Jack looked at the Archivist and smiled.
“The Custodian remembers. The Paladin Courier needs to prevail.”
The crystal was placed carefully on the counter.
“Take care during retrieval at the locker.”
Jack stared. “Okay. Is that it?”
“That is sufficient. Our business is concluded.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Jack picked up the crystal. It felt strangely warm. As if someone had been holding it moments earlier.
The Archivist’s eyes dimmed and the being took a few steps away from the counter, the conversation over.
Jack nodded politely.
“Thank you.” Something occurred to him. “Know anything about a silent moon, by any chance? Or the Red Harp Nebula?”
No response. Fine by him. He turned to Madelaine with the warm crystal flash drive circuitry thing in his hand.
The moment she saw it, her eyes widened. “Excellent. You did it. Thank you.” He gave the crystal flash drive to her. On the opposite side, where the swirling symbols were still animated, there was an oval place for her thumbprint.
“I didn’t hear them say anything,” she said.
“They put words in my head mentally. It was strange and I don’t think I want to communicate that way ever again.”
“Let’s hope you don’t have to. But, as always, no promises. What did they say? Any further instructions I need to know about?”
“They said, ‘The Custodian remembers and the Paladin Courier must prevail.’”
“Good. I don’t know who the Custodian is, but I definitely want to prevail. Whatever I’m doing.”
“He also said to take care during the retrieval at the locker. Do you know where the locker place is?”
Madelaine pressed her thumb into the clear flash drive. The light show began again and symbols formed above her thumb. She nodded. “Yes. I know where the locker is. It’s about a mile past where we parked the ship.”
“Let me guess—we still can’t use the cool four-wheeler to go collect it.”
“I’m afraid not. We must walk a winding path with the occasional copse of stickery trees on either or both sides to get there.”
He agreed with her assessment—the trees did look like tall prickly weeds, featuring a single straight trunk with thorns in a variety sizes and colors jutting out.
“Fine. I can walk,” Jack said. “If we don’t get to use the four-wheeler on this trip, I demand we take it for a ride once we get back to Alienn, Arkansas.”
“Noted.” Madelaine turned to him and grabbed his forearm lovingly. “And thank you for getting this flash drive for me.”
“Sure thing. Happy to do it. Especially since it wasn’t life-threatening this time.”
“I also appreciate that you are never belligerent, even though you certainly could have been justified many times over on this trip.”
Jack grinned. “All the important women in my life tell me you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Although I’ve never wanted to catch flies, I find that motto works in other situations as well.”
“Indeed it does.” Her sudden grin could have lit the skies of three worlds.
