Page 72 of Fallen from the Stars

Vasil carefully pulled back her hood, lightly combing the tips of his claws through her hair. The gesture soothed her, and she leaned her cheek against his chest, relishing the feel of his skin despite it being wet.

“Mmm, that feels good,” she said, closing her eyes.

“Pressurization normalized,” a feminine voice said once the water was completely drained. It was followed by the sound of a lock disengaging and the slide of a metal door.

“Who’s that?” Theo asked, lifting her head and opening her eyes.

“The AI of this facility,” Kane said through the suit’s wrist piece. “A step up from Sam, but not by much.”

Vasil followed Theo’s gaze toward the ceiling with his own as his hand smoothed down her back. “Computeris the only name we have for her. She holds all the information in this place. She is the main reason our people have continued to speak your language.”

“Interesting…” Theo said. Her mind raced, battling her weariness; how much information did this computer contain? How many files could Theo and Kane uncover about the IDC’s operation here, about their goals, about the kraken?

“Come,” Vasil said softly, moving to her side. He bent down and opened the container, tossing the mask inside. After sealing the lid, he picked the container up, holding it against his middle, and guided Theo toward the interior doorway.

His tentacle remained around her waist — it was the only thing keeping her on her feet. Her legs moved only out of muscle memory, powered by a reserve of strength she hadn’t known she possessed.

They entered a long corridor. Some of the overhead lights along the hall flickered, but the place was in surprisingly good shape considering its age. Though it was somewhat dated aesthetically, this could be the interior of any ship in space, and there was something comforting about that. The only thing throwing off that feel was the slight curvature of the floor, which undoubtedly had been designed to allow any excess water to flow to the drainage grooves running on either side of the main walkway.

The strange, soft slithering sound of tentacles on the floor behind Theo signaled that Dracchus followed as they moved down the hall, but her neck was too sore for her to bother looking back.

“The accommodations here are quite luxurious, compared to a typical military base,” Kane said through an unseen overhead speaker, his voice carrying through the hallway.

Vasil halted abruptly, tipping his head back to search the ceiling as though he’d see Kane crawling on it like a spider.

“I suppose it was because of the private interests involved,” Kane continued. “When you have a staff of scientists and researchers working on what may be one of the most valuable resources available to man, I suppose you want to keep them comfortable.”

Theo shook her head. “Someone couldn’t wait to be nosey.”

Dracchus stopped immediately behind Theo and growled. Though he did not touch her, his presence was stifling. “How is he speaking through the Facility?”

Before Theo could react, Vasil had tossed his container down, spun to face Dracchus, and swept Theo behind him, placing himself between her and the bigger kraken. “Back away from her, Dracchus.”

“She needs to answer, Vasil. This is our home. We cannot allow such things to happen without explanation.”

Theo placed her hands on Vasil’s back. His tense muscles twitched beneath her palms. “Vasil, it’s okay. Calm down.”

“She ismine,” Vasil said, not looking away from Dracchus. “I will toleratenothreat to her, no matter how small.”

A thrill swept through Theo at Vasil’s words — hisclaim.

Dracchus grunted. “Then let her explain. How is your computer speaking through the Facility?”

Theo massaged Vasil’s back in a vain attempt to ease his tension before stepping around him. She inserted herself between the two kraken. She wasn’t threatened by Dracchus — if he’d meant to harm her, he would have, and Vasil would never have brought her into this situation if he truly feared for her safety.

Vasil tightened the tentacle around her waist and settled a hand upon her shoulder.

“Kane?” she prompted.

“It’s quite simple, really,” Kane said from above. “All implanted AI of my generation are equipped with wireless transmitters and receivers to broadcast and receive information, primarily through the networks used and maintained by the IDC. These networks are typically—”

“He can connect to other electronics through the air,” Theo said. “Basically, he can talk to anything else that has a computer, as long as it has the capability to send and receive signals.”

Dracchus’s brows fell low. “And this is…all invisible?”

“To us, yes. Not to Kane.”

“This Facility is quite outdated,” Kane said. “All of its security is long expired under IDC regulations, even the protection on the top-secret data, meaning I do not require clearance to access any function of this Facility.”

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