She was alone in a silent room, aware that there were walls all around her but unable to see them. She tried to cry out, but couldn’t speak.
Then, abruptly, the room became one of Trake’s parties, with a DJ scratching violently on his turntable in the corner. Nicole wanted to tell him to stop making so much noise, that she was trying to think, but once again she couldn’t find her voice—
“Protector?” the translation came in her mind. “Protector, wake up. Please.”
Abruptly, the dream vanished. With an effort, Nicole pried open her eyes, to find Nise standing over her, his short sword gripped in one of his two right hands. “Nise,” she managed through a mouth that was surprisingly dry. But at least she had a voice again. “Sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”
Some of the stiffness seemed to leave his posture. More DJ turntable scratching—“No apology needed,” the translation came, the words this time sounding relieved. “I apologize in turn if I shouted unreasonably loudly. I was concerned that the Shipmasters had harmed you.”
“No, I was just overtired,” Nicole said, blinking a couple of times to clear her vision. “Are you all right? And is Iyulik here?”
“I’m unharmed and in good health,” Nise assured her. “Iyulik did not return with me, but remains in position above the teleport room.”
The last bit of sleep fog abruptly evaporated from Nicole’s mind. “You found the teleport room?” she asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.
“Indeed,” Nise said. “Bungie led us to one of the Shipmasters, and we then followed them both to the room.”
“That’s great,” Nicole said. If she’d had a choice, she probably would have preferred the armory. But the teleport room was a perfectly good second target. “Where is it?”
“The precise location is a bit uncertain,” Nise said. “The markings in and around the air ducts are not as clear as in the normal passageways. But we believe it to be in the korvuli section of the ship, on level 52.”
“Do you know which teleport room it was? From the descriptions I’ve heard, I think there are at least two of them.”
“We found only one control room,” Nise said. “But a bit of exploration showed that it has two different sections, the one to starboard considerably larger than the one to portside.”
“So two rooms where people come and go, but both operated by a single control room between them,” Nicole said, pursing her lips. Actually, now that she thought about it, that made more sense for technology that the owners wanted to keep centralized and controlled. “Okay. So. Korvuli 52?”
“Yes,” Nise said.
Nicole nodded, visualizing the Fyrantha’s layout. So it was in the third section back from the ship’s bow, and just beneath one of the networks of horizontal air ducts. “How close was the room to one of the air ducts?”
“As I said, the rooms are directly beneath one of them,” Nise said. “Iyulik is able to watch through the various vents as the Wisps and Shipmasters conduct their business.”
“Yes, you did say that, didn’t you?” Nicole said, her momentary irritation at herself for having missed that point disappearing into sudden dread at the more important revelation. “You said they’re doing business in there? What kind? Are they bringing in new people?”
“Indeed,” Nise said. “Not aliens this time, but other humans.”
Nicole mouthed a curse. So the Shipmasters were indeed starting new work crews. “Did you hear anything about what the new people were here for? Like if they were new work crews or fighters or something else?”
“Nothing was said in my hearing about their purpose,” Nise said. “Though as each was brought aboard he was quickly moved from the room, so there was little opportunity for such discussion.” He made an extra-scratchy sound that Nicole’s translator ignored. “I will say that their choice of language left much to be desired.”
“Yeah, we humans can get that way,” Nicole said, wincing a little. “Sorry. I hope it wasn’t too bad.”
Nise waved away the apology. “It’s of no importance. I’ve merely never heard so many uses of excrement repeated so closely together.”
“Sounds like the group I used to hang out with,” Nicole said. “They probably thought it made them sound macho. Mostly it just got real tired real fast. Could you tell how many they were bringing in?”
“No,” Nise said. “I saw three arrive, but the process was going slowly and I thought it best that I return to report. Iyulik will have gathered more complete information by the time I return to him.”
“Yeah,” Nicole said, frowning as she tried to force these new facts into her thoughts and plans. Bringing new humans aboard was a worrisome development. On the other hand, knowing where the teleport room was counted as a good thing.
Complications … but for the moment, at least, she had a more pressing problem to deal with. “Okay, thanks,” she told Nise. “I suppose you might as well go back to Iyulik and see if he has anything new to report. You can find your way back to him, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Nise said.
