“Well,” Jeff said, scratching his cheek as he eyed the five silent Wisps. “That’s new.”
“I know,” Nicole said around a mouthful of green-paste flatbread. It was the first chance she’d had to eat in a long time, and she was determined to make the most of it. “The question is, how are we going to use them?”
“Oh, I can think of a dozen possibilities right off the top of my head.” Jeff jerked a thumb at Kahkitah, sitting on the other side of the dining room table. “I’m guessing the Ghorfs could come up with a dozen more.”
“Indeed,” Kahkitah said, his bird whistles quiet and thoughtful. “Tell me, do you know if the Shipmasters can tell one Wisp from another?”
“No idea,” Nicole said. “I don’t even know how I can tell them apart.”
“An effect of your connection to the Fyrantha, no doubt,” Kahkitah said. “Have you experimented with how many orders you can give a specific Wisp at the same time?”
Nicole frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He means,” Jeff said, “can you tell a Wisp to go to one of the tool lockers”—he paused, leaning over to look at the underside of the table—“pick out a number-four tri-wrench, bring it back here, and take one of the table legs off?”
“Why would I—? Oh,” Nicole interrupted herself, nodding as she understood.
“Exactly,” Jeff said. “If they can remember strings of instructions, we can use them for complicated jobs. If they can’t, we can’t.”
“Shall we try an experiment?” Kahkitah suggested.
“It’s as good a time as any.” Jeff gestured to Nicole. “Over to you, Nicole.”
“Okay,” Nicole said, eyeing the Wisps. “Cambria, come here, please.”
The Wisp glided to the table and stopped, and Nicole touched its arm. Cambria, I want you to go to the nearest tool cabinet. Get a number-four tri-wrench and bring it back here to me. Please.
What is a number-four tri-wrench?
It’s the fourth-smallest triangle-shaped wrench, Nicole said. It takes off triangle-shaped nuts. Do you know what wrenches and nuts are?
No.
Nicole made a face. Whatever the Wisps’ purpose was aboard the Fyrantha, apparently it didn’t involve the ship’s tools. This is a nut, she said. Taking its hand and guiding it under the table, she closed its fingers around the nut. This is a nut. Can you find a wrench that will wrap around it and bring it to me?
I will try, the Wisp answered.
Good. Go and get it now. Please.
The Wisp turned and left the room. “Trouble?” Jeff asked.
“It doesn’t know what wrenches or nuts are,” Nicole told him. “I tried letting it touch one, but I don’t know if that’ll be good enough.”
“It apparently believed it was,” Kahkitah said. “Otherwise, I doubt it would have left without obtaining additional clarification.”
“Good point,” Jeff said. “But it could easily just think it has enough clarification. Let’s see what it brings back.”
The door opened. Nicole looked over to see Levi glance in, his expression tense. He started to turn away, spotted Nicole, and stopped. “There you are,” he said. “You’ve got a visitor. Fievj is coming down the hall.”
Nicole felt her eyes widen. “Fievj is here?”
“And looking for you,” Levi said. “I told him I hadn’t seen you in a while—”
“Is he armored?” Jeff cut in.
“You mean in that centaur suit?” Levi said, jerking a little as he belatedly noticed the four motionless Wisps. “Yeah. You want me to tell him you’re here?”
“Is Fievj one of the Shipmasters?” Kahkitah asked nervously. “Oh, please—not in here. They frighten me.”
“It’s okay, Kahkitah,” Nicole soothed, standing up. Back to his stupid-Ghorf persona; but his message was clear. Letting Fievj see a group of Wisps hanging around the blue team’s dining room would probably be a bad idea. “Thanks, Levi. I’ll go meet him out there and find out what he wants.”
“I’ll come with you,” Jeff volunteered, standing up beside Nicole. “Levi, you want to wait here with Kahkitah?”
“I think I’ll come watch,” Levi said, giving the Wisps one more look before stepping aside out of the doorway. “From a distance, if you don’t mind.”
“No, actually that’s a good idea,” Jeff said. “I doubt we’ll need a witness, but you never know.”
“Yeah,” Levi said under his breath as Nicole passed him. “Terrific.”
They found Fievj three corridors away, walking with a measured, almost hesitant stride. He spotted Nicole and Jeff coming toward him, and it seemed to Nicole that he picked up his pace a little. “Remember that he has to turn around to get to his weapons,” Jeff murmured. “If he makes any kind of move, you duck down the nearest cross-corridor and run like hell.”
“What about you?” she murmured back.
