Tag: Station 86

You Can’t Trust The AI, Episode Three

“Here,” Godfrey said, putting a plate of fries and a sandwich in front of April. “I haven’t been able to get hold of your mom yet.”

“What are you making so much food for?” April asked, surveying the counter. There was a plate of cookies sitting next to a stack of sandwiches and a humongous basket of fries

“It helps calm me,” Godfrey said.

“I don’t think cooking when your hands are shaking like that is a good idea,” she said.

Godfrey glanced down at his hands. They were shaking, even wrapped around a spatula. “Well, what you gonna do?” he asked, shrugging.

 Mason came back into the stall from the greenhouse behind it. “I swept all the isles and turned on the watering system. That thing needs a serious upgrade, by the way.”

“Do you know why Sennett wouldn’t be answering a call?” Godfrey asked.

“Because she’s at work,” Mason said, reaching for a hand towel. “She’s probably doing something important.”

“What time is her shift over?” Godfrey asked.

“Why don’t I just send her a message, Grandpa?” Mason said. He shook his head, then tapped open his virtual visor. He started making typing motions with his hands. “What’s this big important thing you’ve got to tell her?”

 Godfrey thought a minute. What was he supposed to say? He’d seen his father for only a few minutes, but it made him think the whole Earth was in danger? He thought someone might be on their way to endanger the station? He was scared, and he felt safer when Sennett was there? None of those seemed like the best things to tell her. “Just ask her if she saw that footage. Ask her if she has any idea what it might mean,” he said.  

“Whatever,” Mason said.

April was looking toward the transit station. “Uncle Mason, I think someone’s hurt,” she said.

 “Why?” Mason asked, not looking at her.  

“Because they’re screaming,” she said.

 That got both men’s attention. Mason’s visor turned off and Godfrey leaned over the counter to look in the direction that she was now pointing. “Can’t you hear them?” she asked.  

Godfrey listened. After a few moments, he did hear screaming. But it didn’t sound like just one person as April had said. It sounded like a crowd.  

“Come behind the counter,” he said, reaching for April. He lifted her off of her stool and set her down next to him. People were running past the stall. Some were calling for the police, some were just doing their best to get away, from what he couldn’t see yet.

One woman stopped long enough to say, “Get that little girl out of here, we’re under attack!” before running past.

“Under attack by what?” Mason asked.

Godfrey pushed a button under the counter. The steel shutter on the front of his stall came down, shutting out the street. “Stay here,” he said, “I’m going to find out what’s going on. Keep trying to reach Sennett. Try Ki, too.”

“But I want to see what’s going on,” April said.

“Hush,” Mason said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Godfrey slipped out of the side door.

 The streets were flooded with screaming people, running from what looked like robotic dogs. One jumped on an Earth woman and started cutting her stomach open with a circular saw that extended from its middle. Godfrey ran for her, but just as he reached her a hand pulled him back. He turned to see Amy shaking her head. “Not her, she’s lost,” she cried, pointing across the aisle. “Get him!”  

 There was a Ma’sheed boy there, crouched behind another food stall, crying. Godfrey nodded and ran to get him. A dog lunged for him, only to be knocked back by a blast from Amy’s air gun. It was only distracted for a moment, though.  

Godfrey ran to the boy. “Come with me,” he said, reaching for him. The child took his hand, and Godfrey turned back to where Amy was standing. She had an air gun in one hand and an electric pistol in the other. Godfrey scooped the child up into his arms and ran.

 One of the dogs jumped, knocking into him. Godfrey fell, just barely managing not to land on the boy. The dog extended its saw, only to be knocked away by a Toth man who sold shaved ice a few stalls away from Godfrey’s. “Get up, Man!” he cried, holding a crowbar aloft in case another dog attacked.

Godfrey and the Ma’sheed boy scrambled to their feet. Together, the three of them ran for Godfrey’s stall. They reached the door and flung themselves inside just before a pack of dogs reached them.

Godfrey sat down on the ground hard. “Thank you,” he said to the Toth man.

“Of course,” the man said, “You are Councilman Anders, yes?”

“Just Godfrey,” he replied.

“Very well. My name is Othollo. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” the man said.

“Khal’Lee!” April cried, running to the boy. “Why weren’t you in school today?”

“What the hell is going on out there?” Mason cried before the boy could respond.

“Before I tell you, I’m going to have to ask that you suspend your disbelief,” Godfrey replied, “We seem to be under attack by robot dogs.”

