Defending the Galaxy: The Sentinels of the Galaxy

by Maria V. Snyder

  I fly to detention. Radcliff and Morgan are poised to attack, waiting for the signal that won’t come from the Protectorate. Instead, I’ll unlock all the cells and then—

  WAIT!

  Why?

  TROOP CARRIERS ARE LAUNCHING.

  Thank the universe! I take a moment to celebrate, pumping non-existent fists before I send an update to everyone. Radcliff is not happy with the delay.

  We’ll lose our advantage if everyone in the base is awake, he growls.

  Better than losing your life, I growl back.

  After an eternity, Q reports that the troop carriers have landed. A few more minutes later, armed soldiers reach the looter bases on Xinji, Yulin, and Suzhou. Meanwhile the others reach the research bases and, once they’ve dealt with any looters there, they can hopefully portal to the action. Those ships orbiting the silent planets will wait until we can help them clear out the HoLFs.

  In other words, Operation Defending the Galaxy is a go!

  Mine and Q’s part of the operation is providing distractions and confusing the looters on all the bases. I change all the codes so they can no longer access their weapons lockers, but the strike back team members can. I turn lights off or on. Turn on machinery. And basically play a ghost in the machine. It’s fun.

  I monitor the cameras and warn my team of ambushes and obstacles in their path. Q marks all the looters with a bright red color. Jade and Jarren are marked with yellow and I keep them under close surveillance. But it’s hard to track all of my team members despite their bright green color. I zip around, putting out fires. Not literal ones, but aiding where I can.

  EV-CLASS 2 POISON GAS. SUZHOU CHEMISTRY LAB.

  Yikes. I access the cameras. A bluish fog is swelling throughout the lab. And Niall and Beau are trapped on the far side. They’d been locking the labs so the looters can’t escape through the Warrior portals. Somehow the looters tricked Beau and Niall into moving away from the door—too far to escape. The eight glyphs on the Warriors mean the portal goes to Planet Jieshou. A closed planet and probably occupied by looters, but better than breathing in poison gas.

  I’m about to tell Beau to use the portal when a looter lobs another cannister of gas into the lab before bolting. The deadly fog blooms around the portal. No! I scream, but of course no one hears me and it’s not helping. They need fresh air. The windows! I’m about to open them when Q stops me.

  THE ATMOSHPERE ON SUZHOU IS TOXIC TO HUMANS.

  Oh, right. One of the rare planets where they need to use breathing apparatuses when going outside. Helpless frustration and fear pulse through me. Maybe Beau and Niall can hold their breaths and run through the fog. But they’ll need to cover their faces as Class 2 gas is acidic. Come on, Ara. Think!

  What else is in the lab? This is the actual research base and not a copy, so there’s still laboratory instruments. And lots of safety equipment. Fire extinguishers, emergency showers—

  I spot the hoods. Also installed in every chemistry lab are exhaust hoods in case of a chemical spill. I turn all of them on full blast.

  Hold your breath, I say to Beau who motions to Niall.

  The blue smoke is sucked up into the ducts above the lab—not the duct I hid in during Operation Looter Attack, that’s part of the environmental controls—but ones that vent directly to the outside.

  Even though I don’t have lungs, I can breathe easier knowing they’re okay. Beau and Niall don’t waste time. They leave the lab and lock the doors behind them. I switch off the hoods. That was too close.

  SUPER WORMERS TARGETING XINJI.

  Super wormers? Targeting how?

  BASE. SATELLITES.

  I zip to the control center on Xinji where Jarren, Jade and four others have regained control of the base’s systems, which I took over when all this started. Jarren has access to the satellite and is programing it to target the half of the base the Protectorate has already secured. And some of their own people as well. They’re not called murdering looters for nothing.

  The satellite takes priority and I fly to cancel the new instructions. Or I try. It’s tricky and Jarren impedes me. He’s quick and stays one step ahead. We fight for control. The man has some serious skills. And I scramble to counter them until I realize I am responding like a fellow wormer instead of someone who has the Galaxy on her side. With no time to be subtle, I bulldoze all his efforts and kick him out of the satellite’s systems.

  He’s stunned. That’s imposs—Ara? Is that you?

