Page 101 of The Garnet Daughter
I stand closer to the ship as he works. The side is icy even from a distance, and the ringing alarm makes the metal seem to hum in echo. Somewhat drawn to the strange pitch, I lean in, the sound distorted the closer my ear gets to the surface. Once the skin on my lobe makes contact with the chilly metal, I can sense more than the alarm. A continuous whisper sizzles within, more than one sound in more than one direction hissing nonsensically.
“Can it be opened from the inside?” I ask as they watch August with intense, hopeful eyes.
They all turn to glance at me, making an array of expressions and helmet tilts when they see the side of my face pressed against the surface of the ship so I can listen.
“It can,” 99 states firmly.
August sighs as if he knows my next words.
“I could fold to the other side of the door and open it.”
“You would have to take a communicator in, so we can instruct you on the interior control panel, or take August in with you,” 99 muses, and Ferren shoots him a narrow-eyed look.
“Yeah, I don’t love it either,” August mutters to Ferren as he goes back to tapping on his screen. “And there is likely a comm blocker. She wouldn’t be able to talk to us. Data pad wouldn’t work for me either.”
“I will go with her.” Ferren’s voice is tense. “You can fold us inside and 99 can tell us how to open it through our tether.” She looks at each of us, trying to sound convincing.
“Alright.” I nod because it’s not a terrible idea. “Will that work, August?”
He inhales deeply and glances at 99, who nods his approval in return.
“You don’t have to love it.” Ferren smiles at August, and for a minute, I forget how things are between us, falling right back into using our gifts together.
“By the three worlds . . .” August shakes his head, coming to terms. “Yes, yes! It will work, alright?”
I feel a wave of affection mixed with something else, knowing that I can help in this way and find myself smiling. But then Ferren turns to me and that smile fades, not because I am not willing to do this with her, but because she does not have one herself. She stands closer to me as if it is her duty, as she is the only one who can communicate with the outside. I was too quick to assume it meant anything more when she volunteered.
99 hands her a small weapon, which she wordlessly takes, holding it to her side unnaturally.
“Alright, when you get in there, you will see a panel to the left, similar to my ship,” August instructs. “The panel will be lit up. Do not press anything until you tell me what the screen says. We don’t want to detonate anything.”
He looks right at me, sending an affectionate chill down my spine, but then I fully process his words and panic. “Detonate?”
“It is a possible explanation. A fail-safe for the ship so the First Son soldiers do not have to surrender,” August explains.
“But no one is inside. You said there were no signs of life,” I retort and turn to 99 for confirmation.
He nods his helmet. “None that we can see on our scanners.”
“I guess we will find out,” Ferren says in flat contrast.
I can’t help but picture the entire ship exploding the moment we fold inside, a weapon left behind when the soldiers failed their mission.
“Are you sure?” August asks me.
I nod through my nerves. At least I haven’t volunteered to do this alone. I will have Ferren with me, and she seems much more confident, or perhaps her stern expression is more a reflection of having to work together when we haven’t had a chance to repair what I continue to put her through.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I whisper and place my palm on her arm.
My chest squeezes like it will pop when her demeanor gets a little softer, even if it quickly passes.
“Make this quick,” 99 commands.
“Ready?” Ferren asks me.
“Ready.”
I place my hand on the cargo door. We are only the thickness of the ship away from the destination, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but the moment I close my eyes and fold us, I sense the resistance. Not from a ward, but the hostile environment.