“You’re shitting me,” Mason said.

“Did you get a hold of Sennett or Ki?” Godfrey asked.  

“Not yet,” Mason said.

“Well, given the current circumstances, I’m sure she’s busy,” Godfrey said, “Okay, situation. We’re trapped in here by robot monsters, unarmed. Amy’s out there by herself trying to save everyone with two guns. Thoughts?”

“There are some tools we can use in the greenhouse,” Mason said.

“Good,” Godfrey said. He started towards the door to the greenhouse in the back of the stall. “Are you going out there again?” April asked.

“Honey, Amy’s all alone,” Godfrey said.

“I’ll come too,” Othollo said.

“I guess I’ll keep track of the kids, then,” Mason said.

Godfrey considered the tools for a moment, then chose a hand ax. After a moment of thought, he grabbed a metal trash can lid as well. A shield never hurt anybody, he reasoned.

He and Othollo headed out of the door. The dogs were everywhere. Godfrey saw people perched on top of stalls, huddled together. Some were still on the streets, running or trying to make stands with makeshift weapons.

Amy was easy to spot. She stood in front of a handful of people, firing with both of her weapons at the dogs that were circling them.

 Godfrey had no combat training whatsoever. What he did have was the upper arm strength of someone who was raised on a farm. He swung his ax into the head of the nearest dog. It dented but didn’t split. “Well, that’s not great,” he said.  

Othollo was swinging at the dogs with similar results. “They are horribly strong, aren’t they?” he said.

“I’m not great with all this technology,” Godfrey said, bringing his ax down into the hinge at the neck of the dented dog. This, at least, had the desired effect as the head of the dog broke away and slid along the floor.

“Get back in your stall,” Amy said, “You’re a civilian.”

“Because you’ve got this all under control, Officer?” Godfrey asked.

 Amy sighed. “I liked it better when men stayed at home and kept house. Have you got the room in your place?”  

“Yeah, plenty of room,” he said, swinging at a dog.

“Good,” Amy said. She waved to the handful of people behind her. “Let’s get going.”

Godfrey and Othollo led the way back toward his stall, doing their best to keep the dogs at bay. “Get back from the door,” Godfrey yelled, running the last few feet. He pulled the door open. A Khloe boy ran through, followed by a group of school age girls.

Then he heard Amy screaming. He turned to see her on the ground, a dog above her with its saw extended, cutting into her belly.

 Godfrey ran for her, swinging at the dog with all of his strength. The ax head stuck in the dog’s body, he had to brace himself to pull it out. A  teenage boy with a head full of curly blond hair lifted Amy off of the ground. “Where are we going?” he asked.  

“This way,” Godfrey said, looking around for dogs.

They managed to get her through the door and into the greenhouse, where the others had collected. A dog banged into the door just as Godfrey got it closed.

Mason saw Amy and grabbed a couple of the blankets that Godfrey used to protect the plants when it was cold. “Set her down here,” he said.

Godfrey and the boy brought her to the spot and laid her down. “I’m an intern at the hospital,” the boy said, pulling a white box from his belt. Godfrey recognized it as an emergency care kit. “Hey, I’m Eric,” the boy said, kneeling next to her, “Don’t worry, I’m going to get you cleaned up, okay? Can you tell me your name?”

“Amy Wilson,” she said, wincing. “I think I’m going to need a little more than cleaned up.”

“Nah, you’ll be fine,” Eric said, “This is nothing.” The smile he gave her said otherwise. He pulled open her shirt and pressed a cloth from his kit against the wound.  

Godfrey’s wrist pad, a gift forced upon him by Sennett, lit up. “Godfrey?” Ki said. Her quartz like pink hair was shining with a line of sweat along her brow. Her red skin was flushed, her eyeliner smudged. He’d never seen her look so out of her element.  

“Your timing couldn’t be better,” Godfrey said, “You wouldn’t believe what’s going on here.”

“Please tell me it’s a bunch of homicidal robotic dogs,” Ki said, “Because that’s what’s happening here and I don’t think we can handle anything else right now.”

“Well, good new then,” Godfrey said, “Officer Wilson is hurt, can you look at her through this thing?”

“Yeah, take me over there,” Ki said.

Godfrey held up his wrist so that she could see Amy and Eric. “I’m going to need you to lift that cloth up, Intern,” she said.