“If we’re close enough, I’ll try to beat him to the punch,” Jeff said. “If not, I’ll be right behind you.”
Nicole swallowed hard. And right here, with the two of them midway between the nearest escape routes, was Fievj’s best opportunity to kill them both.
But to her nervous surprise, he made no effort to get to the weapons stash, but merely kept walking toward them. Another dozen steps, and they all came to a halt a couple of yards apart.
“Protector,” the Shipmaster’s voice came through Nicole’s translator. “I’m Fievj. I speak for the Shipmasters.”
“I know,” Nicole said. “And I speak for the Fyrantha.”
Fievj might have twitched at that. Probably her imagination.
“What do you want?” she continued.
“We’re facing a crisis,” Fievj said. “I’ve been sent to ask for your help.”
“Interesting,” Jeff said. “What’s the crisis this time?”
“The Koffren.” Fievj hesitated. “You must first understand that the Koffren are not like the aliens we bring to the testing arenas. They’re … clients, shall we say. Clients with a strong interest in the Fyrantha and our operation.”
“Yeah, we’d kind of guessed that,” Nicole said. “So you’re scared of them?”
“You’re scared of two of them?” Jeff added pointedly.
“They’re formidable opponents,” Fievj said. “You know that—you’ve faced them.”
“Twice, actually,” Jeff said. “And we’ve beaten them both times.”
“Well, the first time, anyway,” Nicole corrected him. “You told them to let us win the second time, didn’t you?”
This time there was a definite twitch. “We made no such stipulation.”
“Sure,” Nicole said. “There’s still only two of them.”
“Not for long,” Fievj warned. “Not unless we can come to an agreement.”
“What are you talking about?” Jeff asked, frowning. “What are they going to do, breed a bunch of little Koffren on you?”
“Of course not,” Fievj bit out. “They’re going to bring in more of their kind. More warriors, and almost certainly better armed.”
“How?” Nicole said. “Don’t you and the Wisps control the teleport rooms?”
“If they choose to take them over, we cannot stop them,” Fievj said. “They are warriors.”
Jeff snorted. “They’re warriors with swords and spider guns,” he said. “You’re warriors with greenfire weapons. Two clear shots, and it’s over.”
“It’s not that simple,” Fievj said. “We aren’t—” He broke off. “We’re not warriors,” he said softly. “We don’t fight. Not like you do.”
“We don’t fight, either,” Nicole said. Not that he was going to believe her, but it was still worth a try.
“But you are leaders,” Fievj said. “You’re leaders, planners, and encouragers. You’re right, there are only two Koffren at present. But we cannot face them without you.”
And then, maybe fifty yards behind Fievj, a Wisp came into view from a cross-corridor and glided toward them.
Not just any Wisp. Cambria.
And in its hand, the wrench Nicole had asked for.
Nicole went rigid. If Fievj saw it …
“So what do you want us to do?” Jeff asked, easing a half step to his right away from Nicole, clearly hoping to draw Fievj’s attention away from the Wisp as it came up to Nicole.
It was a good plan. But not good enough, Nicole realized. Cambria would stop in front of Nicole and hand her the wrench, and even in that armored helmet Fievj’s peripheral vision was bound to be good enough to let him see the interaction.
And if the Wisps didn’t even know what a tri-wrench was, there was no reason for one of them to be walking around with one, let alone bringing one to a Sibyl. The last thing they needed was for Fievj to start wondering just how much control she had over the Wisps.
For that matter, even just a Wisp appearing here without orders or without Nicole calling for it might spark some of the same curiosity and suspicion. Her only chance was to pretend she was summoning it and hope Fievj didn’t have any rearview mirrors in there. She opened her mouth.
“Not yet,” Jeff said under his breath, his hand touching hers warningly. Nicole turned to him, frowning—
“We need you to meet with us,” Fievj said.
Cambria was still coming. It was thirty yards away now—
“More specifically, to meet with Nevvis,” Fievj continued.
—twenty yards—
“He’s our leader, and the only one who can command our full loyalty.”
—ten yards—
“Now,” Jeff murmured.
“Wisp!” Nicole called. “Come here.”
Fievj half turned to his left to look behind him—
And like a striking rattlesnake Jeff leaped forward, grabbing Fievj’s right arm with his left hand. “Hold it!” he snapped, taking another step and catching the Shipmaster’s left arm in his right hand. “No weapons! You hear me?”
“I wasn’t reaching for a weapon,” Fievj snapped back. He jerked his arms upward, breaking Jeff’s double grip.
