“It’s caught in a huge tidal surge, being carried toward the shore,” Commander Tapp said. “Is this how the creature ended up trapped here?”
The image on the screen showed the rush of the turbulent current and the impact of the creature against rocks and lava stones. Then it was swept into blackness by the huge wave and carried over a cliff with the torrent.
It was alone then, in the dark. Deposited on the sand where the wave had stopped, in a deep pit filled with sea water. The creature unfolded, slowly, over time. A long, long time. The sun lit the cave from the breach above at least a hundred times while the thing’s body stretched, folded and reformed, gradually rising upward over the waters that eventually ebbed. Nearby, small creatures jumped and darted, looking for an escape from their inevitable fate as their world evaporated around them.
“How did that sea life survive being dissolved by the creature’s toxins?” Commander Tapp asked.
Sno bent his head, raised a hand to cover his ear. “It stopped feeding before it washed into Lower Cave. So no toxic byproduct.”
The creature fixated on something in the sand. Something half-buried.
“Juggle Knot wants talk-thing. Wants. Wants. Wants-wants-wants! Can’t reach. Has no arms.”
“Cassie says the creature had some sort of device, but it was lodged in the sand where it couldn’t get to it. I think it may be communication equipment of some sort.”
The creature keened, its voice a nightmare of rumbling screeches and clicks.
None of its kind answered.
In time—maybe moons, maybe calendars—the Juggernaut went still. Whatever it used for eyes glazed and became opaque as it produced a hard-cased envelope that gradually coated its body, layer upon layer.
Cassie ran with her nose to the sand then stopped so quickly she nearly cartwheeled. Sniffing frantically, she zeroed in on a spot and then began to dig, burrowing deeper and deeper into the hardened sand until she’d created a tunnel. She returned with something in her mouth. A flat object that appeared to be coated in the same material that had enveloped the Juggernaut.
The men exchanged looks, their faces pale.
“Tell her to bring it to us, Agent Telon,” Dr. K said.
Sno relayed the message, and Cassie trotted up to the group with her prize.
“Some sort of alien technology,” Dr. Bellinov said, donning gloves and turning the thing over and over in his hands. “Cocooned, like the creature.”
“Secure that artifact,” Dr. K instructed. “Do not under any circumstances allow it in the proximity of that creature. We have no idea what it can do. It could be a weapon.”
“I don’t think they’re hostile, sir,” Sno said. “Not intentionally, anyway. What I’m getting from Cassie is that this being has no qualms about answering her questions. We aren’t edible and we aren’t a known enemy, and therefore we’re insignificant. It’s been alone a very long time. It welcomes contact.”
“This is clearly a highly advanced alien species—the only one we’ve ever encountered—and also a major threat to our worlds, should it return in the same numbers,” Dr. Bellinov said.
Dr. K acknowledged his words. “Tell Cassie to ask the Juggernaut where its fleet is now.”
Sno knelt beside his StarDog, cradling her muzzle in his hand. “She says they’ve gone. They’re far, far out across the stars,” Sno answered. “But they will return. And Juggernaut is waiting.”
“When will they return?” Dr. K pressed.
“Cassie says Juggernaut doesn’t know. The being has no concept of time.”
Dr. K raised his head to the looming creature who held vigil at the far corner of Lower Cave. “Empora’s Hades,” he whispered.
16
Dek wasn’t sure of her fate with the Network, or if she’d have a future serving in any capacity. It had been two weeks since she, Sno, and General X had learned via Cassie about the Juggernaut.
She’d once again been confined to quarters while an elite science team probed the discovery further. She had no idea where Sno was, or if he was even on site...or still on LaGuardia, for that matter.
She’d wanted so much to talk to him about the encounter. To trade theories. Share ideas. Share time with him. But her forced sequester made that impossible. Eventually, she’d pushed those wants and needs from her thoughts. She wasn’t ready to admit how empty his absence left her. How hollow. It was far easier to deny her feelings than to acknowledge them.
She’d survive this.
She’d survived much worse.
For the last several days, she’d been debriefed about the findings by two mysterious interrogators who wanted to know more about the artifact called the Juggernaut. When she questioned their involvement, they told her they were simply fact-checkers here to investigate the discovery. Oh, they’d both been cordial and polite, but their probing had been thorough. Even a gentle grilling by two courteous authority figures was still a grilling.
She suspected they were Network leaders, judging by their bearing and command presence. They identified themselves only as Gant and Ry. They had disclosed that they’d arrived from off-planet. Possibly the pair were from another world now, but Dek knew a full-blooded LaGuardian when she saw one. Or two, in this case.
Major Remm had paid a visit three days ago—his head wound well on the way to healed—to thank her for her intervention that night. To thank her for being there at all. He didn’t ask any questions, didn’t seem to want to know how she’d accessed Site D after having been expelled from the location by Commander Tapp.
No doubt he’d already been fully briefed.
He also told her he’d been assigned as the current A-Com on Site D, and Commander Tapp was no longer in command. Or on planet, for that matter. He didn’t elaborate on the man’s status, but hinted that General X most likely believed his talents were best suited elsewhere.
The major added in a quiet aside, “His motives in banishing you from Site D might’ve had something to do with that.”
She gave the major a look of gratitude and a handshake before he left. Not having Tapp involved in whatever disciplinary measures awaited her was a relief, and she was sure the major knew there was no love lost between the former commander and his second-in-command.
Major Remm hadn’t been gone long when a loud knock came at her door.
“Enter,” Dek called, expecting another round with the two so-called fact-checkers.
But it was Sno.
Fire Lords! His eyes were soft in the dim light, the angles of his face cast in shadows and light. The pull to him was immediate and powerful, but Dek kept her feelings tightly under wraps.
“Like some kinna?” she managed.
“Please.”
The sound of his voice tingled down her spine and sparked along her nerve endings, but she succeeded in keeping her demeanor cool and detached. “Is this a personal call or is it business?”
“Maybe a little of both.”
Her gaze touched briefly on his face, but she couldn’t hold eye contact. He looked well-rested and clear-eyed. There was no anger sparking in his eyes as it had during their confrontation, but the electric tension in the room was unmistakable.