“Yes, Doctor,” Eric said, carefully lifting it.

“She’s probably got internal bleeding,” Ki said, “Have you done your training on INR’s?”

“Yes, but I haven’t really used them before,” Eric said.

“What are INR’s?” April whispered.

“Internal nanite repairs,” Mason said.

A banging sound on the wall caught Godfrey’s attention. “I’m giving you to Eric,” he said to Ki, then took his wrist pad off and set it next to the boy.

“What are we going to do if they come through the walls?” Mason asked.

“Boy I wish I had an answer to that question,” Godfrey said.

The kids were huddled together, looking around them as the robot dogs crashed into the greenhouse from every side. “What’s going on?” one of the girls asked.

“That’s another good question,” Godfrey said.

“Oh, shit,” Eric whispered. Amy was choking, blood was coming from her mouth.

“Uncle Mason, help her!” April cried.

“I can’t,” Mason said, “I’m not a doctor.”

Amy was reaching for Eric. “I, I need-,” she said. Then she laid back onto the blanket. She wasn’t choking anymore. She wasn’t breathing anymore either.

“My God, she’s dead,” one of the girls whispered.

Godfrey set a hand on her neck, just to prove to himself that there was no pulse. April and Khal’lee started crying, as the banging continued from outside.

“Godfrey,” Ki said sharply from his wrist pad. He picked up his wrist pad. “We just lost her,” he said.

“I know, and I’m sorry,” she said, “I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but we don’t have the time to mourn her right now. We need to focus on getting the rest of you out of there. We’ve got the hospital on lock down.”

“Why don’t we stay here,” Godfrey said, “The dogs can’t get us here.”

“What if someone else gets injured?” Ki asked, “What if the dogs break through your greenhouse? Godfrey, are you really comfortable betting all of those people’s lives on a greenhouse you put together yourself?”

“Okay, come get us, then,” Godfrey said.

“Yeah, I can’t actually do that,” Ki said, “All of our personal transporters have been disabled.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because we’re on lock down and the hospital officials don’t want all of us leaving to get our families.”

“That complicates things,” Godfrey said, “How am I supposed to get these people up there?”

“They’ll listen to you,” Ki said, giving him a smile. “You’re convincing like that. Just get to me safe.”

 “I will,” he said, though he didn’t feel nearly as confident as he was trying to sound. He strapped his wrist pad back on and turned to face the others.  

“The hospital has been established as a safe house. I intend to head that way,” he said.

“How?” Mason asked, “I can’t imagine the transit’s still running.”

“We’ll have to try,” Godfrey said. As he spoke, he heard the sound of dogs hammering on the outside of the greenhouse. “Look, I don’t know how long this place will hold. If we’re at the hospital, the authorities know where we are and they can help us.”

“But what if Mommy comes here looking for us?” April asked.

“Have we heard from her?” Godfrey asked.

“No, nothing,” Mason said.

“Most likely she’s dealing with this situation. Mason, it’s up to you, though. I’m not April’s guardian. Look, I’m not going to insist that any of you come with me. If you want to stay in the greenhouse, you’re more than welcome. Help yourself to as much food as you want. If any of you want to come with me, I only promise that I’ll do anything I can to get you there safely.”

Another dog hit the wall, denting it.

“I think I’ll trust you on this one,” Mason said, giving the dent a wary look.

“I am happy to come with you as well,” Othollo said.

Godfrey knelt in front of Khal’Lee. “Honey, where’s your mom and dad?” he asked.

“My dad’s at work,” Khal’Lee said.

“Who were you at the market with?” Othollo asked.

“And why weren’t you at school?” April asked.

“Um,” Khal’Lee said, “I kind of skipped.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Godfrey said, “The only thing that matters right now is keeping you kids safe until we get you back with your parents. Can you trust me to do that?”

The boy looked up at him, his brilliant glowing eyes wide. “Yes, sir,” he said.

“Good boy,” Godfrey said, “Who else is coming?”

Eric and the other teenagers looked at each other. “I’ll come,” he said, and the others nodded in agreement. 

“Okay,” Godfrey said, “If we’re going to be risking our lives together, girls, we should at least know everyone’s names. I’m Godfrey, this is Mason and April.” He pointed toward each person as he said their name. “You seem to already know Eric, but that’s Khal’Lee and Othollo.”

The three Earthian girl’s looked at each other. “I’m Calli,” one pale girl, with blond hair and a large pair of ornamental glasses said.

