One by one, the Privateers swept into space. Yesterday seemed a million years ago, as did the nerves John had suffered over his takeoff and landing. Now, he executed a perfect exit from the planet’s atmosphere without thinking about it. His mind was on something else. As the small spaceships cleared the web of security satellites orbiting Archivus Major, he activated a communications channel to Kaal and Emmie’s ships.
“I can’t stop thinking there is something really weird about Graximus Greyfore,” he said abruptly.
“You said something about him planning the whole thing earlier,” Emmie answered. “I wasn’t really listening, though. Sorry, I was scared out of my mind at the time.”
“I was wondering about it, too,” said Kaal. “The Comet Creative looked like a 4-D camera on the outside but there was no image capture technology inside at all.”
“Why would the curator want to unfreeze a whole battle, though?” Emmie asked. “I mean, did you see what that Subo’s laser did to the Omega-bot? It wouldn’t have taken long for either army to break through the force field and then —”
All three of them were quiet for a moment, thinking about what might have happened if the warring Goran and Subo had been able to break free.
“It might have been a mistake,” said Kaal eventually. “These things happen. Maybe he’s like Ms. Vartexia. Perhaps he gave Emmie the wrong device by accident.”
“No, I’m certain he planned it,” said John firmly. “He told Emmie she would get extra credit, but how could he make a promise like that if it was a secret from Ms. Vartexia and Lorem? Plus, he was very keen to recommend the Elvian spaghetti to Ms. Vartexia.”
“And he told Mordant that the Vaporball Championship was on a planet close to Archivus Major,” Kaal said thoughtfully.
“So, everything that went wrong can be traced back to Graximus Greyfore,” said John. “But Emmie’s right: why? Why would the curator try to wreck his most famous exhibit?”
“Unless Graximus Greyfore isn’t everything he seems,” said Kaal.
Silence descended again. Stars and planets swept by, but this time none of them bothered to look. They were all lost in their own thoughts, as their ships powered through space.
After a minute had passed, Emmie sighed. “Do you think this means I won’t get extra credit?”