The Instrument by Abigail Woodley

Author:Abigail Woodley [Woodley, Abigail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

***

They were on the clock. Everyone knew it. Only a few officers had ever interacted with the Siccadans, and it was only during the first twenty years after arriving on No’ke. Even then, they were under strict orders not to reveal anything about their true mission. However, all of those officers were long since gone.

Koyia made an announcement to her fellow pilots that they had to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. She didn’t think that her colleagues were that fond of the idea of the Kamatay giving them orders, but they followed them nevertheless. They knew that if the base alarms were going off, it was serious.

Davis worked hurriedly to make sure all of the ships were in peak condition. Yes, he worked on them throughout the week, rotating through the ships that weren’t on missions, but all of them needed to be ready as soon as possible. It would be tight, even for Davis and his hard-working mechanic team.

The rest of No’ke Exploratory Team A was ready and waiting for Davis to finish the last of his inspections. The pilots geared up, and several teams of officers were standing by, ready to disperse amongst the ships.

“Alright!” Ben announced, getting the attention of everyone in the ship hangar. “I know we’ve been told hundreds of times to never interfere with the Siccadans, but after a discussion with Director Graves, she has agreed that the best thing to do is to temporarily relocate the Siccadans to the land above the base.”

Uneasy whispers broke out among some of the troops, and Koyia didn’t blame them. Bringing the Siccadan this close to the base was dangerous, not just for No’ke, but for the Siccadans as well.

“I know this is worrying,” Ben said, raising his voice above the murmurs. “But it’s what Director Graves and myself deem the best route to take. No’ke Exploratory is all about keeping people safe, right? So let’s do our damn jobs! Load up the HouseShips and get every Siccadan you can to safety!”

As the crowd took off running, getting themselves to their ships and preparing for take-off, Phillip looked at Ben anxiously. “Are we sure bringing the Siccadans to this side of the planet is a good idea?”

Ben glanced around nervously. “I’m not sure, but Natalee is. I tried to reason with her, but she thinks it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Could this have something to do with Mickey?” Dylan asked quietly.

Koyia cocked her head. She had never heard that name before. Who was Mickey?

Ben seemed to notice Koyia’s confusion and brushed it off. “Probably not,” he said flatly, but the look in his eyes told Koyia that he was lying. “Let’s get going.” Dylan, Phillip, and Davis all set out for their ship, but Koyia hung back for a moment. “Don’t worry about it, Xian,” Ben said, walking by her. “Don’t worry about it.”

After a quick pre-flight check, NE-A’s HouseShip was in the air, accompanied by a small fleet of the rest of the teams.

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