Page 88 of Legend
“It’s a figure of speech,” Britta said, smiling at the alien with long hair braided on one side and numbers etched into his skin along with curling lines.
I didn’t blame her for being entranced by him. I had never seen a science office who also looked like he could have jumped off the back of a Harley before, but Zav did with his scruffy cheeks, low-slung leather pants, and black cord necklace with a blade-shaped pendant dangling between his pecs. It was hard for me not to stare, and I was very much into Vyk.
“Why don’t I escort you all to engineering?” Kann flicked a glance at Torq. “My Blade brother will take the Taori delegation to Admiral Zoran.”
Torq thrust out his chest as he released Jess’s hand and cleared his throat. “Follow me.”
Morgan and Jess exchanged a look, but I pinned them with a stern look. “I won’t be in engineering for long. There is still a need for us to devise an overall strategy.” In case the holographic ruse didn’t work, I thought, but did not say.
“I was on my way to Zoran’s office,” Morgan said. “I got a summons from Tivek.”
I didn’t have time to ask why the admiral’s adjunct was summoning one of my Assassin cadets. There was too much going on to question something so minor, although it struck me for not the first time that the Drexian seemed to have more power than a typical adjunct. “Then I will see you both there.”
The women hurried off, getting ahead of Torq and the Taori while I resumed walking toward the School of Engineering with Zav, Britta, and our Blade escort, Kann.
“Ruun said you wish to create a holographic diversion so massive that it hides the planet,” the Taori science officer said as we passed beneath the archway and proceeded down the long corridor to the engineering building.
Britta swung her head to me, her eyes flaring. “You want to hide the entire planet?”
I hadn’t been in the School of Engineering for more than a cursory tour when I’d first arrived, so I glanced at the stained-glass slats in the walls of the hallway that let in slivers of colored light that mottled that glossy, obsidian floor. Strange warbling noises emanated from deeper within the school, reminding me of a techno dance party that had been set to slow motion and making me wonder what kind of experiments were going on in the high-tech labs.
I focused on Britta, who seemed to be completely unaware or unaffected by the noises. “If the swarm cannot see Drex, they won’t stop to devour all life on it. They are not a rational enemy that uses logic or even high-tech sensors to search for targets. They’re a swarm of hungry monsters razing whatever they can see.”
“If they can’t see us…” Britta tapped a finger on her chin as she picked up her pace.
“Holographic technology has been used to trick the Sythian swarm before,” I told her.
Zav nodded at me. “When the Taori made first contact with the Drexians on Gerron. A human and Drexian came up with a plan to fool the swarm using holographic trickery.”
“It worked,” I said. “I thought we could do the same thing again on a bigger scale.”
Kann caught up to Britta and cast her a sidelong look. “Is it dangerous to use holo-technology on such a massive scale?”
She gave him a crooked grin. “No more dangerous than anything Blades do on a daily basis.”
“But we are Blades,” he argued, “and you are…”
His words drifted off as he jerked his gaze away and curled his hands into fists by his side. “We cannot risk our best minds on a project that could be deadly.”
I matched his long strides as we reached the end of the corridor. “If we don’t succeed in diverting the swarm, we could all be dead.”
Britta stopped outside a metallic door, touching Kann on the arm before putting her hand to the side panel and waiting for the door to glide open. “This is just as safe as anything in the academy.”
“That’s what I am afraid of,” Kann muttered darkly, as he watched her walk into the holo-lab.
“Do not worry.” Zav gave the Blade a sharp bow. “I will ensure that your female colleague remains safe.” Then he stepped into the dimly lit lab.
Kann crossed his arms over his chest and growled.
Chapter
Sixty-Seven
Vyk
Ishifted from one foot to the other, as I stood behind the admiral’s desk and stared at the holographic star chart hovering in the air as it transmitted real-time data. Two Taori flanked me, and Tivek stood beside Zoran.
“We will soon know if the ruse is working,” one of the Taori warriors said, his tail snapping back and forth behind us.