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A low murmur went through the room. Four of those names were senior field ops, and no one had ever heard of the Old Man sending that many at once on any mission. If this failed, four teams would be off the grid until they could be split and reassigned.
This was huge.
He was sending the heavy hitters, too. Joeb was from one of the fringe worlds himself, on the magic side. Come to think of it, that probably meant this Earth was magic heavy; Joeb looked more or less human, but Jonha had skin like tree bark and Jorisine was the closest thing to an elf I’d ever met. Josy also looked more or less human, except I privately liked to think of her as Rapunzel. Her golden hair went down to her feet, and was stronger than anything I’d ever encountered. She wore it in a bunch of thin braids, with little knives tied into the ends.
As for the last one, birdlike Jerzy was light, quick, and one of the fastest runners on Base. He couldn’t fly like Jo, but as fast as he could move, he didn’t need to. I was actually kind of proud that he was going on an officer team; Jerzy had been one of the first friends I’d made here, and I hoped this meant he might be considered for officer status later.
“Everyone is expected to sleep with one eye open tonight; while the chance of anyone tracing us is slim, the possibility does exist, especially with the power we’re about to expend. Joey Harker, assemble your team and report to my office.”
The screen went dark, and it took me a moment to register what I’d just heard.
“Did he say my name?” I managed smartly, looking at Josef. He and Jakon were the only members of my team still up, as far as I was aware.
“Sure did,” Josef confirmed, though he looked as confused as I felt.
“We can’t be going out again; we were out this morning.” Jakon was still staring at the screen, fur ruffled slightly in her confusion.
“Well, we won’t find out by sitting here.” I sighed, getting to my feet. “Let’s go. The others probably heard all that, too. Let’s not make them wait.”
“Good luck,” Acacia offered, and I stared at her for a moment before I remembered to say thanks. I’d forgotten she was there. Which raised a slight problem.
“Right, you’re…supposed to be escorted at all times, aren’t you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay in the mess.” She nodded to the people still sitting around; though less than there had been at dinner, there were still quite a few. “I’m not done eating yet.”
“Okay,” I said, pausing to consider. She wasn’t technically my responsibility, so I wouldn’t get in trouble if I left her…and the order to assemble my team had come from the Old Man himself, so I was covered. I nodded, offering a “Well, see ya,” as I headed out. Not the most debonair exit I’d ever made, but I was tired and distracted. It didn’t seem like this day would ever end.
“She’s coming,” Jakon said after a moment, perking up. We’d only been standing outside the Old Man’s office for about thirty seconds, but even five seems like an eternity when you know he’s waiting for you.
Jo rounded the corner a second later at a jog, her hair looking somewhat puffier than usual. As she got closer to us, we could see that her wings were damp, the feathers looking far more scraggly than majestic. “Sorry,” she muttered as she slowed, raking some of her hair back from her face. “I was in the shower,” she said defensively as we all glanced at one another.
“Mm, wet feather smell,” Jakon teased her, earning an annoyed glance.
“You’re one to talk,” she replied, with that aristocratic haughtiness that only beings with wings seem able to muster.
“We’re going in now,” I said, opening the door.
Jai was already inside, standing silently with his hands behind his back. He didn’t even glance up as we came in. His gaze was fixed on the picture hanging behind the Old Man’s desk, the one of the Arc that was the Altiverse. The Old Man himself gave us one of his signature glares as we entered.
“Glad you decided to join us. Don’t sit, you’re suiting up.”
“But we were—” Jakon started, then fell immediately silent as he turned to her.
“I am aware of your schedule, Jakon Haarkanen, seeing as I make it.” He let the reprimand settle for a moment, waiting to see if she was stupid enough to say anything else. She wasn’t.
“You’re going back to Earth F?986. You’re going back for three very specific reasons, not the least of which is because I say so. The other two I am telling you so you will grasp the importance of your mission and hopefully not fail again.” He let that sink in before continuing. “First, you are to succeed in your initial mission. We need that data.” He turned his gaze to J/O. As our resident computer whiz, he was to be the one responsible for hacking into the mainframe and downloading the files we needed. Why we needed them, we didn’t know—and we didn’t ask. The Old Man gave information out on a need-to-know basis, which meant that grunts like us were rarely ever in the loop.
“The second is another Code Mercury. A Walker blipped the radar an hour or so ago. The Binary already has him, but it’s on the same world you just came from—you probably stirred him up with your rapid entrance and exit. He’s a powerful one, too. Get him.”
We all nodded, but I couldn’t help thinking that this didn’t make sense. There were two Walkers, surfacing at the same time? I wasn’t sure that had ever happened, but if the other one was yet undiscovered, why send four officers after him and leave us to fight our way through the Binary’s forces?
The Old Man turned to look at me, and I could feel my skin prickle as if I were sunburned. “You have something to say, Harker?”
No attainment in feigning disingenuousness, as Jai would say. “Yes, sir. Sir—if the Binary already has him at one of their bases, why are you sending us and not the four officers you sent after—”
His intensity racheted up a notch, and my skin went from bad sunburn to slow roast. “Because, despite the twofold importance of this mission, the other Walker is the priority. Believe me when I say it was a difficult decision.
“I know you’ve been out already, but have a latte and get back to it. Jai has all the information, and the alchemist will meet you in the locker room. Dismissed.”
