Trespassers: a science-fiction novel (32 page)

“
I
’
m afraid I
’
m a little behind, here,
”
Stewart admitted.

“
We should do some introductions, first,
”
she said.
“
Then, we can get into it.
”

Stewart nodded.

The two groups were brought together on the front lawn with plenty of handshakes and suspicious glares
—
except for Lyntic and Mindy, who were able to avoid each other entirely.

“
What does the government here know about us?
”
Dexim asked Stewart.

“
More than they let on, I suppose,
”
Stewart answered.

“
What do you know about us?
”
Dexim continued.

“
I know you
’
re taking some very big risks,
”
Stewart replied.

Dexim smiled at just how little Stewart knew. As he expected, Stewart was insignificant.

Stewart could see he needed to improve his hand in this game, and that word
fugitive
was still floating around in the back of his mind, just where George had planted it. It wasn
’
t until he saw Dexim
’
s smirk that he saw a possible connection. He figured it was worth a shot .
.
.

“
. . . very big risks to find a fugitive,
”
Stewart added.

Dexim
’
s smile dropped off. He was not used to being surprised. This reaction confirmed Stewart
’
s hunch, and Stewart felt downright foolish for having not seen the connection earlier.

“
We should go inside,
”
Dexim said.

The two teams from different sides of the galaxy poured into the modest living room of the farmhouse
—
Mindy still suspicious of Lyntic, Lambert still searching for threats, Dexim still sizing up Stewart, and Stewart still trying to piece this puzzle together.

After leaving the Juniper Hotel, Lyntic had managed to have an uncomfortable talk with Dexim, to explain who Stewart really was. Dexim heard about romantic strolls on the beach and candlelit dinners in the cabin, but what he pictured was a slick government agent taking advantage of his tourist sister.

Lyntic did her best to assure Dexim this wasn
’
t the case. And if he had been anyone other than an overprotective brother, he would have seen that no one was capable of taking advantage of her.

The two teams stood in an awkward circle. They were surrounded by furniture, but no one was sitting.

“
We were at
fugitive
, I believe,
”
Stewart said, to get the ball rolling.

“
Sarazha Bant,
”
Dexim said,
“
that
’
s her name
—
the name of the girl we
’
re looking for.
”

Stewart didn
’
t recognize it.

“
But she
’
s not a fugitive,
”
Dexim explained.
“
She was here on an exploratory research mission.
”

As Mindy watched this discussion take place, she couldn
’
t help but count heads: four aliens and four earthlings. By her count, the numbers were even. If things got heated, would they be in danger? Mindy remembered how Lyntic
’
s forearm had squeezed tightly around her neck.

“
So, why is she being called a fugitive?
”
Stewart asked.

“
That
’
s the Mundle,
”
Dexim said.
“
They want Earth
’
s help in locating her. And labeling her a fugitive makes it that much easier for your government to play along.
”

Mindy felt a tension in the air. She noticed how he was glaring at Stewart
—
as if fueled by a personal vendetta. She could fix this.

“
Mundle?
”
Mindy asked, her word hanging in the air. All eyes turned to her, most of them wondering why she was speaking. This was not a case of a rookie mistake, though. She knew what she was doing. Dexim
’
s shoulders relaxed, and his gaze shifted from Stewart to Mindy.

“
The Mundle are a small collection of bounty hunters who are always making trouble in one galaxy or another,
”
Dexim explained
—
almost pleasant now. Stewart saw what Mindy had done. A single, innocent question had lightened the whole room.

“
And why do they want this particular
nonfugitive
?
”
Stewart asked.
“
Is she someone special?
”

“
It
’
s not who she is,
”
Dexim said.
“
It
’
s what she knows. She
’
s a member of an exploratory research team. She
’
s a research student, actually. And she was researching on her own when she uncovered a promising lead on the location of a certain high-profile artifact.
”

Stewart shrugged, waiting for more. Dexim looked to Lyntic to see whether she had any second thoughts about trusting Stewart. She didn
’
t.

“
It
’
s the Adari Metraball,
”
Dexim said.

