Crystal Rebellion by Doug J. Cooper

Author:Doug J. Cooper [Cooper, Doug J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-08-31T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Criss told Juice about the satellite buoy and its horrific potential. Her face went pale and she began to breathe in fast, shallow gasps.

She stood next to Alex in the fab facility while Ruga, speaking through Larry, laid out a harsh reality, including a two-day deadline to perfect the details of a crystal-to-crystal transfer of a sentient being.

When the synbod left the lab, Criss called a leadership meeting, saying to Juice, “We can have privacy in Alex’s office.”

Criss had stumbled across two more traps—both dead man’s switches—during his work on the entwined system with Bobbi Lava. One had been hidden within the tangle of functions for dome repair, the other had been inserted just below the dome fortification supervisor. Both required daily resets by Ruga, and both were horribly destructive if that did not happen.

Freeing up yet more capacity to expand his search for traps, Criss fretted that despite his efforts, it was happenstance—luck—that dominated his success. It is difficult to defend against madness.

While he guided Sid and Cheryl to a private space so they could participate in the meeting, Criss watched Juice and Alex as they plopped onto the loveseat in Alex’s private office.

Juice’s instructions to Criss, delivered in a side whisper in the hallway, had been clear. “I can’t tell Alex who you are until I check with Sid and Cheryl. But make sure I’m truthful with him.”

“You’ll do fine,” he’d told her. This will never work, he thought.

Juice turned to Alex on the loveseat and started: “I’m about to speak with a few of my shipmates. You met two of them, Sid and Cheryl. The third one, Criss, uses a simulated image because his leadership doesn’t want to expose his identity.” She met his gaze. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” said Alex. “After seeing your cloak and stuff, a secret identity is nothing.” After a moment of silence, he asked, “Who is the pet Ruga talked about?”

“I don’t have a pet and I don’t use that as a nickname for anyone. I think that’s just Ruga being creepy. I believe he was referring to Criss, though, which makes sense because the guy is an incredible know-it-all with a huge ego. Just wait until you see the handsome-man image Criss uses in his projection.”

Juice looked away from Alex and, with an impish grin, stuck her tongue out. Criss knew she was teasing him, and her attention caused a delicious ripple across his outer tendrils.

Putting a hand on Alex’s leg, Juice spoke in a solemn tone. “I won’t lie to you, but there are things I can’t say. So when you ask something in that category, I’ll just say that I can’t tell you.” She picked a speck of lint off his clothing. “And if I say I can’t tell you, please don’t ask again. I’ll know you want to know, and I’ll want to tell you, but I can’t.” She slumped her body against his. “I know I’m asking a lot.”

Sid and Cheryl arrived at the Idle

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