“Becca,” said the second, who had a head full of braids and a Foundation Party pin on the front of her shirt.

 “Connie,” said the last one. She was easily the tallest, in fact, taller than anyone in the room.  

Finally, the Khloe boy spoke. “My name’s Tu,” he said.

“Godfrey,” Mason said, “You should take Officer Wilson’s weapons.”

“Why me?” Godfrey asked.

“Because you have the most experience with guns,” Mason replied.

 Godfrey sighed. He picked up Amy’s weapon and tucked it into his belt. “Stay close everyone.”  

Othollo cracked the door open. There were only two dogs in sight. Godfrey shot one, but it shook off the blast and ran for them. Mason brought a crowbar down on its head, but it kept coming. Othollo swung his pipe.

The dog lunged at Mason. He hit it hard with his crowbar, launching it a few feet. “Damn they’re heavy,” he cried, holding his arm.

“I have him!” Othollo cried, jumping between Mason and the dog.

Again, the dog ran around Othollo to get to Mason.

Godfrey, fighting his own dog, couldn’t stop it. Mason jammed his crowbar into the dog’s open mouth, then wrenched it upward.

The dog broke open, spilling organs out onto the ground.  

 “It wouldn’t come near me,” Othollo said. He walked over to the dog that Godfrey was fighting and gave it a solid kick in its side. It whimpered, shying away from him before launching itself at Godfrey again.  

He shot again, finally disabling it. Mason crouched down, inspecting the organ’s that had fallen from the first dog. “These are all Earthling,” he said, “And they’re all in good condition. I think they’re harvesting them.”

“How do you know they’re Earthling?” Eric asked.

“I’m a biologist,” Mason said, “I’d be a piss poor student if I couldn’t tell Earth organs from others.”

“What’s a tech freak like you studying biology for?” Godfrey asked.

 “Because I want to make biotech,” Mason said, “Hey, can you judge my life later if I still have it?”

“Does that mean the dogs won’t attack me?” Othollo asked. 

“Maybe,” Mason said, “Or maybe it’s just this one dog that’s programmed to collect human organs and other dogs are programmed to collect Toth organs.”

“I hadn’t thought of it in that way,” Othollo said.

“How about we get to the transit station without attracting too many more of these things?” Godfrey asked. Even as he spoke, they could hear more dogs coming around the corner of the greenhouse. He knelt to grab Khal’Lee and pull him onto his back. Mason did the same with April, and they ran.

When the transit was in site, Godfrey risked a look back. There were a handful of dogs just behind them, but he could see more in the distance, gaining fast.

Suddenly April screamed. Godfrey turned to see Mason sprawled on the ground, he must have tripped. A dog jumped towards her and caught hold of her jacket.

 Then it stopped. It let go of her and started sniffing her all over. Then it sat down and yipped at her.  

Mason scrambled to his feet. He scooped her up and kept running.

A transit train was waiting at the station, having just arrived. Godfrey jumped for it, the others just a moment behind him. When they were all in he turned and started firing, keeping the dogs at bay until the doors closed and the transit left the station. 

© 2026 Nicole Luttrell. All rights reserved.

You can download You Can’t Trust The AI now everywhere, including Amazon, Barns & Noble and Smashwords.


And, get Station 86 Volume One, in paperback for the first time, on October Second.

0

You Can’t Trust The AI, Episode Two

Sennett Montgomery sat in the Commissioner’s office, drinking klav and carefully stretching the kinks out of her neck. The transmission beads on the ends of her hair, set in thousands of braids, clicked together gently as she moved. They were the only sound in the room.

Commissioner Bernice Schultz was late for their appointment, and Sennett was grateful for it. Between her increased responsibilities at work and the ordeal of moving into her mother’s house, it was the first peace and quiet she’d gotten in two weeks. Besides, Schultz had inherited a hell of a mess. Sennett wouldn’t have touched the commissioner job for anything.

Of course, her break couldn’t last forever. The office door opened, and Commissioner Schultz came in.

Schultz had been a detective for years, but Sennett didn’t think that she’d ever heard her say more than two words. When she’d first been promoted, Sennett had worried that this quiet, small woman with pale skin and short cropped hair wouldn’t be up to the current clusterfuck that was the station. What she hadn’t reckoned with was Schultz’s sheer energy level. She came into the room looking as though this was the first thing she’d done all day.

