{Enki}

John and Tumu took turns asking after everyone on the comms device.

“Sagan said Karter looked so bad she doesn’t feel comfortable Seamswalking with her.” Tameka updated them with an exhausted sigh. “I’d hate to tell Para that.”

The two Icarean Valkyrie served Cinder for millions of years together. Over all that time, they developed a strong relationship where one rarely worked far from the other. If they couldn’t move Karter because of the extent of her injuries…

“Don’t worry, Tameka. We’ll get to Sparkles.” Tumu, a thirteen-foot tall when compressed, sixty-five foot tall when decompressed Gargantuan Tritan, sounded genuinely caring in his deep booming voice. Stationed as Officer of the Third planet in the Vast Collective, he acted as liaison between Earth and Enki. The latter being the Tritan’s supposed homeworld, a Dyson’s Sphere.

While the giant blue alien’s allegiances swung toward the ambiguous, John believed he had a soft spot for the Progeny. Probably because of his friendship with Xelan. Today, they’d take advantage of it. “How will we get to her?” John asked, knowing full well Tumu never learned the stronghold’s location.

He turned his lidless eyes like black circles in his face onto John. “Sagan can take me to the stronghold without ever showing me its coordinates.”

Okay. True.

Tameka also liked the idea. “Go to the shrine for Earth, and I’ll let Sagan know to meet you there. Waste no time. I won’t. The second she returns, I’ll tell her.” After a thoughtful pause, she added, “John, it might be best for you to stay. I want to know more about what exactly it means when Enki declares war.”

Tumu placed his hands on his ear holes and loudly hummed to tune them out. Plausible deniability and all that. After the Tritans learned of Tameka’s pregnancy, they “asked” her to live in Enki. John and Caedes accompanied her. Two years later, they still refused to let her move back to Earth. In the meantime, they spent every waking moment scouring the Dyson’s Sphere for helpful or even secret intelligence. They coincidentally visited Earth the same week a shit ton of terrorist attacks hit home. It smelled shady.

“I’ll look out for anything suspicious,” John assured. “I’ll ask to shadow Abresson like he’s the boss around here. He’ll like that.”

The blue alien snickered in his fist. “You’re right.” His voice deepened as he turned serious. “But he has a temper and the power to support it. Do. Not. Fuck. Up.”

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The human saluted with a fist to his nacre. “Yes, Office of the Third, sir.”

Tumu recoiled as if unsure how to respond and flattered all at once. At a loss for words.

Tameka giggled. “He is good at feeding that ego—Okay. Yea? She’s awake? Good. Jack said Ross regained consciousness.”

John sighed in relief. Kyle’s little sister breathed fresh life into their group. They all hoped to find the youngest of Story Taker’s siblings, Bethany. Taken by Icari during Invasion Day at twelve-years-old, she was fifteen now. Recently, Tumu picked up a fresh lead that the Lukemore textile mills bought her.

Once everyone recuperated, John planned to join them for the rescue mission. He always wanted to see the planet of the Luks. He met two during the Volcano Day battle—the battle that ended the war between Earth and Cinder. X and R were invertebrates with jellyfish caps of varying colors and designs at their waists like skirts or kilts. Their hair was kelp, forming deep green dreads. They consumed their prey like spiders, setting electric webs and draining their victims dry. The planet must be quiet given the Luks whispered when they spoke. As an educator of Vast Collective culture, he looked forward to the trip.

“Earth to John?” Tumu prodded as if he repeated it several times already.

“Sorry.”

Tameka continued as if she waited for his attention, “Find out what you can. Tumu head to the shrine. I’ll get Sagan.”

“Wait.” John stopped her from ending the call. “What will you do with Karter, Tumu?”

The Tritan sort of frowned. Hard to tell without eyebrows or a nose. “If she’s this badly injured with little outward signs of healing, we’ll bring her to Enki for an upgrade as a special courtesy to the King Regent and Sovereign Ambassador, or however the hell I have to word it. We will take care of her. Which brings me to my next concern.”

There went those ambiguous allegiances again.

The redhead on the line groaned, “What?”

“They want you to return to Enki. And Jack and Ross come this time. They don’t like the most important figures on Earth at this much risk.”

Silence stretched between them.

Eventually, Tameka asked, “Why Ross?”

“Kyle is missing, as I understand it. The Eminents suspect they can awaken a trace of his abilities in her. This makes her a target. Do you understand the implications?” Tumu’s body went rigid with tension. He even clenched his fists.

John interrupted the second quiet moment, “That’s understandable. But what about the embargo, Tumu?” Enki forced the woman on the line to stay on Earth before the attacks because of a virus that afflicted Jack. As Rayne’s sibling, he qualified as a Progeny technically. They banned the Progeny from traveling to the Dyson’s Sphere for quarantine.

Tameka huffed bitterly. “Let me guess? They’ll conveniently lift it because of the state of emergency they no doubt had a hand in creating?” Her censure oozed through the comms and infected John like a toxin.

At the shamed look on the Tritan’s face, John scoffed, “Are you serious?!”

“I will get to the source, Peaches. I promise.”

Okay. Tumu knew better than to use that nickname for her unless he intended to keep that promise.

Voice icy, the Progeny woman tersely repeated their mission, “Recon. Shrine. Karter. Over and Out.”

A heavy quiet filled the room when suddenly the Tritan muttered, “Hey, John?”

“Yea?”

“Abresson would prefer it if you applied lip balm before kissing his ass.”

“Fuck you, Tumu.”