Page 35 of Destinies of Diamond
“We’ll go a little closer to the generators and then, you can attempt to see if you find anything the others haven’t seen. Any questions?”
I pursed my lips, considering the task ahead. “Would it be possible to evacuate the area closest to me? My abilities aren’t very stable right now and I don’t want to hurt anyone. Also, I think it would be better to keep at least some distance between me and the generators. For all I know I might break them further.”
“We need to avoid that at all costs. If you think there’s any chance of destabilizing the area—or your condition, for that matter—you pull back and let me handle this in a different way.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I fully intended to listen to him, and not just because it was his suggestion. It had become obvious to me that I had to refrain from overdoing it. In truth, I was a little nervous just at having to make the attempt, but suppressing my power wouldn’t help either.
Besides, I could always rely on Sphinx.
“I’m here,”she whispered at the back of my mind.“If something happens, I’ll pull you out.”
“Thank you, Sphinx. I have a feeling I might need your help.”
She didn’t reply, but I felt her warm power curl around me, almost like a physical embrace. As Commander Trevor coordinated the temporary evacuation of the facility, I focused on that feeling and told myself I was being stupid to dwell on dark visions.
Maybe those things I’d seen were true or maybe they weren’t, but either way, Sphinx was my friend. She was on my side. She just had to be. She might have lied to me before, but she’d done it for my own good.
“And how many things will you be willing to forgive and forget, just because someone tells you it was for your own good?”a dark voice whispered at the back of my mind. “In the end, the only person you can trust is yourself.”
I ignored the thought and joined Commander Trevor. I had time aplenty to dwell on my doubts later. For the moment, I had to prioritize the safety of Tartarus Base.
I wasn’t the only one in this situation. As I looked up, I caught a glimpse of the entire formation of Harpies, hovering over the power plant. The smaller chimeras were beautiful in their own right, even if not as impressive in size and power output as Grand Chimeras. Distantly, I wished I could have met the Centaur Squad too. I was sure they must have been magnificent.
The most important thing about the view was that Vincent Glass’s chimera had joined her fellows. That meant he must have returned from Terra at one point the day before. That was one thing I didn’t have to worry about, at least.
Now reassured, I dropped to my knees on the ground. The barren earth of Tartarus felt cold and empty when I was so accustomed to touching Terran soil. I didn’t let it get to me. Instead, I took a deep breath and reached out.
I didn’t know what I’d expected. Some kind of epiphany? That wicked voice to scream in my head ‘an evil villain was here’ just as loudly as it pointed out all my other doubts and flaws? Both?
In any case, nothing happened. Oh, Gaia’s Gift heard me, as did Tartarus’s. The power responded to my call and delved deep into the ground, searching for answers. It just didn’t find any.
Baffled, I tried to push a little harder, all the while being very careful to monitor my condition. I still didn’t find anything. In fact, there were no signs of any Tartarus emissions at all.
I might have thought this meant there truly had been no foul play involved, but I knew better. Despite the current state of the generators, this area had been producing energy for our shields ever since Tartarus Base had first come into use. The ground should have been saturated with tachyons. But there was nothing there, not in the generators and not in the very depths of the asteroid.
Resigned that I wouldn’t find any answers, I slowly withdrew, allowing my power to settle. As I got up once again, Commander Trevor shot me an expectant look. “Well, Acting Pilot Renard? Anything?”
“There’s no sign of any alien presence, Sir. Nothing except for one thing. This whole place is clear of tachyon radiation.”
For a few seconds, I dared to entertain the hope this might have been because of the Harpies. They could have cleared the area to make the repairs easier. But then, I took in Commander Trevor’s look of shocked horror. “Are you certain?”
“As sure as I can possibly be under the current circumstances. Maybe you could try to find a second opinion.”
After all, the base was full of tachyon manipulation experts far better at this sort of thing than I was. They might be able to detect something I hadn’t noticed. “That would probably be wise,” Commander Trevor mused. “I can’t imagine how my technicians missed something so serious.”
As he spoke, he looked past me and I realized he was scanning the area using his cyborg technology. I wondered why he hadn’t done that before. I appreciated his decision to include me and hide my pregnancy in this clever way, but his decision to rely on me didn’t make much sense.
I wanted to ask, but I didn’t get the chance. Commander Trevor pressed his lips together so tightly they went white. “Go into the shuttle, Acting Pilot Renard. This place isn’t safe.”
I didn’t question it. But just as I turned on my heel, our bodies brushed and a jolt of electricity shot through me.
I froze. My field of vision shifted and changed. My body began to feel strange and heavy. There was some kind of binding around me, tying me down. I shrugged it off with ease, pushing away the person who was attempting to contain me.
It wasn’t that difficult, but it was a delay that alerted Commander Trevor to the anomaly. He grabbed my arm, his hand strong, steady, and anchoring. “Acting Pilot Renard? Are you unwell?”
It was so easy to turn toward him and smile. It was so easy to reach out to his heart and squeeze. “Commander Trevor? What is it that you want?”