 “Montgomery,” she said, as Sennett got to her feet, “Good to see you. Sorry, it took me so long to get you in here.”  

“It’s fine,” Sennett said, “I guess you haven’t assigned me a partner yet?”

 “No,” Schultz said. She sat at her desk and gestured for Sennett to sit as well. “It’s getting done, don’t worry. But there isn’t a senior detective without a partner. We’ll figure something out. In the meantime, I’m sure we can find something for you to do.”  

“I’m fine with that,” Sennett said, “I’m still trying to convince myself that this is real. I’ve wanted to be a detective since I was a kid.”

“Well,” Schultz said, “I think we all know that it should have happened sooner than it did. Stone was-,”

Almost without thinking about it, Sennett touched the black band across her detective badge.

“Stone was a murderer and a traitor,” she said, “It’s hard to be angry that she didn’t promote me because of my Khloe husband.”

  “Donovan was a good officer,” Schultz said, “We’ll be hard-pressed to replace him. And we owe it to him to make sure that not a single Core member remains on this station.”  

“Voit and Stone lived here for years before we found out they were Core,” Sennett said.

“Ah, but we weren’t looking for them,” Schultz said, “We’re smarter now.”

“I hope so,” Sennett said.

“How’s your little girl?” Schultz asked.

“She’s doing okay. She’s with my brother Mason on campus right now. Mason owes some work to Godfrey Anders, so he’s been finding excuses to stay on campus to avoid him.”

 Schultz laughed. Just then, her desk screen went blank. Sennett’s wrist pad, which had been on the screen saver, did the same. “What’s this?” she muttered.  

Both screens came back on, showing the IHP logo for a moment. Then it was replaced by an image of an Earthian man. Sennett was sure that she’d never seen him before, but there was something familiar about him.

“This is a message, for every member of-,”

“What the hell is this?” Schultz said, trying to regain control of her screen. “It’s got to be coming from a secure IHP facility, but where?”

“We don’t hear from them in months, then they hijack our whole comm system?” Sennett asked. They both turned to their screens as the rest of the message played.

“Don’t let any unknown-”.

“Unknown what?” Schultz whispered.

“An undeclared ship arrived just a little while ago,” Sennett said.

“My son, Godfrey,” the man said.

“That’s why he looks so familiar,” Sennett whispered, “Godfrey looks just like him.”

“What was that you said about an undeclared ship?” Schultz asked.

“It’s the same kind of thing we get every day,” Sennett said, “Still, seems weird.”

“Can you go down to Level One and check it out?” Schultz asked.

“Sure, no problem,” Sennett said with a nod.

“Take the bullet shuttle to save time,” Schultz said. Sennett nodded. She still thought this was an overreaction, but she wasn’t going to argue about a trip on the bullet shuttle.

Level One was always a fantastic mess, no matter the time of day. Shuttles came in from everywhere in every time zone. They carried tourists, visiting dignitaries from other stations and planets as well as relatives coming for visits. Sennett found no exception to this rule when she arrived at Level One. It was a sea of people from every humanoid planet. She saw Khloe people, like Godfrey’s wife and her former husband, with pink or red skin and crystal like hair. She saw Toth people, almost indistinguishable from Earthians until one saw their black eyes and nail beds. The most visible people were the Ma’sheed, who came from a planet with a dark sun that gave off warmth but no light. The Ma’sheed and every other living thing on their planet were bioluminescent.  

 Officers were calling people away from the docking station, probably on orders from Schultz. Sennett made her way towards them to help and was surprised to see Joy Wheatly and Howard Stoat standing near the barrier that the police were trying in vain to enforce.  

“Marshals,” Sennett said, “Maybe you should head back up to Level Two.”

 “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell them,” said a haggard looking man standing beside them. He was a heavy man, who seemed to have been strained by the day’s events already. His face was red, his tie was off center.  

“Sennett,” Howard said with a grin. “Have you met Leon? He’s our new head of security.”

“And as such, I suggested strongly that Level One might not be a safe environment if an unknown ship is docking,” Leon said.

“Son, you saw that message the same as the rest of us,” Joy said, her eyebrows arched. “If whatever comes off of that ship is dangerous, I don’t want to hear about it second hand.”

“I just hope we’re not explaining it second hand to your successor,” Leon said.

“There’s a ship from Toth trying to come in, let’s have them circle the block,” Howard said into his wrist cuff.