And with his torso half turned to the side and his full attention on Jeff, Cambria glided past him on his other side and handed the wrench to Nicole. She nodded thanks and quickly slid the wrench up her jumpsuit sleeve.
“Yeah, you’d better not be,” Jeff said, some of the starch gone out of his voice as he stepped back beside Nicole.
“I didn’t come here to fight,” Fievj said. He turned back, too, twitching again as he belatedly spotted the Wisp that had come up on his blind side and was now standing motionless beside Nicole. “I came for help.”
“We’ll see what we can do,” Nicole said. “Tell Nevvis to come by whenever he wants and we’ll talk.”
“He won’t come here,” Fievj said. “He fears for his safety in the center of your stronghold.”
“I hope he’s not suggesting Nicole come to Q1,” Jeff warned. “Because that’s a nonstarter from our end.”
“Understood,” Fievj said. “He suggests the more neutral territory of Q3. The Protector can choose any place within that quadrant for the meeting.”
“I’m not sure it’s all that neutral,” Nicole countered. “You control a lot of the Wisps there.”
“At times, yes, we do,” Fievj said. “But at other times, the control falls to you. The Fyrantha is as it is. If you can suggest a better location, I’m willing to listen.”
Nicole scowled. But he was right. “Fine,” she said. “When, and where?”
“Whenever and wherever you choose,” Fievj said. “If you’d like, Nevvis and I can wait across the crosswise duct in Q1 until you send a Wisp to give us your precise location. Would that make you feel safer?”
Nicole smiled tightly. Would that make you feel safer? Trake had used lines like that on her and the others all the time to try to put them on the defensive. The idea was to make the other person feel bad about making unreasonable demands and get them to back off.
Unfortunately for Fievj, Nicole had had plenty of experience with this particular game. “Yes, that should work,” she said. “You can wait on level 37, directly forward of the level 32 entrance to the Q3 arena.”
“And five levels down from it, of course,” Fievj said.
“Of course,” Nicole said. “Will that work for you?”
“Yes,” Fievj said. “When?”
“How long will it take you to get back to Q1 and get Nevvis to the meeting point?”
“No more than an hour,” Fievj said. “Perhaps sooner.”
“An hour, then,” Nicole said. “I’ll pick a spot and send a Wisp to bring you to me.”
Fievj turned his head slightly toward Cambria. Maybe he figured that was the Wisp she would be sending. Maybe he was just wondering why it was still standing there. “Very well,” he said. “We shall see you then.” He started to turn away—
“I assume she doesn’t have to come alone?” Jeff spoke up.
Fievj was silent a moment, and Nicole had the feeling he was studying Jeff through his helmet. “If you speak of guards, they’re unnecessary. Neither Nevvis nor I intend any harm to you.”
“That still leaves the Koffren,” Jeff said.
“The Koffren will not be there,” Fievj said. “But if you fear for the Protector’s safety, you may of course accompany her.”
“Great,” Jeff said. “One more thing. I want a bottle of the stuff that dissolves the tangler rounds.”
Fievj looked at Nicole, then back at Jeff. “You’ve spoken to the Ghorf.”
“You mean Kahkitah?” Nicole shrugged. “Of course. He was pretty upset about what happened and blamed me for lying to him.”
“As well he should,” Fievj said severely.
“Yeah, maybe,” Jeff said. “It’s not like you can always tell them the truth or expect them to keep secrets. They get confused about what they can tell other people and what they can’t.”
“Yes, we’ve noticed,” Fievj said. “Still, an easygoing populace makes for a quiet civilization. In some ways, they’re lucky.”
“Yeah, giving up brains for extra muscle is always a good idea,” Jeff said. “So what about that magic paint thinner of yours?”
Fievj half turned around to the horse section of his armor. Nicole tensed; but the hinged cover opened to reveal only a frame holding twelve short black boxes and an equal number of small eyedropper bottles like the ones Kahkitah had described. “Here,” Fievj said, selecting one of the bottles and turning back to hand it to Jeff.
“Let’s make it two,” Jeff said. “And throw in a few tangler rounds so we can make sure the stuff works. I’m guessing those other things are magazines?”
“It’s the correct solvent,” Fievj said. “You can take my word for it.”
“Well, actually, no, we can’t,” Jeff said. “Come on—you’ve got a dozen bottles and mags back there. You can spare me one of them.”
Fievj hesitated. Then, with clear reluctance, he turned back and picked out one of the boxes and another fluid bottle. “Will there be more demands?” he asked stiffly as he handed Jeff the box with one hand and closed the storage cover with the other.
