times better. These things are
awesome
."
"Yeah, I'm never going back to a normal bed," Janaki said, giving a laugh. "I am really hungry though. Any chance that the mothership has arrived?"
"I'll check," I replied, closing my eyes. I felt for the vessel, and realized it was just outside the Black Knight. It hovered in orbit, cloaked. I opened my eyes. "It's here. Jillian can ferry people over whenever she's ready."
"I'll take two groups," Jillian said, stifling a yawn as she glanced around at everyone. "That will make it easier than trying everyone in one go. Who wants to go first?"
"Take the kids," Marcus said, nodding at Kali and Janaki.
"All right," Jillian said, gesturing at the girls. They gathered close to her, and there was a brief pop as they disappeared.
"Does anyone else hear that?" I asked, cradling my head. The ringing was still there, just at the edge of my hearing. It was like nails on a chalkboard.
"Hear what?" Marcus asked, eyeing me quizzically.
"I don't hear anything," Summers said. She folded her arms, leaning against the rejuvenator she'd emerged from. "We should talk about what we're going to do next. You wanted to find the satellite, and we've done that. Now what?"
There was another brief pop and Jillian was there again, this time absent the girls. "Okay, I'm ready for another trip."
"Summers raised a good question," I said. "We need a plan. I've been focused on finding this place, because we thought it would level the playing field. We're here now, so it's time to find out how we can use this place. That means a little exploration."
"I can do that as long as you're awake," Summers said, giving me a sympathetic look. "You've earned a break. Maybe you should just relax for a bit."
That took me back, and judging from the look of incredulity on Marcus' face, I wasn't the only one. Summers was the very last person in the world to suggest anyone take a break. "It's all right. I feel better after our little nap. Why don't the three of you head over to the mothership and get something to eat? While you're there, maybe you can start preparing for a raid."
"Raid?" Jillian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup. Now that we have control of this place, I plan to use it. The Black Knight has immense processing power, and can tap into global communications," I explained, giving the first smile in what felt like forever. "I can use that to find Dick's facility. There will be clues, like ordering the kind of equipment necessary to build the lasers he'll need. There may even be security footage. I'm going to use it to try to locate him."
"Okay," Jillian said, nodding. She looked at Marcus. "You guys ready?"
Summers looked like she wanted to protest, but closed her mouth without saying anything. Marcus just nodded.
"I'll come back in a couple hours with something for you to eat," Jillian said, squeezing my arm and giving me a warm smile.
She turned to the others, waiting until Marcus gave her a nod. Then the three of them disappeared, leaving me in relative silence. Relative, because the ringing was even more noticeable now that they were gone. Maybe it was so quiet now that I was alone.
I returned to the control chamber, and sat in the strange chair facing the crystal. I had a pretty good idea of how I could locate Dick, and if I was right, it wouldn't even take me all that long. I focused on the crystal, tapping into the enormous power I'd seen there during my earlier excursion.
The processing power was truly staggering, which I'd expected. What I didn't expect was to find Ren waiting for me inside the crystal. I could feel its mind in a way that was wholly different from touching a person's. It was almost as if linking to the crystal made Ren a part of me. I found it fascinating, and the possibilities it opened were immense.
Okay,
I thought, focusing on myriad streams of data flowing through the crystal.
I need you to do the following. Parse all incoming data looking for the man in this picture.
I
awesome
."
"Yeah, I'm never going back to a normal bed," Janaki said, giving a laugh. "I am really hungry though. Any chance that the mothership has arrived?"
"I'll check," I replied, closing my eyes. I felt for the vessel, and realized it was just outside the Black Knight. It hovered in orbit, cloaked. I opened my eyes. "It's here. Jillian can ferry people over whenever she's ready."
"I'll take two groups," Jillian said, stifling a yawn as she glanced around at everyone. "That will make it easier than trying everyone in one go. Who wants to go first?"
"Take the kids," Marcus said, nodding at Kali and Janaki.
"All right," Jillian said, gesturing at the girls. They gathered close to her, and there was a brief pop as they disappeared.
"Does anyone else hear that?" I asked, cradling my head. The ringing was still there, just at the edge of my hearing. It was like nails on a chalkboard.
"Hear what?" Marcus asked, eyeing me quizzically.
"I don't hear anything," Summers said. She folded her arms, leaning against the rejuvenator she'd emerged from. "We should talk about what we're going to do next. You wanted to find the satellite, and we've done that. Now what?"
There was another brief pop and Jillian was there again, this time absent the girls. "Okay, I'm ready for another trip."
"Summers raised a good question," I said. "We need a plan. I've been focused on finding this place, because we thought it would level the playing field. We're here now, so it's time to find out how we can use this place. That means a little exploration."
"I can do that as long as you're awake," Summers said, giving me a sympathetic look. "You've earned a break. Maybe you should just relax for a bit."
That took me back, and judging from the look of incredulity on Marcus' face, I wasn't the only one. Summers was the very last person in the world to suggest anyone take a break. "It's all right. I feel better after our little nap. Why don't the three of you head over to the mothership and get something to eat? While you're there, maybe you can start preparing for a raid."
"Raid?" Jillian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup. Now that we have control of this place, I plan to use it. The Black Knight has immense processing power, and can tap into global communications," I explained, giving the first smile in what felt like forever. "I can use that to find Dick's facility. There will be clues, like ordering the kind of equipment necessary to build the lasers he'll need. There may even be security footage. I'm going to use it to try to locate him."
"Okay," Jillian said, nodding. She looked at Marcus. "You guys ready?"
Summers looked like she wanted to protest, but closed her mouth without saying anything. Marcus just nodded.
"I'll come back in a couple hours with something for you to eat," Jillian said, squeezing my arm and giving me a warm smile.
She turned to the others, waiting until Marcus gave her a nod. Then the three of them disappeared, leaving me in relative silence. Relative, because the ringing was even more noticeable now that they were gone. Maybe it was so quiet now that I was alone.
I returned to the control chamber, and sat in the strange chair facing the crystal. I had a pretty good idea of how I could locate Dick, and if I was right, it wouldn't even take me all that long. I focused on the crystal, tapping into the enormous power I'd seen there during my earlier excursion.
The processing power was truly staggering, which I'd expected. What I didn't expect was to find Ren waiting for me inside the crystal. I could feel its mind in a way that was wholly different from touching a person's. It was almost as if linking to the crystal made Ren a part of me. I found it fascinating, and the possibilities it opened were immense.
Okay,
I thought, focusing on myriad streams of data flowing through the crystal.
I need you to do the following. Parse all incoming data looking for the man in this picture.
I
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