Page 31

“ R ead it,” Vashti said.

I nodded and glanced at my screen again. “Hello, Ellis. I understand you are worried about me. I am fine. Sten and I are finding our true path. Please respect our decisions.”

I rolled my eyes toward Vashti. “Does that sound like Zanya to you? Because it doesn’t sound like Zanya to me.”

“It doesn’t.” A deep frown bent her mouth. “What is going on?”

“I don’t know, but I bet—” Another vibration from my wristband.

“Is that another message from Zanya?” Vashti asked.

“No, but it’s confirmation of what I thought was going to happen. Frank just got a very similar text from Sten.” I put my arm down. “The Ohuli are behind this. I know they are. They either sent those messages or they made Sten and Zanya send them.”

Vashti hesitated. “Or Zanya and Sten actually sent them because it’s what they thought they should do.”

“How can Zanya think isolating herself from her friends is the right thing? She would never do that. She loves us.”

“I want to think that, too,” Vashti said. “But I’m trained to look at empirical evidence. And right now, what I see is Zanya has found something she believes is going to make her happy in ways this life isn’t.”

“No. I don’t buy that.”

“Listen, I’m not saying the Ohuli are faultless, but what if what they’re offering really does appeal to Zanya?”

I did not want to believe that. I looked away. That’s when I saw it, on a shelf behind Vashti’s desk. The partially eroded remains of a pila.

I just barely kept myself from reacting. It took a moment, then I managed to nod and smile. “You know what? You could be right. I might be overreacting to this. I probably am. Maybe I just need to take a step back. Zanya’s an adult, right?”

“Right,” Vashti said.

“She can make her own decisions. I don’t have to like them or approve of them, but they’re hers to make.

” I exhaled, my nerves firing up like crazy.

I had to get out of here. “I think I’m going to take a nice long walk on the observation loop and focus on myself for a bit. Time for me to de-stress.”

“I think that’s a wonderful plan,” Vashti said. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No.” I held on to my smile. “Thanks for listening.”

“I’ll see you at dinner then.”

I pushed to my feet. “I think I’m going to stay in and eat in my quarters. Maybe do a face mask while I watch an old movie. Give myself a manicure. But we’ll catch up soon. I just need some me time.”

Vashti got up to see me out. “Take care, Ellis.”

“You, too, Vashti.” I slipped through the doors back into the waiting room and left without saying goodbye to the man at reception.

Somehow, Vashti was under their spell. I didn’t know how the Ohuli were doing it, but my gut said it had something to do with the pila.

I was so glad I didn’t have one.

I almost tripped over my own feet. Of course, I didn’t have one. I’d given mine to Frank. In the middle of the corridor, with people milling past, I sent him a text and said a silent prayer that he hadn’t started testing on that thing.

KEEP THE PILA CONTAINED. On my way.

Then I ran for the elevators.

A car arrived, doors opening, as I reached them. I slid on while people were still getting off. “Sorry, emergency,” I said as I simultaneously pressed the buttons for Frank’s deck and the doors to close.

No one else got on, which made me happy. But it still took too long, and as the doors opened upon arriving, I squeezed through and ran to his quarters, pounding on his door as soon as I could reach it.

He opened the door with a frown on his face and headphones covering his ears. He pushed them down around his neck. “Els, you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so. Did you get my text?” I glanced at his wrist. There was no wristband on it.

“No, sorry, I’m charging my wristband while I work.”

I stormed in, looking into his office. The door shut as he followed me. “What’s going on?”

“Where’s the pila I gave you?”

He gestured toward his desk. “Still in its container there. Why?” He grabbed my hand. “Els, what is going on?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure, but the pila has something to do with what’s going on. I think it’s … infecting people somehow.”

“Infecting people?”

“I went to see Vashti to tell her about Zanya, and she started to take the side of the Ohuli. And then I realized she had a pila on a shelf in her office. It was partially eroded, just like Zanya’s was. And Sten’s. And look how sucked in they got.”