“No, this should do,” Jeff said, peering at the box a moment before lowering his hands to his sides. “Still means you’re the only ones with guns, but this stuff will at least lower the odds a little.”
“If I’d wished to shoot you or the Protector, I could have brought a weapon with me,” Fievj reminded him.
“Except that you need me alive and well,” Nicole reminded him.
“I will return to Q1 and await your message,” Fievj said, letting her comment pass without response. With a final pointed look at Cambria, he turned and walked away, his rear legs matching his front legs in their slightly off-rhythm way.
“What do you think?” Jeff asked quietly.
“Look like he’s falling right into line,” Nicole murmured back.
“You mean playing it the way you thought?”
“Yeah.” Nicole turned to Cambria and took its arm. Thank you for the wrench, she said, sliding it back out of her sleeve. It was a number four, just like she’d asked for. You may return to the others in the dining room.
I obey the Protector.
Nicole let go of its arm, and the Wisp turned and glided away. Midway to the next cross-corridor it passed Levi, who’d emerged from the same cross-corridor where he’d been lurking and was now walking toward Nicole and Jeff. He gave the Wisp a quick speculative look as they passed each other, then continued forward. “So what did he want?” he asked as he came up to them. “I couldn’t hear the conversation from back there.”
“His boss wants to talk to Nicole,” Jeff said. “They’re meeting in an hour over in Q3.”
“Are they, now,” Levi said darkly. “I hope you’re not trusting him.”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Nicole assured him. “We’re pretty sure he’s planning something.”
“That’s a start, I guess,” Levi said. “I don’t suppose you happen to know what that something might be?”
Nicole hesitated. She trusted Levi as much as she trusted any of them. But there was still the question of how much the Caretaker could see and hear of what went on inside the ship. And, more to the point, how much of what he heard the Shipmasters were also hearing. “Well, it’s a trap,” she said. “That much is for sure.”
“We’re getting an escort together for her,” Jeff added. “You interested?”
Levi snorted. “After last time? I don’t think you’ll find anyone willing to go through that again.”
“We’ve been told the Koffren won’t be involved,” Jeff said.
“Yeah,” Levi said dryly. “I’ve been told unicorns will be serving dinner tonight.”
“That’s okay,” Nicole said. “Actually, I was thinking Moile, Teika, and I would handle it by ourselves.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Jeff said. “We need to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’ll be safe,” Nicole said. “The thing is to make sure you’re safe.”
“That he’s safe?” Levi echoed, frowning. “What’s he got to be worried about?”
“Never mind,” Nicole said, glaring warningly at Jeff. “The point is that he needs to be ready to move if and when I make a deal with Nevvis.” She raised her eyebrows at Jeff. “Right?”
Jeff’s face and body language were a mess of silent protest. But he gave a reluctant nod. “Right.”
“And now I need to get ready,” Nicole said. “We’ll go to the dining room first and make sure Cambria and the other Wisps will obey you. Then I’ll go find the Ponngs.”
“What do you want me to do?” Levi asked.
“Just be ready, I guess,” Nicole said.
“Be ready for what?”
Nicole grimaced. “For anything.”
Nicole had told Fievj to wait for her message on level 37. She’d also spent a fair amount of time on level 36 after Bungie had gotten her away from the Shipmaster and Koffren ambush, which suggested she might not want to hang around that level.
But there was another level she’d spent even more time on, and which she knew better than any of the others. Leading Moile and Teika to the Fyrantha’s centerline, she summoned the Wisps she needed, and a few minutes later they all crossed the heat duct to Q3. Leaving the Wisps waiting behind them in the long corridor, she and the Ponngs headed farther into the quadrant.
“This is level 32, is it not?” Moile asked, looking around as they walked.
“It is,” Nicole confirmed. “That way”—she pointed to the left—“is the arena where you and the Thii fought.”
“And now we and the Thii battle side by side under your leadership,” Teika murmured.
“Indeed,” Moile said. “We will strive always to be worthy of your trust.”
“I know you will,” Nicole assured him. Whether or not she would remain worthy of their trust, unfortunately, was another question entirely.
“How far are we going?” Moile asked.
“Not much farther,” Nicole said, looking back over her shoulder. They were five corridors in, far enough from the centerline to make it all look like good faith but close enough that a solid sprint would get them back to where they’d left the Wisps before any of them ran out of wind. “In fact, this looks good right here.”
She stopped and filled her lungs. “Wisps! I need one of you.”