“Which one is the unannounced ship?” Sennett asked. Leon pointed to one a few docking stations away.

The ship was a standard civilian transporter, common for station to station travel. As Sennett watched, the passenger door opened.

 A small robotic dog walked out of the ship.  It looked like an Earth terrier, with floppy ears, a long snout, and a short tail. Its body was silver and chrome. Sennett expected it to walk in a jerky fashion, but its movements were smooth, as though it was a living animal.  

 “Hell,” Howard laughed, “we were all worried about a little dog.”  

Sennett tapped the two metal dots on her temple to pull up her virtual visor. Information about the dog appeared in front of her eyes. “It’s got artificial intelligence,” she said, “Looks like it’s a model built on Station 88.”

“We’ll need to quarantine it, then,” Joy said, “You know that AI isn’t allowed on this station.”

“Oh, that’s such an outdated law,” Howard said.

“Sir, don’t you remember Station 90?” Leon asked.

“That was a simple overreaction to a flu outbreak,” Howard said.

“A simple overreaction that caused twenty-seven deaths,” Joy replied, “Then there was that incident in Russia on Earth.” 

“What happened in Russia?” Sennett asked.

“A hospital was using AI nurses to look after newborns. They were killing babies that they didn’t feel were healthy enough,” Joy said.

“There was an investigation into that one,” Howard said, “I still think their government was behind it.”

 A row of dogs was coming from the ship. These ones looked more like Dobermans, with larger bodies and sharper looking faces.  

“What the hell is going on?” Sennett asked.

The dogs walked to the barrier. They looked around at the guards and citizens. Then, as one, they started doing something that resembled sniffing.

“Let’s clear the civilians out of here,” Joy said. “Everyone, get back, please!”

She snapped her fingers, trying to gain the attention of the people around her. But even those who could hear her didn’t seem inclined to listen. Sennett saw some people lean down to touch the dogs, who didn’t seem to respond to the caresses.

Sennett took Howard by the arm when he reached for one of them. “I think this is about to be a bad situation, sir,” she said.

“Oh, Sennett, you’ve been spending too much time around Foundation members,” Howard said, “This is strange, but I don’t think there’s any reason to panic. They’re just little dogs.”

Then a man started screaming.

One of the dogs jumped, pulling a man to the ground. It was holding him down with its paws, a surgical saw extending from its belly. There were screams from all around the Level as other dogs attacked. 

“Get these people out of here!” Sennett cried, pulling Howard back. She drew her weapon, a simple air gun, and started firing. It did nothing.

“Well, that’s not good,” Sennett muttered.

Leon pulled a steel battalion from his belt, extending it with a flick of his wrist. He pulled Joy behind him and swung at the dog that jumped at him. The dog bounced back, shook itself, and lunged again.

Deciding that she didn’t have another option, Sennett pulled a second weapon, a disrupter, from her back pocket. She started firing at the closest dogs, shutting down their power one by one.

“Do all of the officers have those?” Howard asked.

“No, they’re actually illegal,” Sennett said, “Too dangerous for street use.”

 Joy had pulled an electric pistol from her belt. “Seal the transit! Don’t let these things off of this level,” she called, firing at the dogs.  

Sennett and Joy fired again and again. But the AI dogs just kept coming, in a steady line from the ship. And the transit was still running.

© 2026 Nicole Luttrell. All rights reserved.

You can download You Can’t Trust The AI now everywhere, including Amazon, Barns & Noble and Smashwords.


And, get Station 86 Volume One, in paperback for the first time, on October Second.

0

Seeming, Episode Three

Godfrey froze, the barrel of the gun pressed against his temple. He could feel his heartbeat in every part of his body, and he couldn’t help but wonder how long he would have that luxury.

“Let him go,” Montgomery yelled, leveling her weapon at the assassin. What the hell did she think that was going to do?

The assassin didn’t respond. She squeezed Godfrey’s arm with a frightening grip. “You humans,” she hissed. She had the metallic voice of a Khloe. “How superior you all think you are.”

“I don’t know why you’re doing this,” Godfrey said, “but there has to be another way to make your message clear. You won’t have many allies among the Earthlings or the Khloe if you’re killing people.”

“What makes you think I have a message?” the woman laughed, “We just want to see as many of you dead as possible.”

“I said let him go!” Montgomery yelled.

“Can we maybe not antagonize her when she’s got a gun to my head?” Godfrey snapped.

