“What did the Hidan tell you?” Preston asked.
“That Earth has been invaded. That they used our communications to learn about us, and that Stin has been manipulating everyone. Don’t trust it, Grandpa,” I said.
“I never have. Let’s keep that in mind. I’ve embedded programs to ensure Stin can’t take control of any electronics or robotics near Biks, and I’ve already sent the information over.” Preston peered at Jade. “Can we have a moment?” he asked Luther and Beter.
I walked off with my grandfather, his hand protectively set on my shoulder, guiding me a few feet away. “I don’t know what you’ll find at home, but we’ve already established that the Hidan are pathological. You might encounter nothing.”
“Then what about Octavia Post’s last communication?” I asked.
“I’m not certain. Jinx was pinpointing the origin of the messages from Earth. Use that. Determine who betrayed us, and when we meet up again, we will end this strife. Okay?”
I stared at him. Nerves fluttered through my stomach, and I felt like a little boy again, about to venture on my first Pod Race. I blinked away the anxiety and clenched my jaw. Earth needed us. “The Lewises are going to set it straight. Take care, Grandpa. I love you.”
Preston paused, as if he hadn’t heard those words for far too many years. “And I love you, Arlo.”
“We ready to roll or what, Hawk?” Varn shouted from outside Killer.
“I’d better run,” I told Preston, giving him one final hug. No, I corrected myself. Not final. We would see each other again.
And with that, we were off. It was time to leave Biks, and return home to Earth.
If it still existed.
EIGHTEEN
In all my years, I never thought I’d feel so dismayed. It was going to take a month to fly at hyperspeed to Earth, but we were already halfway there. My nerves were increasing with each passing day.
We were confident that something had occurred at home, but the outcome was unknown. The tone of Octavia Post’s voice, the cadence, the fearful intonations… it led me to believe her. Someone had invaded.
As I watched the stars in the distance, I thought about the crazy series of events that had led us to this point.
We’d won Space Race, only to be visited by a Squid. It had silently announced a new era for humanity. We were not alone.
Then the revelation that Preston Lewis was back, and on the very same craft he’d abandoned me with, Obelisk. It was like a dream, where fiction met reality. Nightmares surfaced from that moment, grasping and threatening to overwhelm us all.
And then they had a name. The Velibar. A strong, tentacled being, with brown armor and a disposition leaning toward violence and hostility.
How much of what Preston had said that day was bluster, and how much was the truth? I’d seen them fight when I thought we were defending Refuge, and Garret Breaker sure seemed adamant about working with the Velibar to some invisible finish line.
Flying Pilgrim now was a race on its own merits, though the prize was much different than a trophy, or even the rights to Promixa’s resources. This was life or death. The ultimate accolade: survival.
We’d been so trusting of whomever we’d contacted using Jade’s new technology. Part of me felt like we deserved what we were getting for being so naïve. Some of the CEOs had been hesitant to share too much information with these strangers, and they’d been right. We’d divulged everything, mostly out of eagerness—and fear.
Fear was a deadly motivator. It urged people to react erratically, often without reason. The fear that consumed us was more than a simple apprehension. It threatened our entire existence.
Alien invasion. A brutal assault on our home planet. It forced us to make poor decisions. We rushed judgments, sped through processes, and streamlined plans that, by all accounts, should never have been created.
In short, it was obvious we trusted too many things as truth. And fear was our downfall.
I glanced behind my seat, finding Jade talking with R11. Holland and Luther were on the other side of the cockpit, drinking coffee and pointing to a radar of our solar system. These people were my family now. We’d gone through so much in a short period of time. They were good people. My people.
I wouldn’t let dread guide my actions any longer. I imagined Earth, and what we might find when we arrived in two weeks. Whatever we encountered was neutral. Whether Earth was intact, thriving, or it was under duress, the only thing I could control was my own reaction to it.
“Arlo, we’ve done it.” Jade’s voice broke me from my inner monologue. I was on pins and needles, and flexed my hands after gripping the controls too tightly.
“The Stin? You’ve managed to block them?” I asked.
“That, and something else. Jinx has been working on the program to source Preston’s contact’s communications.”
I ensured we were on auto and climbed from my seat. “What am I looking at?”
It showed a map of Earth, and the indicator dots displayed from multiple locations. One of them was in Espace territory. “Do we think it’s their CEO?”
Jade shook her head. “Why would the CEO be in the Wastes?” She zoomed on the area once known as Kansas, and I squinted.
“Or in Orion territory?” Holland added from across the cockpit.
“This person got around.” I counted eleven separate pings. “Who has this much movement?”
“That could be any of the CEOs,” Luther chimed in. “When I worked for Lotus, he was rarely in one place for long. They have meetings everywhere.”
My gaze drifted back to the dot in the Wastes. I tapped the screen. “Even there?”
“I don’t recognize it. It makes you wonder how many were hidden on Earth. Or even in the colonies,” Luther said.
“Good point. This is useful information, but I’m not certain that it really helps us determine who Preston’s contact is.” I’d yearned for some clarity before entering our system.
“If all we have to worry
