t want to be late.”

  “For lunch? They serve it until fourteen hundred.”

  “No. For soch-time.”

  To say my mother is shocked to see that I attended soch-time is a vast understatement. She’s so flummoxed, that, if she were a real dragon, her fire would have extinguished in a puff of black smoke.

  On the way back to her unit, she pulls it together. “How did the sabotage go?”

  “It took us all morning, but we set it up so that when the blockade is sealed, the people on Pingliang can still exchange messages with DES.”

  She asks some follow-up questions and we chat. It’s almost like old times. Almost. When we arrive, Officer Zaim is not visiting.

  “Hey Zee, what’s up?” I ask.

  An amazing thing happens. My mother goes into the unit, leaving me outside alone with Zaim. Huh. Maybe I should have acted more mature sooner? Who’d’ve thought that would work?

  “Just wanted to let you know that we’re having a big meeting in the security conference room tomorrow at eleven hundred.”

  “Thanks for telling me.”

  He nods. “See you then.”

  One can hope. I draw in a deep breath. Time to talk to my parents. They’re waiting for me in the living room. My dad is sittin
g on the couch, while my mother has settled into one of the two armchairs. I take the other armchair.

  “We miss seeing you smile,” Dad says.

  “Not much to smile about these days,” I say.

  “Yet you light up when the security officers are not visiting you,” Mom says.

  “They’re my team.”

  “We’re your family.”

  I cock my head to the side. “They trust and support me so they’re more of a family to me right now than you and Dad.” It’s the truth.

  “You keep mentioning trust. Yet you’ve been worming all this time when we’ve forbidden it.”

  Good point. “I’m in a unique position to save lives so I’m not going to stop because you’ve forbidden it. I understand why you did it—you’re concerned about me and you love me, but I can’t humor you this time. It’s too important.”

  “What if Officer Radcliff ordered you to stop interacting with the Q-net? Would you obey him?”

  That’s a tough question. I think about if for a few minutes. “Yes.”

  “Why?” Mom demands.

  “Because I trust him. And he trusts me. If he wanted me to stop, he would have a damn good reason other than being worried about me. He knows this job comes with risks, but he ensures the risks are as minimal as he can make them.”

  “Minimal? You have bruises on your neck!”

  “Yes. It could have been worse if my team wasn’t there to back me up.”

  “And you don’t trust us to keep you safe? You’ve never gotten bruises from being grounded.”

  That’s because even though I’d like to bang my head against the wall in frustration, I haven’t. Yet. I take a breath. “I trust that you want to keep me safe. But right now you’re being very unreasonable and endangering the entire base because you’re under the impression that you can keep me safe. No one is safe, Mom. Not until we stop the looters and send all the HoLFs back to their dimension.”

  Mom and Dad exchange a look. “We’re not being unreasonable, we’re your parents.”

  “Yes, you are. But don’t expect me to be all smiles and happy about being grounded. Would you have liked it if your parents put a hidden camera in your room? And locked you inside? What if the base caught fire and I was trapped, Mom? How does that keep me safe?”

  “It keeps you out of the looters’ crosshairs,” Mom says, jumping to her feet. “It keeps you from being kidnapped and taken away from us. It lets you be a normal teenaged girl whose greatest worry is passing her microbiology exam.”

  “No it doesn’t. Not any of it. First, that girl is long gone. As much as you’d like to pretend, it doesn’t change anything. Lyra is dead, Mom. Accept it.”

  Mom gasps as tears well.

  Not giving her time to respond. I stand and tap a finger on my chest. “I’m already in the crosshairs. Do you know why? Because I’m a threat to them. Q chose me and I’m not going to hide in here pretending to be some happy family when a missile could be on its way right this very minute. You don’t want me to get hurt or to be killed. Well, guess what? I don’t want you to be hurt or killed either. How do you think I’d feel if you both died and I could have done something to stop it?” Now my own tears threaten as I make a realization. “Is that how you feel? Like if you didn’t let me worm and help security, I wouldn’t have—”

  “No.” Now my dad stands. “We’re proud of what you’ve done, Li-Li. You’ve saved us. This is us trying to save you.” He pulls me in for a hug, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

  I lean against him for a moment. They went overboard in “trying to save me,” considering I don’t need to be saved as I can save myself. However, they love me. That is clear. “How about we work together and try to save everyone?” I ask.

  Dad tightens his hold for a moment and releases me. “I’m in. Ming?”

  I turn toward her.

  Silence. Talk about stubborn.

  Finally, Mom wipes her eyes, sits down, and says, “Tace said you did an expert job with that sabotage.”

  “And there’s a smile,” Dad says. He settles back in his seat.

  “That’s because Officer Radcliff is…sparse with his praise.”

  “You miss living with him?” Dad asks.

  “I miss his cooking—no offence, Mom. And I miss seeing Niall and working out with Elese and solving problems with Beau and being treated like an adult. But most of all, I miss our dinners.”

  “We do, too,” Mom admits.

  I sense another opening. Perching on the edge of the chair, I ask, “How about a compromise?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “How about I go back to work, but I stay here with you? I’ll even go to soch-time.”