“This isn’t a gun,” the assassin said, “But you might wish it was. It’s an acid injector. That’s why your fellow council member’s brain is currently leaking out of her ears. Do you know what? I think she’s still alive.”

“Please, I’ve never done anything to the Khloe people,” Godfrey said, “My wife’s Khloe.”

“And you think that makes you better than them?” she screamed.

Montgomery was doing something to the pad on her wrist. Suddenly the assassin’s weapon made a popping noise. She dropped it with a shout.

“Now get on the ground and put your hands behind your head, or I’ll find out what else you’ve got that’s electronic,” Montgomery said.

But the assassin had already pulled a coin like device from her pocket and clicked it. She vanished.

Montgomery ran to Godfrey, the other officer was still with Councilwoman McAvoy. “Are you injured?” she asked.

“She, she’s a Khloe,” Godfrey said. All of the adrenaline was leaving his body, and he nearly sank to the ground. “I think there might be more than one assassin.”

“Why?” Montgomery asked.

“Because when I asked her why she was doing this, she said we don’t have a reason, not I don’t have one,” Godfrey snapped, “And thanks so much for dragging me right into the line of fire, by the way. What the hell did you hit her with?”

Montgomery glanced up, as though making sure that her fellow officer couldn’t hear. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, “It’s a focused electric disrupter. They’re not strictly legal.”

“Great, a cop with connections who thinks she’s above the rules,” Godfrey muttered, “That never goes wrong.”

“Right, I’ll just let you get shot,” she snapped, offering him her hand. He took it because he wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to rise without help.

The transit station was growing thick with cops. Godfrey brushed the dust from his knees as Commissioner Stone walked up to them. He took a deep breath as she said, “Councilman Anders, are you alright?”

‘That’s right,’ Godfrey thought, ‘I’m a person of authority, not some farmer’s punk son. You’re going to be nice to me.’

“I’m fine,” he said, “I almost wasn’t, thanks to your officer, though. She drug me out of the transit window on that insane disc thing of hers.”

The commissioner’s eyebrow arched. “I am sorry if you were frightened, Councilman. I assure you, Montgomery is one of our finest uniforms. She wouldn’t have put you in danger.”

“I don’t agree,” Godfrey replied. Montgomery was standing at attention next to the commissioner, giving him a deadly glare.

Unfortunately, the officer who’d been on the scene when Godfrey and Montgomery had arrived chose that moment to approach. She set a hand on Montgomery’s shoulder, and said, “Thank God you showed up when you did. She’d have probably killed us both if you hadn’t, and all these other civilians.”

Damn their sorority mentality.

“I don’t like how this situation is escalating,” Commissioner Stone said, watching as an emergency medical team lifted Councilwoman McAvoy’s body into a transport pod. “Sennett, I’m sorry, I know you were on duty all day, but I need you to stay with Councilman Anders until I can free someone else up. It might not be until tomorrow.”

Montgomery nodded. “The killer’s pride might be hurt, failing to get both of them. There’s a good chance she’ll try again.”

“No,” Godfrey snapped, “I’m not having this woman in my house.”

Apparently, he wasn’t an important enough person to get away with that. “Councilman, I don’t think you understand the gravity of this situation,” she said, giving him a hard look. “You are the target of a dangerous killer. We’ve already lost two council members and I’ll be damned if we’ll lose another.”

“Fine, alright,” Godfrey muttered, “I’m sure that Officer Montgomery will make a very pleasant house guest.”

“Take the bullet shuttle, I’m upping your access,” Commissioner Stone said, fiddling with her wrist pad. Montgomery nodded and guided him to the circular tube that went straight down the center of the station. It was a bit of a walk from the transit to the shuttle. Montgomery didn’t seem to have anything to say to Godfrey, who felt as though he’d pushed his luck already. She didn’t seem the type to hit a man, but he didn’t want to find out.

Montgomery started to press things on her wrist pad again, and Godfrey heard Howard Stoat’s voice. “My fellow members of Station 86,” he said, “In light of the last few days events, I have a favor to ask you. Please, take care of your neighbors as we get through this together. Keep alert, keep safe and report suspicious activity to the brave police and IHP officers who protect us. For those of us who are faithful, pray for the families of the citizens we’ve lost. I will be attending a prayer service at the Grand Choral Star Synagogue this evening at seven.

