special about him. He couldn’t be the only one.
“Stevenson?” A man’s deep voice issued from a speaker above the door. “Is that you out there?”
The voice belonged to Lieutenant Henrich, one of the head instructors at the Lodge’s training division and one of Madame’s most trusted allies.
“Yes, sir,” Cassius replied, annoyed to have been spotted so soon.
“Come inside and give me a hand,” Henrich said. “You’ve been given the access code, haven ’t you?”
“Yes.” Cassius plugged in his code beside the door and entered. Madame had just granted him access to the office two weeks ago. He was the only student privileged enough to receive it. Another perk of being her favorite.
Once inside, he passed through rows of computers and bookshelves. It was a tight space, longer than it was wide. At the far end, below a curved glass window, sat the central computer system, responsible for tracking Pearls as they hurtled through the stars and estimating Surface coordinates once they landed.
“Over here.” Henrich’s voice came from the Stasis Laboratory, a small room connected to the main office. A green glow spilled out from the open doorway. Cassius passed through an aisle of bookshelves, hoping that whatever Henrich wanted wouldn’t take long. He needed to find out what was happening to him. Madame’s cryptic answers weren’t enough.
Green light washed over his body as he entered the laboratory. Lieutenant Henrich stood before a wide counter, wearing a white undershirt and dark trousers. His black hair was slicked back as usual. A Pearl sat in a shallow basin before him. A wall of television screens beamed just beyond the counter, each displaying security footage from one of the ten entrances to the Bio-Net around Rochester. Many of the Lodge’s rooms shared this feature. A precaution.
“Stevenson.” Henrich greeted him with a lopsided smile. “Come over here and help me attach this stasis equipment. Fraggin’ thing’s already getting buggy on us.”
Cassius moved next to the Lieutenant in silence. He didn’t much like one-on-ones with instructors. It felt awkward. The adults at the Lodge didn’t interact with the trainees outside of instruction time.
“Hand me that harness over there.” Henrich pointed to a claw-like device on the far end of the counter.
Cassius picked up the heavy instrument. A wide tube a ttached to the top stretched into the wall. The claw portion would leech the energy from inside the Pearl and funnel it through the tube where it could be stored in the city’s energy terminals. It was advanced machinery. If Skyship hadn’t gotten their hands on the schematics a decade ago, the race for Pearls would have been over before it had started.
Henrich grabbed the harness and twisted the knobs on the side to open the claw to a suitable width. He laid his hand on top of the Pearl. “I hear we’ve got you to thank for this beauty.”
“Yeah,” Cassius mumbled, “but I stole a shuttle to get it so Madame’s not too happy.”
Henrich positioned the harness around the Pearl and tightened the clamps to secure it. “You’re lucky she’s taken a shine to you.” He checked the tube for holes. “You don’t want to get on Madame’s bad side. Honestly, I’m surprised she gave you clearance to this office. You should feel pretty good about that.”
Cassius looked up at the monitors. All ten entrances to the Net were still and empty, except for the guards, slumped over and yawning.
“Some fire last night,” Henrich continued. “You’re a lucky kid, I’ll tell you that. We’re doing a sweep of the electrical systems later this afternoon. I don’t know what could have happ ened.”
Cassius glanced over to him, expecting to see a hint of a knowing smile. Lieutenant Henrich was one of Madame’s right-hand men. But then Cassius remembered what Madame had said: I cannot trust anybody else in the Unified Party.
Satisfied with the strength of the tube, Henrich
“Stevenson?” A man’s deep voice issued from a speaker above the door. “Is that you out there?”
The voice belonged to Lieutenant Henrich, one of the head instructors at the Lodge’s training division and one of Madame’s most trusted allies.
“Yes, sir,” Cassius replied, annoyed to have been spotted so soon.
“Come inside and give me a hand,” Henrich said. “You’ve been given the access code, haven ’t you?”
“Yes.” Cassius plugged in his code beside the door and entered. Madame had just granted him access to the office two weeks ago. He was the only student privileged enough to receive it. Another perk of being her favorite.
Once inside, he passed through rows of computers and bookshelves. It was a tight space, longer than it was wide. At the far end, below a curved glass window, sat the central computer system, responsible for tracking Pearls as they hurtled through the stars and estimating Surface coordinates once they landed.
“Over here.” Henrich’s voice came from the Stasis Laboratory, a small room connected to the main office. A green glow spilled out from the open doorway. Cassius passed through an aisle of bookshelves, hoping that whatever Henrich wanted wouldn’t take long. He needed to find out what was happening to him. Madame’s cryptic answers weren’t enough.
Green light washed over his body as he entered the laboratory. Lieutenant Henrich stood before a wide counter, wearing a white undershirt and dark trousers. His black hair was slicked back as usual. A Pearl sat in a shallow basin before him. A wall of television screens beamed just beyond the counter, each displaying security footage from one of the ten entrances to the Bio-Net around Rochester. Many of the Lodge’s rooms shared this feature. A precaution.
“Stevenson.” Henrich greeted him with a lopsided smile. “Come over here and help me attach this stasis equipment. Fraggin’ thing’s already getting buggy on us.”
Cassius moved next to the Lieutenant in silence. He didn’t much like one-on-ones with instructors. It felt awkward. The adults at the Lodge didn’t interact with the trainees outside of instruction time.
“Hand me that harness over there.” Henrich pointed to a claw-like device on the far end of the counter.
Cassius picked up the heavy instrument. A wide tube a ttached to the top stretched into the wall. The claw portion would leech the energy from inside the Pearl and funnel it through the tube where it could be stored in the city’s energy terminals. It was advanced machinery. If Skyship hadn’t gotten their hands on the schematics a decade ago, the race for Pearls would have been over before it had started.
Henrich grabbed the harness and twisted the knobs on the side to open the claw to a suitable width. He laid his hand on top of the Pearl. “I hear we’ve got you to thank for this beauty.”
“Yeah,” Cassius mumbled, “but I stole a shuttle to get it so Madame’s not too happy.”
Henrich positioned the harness around the Pearl and tightened the clamps to secure it. “You’re lucky she’s taken a shine to you.” He checked the tube for holes. “You don’t want to get on Madame’s bad side. Honestly, I’m surprised she gave you clearance to this office. You should feel pretty good about that.”
Cassius looked up at the monitors. All ten entrances to the Net were still and empty, except for the guards, slumped over and yawning.
“Some fire last night,” Henrich continued. “You’re a lucky kid, I’ll tell you that. We’re doing a sweep of the electrical systems later this afternoon. I don’t know what could have happ ened.”
Cassius glanced over to him, expecting to see a hint of a knowing smile. Lieutenant Henrich was one of Madame’s right-hand men. But then Cassius remembered what Madame had said: I cannot trust anybody else in the Unified Party.
Satisfied with the strength of the tube, Henrich
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