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He examined the rider as closely as he could. On the vid, it had been more…there. It seemed wispier now, which surprised him. He’d thought he’d see it better in person.
Maybe it’s as Kila said. It could be communicating with the others of its kind. It would explain why Hobato appears to be meditating.
Lokmi was operating on pure guesswork, and it notched up his anxiety. If he was right, trapping the Dark while it was “talking” to its kind would alert them immediately. He had no idea what that might do to the overall big picture, but he thought it prudent to avoid detection if possible.
Licking dry lips, he crept closer, Kila and Lidon keeping pace. They were there to do what Nobeks did, which was keep him safe, if possible. Lokmi wasn’t sure how they could do so against a creature that slipped through normal containments, but the warriors had been adamant they’d stick to him. Particularly his clanmate.
He was nearly in range to trigger the multi-dimensional containment when the Dark abruptly began to appear more solid. Hobato’s eyes opened. He stared at the three men a few feet from him. He saw them despite them being phased.
His eyes widened. “What are you—”
Chapter Seventeen
Lokmi sprang forward and pressed the activation button on the metal tube. There was a flicker of disturbance in the air, signaling the containment’s presence. It surrounded Hobato.
The admiral howled. His dignified mien disappeared in bestial fury, but he couldn’t do more than twitch in the tight confines of the prison. The Dark abruptly detached and threw itself at the containment.
The field shimmered. It held. The Dark fell back, its tentacles jerking violently. Lokmi watched as it threw itself in all directions, seeking escape. Meanwhile, Hobato blinked, his gaze muddy as he peered uncertainly around himself.
“Lokmi? What’s happening?”
Kila’s shout reminded him his Nobek couldn’t watch the entity flailing to escape. “It worked! It’s trapped!”
No sooner had he uttered the words, when the Dark disappeared. Hobato sagged. He lost consciousness.
“Lokmi! The admiral!”
“Hold on. I have to extract the containment beam from the other dimension and find out if we have the thing.”
He pressed a couple of buttons on the rod, activating the sensor that would tell him if the now-invisible Dark had been kept from escape on the opposite side of the dimensional divide as it was pulled into theirs once more.
A moment later, disappointment filled his gut. “It’s gone. It escaped to its dimension.”
Piras, Tranis, and Degorsk rushed into the room as Lokmi deactivated the field. Lidon unphased and caught Hobato before he crashed to his desk top. As Degorsk also switched off his phase and reached for the admiral, his Nobek fended him off. “Is it gone, Chief?”
“It’s gone. He’s free of it.”
Degorsk simultaneously scanned Hobato and called for the emergency medical services located in Fleet Headquarters. “Low blood sugar, but I see nothing else wrong. He’s already coming around.”
The entire group turned off their phase devices.
“What went wrong? How did it break free?” Piras asked Lokmi.
As a woozy Hobato raised his head, Hope spoke in their earpieces. “Sensors in the containment tracked everything. Analysis will show us where and how it got out.”
“I’m sorry, Admirals. The failure was mine, not Hope’s.” Lokmi gazed at his Dramok clanmate, despondent at the unsuccessful attempt.
“You two did the best you could with the information you were able to gather. Impressive job,” Piras assured him. He looked proud.
“You got the Dark off Hobato. I’m willing to call this a success,” Tranis added. He glanced at the rear admiral, who was trying to question Degorsk in a strengthless whisper. “Do what you must to make the containment work. I have a nasty suspicion when Hobato’s strong enough to answer our questions, he’ll tell us more Darks are on Kalquor.”
* * * *
Earth II
“I want to exchange these hands. They look like mine, but they don’t play the trasbu, do computer work while I sleep, or anything my old hands weren’t smart enough to do. What’s the point of robotic hands if I have to learn skills before they’ll perform them?”
Stacy chuckled at Etnil as he kneaded dough for a pizza. “They do what you know pretty darn well,” she told him, waggling her brows.
