Page 11 of Guardian's Legacy
I pulled my makeshift tools from my pocket—a thin metallic rod bent into a wedge, a coil of flexible tubing with a sharp edge, and a flat disc that worked as a universal circuit trigger. My best approximation of a screwdriver was a thin, pronged clamp that slotted into the panel’s seams. I wedged the clamp into the edge and wiggled it side to side, trying to pry the cover loose.
"What the hell are you doing?" Tom hovered behind me, arms crossed like a disappointed father figure.
"Getting us out of here," I muttered.
"You think you can open the hatch?" His voice was laced with skepticism and a hint of hope.
"I know I can," I responded confidently.
"That’s a bad idea," Josie snapped, striding over like she had some kind of authority here.
I didn’t look up. "Oh, look, the alien’s biggest fan has entered the chat."
Josie ignored me. "You have no idea what that thing is wired to. You could short out the oxygen supply or depressurize the whole damn ship."
I rolled my eyes. "Wow, big words! Way to go, Josie," I replied sarcastically, but then added under my breath, "If it’s wired that badly, we have bigger problems."
"You’re just mad Xyrek didn’t let you sleep in his room," Ava said, stepping up beside Tom, one hand resting over her pregnant belly.
Josie’s eyes flashed. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Ava shot back. "You act like he’s your personal alien boyfriend, and you’re pissed he left without telling you his plans."
"This isn’t about me!" Josie snapped. "I trust Xyrek. Unlike her—" she jabbed a finger at me "—who’s about to fry the whole ship because she thinks she’s some engineering genius."
I clenched my jaw and yanked at the panel harder. "I am an engineering genius, thanks. And if you’re so in love with Captain Asshole, why don’t you call him and ask nicely to be let out?" I pretended to think about that, then snapped a finger, "Oh, right. My bad. You don't have his phone number."
"So mature, Tinker Bell," Josie spat.
"Then maybe don’t worship the guy who locked us in like cargo," I shot back, ignoring her well-placed barb. All my life, I had been compared to that stupid pixie, and I hated it. But with my looks and my fondness of… well… tinkering…
"Maybe he has a good reason!" she countered.
"A good reason to treat us like prisoners?" Tom interjected. His voice was laced with righteous indignation. "We don’t even know where we are!"
"I don't see you saving us!" Josie snapped.
Tom turned red. "Because I don’t have alien hacking skills! But if I did?—"
Ava groaned. "You two are exhausting."
I pried a corner of the panel loose and peeled it back, revealing the inner components—glowing filaments and suspended nodes instead of neatly contained circuits. I grabbed my coil tool and carefully nudged one of the nodes.
"Wait, wait, wait," Josie barked. "You don’t even know what you’re touching!"
"Would you shut up and let me work?" I hissed.
"This is his ship," she sneered. "You think Xyrek won’t notice?"
"Pretty sure he has bigger problems than me right now," I muttered. My mind automatically moved to the stupid tattoos, making me wonder if he was even giving them any thought at all.
"Or maybe he left for a reason," Josie countered. "Maybe he knows something we don’t."
That made me pause. I hated to admit it, but… he wasn’t stupid. If Xyrek locked us in, it wasn’t just because he didn’t feel like babysitting humans. Either he was protecting us… or he was protecting something elsefromus. The thought sent a chill down my spine. Before I could answer, a small spark jumped from the panel to my hand. I yanked back with a curse.
"Shit," Ava muttered. "That’s not good, right?"
The filaments inside the panel pulsed, and the hatch light flickered once before returning to its usual dull glow.