He blew out a breath. “You might be on to something. Seems like a reasonable hypothesis. But that means I can’t open that container to investigate that pila, either.”

“We have to. We have to figure this out.”

“We need to reserve a lab on Deck 8 to work in. One with a containment unit. A glove box.”

“A glove box?”

“The kind with gloves attached so you can work on sensitive materials inside the unit.”

“Oh, right. I know what you mean.” I lifted my wrist to my mouth. “Call Hazel Perry, voice only.”

The line rang twice before being answered. “Vice-Admiral Perry’s office.”

“Ensign Gibson, this is Ellis McFadden. I need to speak to my daughter.”

“Hello, Mrs. McFadden. I’m sorry, she’s in a meeting at the moment. Can I take a message?”

I almost growled. “No, but you can probably help me. Frank and I need to requisition a lab on Deck 8. One with a glove-box containment unit. Can you make that happen?”

“I don’t see why not, although with this fallow phase, the labs are in higher demand than usual.”

“Ensign Gibson, this could very well be a life-or-death situation.”

“O-okay.” He cleared his throat. “Lab 812 is available and has a glove box. I’ll program it to accept your permissions. You should be good to go in about…” I heard clicking, like keys on a keyboard. “Now. You’re all set. Do you still want me to let the vice-admiral know you called?”

“Yes. Tell her to call me at her earliest convenience. And thank you so much for your help.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

I hung up and looked at Frank. “Gather everything you need and head down there. Bring Gracie. I’m going back to get Harry, and I’ll meet you there.”

His brow bent. “You think we need to bring them?”

“If the Ohuli find out we’re on to them, what’s to stop them from doing something to Gracie or Harry? From holding them hostage? We have no idea what they might do. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not taking that chance.”

“Fair point. Gracie and I will see you down there.”

I gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For never telling me I’m crazy.”

He laughed. “That would be the pot calling the kettle black, I suppose.”

With a smile, I went back to my place. “Harry, wake up. We have to go somewhere.”

He stretched and yawned. “Where to, Mum?”

“We’re taking a little trip down to Deck 8. We’re going to meet Gracie and Frank there and do some work in one of the labs.”

“Righto. Can I wear my jumper?”

I hadn’t planned on taking time to put that on him, but if Gracie had her vest on and Harry wasn’t wearing his sweater, I had a feeling that wouldn’t go over well. “Sure. Come on, let’s get it on you.”

It only took a minute to get him dressed, then I put my laptop into a tote bag. I didn’t know if I really needed to bring it but better to have it than wish I had.

I filled a stainless-steel water bottle with fresh water and grabbed a couple of protein bars from the stash in my cupboard, then Harry and I were off.

As we walked to the elevators, he glanced up at me, looking very much like he wanted to say something.

Once we were in the elevator car, headed for Deck 8, he stood up, put his front paws on my leg and meowed.

“You want up?”

He meowed again, so I lifted him. He snuggled right in, putting his paws on my shoulder and nuzzling his head against my neck. “Harry, what are you?—”

“Mum, is this a secret mission,” he whispered.

I smiled and tilted my head down while keeping my voice low. “I guess you could say it sort of is.”

“Proper fun, that.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re silly.”

“I get bored on the couch all day, watching birds and bugs, Mum.”

“You do? Sorry about that.” I had no idea compdroids could get bored.

“It’s all right.”

The doors opened, and I stepped off, putting Harry down to walk alongside me.

We followed the signs to Lab 812. Ensign Gibson hadn’t been kidding when he said the labs were in greater demand.

Most of the ones we passed were occupied.

I guessed fallow time was a good opportunity to work on other projects.

Lab 812 was dark, however. I waved my wristband over the reader on the keypad.

The red light went green, and the doors opened, lights flickering on as they did.

As with all the labs, there was a small foyer surrounded by glass windows that looked into the working area along with another set of doors that led into that space.

In this lab, that meant going through a decontamination chamber.

Something told me that might come in handy.