back the official way, using your clearance?
This is a waste of time.
Please.
All right. Beau disappears.
While I wait, I check the rest of the database, looking at the dates. Nothing marked before day 139. What happened on that date?
Beau enters as if he’s strolling through a door. Having clearance makes navigating the Q-net vastly easier.
What do you see now? I ask.
Same thing as before except now that urgent file is gone. I’m probably going to get into trouble.
I’ve a moment of doubt. Did that wave of pain make me see things that aren’t here? Why can’t he see them? There must be another layer of protection. I examine the security programs. And…there! Woven into one of the basic codes is another delicate set of instructions, hiding all the files from both wormers and those with permission to be in this cluster. But not from me because I arrived in an unconventional way. I unwind it, turning it off temporarily.
Beau yelps. Stars, girl! Give a guy some warning. A pause. What the fu—
Loads more files, right? I ask.
Yeah.
I let him figure it out.
Nothing’s gone through to DES since day 139. It’s all been collected here. Something big must have happened on that day.
It clicks. It was the day of the first looter attack!
You mean nothing has reached DES since they stole those Warriors? Beau asks.
Yes.
So that means DES believes—
Planet Yulin went silent. Just like Xinji.
Four
2522:193
Stunned, Beau and I take a moment to just…absorb. If DES hasn’t received any messages or reports from us since 2522:139, then they’re not aware of the second attack or the shadow-blobs. And they probably believe everyone on Yulin is dead just like when Planet Xinji went silent.
Then who has been responding to our—Jarren, the murdering looter.
Let’s go, Beau says. You worm out of here and I’ll leave via official channels.
Okay. I rewind the program and cover my tracks without causing ripples, which takes much longer. Ripples would alert Jarren and could be traced back to me. While the Q-net is similar to a gigantic ball of yarn with a gazillion layers, the…strands act like they’re made of liquid. Confusing, I know. Wormers find gaps in layers and squirm/worm through. However, those layers will flex and undulate, especially if the wormer is inexperienced. The more experience a wormer has, the less the disturbance. Jarren has been worming all over the Q-net with nary a ripple. Scary, right?
By the time I disentangle, Beau is already on his feet. He’s crossing his office with short agitated strides.
“This is bad, really bad,” he says. “How long have they been blocking us?”
At least the math is easy. “Fifty-four days. But we should assume Jarren’s been monitoring us since we arrived on Yulin.”
“And he probably decided on what files to let through to DES once we were planetside.”
“I’d bet those odd responses from DES were really from Jarren,” I say.
“We’re completely cut off!” He fists his hands in his hair.
I’ve never seen Beau so freaked before. “Not completely.”
He whips around. “What do you mean?”
“I found a way out during that second attack. I reached Chief Ritsa. That was real because she gave me the override codes for the base.” It’d been a worming feat driven by pure terror and desperation. In other words, I’ve no idea how I managed it and am not sure I could do it again. But I keep that little nugget to myself.
Beau takes a breath. “All right, we need to report this to Radcliff.”
“And my parents.”
It didn’t take long to assemble everyone in security’s conference room. My parents were already enroute to Radcliff’s for dinner. Officer Morgan sits on Radcliff’s right and Drs. Milo Jeffries and Kara Gage complete the group. The two scientists are second in command after my mom and dad. Plus they know all about my situation. I claim a chair next to my mother.
Beau stands and explains what we learned during our foray into the Q-net. A moment of silence follows.
“Are you sure?” Dr. Gage asks.
“They just confirmed what we’ve suspected,” Radcliff says to her.
We? That doesn’t include me or Beau. I glance around. Or Gage. Or Jeffries, if I’m reading their pinched expressions correctly.
“Why wasn’t I informed?” Beau asks with an even tone, but his hands are balled into fists and pressed against his legs.
“It was a guess, Officer Dorey. We didn’t want to tip Jarren off by actively probing the blockade,” Radcliff says. “If he discovers we suspect, then he’ll search for our attempts to bypass his measures.”
“Have you been trying to