“Oh, and you should take more water, too,” Nicole added. Now, too late, she realized she should have brought a fresh supply of their granola mix from the hive.
“That’s all right,” Nise said. “We made sure to bring several water bottles when we were first summoned to your side.”
“What about food?”
“Again, no concern needed. We brought some with us, and I gave Iyulik the rest of mine in anticipation of my return to the hive for more. It should suffice until you no longer need us there.”
“Okay,” Nicole said, hoping that was true. The whole thrust of the arena testing was for the Shipmasters to keep the opposite sides close enough to the edge of starvation that they were forced to fight. She had no idea how long Thii could go without food, and she didn’t want to be the one who made everyone find out. “Do you want to go back first and get some more food?”
“If you are returning, I would be pleased to escort you back,” Nise said. “Or are you going elsewhere?”
“I’m actually going to Q1,” Nicole said. “Just before you woke me up I had a dream that I think might have been the ship talking to me.”
“I was unaware the Fyrantha did such things.”
“So was I,” Nicole said. “And I might be wrong. But either way, I need to check it out. See, while you and Iyulik were following Bungie, some of us made a trip into Q1 to try to find the armory. But we ran into the Koffren and had to pull back.”
“Did all of you survive?”
“Yes,” Nicole said. “Though looking back I’m now thinking that the Shipmasters let us go, just driving us back, so that we’d run back to their tame Wisps and get dropped down the heat duct.”
“What?” Nise demanded, his grip visibly tightening on his sword hilt.
“It’s okay,” Nicole said quickly. “I spotted the trap in time and we got around it. The point is, by the time we got back to the duct the six Wisps I’d brought over from Q3 had disappeared and had been replaced by the Shipmasters’ Q1 group.”
“Where did the Q3 Wisps go?”
“That’s what I think the dream—the Fyrantha—was trying to tell me. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but I’m wondering if the Shipmasters took them farther into Q1, where they can’t see anything, and locked them in one of the rooms.”
“There are many things there that I don’t understand,” Nise said slowly. “What I do understand is that you are going to a place where you may need protection. May I accompany you?”
Nicole hesitated. It was probably more important that he get more food and then go back to Iyulik while she and Jeff started figuring out the best way to hit the teleport room.
But she also knew that Nise wouldn’t be happy if he knew she was wandering around Q1 by herself, and distracted people often got careless. “Sure,” she said. “Come on, let’s find us a couple of Wisps.”
They reached the heat-transfer duct wall without seeing anyone, either Wisps, Shipmasters, or Koffren. Two Wisps came at Nicole’s call, and after confirming they weren’t under Shipmaster control she had them take her and Nise across.
Wait here for us, please, she ordered as the closing door shut off the blast of heat behind them. And if my companion returns alone, obey his orders. Please.
I obey.
The Wisps opened their arms, and once again she and Nise were able to move. “Where do we begin?” the Thii asked, looking around.
Nicole reached back and got a grip on her Wisp’s arm. Do you know if any of your fellow Q3 Wisps are in here? she asked. Or if any are missing? Or can you see or hear or sense any of them?
There is no in here, Protector, the Wisp replied. There is nothing beyond the passageway where we now stand.
Nicole grimaced. Understood, she said. Please wait here.
I obey.
Nicole started to let go—One more question, she said. Can one Wisp paralyze another Wisp by holding it or picking it up?
Yes. Injured Wisps are often transported that way.
Nicole felt her eyebrows go up. Injured Wisps? She hadn’t heard about Wisps getting injured.
But now that she thought about it, maybe that was how the Shipmasters had convinced the Q1 Wisps to lock away the Q3 group she’d brought over. If they’d convinced the Q1 Wisps that the Q3 group was injured or sick, that might have done it. Could I order you to pick up or neutralize another Wisp?
Is the Wisp injured?
Not necessarily. I’m asking as the Fyrantha’s Protector. Could I order you to pick up or neutralize another Wisp?
As the Protector, you may order me to do whatever you wish.
Nicole wrinkled her nose. At least until the Wisp was back under Shipmaster control. Thank you, she said, and let go of its arm. “They don’t know where the other Wisps are,” she told Nise. “We’re on our own.”
