I draw in a deep breath. “It’s Planet Dongguan.”
My parents and Niall are quick to come to the same conclusions. Someone is living on Dongguan without permission, or the pit I saw isn’t on Dongguan but another planet, or I really didn’t see a person in a pit—I’m okay with that one, especially after accessing my Q-cluster from a portable. A portable kilometers away from a terminal!
Another thought occurs to me. What if I tapped into a part of my brain that can do these things really fast like a Q-cluster? I’ve heard you only access ten percent of your brain’s power—not sure from where. What if I can use all of my brain? That would be cool. So I could figure out what one hundred and ninety-seven times forty-three is in seconds. Uh. It’s… If I round it up to two hundred and times it by forty that’s…er…eight thousand, then I need—a new theory. ’Cause that one’s wrong.
“…Ara?” Mom asks.
“Huh?”
“Are you finished with the portable?”
“Oh. Yeah.” I give it back to her. Everyone’s staring at me in concern. Time to get the focus off me. “You said you have questions about today?”
“Yes.” Mom asks Niall and I to clarify what we each saw, felt, and how long it took for the blackness to go from a fist to a two-meter tall rectangle.
After we finish, I take a quick shower, and fill in for Elese while Niall relieves Beau. My thoughts are a chaotic tumble of all that happened today so Niall surprises me when he grabs my arm before we part.
“You saw something in the files. What was it?” he asks.
“I…” Damn, he’s too observant and I can’t come up with a good answer fast enough.
“Mouse.” His tone is growly.
“It’s not what I saw, but…” He’s not going to believe me.
“But what?”
“It’s…I…” I sigh then blurt it out. “I can access the Q-net without a terminal or tangs.”
He rocks back on his heels as if I just slapped him.
“Go ahead, tell me it’s crazy. It’s impossible. That I have significant brain damage.” I’ve joked about this in the past. However, I’m no longer being flippant. No, now I’m terrified.
“Sounds like you already covered the basics.” He pauses. “Do you think it has to do with touching that heart?”
I consider. “No, or it would have happened sooner.”
“When did it start?”
“After I fell asleep while worming.”
“But that shouldn’t—”
“I know! I’ve been telling myself that for the last ten days.”
“The migraine.”
I nod. “At least I don’t get headaches anymore.” Small mercies, but still…what else can go wrong? The answer pops into my head like the magician. “Are you going to break up with me?”
“What? No. Why would you think that?”
“’Cause I’m a freak of nature. ’Cause of all the problems I cause like turning on the Warriors. Although that was an accident, but I’m the only reason the symbols glowed. ’Cause I can’t follow simple instructions. Don’t you want a normal girlfriend?”
“I hate to break this to you, Mouse, but you were never ever, not in a million years normal.” He moves his hand down my arm and entwines his fingers in mine. “If I wanted normal, I wouldn’t be with you.”
In a strange way, that’s really sweet. “But…the Warriors and the Q-net. It’s all…too much for one person to deal with.”
“It is.” Niall releases my hand.
A crack races through my heart. I knew it was too much for him.
Instead of stepping away, he pulls me in for a hug. “But you don’t have to deal with it alone. I’m not going anywhere.”
I melt against him. Best boyfriend ever.
“You know what you need to do,” Niall says.
I tilt my head back. “Kiss you?”
A smile. “We’re in uniform.”
“We’re hugging.”
“I’m providing emotional support. Which also includes the advice to inform your parents of what’s been going on.” When I grumble, he adds, “Face it, Mouse, if I can figure out something is wrong, they probably already suspect.”
“Yeah, but they’re distracted. Plus this’ll just add to their worries.”
He gives me the you’re-making-excuses look. Mr. Sensible in all his glory.
“How about I tell them when we get back to the base?” I ask. “I’ll stay away from the portables and won’t connect with the Q-net until I talk to them.”
“You’re just delaying the inevitable.”
“Other than requiring me to stay disconnected, what else can they do? Send me to the base for more brain scans? What happens to the dig then?”
Niall presses his lips together. “I guess you have a point.”
I wisely keep from gloating. Instead, I