Azazel’s eyebrows furrowed. “How can you talk to them without the Krystalii knowing?”
“I have determined it is possible by bypassing the Krystalii psychic network without any organic or sentient methods.”
The bot’s blunt response didn’t surprise him, but his answer did.
“Since I am of a mechanical design, they are unable to penetrate my unique frequency to intercept. As of now, if you wish to convey any correspondence with the outside forces, you can do so with limited capability.
“That sounds a little awkward.” Azazel mused out loud, trying to keep his doubts to himself.
JR14 must have picked up his uncertainty.
“Possibly. Suggestion,” the droid responded. “Limit queries and statements to minimal as possible. That would save time and probable confusion. To whom do you wish to communicate first?”
He watched the stunning woman outside his crystal cage, holding her hands together as she watched him.
“Antonia.” His voice was lower than intended. “How is she? Does she know who I am? Does she realize we first met in a psychic dream Baelon created?” The questions twisted his gut. Her not knowing who he was gnawed at the pit of his stomach.
“She is as aware of you as you are of her.”
The bot’s quick reply told Azazel JR14 didn’t need to ask Toni that. It had to be something he’d witnessed firsthand.
“Observation,” JR14 continued. “I find it fascinating how two sentient entities can connect on such a profound level without a physical meeting firsthand. I believe I will study this phenomenon further to discover if it is an anomaly or if this is natural to organics.”
Having a sentient spider-bot study his love life wasn’t something Azazel looked forward to. “Let’s not get sidetracked, JR14. I think we should get out of this predicament first.” Azazel studied the cage casing closer. With his movements restricted, he couldn’t run his hands over the surface to get a proper feel for it. The tomb-like pen pressed around him, clamping down hard on his psychic abilities.
Except for his inner demon that stirred when Toni came into the room. Now the damn thing prowled like an animal, looking for a chance to get loose.
“You said you can communicate with your family.” Azazel scrambled to get the important questions out first. “Do you mean JR10?”
“Affirmative.”
“And who’s with him at the chancellor’s palace? Are they aware of where I am and the predicament I am in?” He ignored the heat curling up his neck. It wasn’t easy to admit being duped by Baelon. But nursing a bruised ego was the least of his worries.
“My brothers, JR15 and JR13, are there with their respective sentient companions. JR12 is approaching the space station with his partner and will dock within the next twelve hours.”
Azazel did a quick calculation in his head. Abalim and Asmodel were on the station and Arakiba was on his way there. When the bot didn’t expound on their health or lack thereof, it was easy to conclude there wasn’t anything wrong with them.
“Where is my brother, Adapa?” His eldest brother didn’t have a JR unit.
“The prince consort is on the planet Akurn with his wife, Queen Inanna. They are in continuous contact with Federation Consortium Chancellor D’zia E’etu.”
Which made sense. Good to know Adapa was well away from the thick of things. Especially since Azazel suspected the queen now carried twins. Before agreeing to take the assignment on finding Toni, he was tempted to tell Adapa about the children on the way. But at the last minute he decided it wasn’t his place to do that. It was something only the man’s wife should share.
“JR12 as well as JR13 have gathered specific intelligence from Krystalii allies that will enable us to overtake the hard control Baelon has over his subjects.”
Krystalii allies? Now there was an oxymoron if he’d ever heard one.
“The one reality Baelon exposed to you in that Dreamwalk is that there is a Nexus Core on this ship. Not only is it a psychic amplifier for communication, but its primary function is also control. Lord Baelon uses it to maintain an iron-clad dominion over all Krystalii. If disrupted, the restrictions he wields over them will dissipate, giving us an opportunity to free you and allow the ship to be taken over by the Consortium forces.”
“So, what you’re saying is I have to take out the Nexus Core first to get free from this prison?” Talk about a circular idiom.
“Negative.” Replied JR14. “It would be illogical for you to take out the Nexus Core in order to liberate you from your current imprisonment.”
“Well then, who…” He didn’t have to finish his sentence. His eyes fixated on the stunning figure of Toni standing in front of his cage with her arms crossed, glaring at him and frowning.
“Update,” JR14 announced. “JR12 is close enough to send a reinforcement that has the capability of achieving a 73.69 percent chance of success in disrupting the Nexus Core. I must leave to coordinate this endeavor between them and Antonia.”
Before Azazel said anything, JR14 sprang off his shoulder and zoomed through the crystal cage’s force-field.
