or part of the aliens’ belief system? Of course no one wants to test the theory. Can you imagine destroying all those Warrior hearts just to discover the aliens are right about the demons? How would we protect ourselves? Good thing we’re smarter than that.
I re-read Lan’s message. Twice. Another dimension? Demons? Mind-blowing is putting it mildly. Did Jarren read this and decide to test the alien’s theory? That would be…horrific. No, he said he didn’t know about the shadow-blobs. But he is a murdering looter and has no trouble lying. Argh.
Sucking in a breath, I calm my chaotic thoughts. No, Jarren isn’t trying to kill everyone in the Galaxy. He lives here, too. If murder-suicide is his goal, he wouldn’t have taken so many Warriors and he would have destroyed all of them on the planet. He has the heavy equipment to dig into the rest of the pits, he could just have—
Oh my stars!
Officer Morgan, I think—
I see it. I’ll let the astrophysicists know about Lan’s speculation about a possible alternate dimension.
It’s not—
Her translation, whatever you call it.
Not that. What if Jarren is planning to destroy all the Warriors except enough to keep him and his goons safe? He could have already targeted more pits on Yulin. Another idea stabs me in the guts. Or he plans to sell those Warriors to very rich people to keep them safe as well. Jarren’s goon mentioned an obscenely rich patron. Perhaps they are the first of many future rich clients. Then my imagination kicked it up another notch. Or he could ransom the Galaxy! Think about it! He could threaten to destroy all the Warriors unless DES pays him.
Six
2522:199
You have quite the imagination, Morgan says, seemingly unperturbed.
Niall once suggested that I could be a criminal mastermind. He’d been joking. Okay, half-joking, but still.
We need to check the other pits. There was a gap in time between his two attacks. Jarren could have been raiding them. And it would either confirm my crazy theory or set my mind at ease.
I’ll discuss it with Radcliff. In the meantime, let’s look at the other file. Unless you’re not done plotting how to overthrow the Galaxy?
Nice. You’re just mad you didn’t think of it first.
Oh don’t worry. I’ll give you all the credit.
Smart ass. I pull up the second file. It’s much larger than the other. This one has references to factories. There’s a report from Lan about Havier opening a few more Warriors so they could examine the hearts. She speculated that they were made from a material not found on Earth and constructed in an alien factory. And her excitement when she matched the symbols on the hearts to those in her research is clear.
Sadness wells inside me. Poor Lan would never learn the outcome of all her hard work. If I survive all this, I will ensure she receives full credit.
There’s nothing relevant in the rest of the file. Morgan and I finish and disentangle.
She stands and stretches. “Let’s go talk to Radcliff.”
Radcliff is equally unperturbed. The three of us are sitting at the kitchen table in our unit.
“Considering there is no proof of an alternate dimension, nor has one ever been discovered, that’s a huge leap in logic,” Radcliff says.
“Those HoLFs came from somewhere,” I say.
“And we will figure it out.”
“Since your son and Officer Keir have volunteered, the expedition to Pit 21 is a go,” Morgan says.
No surprise those two volunteered.
“Don’t remind me.” Radcliff shoots her a glare, but it’s at half wattage—he must be tired.
Unaffected—does anything upset the woman?—Morgan says, “At least the trip opening another pit will address some of Junior Officer Lawrence’s concerns. The initial planetary scans show Pit 21 is intact, but that was done before the looter attack. In the meantime, I’ll schedule a meeting with the astrophysicists.”
“Good,” Radcliff says. “Anything else?”
“I believe Ara has something to tell you.”
Oh yeah. I inform Radcliff about my failure with the shadow-blob alarm.
“It did seem too good to be true.” Radcliff rubs his face.
I’m just as disappointed. I hate that the security officers in the lab will have no warning of an attack. If only I could— Why not? I mull it over.
“Uh oh, she’s got that look,” Morgan says. “Spit it out, Lawrence. Yet another insight into Jarren’s machinations?”
Ignoring her sarcasm, I say, “I could monitor the camera feeds in the lab with a portable. Well, at least when I’m awake.”
Radcliff leans back and drums his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I’m tempted,