Crystal Conquest (35 page)

He launched a drone from the scout to follow the Kardish
vessel during its fateful voyage. Through it, he established a link to the
Kardish central array.

During the dreadnaught’s final hours, Criss collected as
much information as he could from the Kardish data record. Goljat’s knowledge
store was vast and arranged in a manner Criss found challenging to search. He
persisted, and, while he was able to touch only a fraction of the information,
he gained valuable insights.

He learned of the alien planet’s location, the current state
of Kardish society, interesting technology he might use if he ever chose to
visit their region of space and, perhaps most useful, of the unambitious nature
of the prince—soon to be king—now in power.
They won’t be a threat to Earth
for the foreseeable future.

As the dreadnaught and drone neared the sun, the intense
heat melted the components Criss used for communication. By then, though, the
outcome was irreversible. And soon after, Goljat, the king, and his flagship
vessel were reduced to plasma swirling in the nuclear maelstrom that is Earth’s
nearest star.

Sid, sitting next to Cheryl on a
small couch in the lookout loft, gazed through the clear wall at the forested
hill where, farther up the mountainside, Criss hid in his underground bunker. The
leadership had been living at the lodge for most of a week, recuperating from
their adventure and planning next steps for the fate of the world.

“Are you really going to make me take my final exams?”
whined Lenny from a comfy chair to Sid’s left.

“Absolutely,” said Juice, sitting with Criss in a matching
couch across from Sid and Cheryl.

Juice cocked her head, looked at Criss, and smiled. Sid
recognized that Criss, present in his familiar projected image form, had just spoken
to her in private.
I’m glad you two worked it out, but he still has to pay a
price for hurting you.
The news of Crispin’s demise had hit Juice hard.
This was the first time he’d seen her animated since that incident.

“I put study guides on your com,” said Criss. “Review them a
few times and you’ll have no worries.” He didn’t tell Lenny that when he’d
added the study material, he’d cleansed the com of all of his voyeur-vids.

“Do well on your exams, Len,” said Sid. “Because after you
graduate, you’ll be working as a research assistant at the Zurich Institute of
Technology.”

“Really?” said Lenny, his tone revealing his excitement. “I
sent an application there but haven’t heard.”

“You’re hearing now,” said Juice. “You’ll be working with
Zindermohn’s team on the development of synthetic crystal flake. Consider it a
good-bye gift.”

“Good-bye gift?” Lenny frowned. “I’m on the inside now. You
can’t just kick me to the curb.”

“We’re not kicking you anywhere,” said Sid. “You know Earth
doesn’t have a natural source of crystal flake. This project’s important, and
we think you can make a difference.”

“C’mon. This isn’t fair.” He looked around the room for
allies. “I could do that work here and you know it.”

“The researchers at Zurich Tech are world class,” said
Juice. “And given the damage to the Crystal Science’s facility, it’s clear we need
to keep our talent spread around the globe. You’ll be on the inside but living
over there.”

Lenny folded his arms across his chest. “I have some power
in this situation. I know secrets.”

“Take a breath,” said Sid. “I don’t like that you know things
you shouldn’t, and I don’t like that you flaunt it. It creates one of those
good-news bad-news situations.”

Lenny relaxed his arms but kept the attitude in his tone. “Is
this where you ask which news I want to hear first?”

“No. I’ll start with the bad news because it’s the one I
care about.” Sid leaned forward on the couch and rested his elbows on his knees.
He moved slowly to give gravity to his words. “From this moment on, we’ll be
monitoring you. And since you know secrets, you know that means everywhere and all
the time. Even when you’re taking a leak.”

Sid paused to let the words sink in. “If you tell anyone anything
about any of this—if you even hint at it—we’ll know. And you won’t like the
consequences. They will be life altering. Do not doubt that.”

Lenny fidgeted while Sid stared at him. “You said there was
good news?”

Sid sat back, put an arm around Cheryl, and gave Juice and Criss
a quick glance.

“We like you, Len,” said Sid. “You’ve got a tremendous skill
set, and you used it to make critical contributions to the mission. You’ve earned
our respect and we want to reward you.”

It was Lenny’s turn to lean forward.

“So, on occasion, if you have a want or a need, say it out
loud. Since we’ll be monitoring you, we’ll hear it, and we’ll see what we can
do to help.”

“You mean like a wish?”

“Sure. Think of it like a wish.”