“As expected,” Nise said. “Where do we begin?”
Nicole chewed at the inside of her cheek. Injured Wisps … “It won’t be too far,” she said, thinking out loud. “It won’t be something small, either, like a pump room or storage closet. Something with beds, probably.”
“Do Wisps lie down?” Nise asked. “I’ve never seen one that wasn’t moving.”
“Neither have I,” Nicole conceded. “Except the ones Wesowee threw into some of the others. They went down flat.”
“One of the Ghorfs threw a Wisp?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty strong,” Nicole said. “And the Wisps he hit fell over, too. But they all got up by themselves just fine, so I guess that tells us they can lie down.”
“I believe, then, that we’re seeking a barracks room,” Nise said, looking around. “Do you know how this part of the ship is laid out?”
“Not really,” Nicole said. “But barracks rooms are large, which means extra space between their doors and the doors next to them. That gives us something to look for.”
“That makes sense,” Nise said. “Lead, and I will follow.”
There were three rooms they could see from their position that had the kind of door arrangement that Nicole was looking for. In the second of the three, they found five of the six missing Wisps.
The creatures were lying on the five cots closest to the door, their bodies stiff, their eyes wide open and staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Are they dead?” Nise asked, an edge of uneasiness in his voice. “And you said there were six. Where is the other?”
“I don’t know,” Nicole said. “Maybe they took it somewhere else. Maybe it was injured.”
“Or was able to return to Q3,” Nise suggested. “Do you want me to go look for it?”
“No, we’d better stay together,” Nicole said, walking over to the nearest of the five. Steeling herself, she gingerly laid her hand on its arm. Wisp? she called.
There was no answer. Wisp? she tried again.
Nothing. She moved on to the others, trying with each to spark a reaction.
Still nothing. For all she could tell, they were indeed dead.
“Their flesh is warm.”
Nicole turned. Nise was standing beside one of the Wisps, his sword tucked into his belt, each of his four hands resting lightly on a different place on the Wisp’s arms, torso, or neck. “Are these creatures living beings, or are they mechanical constructs?”
“I don’t know,” Nicole said, touching her Wisp’s arm again. Nise was right—the skin was definitely warmer than room temperature. “Maybe some sort of mix? A living robot or something?”
“That’s possible,” Nise said. “Thii science has nothing like that, but we’ve often speculated on such things. I believe I can feel a faint pulse, as well, either a living heartbeat or else a mechanical rhythm.”
“I can’t feel anything,” Nicole said. “But your fingers may be more sensitive than mine.”
“Perhaps,” Nise said. “Are you certain these are the same Wisps that you brought across earlier?”
“Yes,” Nicole said, looking down at them. “And no, I don’t know how I know that, either. But I do.”
“I don’t doubt your word,” Nise said. “What shall we do?”
Nicole touched the nearest Wisp’s cheek. Wisp?
Still no answer. “Well, we can’t leave them here,” she said. “Maybe taking them back to Q3 will help them. The Wisps over there might be able to do something.”
“Very well.” Leaning forward, Nise forced his arms under the Wisp’s torso and legs and lifted.
He got the creature maybe two inches above the cot before abruptly dropping it back down.
“You okay?” Nicole asked.
“They’re heavier than they look,” Nise said ruefully. “We may need to do this together.”
“Yeah,” Nicole said, making a face. They weren’t very far from the heat-exchange duct, but doing the back-and-forth trip five times was begging for trouble from the Shipmasters, especially with both of them encumbered with a Wisp’s worth of baggage. But if the Wisps were that heavy, the only option would be to go hunt down a cart.
Impulsively, she leaned over, slipped her arms under the Wisp’s shoulders and thighs, and lifted. Come on, Wisp, she growled mentally at it. Wake up and smell the coffee.
I smell no coffee.
Nicole jerked back, yanking her hands out from under it, the echo of that unexpected thought tingling through her mind.
“What is it?” Nise snapped, and out of the corner of Nicole’s eye she saw him snatch his sword from his belt.
“It’s okay,” she assured him hastily, staring down at the Wisp. Its eyes were still open, but instead of just staring blankly at the ceiling it seemed to be studying it.
Nicole caught her breath. Studying it?