She counted out twenty seconds. Then, from one of the main corridors ahead a Wisp appeared and started toward them. “That’s far enough,” Nicole called as Moile and Teika stepped in front of her and took up guard positions, their swords held ready. “I just have a message for you to deliver.”
The Wisp stopped. “I want you to go across to Q1 and down to level 37,” Nicole told it. “Fievj and another Shipmaster should be waiting there across from the Q3 arena. Tell them I’m waiting for them here on level 32. Please.”
For a moment the Wisp stood there, as if thinking about it. Then, it turned and headed forward down the corridor it had first appeared from.
“Heading to the crosswise heat duct, probably,” she commented. “I wonder if they always use the ducts to go up and down or if they ever use the stairs.”
“I have no knowledge of that,” Moile said. “Do you think it communicates with the Shipmasters the way it does with you?”
“You mean by telepathic touch?” Nicole shrugged. “I assume so. Though if there’s a problem, it can probably just lead them up here.”
“Yes.” Moile hesitated. “I must confess to you, Protector, that I agree with Jeff. I think this plan is highly dangerous. And not just to you personally.”
“I know Jeff thinks that,” Nicole said.
“And you don’t?”
“Well … yes, I suppose so,” she conceded. “But if I’ve read the Shipmasters right, this should work. Anyway, I don’t see us having any better choices right now.”
Moile was silent a moment. “You understand so many things,” he said thoughtfully. “Is that because of who you are? Or is it who you are plus the Fyrantha speaking and acting through you?”
“I honestly don’t know, Moile,” Nicole said, wincing. The thought that the ship might be influencing her without her knowledge still gave her the creeps. “As to how much I understand, let’s wait on that one until we see what happens in the next hour or so.”
“Yes.” Another pause. “Perhaps we should at least back up one corridor,” he suggested. “If the Wisp tells them exactly where you are, they’ll be able to flank us.”
“Good point,” Nicole said, looking behind her. “Right. Matter of fact, let’s back up two corridors.”
“We’ll still be in sight for a long degree of time,” Teika pointed out.
“Yes.” Nicole took a deep breath. “But then, we kind of have to be, don’t we?”
Nicole had guessed that it would be at least twenty minutes before anyone arrived.
Apparently, the Shipmasters were more anxious and eager than she’d thought.
Two armored centaurs appeared first, clumping into view around the same corner the messenger Wisp had disappeared down. They spotted Nicole and stopped. “Protector?” one of them called. “I am Fievj. This is Nevvis.”
“Hello, Nevvis,” Nicole called back. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“This hardly qualifies as meeting,” a darker voice rumbled at her. “Come closer, that we may speak as equals. Or do you fear me?”
“Of course I fear you,” Nicole called. “That’s the whole point of the armor, isn’t it? To scare people?”
“Come closer,” Nevvis insisted.
“You want to talk closer?” Nicole retorted. “Then you come closer.”
“Insolence,” Nevvis bit out. “I offered you mercy. Now I offer only defeat and destruction.”
Moile made a sound in the back of his throat and lifted his sword a little higher.
“Is that a threat?” Nicole asked calmly. “I thought you wanted to make a deal.”
“We will make a deal,” Nevvis said. “But you perhaps will not survive to see it.”
And from the corridor twenty yards in front of Nicole, Bungie stepped into view.
But for that first moment his back was to her, his face and the spider gun in his hand pointed toward the two Shipmasters.
“No, I’m back here,” Nicole called.
He spun around, a confused look momentarily on his face before it was replaced with his trademark smirk. “Thought you were going to wait back there,” he said, nodding his head over his shoulder to where Nicole and the Ponngs had originally been waiting.
“I thought you weren’t going to attack me,” Nicole said, ignoring him and addressing her comment to the Shipmasters.
“We shall not,” Fievj said. “But you are a danger to us and to all who dwell aboard this vessel. Only if we can contain and neutralize you will the Koffren rescind their challenge to our command of the Fyrantha.”
“So this is your big idea?” Nicole scoffed, waving at Bungie. “Him?”
“You’re so clever, aren’t you?” Bungie said, the smirk growing wider. “Oh, yeah—you understand me, and Fievj, and everyone else. But there’s one person you never figured out. Ever.”
“Hello, Nicole,” a familiar voice came from behind her.
Nicole turned, her stomach tightening into a knot. Standing in a line across the cross-corridor were five men. Big men; brutal-looking men. Dressed in the all-too-familiar gang colors of Philadelphia, spider guns held loosely at their sides.
And standing in the center of the group, looking as always like he owned everything and everyone he could see, including Nicole—
“Hey, Nicole,” Trake leered. “How you been?”