Diggers: The Sharp Edge of the Universe by Shannon Heather, Jerrett James Page B

aren’t one. Pathetic! You never listen to other people’s ideas. You think you’re the only one who should discover anything. You…you’re just like my father! He’s the reason why I hate science.”
    Mikayla might as well have just punched Finn in the gut. Worse, Reggie quit his sensor reconfiguration to stand next to Mikayla and slip his arm around her. She’d succeeded in cutting him to the core. Finn had doubted himself since the moment they’d lost communication with Vortex , and Mikayla had just confirmed his doubts.
    Reggie gave a heavy sigh, then stepped between them and took the captain’s chair. “Both wrong.”
    Finn wanted to yell at him, but he still reeled from Mikayla’s words.
    “Both right.” Reggie refused to look at anything but the screen.
    Mikayla slumped in the chair next to Reggie and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry, Reg. I shouldn’t have gotten mad.”
    “Wrong person,” Reggie said. “Apologize to each other.”
    Mikayla looked up at Finn and started to say something, but he turned away to stare at water blobs out the porthole. No way was he going to apologize to her, and he knew any apology she gave would be for Reggie, not him.
    “Whoa!” Reggie said, still holding Mikayla’s hand.
    Finn turned to see what Reggie was talking about.
    “Looks like…a table,” Reggie said.
     
     

Chapter 18: Bearings
     
    “Oh. My. Gosh,” Mikayla yelled so loudly that Finn had to slap his hands over his ears. They all moved together toward the main screen. “ELAINA, stop right there.”
    Finn snorted. “Oh, yeah, and I’m the yeller.”
    She ignored him and searched the screen. “Look. That's definitely a chair.”
    “Trash can.” Reggie pointed next to the table. “It’s a room.”
    “ELAINA.” Finn forced calm into his voice. He wouldn’t give Mikayla the satisfaction of saying he mistreated ELAINA ever again, even if ELAINA was just a bot and had no feelings. “Can you widen the view but still keep the images this sharp?”
    “Yes, Mr. Finnigan O’Reilly,” ELAINA purred. “And thank you, Mr. Finnigan O’Reilly, for not yelling.”
    Mikayla fell into a fit of giggles.
    A long black counter top that featured oval-shaped sinks without faucets circled the room. The group of tables in the center of the room circled a massive set of shelves filled with books. Other black tables ran in rows up to the front of the room, and on each table were two…
    “Microscopes!” Finn and Mikayla yelled together.
    “Science Lab,” Reggie nodded.
    “No way.” Relief washed over Finn at the realization of this incredible discovery. “This is so cool.”
    “Wait a minute.” Mikayla the buzz-buster frowned. “How the heck did we get here?”
    “Uh, hello,” Finn said. “Were you not just with us for the past two weeks? While. We. Were. Cutting. Through. Glass?”
    “And exactly where did we come from? Hmm?” Mikayla said.
    “Stop it.” Reggie took them both by the arm and shoved them into the captain and navigator seats. “No more fighting.”
    The two stared at each other, daring the other to speak. After a few minutes of the silent treatment, Finn grew bored. He surveyed the screen for any clue as to where they’d broken into this colossal new world, having left the vast reaches of space to end up in a Science Lab. He quickly decided this didn't look like a classroom, but actually more of a discovery room because of all the unnamed samples at different stages of being cataloged.
    “ELAINA,” Finn made sure he didn’t have a hint of anger in his voice, “move the DUMP slowly around in a circle so we can see the entire room.”
    “Yes, Mr. Finnigan O’Reilly,” she purred.
    “Wowww…” Mikayla whispered as the DUMP rotated. The room looked much bigger than they first thought. The rows of tables seemed to go on forever, and the other end of the room couldn't be seen from their current vantage point.
    “What’s below us?” Finn asked. “ELAINA, show us the area