Lenny hesitated for a two count, then said in a rush, “I
wish for infinite wishes. I wish that I live forever in perfect health until
such time as I wish to die. I wish to always have the ability to verbalize my
wishes as long as I live.” He sat back with a smug expression.

Criss started laughing—something none of them had seen him
do before. He didn’t just chuckle. He threw his head back, held his belly, and howled.
When he finished, he wiped tears from his eyes. “You’ve been practicing that
line since you were eight. I was hoping you’d use it, but the odds I predicted split
the chances down the middle.”

“You said I get a wish.”

Sid shook his head. “We didn’t give you a magic genie. I
said that, on occasion, we’d see what we could do to help. It’s a pretty great
gift. Don’t get greedy.”

“Tell me, Len,” said Cheryl. “Being realistic, if you could
have one thing different about your life, what would you wish for?”

“Other than staying here with you guys and being part of the
team?”

Cheryl maintained a fixed expression and didn’t respond.

“No doubt. I’d wish for a girl.”

“Help me understand that. What does ‘wishing for a girl’
mean to you?”

“You know. Finding someone I like being with. Someone who
likes being with me—not that that’s ever going to happen. I guess the
traditional ‘I fulfill her and she fulfills me’ stuff.”

“Would you be interested in a suggestion?” Cheryl didn’t
wait for him to answer. She shifted on the couch, tilting her head to the side
and leaning her body until her eyes were where her breasts had been. Pointing
to her eyes, she said, “Those aren’t me. This is where I am.”

Lenny’s face turned crimson and he looked at the floor.

“No. Look at
me.
” She sat upright, and he lifted his
eyes with hers. Pointing again, she said, “This is where you talk to women,
Len.”

“I didn’t even realize…” His voice trailed off without
finishing the thought.

“I leave it to you,” said Cheryl. “But maybe your first ask
should be for someone who can work with you. You’ve got a lot going for you,
and I’ve no doubt plenty of women will be interested. But we need to smooth out
some of your”—she hesitated as she struggled for the word—“inappropriate
behaviors.” She gave him a broad smile. “With some guidance and time, you’ll
find the woman of your dreams.”

Sid spoke up to change the awkward dynamic. “Hey, bud. Want
to fly the scout to Boston? We’ll have you on campus in no time.”

“Seriously? Hell, yeah!”

Sid rose and held out his hand to shake, signaling a
dismissal. “Criss will be your copilot. Safe journeys, Len.”

Cheryl stood up. “C’mon. I’ll walk out with you.”

Lenny, escorted by Cheryl, Juice, and Criss, headed for the
lookout loft door.

“I have an important call to make, so I’ll say my good-byes
here.” Sid shook Lenny’s hand again, this time holding his grip. “You have
great gifts. Use them wisely.”

The four went out the door, and when it shut, Sid stood at
the clear wall so he could see them when they exited the lodge.

“Babysitting Len is my penance for hurting Juice?”

Sid looked at the duplicate projection of Criss now standing
next to him. “It’s a start.”

They stood side by side in silence, watching until the group
emerged from the first floor of the lodge and began their trek across the
grounds. Juice and Cheryl walked on either side of Lenny, their arms hooked
through his. The original projected image of Criss walked on the other side of
Juice.

“So your sense is that we’re done with the Kardish?”

“If the young prince stays in power,” said Criss, “he’ll
focus on debauchery. If he’s overthrown, the usurper will focus on
consolidating control. Either way, we have a decade. Maybe more.”

After some hugs, Lenny and the other Criss climbed into the
scout. Cheryl and Juice started walking back to the lodge.

“But to be prudent,” said Criss, “I’d like to send a couple
of observational pods out to the Kardish system. They’ll sit and watch and give
us an early warning if anything changes.”

“That strategy worked so well for us this time, and that’s
when we had a whole swarm of them out past the asteroid belt.”

“Touché,” said Criss. “But I learned quite a bit when I examined
the dreadnaught’s records. I’m confident I can make an effective monitoring
system.”

Down on the lawn, Cheryl said something to Juice and they
both laughed.

“Okay.” Sid nodded. “Handle it.”

A probe with three
powerful crystals, each imbued with a sense of independence and self-preservation,
entered orbit above Mars. Repeated communications with the Kardish gatekeeper
went unanswered, so the crystals agreed on a set of action items consistent
with the spirit of their last instructions. Circling the planet, they worked
together to accumulate and integrate information about the humans and their
colony on the surface below.