"You check there. I'll check the dining hall," he replied with a sigh. "Of course this isn't going to be easy. I hope to Goddess they haven't replicated themselves."
I sniff them out?
He chuckled and shook his head. "Not yet, my friend."
His dragon huffed and puffed with frustration at being confined. The kids loved the thrill of playing hide and seek with his dragon. Hearing Kelan, Trisha, and their Grandpa Paul recount their adventures, the girls, despite being teenagers, couldn't help but find it "cool." They were particularly intrigued by Trisha's ability to tag soldiers on Earth and her impressive feat of tracking and tagging Kelan. He closed his eyes, trying to picture where they might go on the V'ager. While it wasn't the largest ship in their fleet, it was a labyrinth of hiding spots. When the lift slowed, he blinked his eyes open. Two ensigns stood still, their eyes fixed on him as they waited for him to exit.
"Have you seen three kids?"
"No, sir. We've just come on duty," one ensign replied.
"If you see them, let them know that their mom and dad are looking for them, please," he requested.
"Yes, sir," the second ensign said.
As he continued down the long corridor, he could smell the aroma of freshly cooked food wafting from the dining hall, and it instantly made his stomach grumble in hunger. The rumbling in his stomach served as a reminder that he hadn't had a meal since breakfast. With a nonchalant shrug, he figured he might as well satisfy his hunger in the dining hall since he was already there.
"Surely they can't get into that much mischief in the time it takes to grab a quick bite," he muttered.
His dragon's snort of laughter and the image of the damn thing rolling on the floor almost made him detour… almost. His stomach was determined to drown out the damn beast inside him. He hoped that Cara was having better luck finding the kids than he was.
3
James scrambled into the access tube and pulled the cover closed behind him a split second before the two security guards rounded the corner. He backed into the shadows, peering through the vents. His ears twitched forward as his dragon followed the sound of running until it faded.
He inched forward, but froze when a shadow fell in front of the vent. His eyes widened with alarm when he noticed the burnt orange uniform. Pushing backwards, he slid on his belly until he was back in the shadows again. The beep of a communicator caused his ears to twitch again.
"The kid gave the guards the slip," the man said.
"Find the kid. We need that device or we won't get paid."
"I'm working on it," the gnarly man snapped back.
James recognized the man's voice. It was the gnarly-looking alien with the scar. Shimmering, he transformed back into his human form. He slid his hand down along his side and into his pocket. His eyes glimmered with delight as he pulled out a small mechanical insect. He switched it on and pointed the light green laser eyes through the vent slats at the man's leg, pressed a button on the underbelly, and released the robot.
The spider-like creature scurried on eight hair-thin legs across the vent before it climbed through the slats, jumped, and attached itself to the man's leg. James grinned when the man mumbled and walked away. He scooted forward, checking that the coast was clear before he pushed the vent grate open and slid out onto the floor. He rolled and reattached the vent before hurrying in the opposite direction from the man and the guards.
His eyes lit with delight when Prime, his symbiot, rounded the corner, followed by Amber and Jade. Prime shifted into a hoverboard that matched his sisters. James ran forward and jumped on the shimmering gold board.
"Don't go that way. The guards and the gnarly man went down there," he warned.
"Okay. Follow us. We are heading to Mom's workroom," Amber said.
"That was really brave of you to distract the men back there, little brother," Jade said.
James shrugged. "I knew they couldn't catch me. I'm too fast… and way smarter," he said, grinning.
"I think we need to show them just how smart we are," Amber said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
They whizzed down the corridors, passing amused crew members who chuckled at their speed. They were equally determined to avoid detection by the guards. Considering the circumstances, it seemed improbable that the adults would give credence to their explanation, no matter how earnestly they tried. While their mom and dad might take them seriously, most adults would just think they were having fun.
"We need a good spot where we can catch them. If the bad guys are after something this cool, we have to stop them from getting their grubby hands on it. The last thing we want is for them to see what Dad's been working on," Jade said with a nod of agreement.
"There's the holodeck. We could trap them in it." Jade pulled out a portable tablet and started scanning the device. "There's a security override on the doors. I can bypass it."
James nodded enthusiastically. "While you do that, I'll make sure Symba and the symbiots are keeping an eye out for them. We might need some backup."
Amber grinned wickedly. "And I'll prep some defenses. We can't let those guys get away with this!"
