Jade really wanted some tea. She checked her internal inventory again, and discovered some in a canteen several levels above this one. She sighed. Not right now, maybe later.
She leaned back, stretching her legs out under the table.
Alex and Ro were sitting by themselves at a small bistro-like table near the back counter, and had their heads together talking in low voices as they sipped their coffee.
Jade had elicited a promise from Morgan to practice some fighting moves with her when they got back to camp. He’d teased her saying he was going to work her toes off while he whipped her fanny. He and Rachel were going back to the control room to work on getting past the security on the files they wanted to see as soon as Rachel got back. She’d stepped next door to the facility to freshen up.
No one had heard from anyone at the camp yet, so Jade decided to call her mom.
she sent.
answered Maggie.
She explained to Maggie about how her esa had morphed into something more extensive than it had been. She chuckled as she told her how Rachel had called her “finder-girl”.
And she had to tell her how she hadn’t been able to “see” the USCOMS anywhere aboard the ship. She also told her about the aircraft find.
said Maggie in surprise.
She gave a mental shrug.
Maggie was silent for a moment. She considered their options. she sent testily.
Jade had never heard her mother use that particular phrase and she chuckled but she had to agree.
she suggested.
She smiled, thinking of how happy the seeds would make her plant-loving big sister.
Without warning, Sparrow was standing in front of her.
Startled, she sat up. “Sparrow? Where’d you come from?”
Sparrow stared at her silently, its cobalt blue eyes wide. It seemed dazed.
Jade could see it was rapidly changing colors, a sign of distress in an Elvwist.
Alarmed, she asked, “What’s wrong, Sparrow?”
It sank to its knees. “Jadewyn!” it cried out in its saxophone-like voice, its obvious distress making it a heart-wrenching sound.
Jade was shocked. “” she screamed, both mentally and audibly. She reached for it as it began to fade away and felt her head start to spin.