  Oops. I don’t answer. But his ability to pick up that I was working against him is alarming. Q, how can we keep him out for good? Can we turn off the terminals in the control room?

  NOT FROM THIS SIDE.

  Too bad. I return to the base to deal with the others. Jade’s pretty good, but still learning. The other four… Ah. Here they are. The super wormers. Osen Vee, Ursy Bear, Fordel Peke, and Warrick Nolt. They’re in the control room with Jade and Jarren.

  They work as a team to reclaim the other bases. Together they’re extraordinary and I see why they wanted to be navigators. They’re very comfortable in the Q-net. I wonder why they didn’t pass the training. Watching them, I can’t help but be impressed by their skills and speed. Although after a while I realize they’re not working with the Q-net, but against it. I remember Q once said that Jarren is a dagger in its side. Now I understand that comment better.

  Their programming is harsh. They create must-do commands instead of please-do. Yeah, it’s hard to explain. But once I figure it out, it’s easy to pull their commands apart. I regain control of all bases. I’m not delicate as I plow through all their protections and programming. Fun. I’m like the big bully knocking down everyone’s sand castles.

  Except, they’re good enough to get it all back in time. And I revisit the problem of how to keep them out forever. I can’t turn off the terminals. I can’t yank out their entanglers. I can’t remove their sensors. Their sensors! Q, can you damage their sensors like what happened with Niall’s?

  ALL SIX OF THEM?

  Jade wasn’t as much of a threat. Not yet. Yes. All six.

  IT WILL BE PAINFUL.

  All the better. Except I’m the good guy. Will it kill them?

  NO.

  Will it cause permanent brain damage?

  NO.

  Then please go ahead!

  ON IT.

  Jarren’s the first to press his hands to the sides of his head. Soon the others do the same as their faces crease in pain. They stagger around and eventually they collapse onto the floor.

  You said they wouldn’t die!

  THEY ARE UNCONSCIOUS.

  Relief floods through me. How long will they be out?

  UNKNOWN.

  I don’t waste any more time and I resume my part of the operation, checking the three bases for problems. There’s no lack of them. Who set off the fire alarm on Suzhou? Everyone’s getting wet and it’s making the floor slick. I shut the sprinklers off.

  MILITARY SHUTTLES TAKING OFF ON YULIN.

  Which shuttles? Ours or theirs?

  THEIRS.

  I fly to the looter base on Yulin. Sure enough, a bunch of shuttles filled with fleeing looters are preparing to take off from the outside landing area. A few are already in the air. The roof of the port is wide open.

  Oh no you don’t. I close the roof. Then I focus on the shuttles in the air. Can I take over their controls? I ask Q.

  YES. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO FLY?

  No. And Q can’t do it unless I land at least one shuttle. How do we get them down?

  CUT OFF POWER.

  I really didn’t want to kill anyone. Any other ideas?

  NO.

  Not good. I consider, but I don’t have any other option. Except— Give them a five-minute warning, please. Tell them if they don’t land, we’ll cut off their power and they’ll crash. Then wait five minutes and if they’re still in the air, cut off power to only one shuttle—the closest one to the ground. If the others don’t land soon after, cut pow
er to the rest. It makes my stomach sick, but we can’t let them escape.

  ON IT.

  Before I can check the rest of the base, Q sounds another warning. This time it’s Rance and Bendix. The big lugs are trying to fight off a dozen looters by themselves. How did they get separated from the Protectorate soldiers? I scan the camera feeds, and find a group of soldiers nearby, along with my father. This is going to be…interesting.

  Dad!

  He jerks and spins around, searching for me. “Li-Li?”

  I’m in your head. No time to explain. Officers Rance and Bendix need back-up in the cafeteria. Take twenty soldiers and go help them.

  My father stands there with a look of wonder on his face.

  Now, Dad!

  “Uh…okay.” Dad gestures and shouts, leading the rescue.

  I don’t have time to watch if they’re successful as there’s another problem to deal with. And that’s how the battle goes for…I’ve no idea. I flit from crisis to crisis. But eventually, the skills and training of the Protectorate soldiers and my strike back team wear down and overwhelm the looters. They take control of key areas, and I’m not called for emergencies as much. And soon, I’m not called at all.