  My mother raises one of her thin eyebrows. “You will?”

  “Yes. It’s a nice break.”

  “And in forty-nine days?” she asks.

  Ah, she figured it out. “I will be requesting my own unit in security’s housing wing. Although I’m pretty sure dinners will still be at Radcliff’s.”

  Mom and Dad do that silent parental communication even though I already know Dad’s on board. I give them some privacy by looking around. We’ve been living on Yulin for…one hundred and seventy-seven days, and they still haven’t made this place home. Not a surprise considering the shadow-blobs and looters. But I wonder if Niall would paint them some landscapes. After he does some for me of course. And I hope to hang some of his mother’s as well. It’s a nice daydream, imagining life after.

  “All right,” Mom says. “We agree to the compromise. Starting tomorrow.”

  I want to jump up and cheer, but I keep my cool. “And the camera?”

  “We’ll have it removed.”

  “Thank you.”

  When I stand, they both hop to their feet and I’m squeezed in a parent sandwich. This time I hug them back. But I’d forgotten about the gun tucked into my waistband. Dad’s arm hits it.

  “What’s this?” Alarmed, he pulls it out and brandishes it. “Why are you armed?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “That’s not an answer,” Mom says. The dragon is rousing from its slumber.

  “Officer Radcliff gave it to me yesterday. I don’t know why.” Which is true.

  Dad hands it back to me.

  “Spencer,” Mom admonishes.

  “It’s not going to do us any good. Besides, if she was going to shoot us, she’d have done it before now.”

  “It’s a good thing I wasn’t armed when I found the camera in my room,” I tease.

  “Would you have shot us?” Dad’s brown eyes light up with curiosity.

  “So very tempting, but, no, I wouldn’t.”

  “Why not?” Mom asks also curious.

  “Radcliff would have chewed me out.”

  “So you’re more scared of Radcliff than us?”

  “Yes. And it would have been irresponsible.”

  “Good to know,” Mom says dryly.

  I retreat to my room. That went better than expected. I send messages to Niall and Radcliff, informing them of my ungrounding…is that a word? And I ask if someone can drop off my uniforms before tomorrow morning. I’m hoping Niall will volunteer, but I don’t know his work schedule. I receive a message from Radcliff right away.

  2522:265: About time, Lawrence. Training with Officer Keir tomorrow at oh-eight-hundred. Don’t be late.

  Gee, don’t get all mushy on me Radcliff. Sheesh. But secretly, I’m glad. Things will soon be back to normal. I do a few push-ups and sit-ups to prevent my body going into shock in the morning. Then a quick shower. I’m about to go into the Q-net to check on Pingliang when there’s a knock on my door.

  My father pokes his head in. “Dinner.”

  I glance at the clock. Nineteen hundred hours already. “Okay.” I follow him to the kitchen and stop dead.

  Niall and Radcliff are sitting at the table, chatting with my mom, who is placing steaming dishes in front of them.

  “Surprise,” Dad whi
spers to me. “We owe Tace about a million meals. Of course after he gets a taste of your mother’s cooking, he’ll be declining all future invitations.”

  Mom glances up and gives him the I-heard-that glower.

  “Nothing wrong with her hearing, though,” Dad says.

  She lets him see her inner dragon. “It’s getting cold, Spencer.”

  “Coming, dear.” He winks at me.

  As soon as I enter, Niall hops to his feet and I’m swept into a hug. It’s brief because of the company, but I don’t mind. I sit next to him and we hold hands under the table. Well, when we’re not eating. Because my mother has outdone herself. Still not up to Radcliff’s standards, but better than the cafeteria or anything I can cook.

  After dinner, Niall helps me carry the stuff they’d brought for me into my room. I’ve my ruck, boots, uniforms, weapon belt, pulse kit, and the tube filled with the rest of Niall’s drawings, which we hang on my walls right away.

  Niall pulls me in for a hug. “I’m glad you worked it out with your parents, but I wish you were living closer.”

  “I will be in forty-nine days.” I tell him about having my own unit. “Do you paint?”

  “Pictures or walls?”

  I laugh. “Pictures. I’m going to need more decorations.”

  “I can and have. I prefer pencil drawings. I’m not near as good as my mom at painting. Her use of color is brilliant.”

  “You could make me a finger painting and I’d love it,” I say.

  “There are actually some famous finger painters. It takes real talent and dexterity.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Talented fingers? Could be a handy skill.” Untucking his T-shirt, I dip my hand underneath it and slide my fingertips over his lower back. The skin is smooth and heat pours from him. It travels up my arm and pools inside me.

  “Mouse.” He presses against me. “We need to be on our best behavior. The ungrounding could be revoked.”

  But his fingers are in my hair and I don’t care as we kiss. In fact, I’m thinking of ways I can improve my dexterity when Niall breaks it off.

  “Is that a camera?” he asks with alarm and outrage in his voice.

  His comment is like a bucket of ice being dumped over my head. I follow his gaze. Of course he noticed the hidden lens. “Mom said she’d turn it off.”