She stepped back and touched its arm. Do you know who I am?
You are the Protector.
That’s right. Can you see me?
The Wisp’s eyes turned toward her face. Yes.
Can you see the room you’re in?
Its eyes shifted sideways. Yes.
Describe it.
It is a group sleeping room.
“What is it?” Nise asked.
“It can see the room,” Nicole said, hearing a slight trembling in her voice. “It can see me and the room.”
“Did you think it was blind?”
“You don’t understand,” Nicole said. “Up to now, none of the Wisps I’ve talked to could see more than a corridor or two past their own section of the ship. This one has somehow been— I don’t know. Enlightened? Unblinded?”
“Perhaps reprogrammed,” Nise suggested.
Nicole looked down at the Wisp. If Nise was right, and if all the Wisps could be reprogrammed …
She touched the Wisp’s arm. What section of the ship do you belong to?
I have no designated section. I belong with the Protector.
Nicole felt a tingle run through her. Did that mean it could go wherever she did, and do whatever she wanted? If I give you orders, you’ll obey them?
Yes.
More importantly, did it mean it wouldn’t do what Fievj and the other Shipmasters wanted? If the Shipmasters give you orders, will you obey them?
If you order me to do so, I will obey them.
I don’t want you to do so. I want you to never obey the Shipmasters.
Then I shall not do so.
Not ever?
Not ever.
Nicole pursed her lips. Obeying her; not obeying Fievj. Good. Now, how much further could she take this? Do you remember Jeff? He came across with me earlier from Q3.
Yes. I remember him.
If I order you to obey him, will you do so?
Yes.
Then I order that. You’ll obey his orders, and mine. No one else’s. Unless I tell you to do so later.
Understood. I will obey you and Jeff only.
Nicole lifted her hand away, her mind spinning. Even having just one Wisp fully under her and Jeff’s control could be a big game changer.
But if all five of them were the same way …
She touched the Wisp again. Do you know what happened to the sixth Wisp who came over with us?
It was confused. Unable to function. It was taken to a room of reserve to recover its senses.
Do you know where this room is?
No.
Nicole nodded. So; just these five.
Still, five Wisps under her direct control was way more than she’d had any right to expect. All right. Wait here for further orders.
I obey the Protector.
Nicole stepped to the next cot and laid her hand on the Wisp’s arm. Wake up, she ordered. The Protector wishes you to wake up. Please.
I obey the Protector, the Wisp said.
Can you see me?
Yes.
Can you see the room we’re in?
Yes.
I order you to obey me and Jeff and no one else.
Understood. I will obey only you and Jeff.
Two minutes later, all five Wisps were awake and had promised their obedience. “Wisps: stand up,” Nicole said aloud, moving to the door.
Silently, all five stood. “If they’re to be your personal servants, perhaps you should name them,” Nise suggested.
“I’m thinking they’re more allies than servants,” Nicole said. “But that’s a good idea.” She lifted a hand, leveled a finger at the leftmost Wisp. “I’m going to give you names,” she announced. “You will answer to Cambria.” She moved the finger one Wisp to the right. “You will answer to Firth.
“Hagert.
“Jessup.
“Lehigh.”
She ran the Wisps through the names a second time, just to make sure they’d all gotten them. “Any other suggestions?” she asked Nise.
“Not at this time,” Nise said. “Interesting names. Is there a significance to them?”
“Those are some of the streets from where I used to live,” Nicole said, a stream of dark memories running through her. “Streets I never want to see again.”
Nise seemed to ponder that. “If the names don’t inspire you, why do you use them?”
“Oh, they inspire me, all right,” Nicole said grimly. “They inspire me to never let anything like that ever happen to me again. Or to anyone else I know.”
“Good,” Nise said, and Nicole could hear a hint of approval in his voice. “What now?”
“First, we head back to the hive and get you more food and water,” Nicole said. “Then we find Jeff and he or I will escort you back here so you can return to Iyulik to see if there’s any further news.”
“And after that?” Nise asked, gesturing toward the Wisps. “What will you do with them?”
“Not sure,” Nicole said. “But I can tell you one thing. Whatever it is, the Shipmasters will never see it coming.” She lifted a hand and beckoned. “Wisps? Come with us.”