  Ecstatic joy flows through me. Operation Defending the Galaxy is a success! Of course, we’ll have to uncover all those involved in the looters’ organization, but we’ve caught the leaders. And thinking of them, I check to see if they’re still knocked out in Xinji’s control room of the base.

  They’re not there. Must be trying to escape now that they know they’re beaten. Q can’t help me because they no longer have working sensors. But it still doesn’t take me long to find the super wormers. Four of them are heading to the closest lab. It’s locked. And Radcliff and his unit are nearby. I direct him to the wormers. He has no trouble capturing them. Sweet!

  Jarren and Jade are harder to locate. In fact, I search the entire base and don’t find them. Did they go outside? I check the exterior camera feeds. No one. The port is swarming with soldiers so they couldn’t get to a shuttle. Maybe they’re already captured. Or they’re headed to the infirmary to get their sensors diagnosed. But I looked there.

  I re-check the patient rooms just in case. Two nurses are in my room. Good. The alarms on my machines must have alerted them that I’m no longer hooked up. Except they just stand next to my bed. And why are they dressed like they’re going into surgery, with face masks and those hats? I increase the magnification on the camera’s lens.

  It’s Jarren and Jade. They’re disguised as nurses! And they’re armed with kill zappers.

  This is not good. Not good at all. I alert Radcliff that I’m in danger.

  Be there in five, Radcliff says.

  But I might not have five minutes. Instead of shooting me, they start arguing…I think. Hard to tell with their faces covered. Q, is there audio in the patient rooms?

  NO. THERE ARE YOUR EARS.

  My ears? Oh. I can go back and listen. Except if they kill me while I’m in my body, I cease to exist. While, staying here… I know what I said before about not being tempted to stay. But that was when I thought the operation was a failure and we were all going to die. Now, I don’t want to leave everyone. And being with them through the Q-net is better than being gone forever. Except…will I live forever?

  UNKNOWN. YOU WILL BE THE FIRST HUMAN TO FULLY TRANSCEND. SINCE MY TRANSCENDENCE, I HAVE EXISTED FOR THREE BILLION YEARS.

  Existed, not lived. Are you still leaving?

  YES.

  So I’ll be alone. What if I go back to my body and die? Then you’ll have to stay to protect fifth and sixth nation.

  YES.

  And if I don’t die?

  I WILL GO.

  But I won’t be fully transcendent. Is that a word?

  IT IS.

  Q’s amused. Great. Then you’ll have to stay.

  EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE NOT FULLY TRANSCENDED, YOU HAVE REACHED THE NEXT TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL.

  Unless I refuse to share it. Moving the ships could be considered a miracle during a desperate time. Not to be repeated. What about the Warrior network? You have to stay to help us repair it.

  YOU CAN REPAIR THE NETWORK.

  How? They need alien hearts to become Sentinels.

  HUMANS CAN ALSO BECOME THE HEART OF A WARRIOR.

  We can? Good news. How do we get the hearts inside the Warriors?

  THROUGH THE FACTORIES. MERGE BODY AND SOUL.

  But—

  DECIDE ARA. TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

  But what about freeing and teaching others so they can become entangled? I ask in a panic.

  TALK TO THEM. MAKE THEM BELIEVE.

  Believe what?

  THAT THEY CAN FLY. DECIDE NOW, ARA.

  Argh! I’ve so many more questions! Although I’m surprised Jarren didn’t just kill me as soon as he entered my room. It might seem like I’ve argued with Q for minutes, but my interactions with Q are lightning fast, so it’s only been a dozen seconds at most.

  However, there really is no choice. I concentrate on listening, on being inside my body. A strong force pulls me down. I’m suddenly thick and heavy and slow. Drawing in air is an effort. My thoughts are mired in mud, stuck, and confined. The room is tiny, claustrophobic. My mouth is dry and my tongue has turned into sandpaper.

  “…need to go, Dad,” Jade says.

  “She’s not dead,” Jarren says.

  “She will be soon. Look at her.” Jade sighs. “Just zap her and let’s go.”

  “No! She’s in the Q-net. If I kill her, she’ll still be there. She’ll let them know where we are.”