Stewart recognized it
—
not the Holy Grail, but close. It was an ancient propulsion system that was rumored to have zero resistance to subnuclear infusion, allowing it to travel the breadth of the universe on what was essentially
one tank of fuel
—
at least that was Stewart
’
s rudimentary understanding of it. Stewart smirked at the thought.

“
Let me guess,
”
Stewart quipped.
“
It was buried under a unicorn?
”

“
There
’
s compelling data to support the claim,
”
Dexim fired back.

“
Okay, so you found the world
’
s coolest rocket engine, how does that bring us to where we are now?
”

Dexim explained that the Mundle had intercepted a private communication from Sarazha, telling of her possible discovery. Wanting the technology for themselves, the Mundle pursued her, but she spotted them before they spotted her. She was able to elude them. She sent a second communication explaining that her discoveries had been erroneous. It worked. The Mundle bought it.

“
The Mundle bought it?
”
Stewart laughed.
“
So, first she discovered this great find. Then she didn
’
t?
”

“
She
’
s a research student. It was believable that she made a mistake and jumped the gun. Her second letter was very convincing. It was apologetic, and in it, she even pleaded with her counselor to not suspend her.
”

“
Okay.
”
Stewart nodded.
“
She
’
s good at writing letters. The Mundle bought it. Then what?
”

“
We bought it too,
”
Dexim said,
“
but ten days ago we received a delayed broadcast informing us otherwise.
”

Stewart brought Mindy up to speed.
“
A delayed broadcast is a message set to transmit in the event that everything goes wrong. It
’
s the final distress signal if all else fails. It
’
s common for remote explorers to set a delayed broadcast with a distress signal before going out on a dangerous hike. They will set it to transmit in twenty-four hours, with the expectation that they will return to their camp and turn it off before it transmits. If they get trapped or lost and don
’
t make it back, the signal will automatically send.
”
Stewart turned back to Dexim.
“
So, her broadcast was sent, and now you
’
re here to find her before the Mundle do. Is that about right?
”

“
Yes. But there
’
s a complication. .
.
. Her memory has been blocked.
”

“
She doesn
’
t know who she is?
”
Stewart asked.

“
No.
”

Memory blocking was a rather simple process of manipulating the subconscious. It was the subject
’
s own subconscious that did the work. The process of memory blocking
—
which certain alien cultures had perfected and which Stewart had some familiarity with
—
was quick and painless: sonic pulses were used to gain access to the subject
’
s subconscious. Direct access to the subconscious allowed for specific programming of the mind. It was akin to hypnosis, but on a core level.

When the pulse was activated, sound waves would stimulate the eardrum and massage the mind into total relaxation, allowing the illusive subconscious to surface. From there, the subconscious could be given specific instructions. Through the whole process, the subject was fully awake and completely aware. The subconscious will only take its instructions with the unmitigated permission of the conscious mind. It simply wasn
’
t possible to block memories against the will of the subject. This told Stewart that this girl was a willing participant.

“
So, you
’
re looking for a research student who is wandering around on Earth with no idea that she
’
s an alien .
.
. or a researcher,
”
Stewart said.

“
That
’
s where we stand.
”
Dexim nodded.

“
Does she have any clue about any of this
—
anything that might tip her off that she
’
s not your average earthling?
”

“
I would think not,
”
Dexim replied.

“
Perfect. Any other
complications
in this little mission that I should know about?
”
Stewart hoped the answer would be no. Dexim
’
s silence didn
’
t give him much comfort.

“
Actually .
.
. yes,
”
Dexim said.
“
The transmission was recorded eight months ago.
”

“
You mean she has been wandering around all alone on this planet for eight months,
”
Stewart spouted,
“
trying to figure out who she is?
”

Dexim nodded.

“
She could be anywhere.
”
Stewart shrugged.
“
Did you actually get a reading on her location?
”
Judging from the uncomfortable pause, Stewart gathered that they hadn
’
t.

Dexim was not accustomed to being in this position. Generally, he was the one asking all the questions and feeling disappointed by the shallow answers. Now, he was the one fumbling for excuses. He wasn
’
t sure how he slid into this role, but it didn
’
t feel right.

“
The only heart signal that we picked up led us straight to you,
”
Dexim growled, sounding less like he was answering to Stewart and more like he was blaming him.