What were they trying to get away from so fast?
I needed to get to Gran-Gran, Cobb, and Cuna, but something was very wrong here and I wanted to know what it was. Did you find your parents? I asked Jorgen.
Not yet, Jorgen said. Took a wrong turn. Moving toward them now. Fake Cobb is dragging his feet, slowing me down.
I wanted to suggest that he break fake Cobb’s legs, but that probably wouldn’t help them move any faster.
I know where Gran-Gran and real Cobb are, I said. Cuna is with them too. Will get them in a moment. Need to check on something first.
Copy, Jorgen said. Keep me informed.
I moved in the direction the fleeing people had come from. At the end of a short hall, I found a door with a heavy handle that was closed and locked. I listened; no noise came from inside and no light was visible under the door.
I reached through the door, feeling the space beyond through the negative realm, and then hyperjumped through.
I emerged in a dark room and immediately felt the wall for a light panel. The room lit up, and there in the center of the large room was a taynix box with wires and equipment mounted to the outside.
I took a step toward it, and then paused. The device was hooked up to a large tube with a wide-open end aimed at the wall. It looked suspiciously like a cannon—
And in the box attached to it I could feel the tiny cytonic mind of a taynix.
Oh no. The Superiority operatives had said something was “ready” and they needed to “hurry” and get away from it. They had a mindblade weapon, and instead of aiming it into the sky to shoot us down they had it aimed toward the center of the ship itself.
It was a bomb, and it was rigged to explode.
I was out of my depth here, but I knew where to go for help. The ship has a bomb on it, I sent to Jorgen. I’m going to get Rig. I gave Snide the coordinates for the control room on Wandering Leaf.
Rig let out an undignified scream, which the slug in his sling promptly echoed. “Scud!” he said. “I will never get used to you doing that!”
I wondered if FM got that reaction when she and Gill snuck around to see him. There wasn’t time to talk about it now. “Come with me,” I said, and reached for his arm, then directed Snide to take us back.
We appeared again in the room next to the taynix bomb.
“I want to tell you to warn me before you do that,” Rig said, squeezing his eyes shut. “But I suppose you did.”
I gestured at the device. “We’re in the Superiority ship,” I said. “This is a bomb, isn’t it? Can you defuse it?”
“Can I what?” Rig looked over the equipment, and I watched his face contort in horror as he came to the same conclusions I had. “I don’t know anything about bombs! I’m not qualified to deal with this.”
None of us were qualified, but I couldn’t let the Superiority blow up the ship with people inside. “What if we break the box?” I said. “If we remove the taynix—”
“The box is rigged to prevent tampering,” Rig said, looking it over. “I don’t know how it works, but I can tell that much. Alanik, I’m sorry. I can’t fix it. We need to get off this ship immediately.”
I understood. There was nothing he could do. “Can you get yourself back?” I asked. “I’ll go for Jorgen and the others.”
Rig nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Go,” I said.
“Drape, take me to Gill,” he said.
“Gill!” Drape said. And then Rig disappeared, back to Wandering Leaf.
I tore off down the hallway in the direction of the cytonic inhibitor while simultaneously reaching out to Jorgen. You need to get out of here. Can you get to your parents?
Working on it, Jorgen said. The Superiority people took them into a room, but it’s locked. I’m moving around to the other side, trying to find an open door. Fake Cobb is not helping.
Near Jorgen, I could feel a new patch of dead space—another inhibitor had been turned on near him, probably in the room with the human politicians. Even if I left Gran-Gran, Cuna, and real Cobb to join him, I couldn’t jump in and get them.
Work fast, I said. We have to get out of here.
I raced past closed doorways to a side hall ahead, and found a series of rooms with windows in the walls. Cuna was in one and Gran-Gran and Cobb in another, but as soon as I moved close to them the sounds of the universe quieted.
Cobb looked awful—he had bruises down his face, and he sat slumped against the wall like he was having trouble holding himself in a sitting position. Gran-Gran knelt over him, and Cuna stood in the other cell, motioning to me.