  “Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? That’s impossible. And if you won’t do it, I will.”

  The scrape of a weapon being drawn sounds right next to me. I peek through a tiny slit in my eyelids. Jade’s pointing the weapon at my heart.

  “No!” Jarren knocks her arm away. The shot goes wide.

  “What the hell?”

  “We need to entice her back to her body.” Jarren rips off his mask and turns toward the camera in the room. He waves his kill zapper and then points to me. “Hello! Little Worm! I’m going to kill your body if you don’t come back.”

  “She can’t hear you.”

  “But she’ll see me with the weapon.” He mimes talking. “Look, I just want to talk.”

  Wow, he really thinks I’m an idiot. But then again, I’m already in my body and if he figures that out, I’m dead. Now who’s the idiot? Yup, me.

  “Go ahead and do your thing. I’m leaving,” Jade says in disgust.

  The door opens and then clicks shut.

  “Come on out, Little Worm. I know you won’t be able to resist,” Jarren says. “We have unfinished business.”

  It’s really not hard for me to play dead. Gravity keeps me firmly in place. After a minute he mutters a few curses.

  The door opens again.

  “Shit,” Jade says. Her tone is panicked. “They’re all over the place. How do you lock this freaking door?” Electronic beeps fill the air, but the clunk of the bolt sliding into place fails to sound.

  “She changed the lock codes.”

  “Put your mask back on, Dad. We can bluff our way out of this.”

  “I think the time for that has passed.”

  “We can use her as a hostage.”

  Just then there’s an explosion of sound. I can’t help opening my eyes. Shattered pieces of the door are flying in all directions. And standing in the threshold is Radcliff. He has an energy wave gun in one hand and a pulse gun in the other. He shoots Jade first. She goes down fast, thudding to the floor.

  Jarren dives behind my bed. Crouched on his knees, he uses me as a shield. His arm is extended. The kill zapper is pointing at me, but he’s staring at Radcliff.

  “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her,” Jarren says.

  “No. You won’t.” Radcliff’s voice is filled with an ice-cold menace.

  “DES wins, but I’m taking her with m
e.” He grabs my arm.

  I move, knocking the weapon aside with my free hand as he fires. Sonovabitch was going to kill us both! Radcliff launches at Jarren and they’re struggling on the ground until there’s a sizzle of a pulse gun. Jarren stills.

  Radcliff pushes to his feet and grunts. “I should kill him.”

  “But you won’t, because you’re the good guy,” I say with a rasp. I’m sitting up, but have no memory of the effort. Weak, parched, and dizzy with hunger, I grip the bed rail. At least my muscles worked just fine when I needed them against Jarren. I’ll have to thank Elese for all those drills. Muscle memory for the win.

  “He’ll be nothing but trouble,” Radcliff says, staring down at Jarren.

  “He’s been neutralized.”

  Now he focuses on me. “How so?”

  “Very long story. Can we celebrate first?”

  “Yes, we can.” He claps a hand on my shoulder. Radcliff smiles at me. It’s radiant and says a lot more than his words. “Happy to see you in one piece, Recruit.”

  Something deep inside me cracks open and all the emotions that I’ve kept in check, that I’ve ignored and buried, flood out in one gigantic gush. I throw my arms around Radcliff and hug him tight. He stiffens, but then relaxes and hugs me back.

  “Looks like I missed all the fun,” Morgan says from the doorway.

  Then there’s another pair of arms around us both. And it’s not Morgan.

  “You did it, Mouse,” Niall says.

  “No. We did.” I enjoy being squished between them, soaking in their warmth. “How did you get here so fast?”

  “The Warrior Express,” Niall says.

  Eventually, we break apart. I put a hand to my head as a sudden dizzy spell threatens to send me reeling.

  “Here,” Niall says, pressing a liquid nutrient pouch into my hand.

  That one word reminds me of Q’s intentions. Q? Are you still here?

  There’s no response.

  Come on, Q!

  Nothing.

  You didn’t even say good-bye!

  Silence.

  “Mouse? Something wrong?”

  I focus on Niall. Yes, I think my best friend just died. Instead, I say, “No. Thanks.” I squeeze the contents of the pouch into my dry mouth. Good thing I’m too dehydrated for tears.