“I know that we are struggling with our council for more of a voice in our community. We have a long way to go to achieve that right, a right that we should not have to ask for. But right now is not the time for political fighting. Now is the time to pull together, and look after each other.”

“Isn’t he smarmy,” Godfrey said as they reached the shuttle.

“Shut up,” Montgomery replied, waving her wrist pad over the security screen to open the door.

They remained silent in the shuttle and as they walked through the streets of the residential level toward Godfrey’s house. They were on his block when he heard a hissing sound behind them.

They turned, Montgomery setting a hand to her weapon. Saul Mai stood behind them. He raised his hands when he saw them, saying, “Don’t shoot, Officer.”

“What are you doing here?” Godfrey asked.

“I had to talk to you,” Saul said, “Godfrey, my wife kicked me out.”

“Wonder why,” Montgomery said.

“I didn’t touch Elizabeth,” Saul said, “The council is making this up to get me out of the way.”

“Why would they do that?” Montgomery asked.

“Are you kidding me? They’ve got ultimate power here, and I threaten that. Do you think I’m the first, Officer?”

“I don’t see anyone accusing Marshal Stoat of anything,” Montgomery replied.

Saul snorted, “That’s because no one likes him, Ma’am. Godfrey, please. You’re on the council, you might be the only one who can help me.”

Godfrey considered Saul. His hands were shaking, and his eyes were red. His normally handsome face was splotchy as though he’d been sobbing. Was it from fighting with his wife, or guilt?

“I don’t know, Saul,” he said finally.

Saul ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m not asking you to put me up. I’m not asking for money or anything like that.”

“Saul, I’ve seen the evidence,” Godfrey said.

“It’s not real! Come on, you can see that, can’t you? Look at the evidence, really look at it,” He glanced around, as though worried someone might spot him. “I’ll contact you soon. Keep safe, Godfrey. I don’t know how you got on the council, but I think having you there might be our only hope for freedom.”

As he turned, and faded away into the street, Montgomery said, “That was messed up. I can see why you’d want to distance yourself from him.”

“Shut up,” Godfrey said. They continued towards his house. “Can you get that video, maybe take a look at it?”

“No, but you can,” she replied, “You’re the one on the council, not me.”

They walked into the house. Ki was already home, stretched out on the couch, watching tv. She looked up and blinked a few times when she saw Montgomery. “So, you had an interesting first day, I take it?” she asked.

The next morning, Godfrey stumbled into the kitchen to find Montgomery sitting at his table, sipping klav and typing on a virtual keyboard. She glanced up when he came in, and nodded. “Did Ki leave for work already?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, looking back at the screen hovering in front of her. “She’s nice. What’s she doing with you?”

Godfrey ignored her and started pulling eggs from the fridge. “Sending a report?” he asked.

“Sending an email to my kid,” she replied.

“Does her dad mind that you’ve been at work all night?” Godfrey asked.

“She doesn’t have a dad,” Montgomery said, “My brother’s in higher education. He lives with us, and looks after her while I’m at work.”

“Oh, you had her made, then?” He cracked eggs into a bowl.

“I suppose you’ll have one the old fashioned way on purpose, with no advancements or bacterial protections,” she snapped, sipping her drink. “I mean, in this day and age, why not risk a slew of physical and mental handicaps with an old fashioned birth.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t clear enough with my scorn,” he replied, “I was just thinking how selfish it was to become a single parent on purpose.”

“Tell me how I should raise my kid, with all that experience you have,” she snapped.

He sighed. “Any excitement last night?” he asked.

“One of your neighbor’s dogs got into your trash can,” she said. After taking another long sip of her drink, she added, “I let him.”

He finished cooking eggs and toast, then sat down at the table with her to eat. She made a face at his plate but didn’t say anything.

“I suppose I can’t go to my shop today,” Godfrey said.

“No, what with the killer and all,” she replied.

“Ah,” he said. He finished the rest of his meal in silence.

He was just putting his plate in the dishwasher when Ki burst through the front door. Her shirt was torn so badly that she had to hold it together to cover her front.

“What’s going on?” Godfrey asked.

“I was sent home, for my safety!” Ki cried, “Godfrey, why the hell didn’t you tell me that you almost died yesterday, or that this killer is Khloe? Why did I have to find out from a nurse, after being spit at on the way to work?”

“How did people find out?” Godfrey asked.

“The only people who are supposed to know are police,” Montgomery said, already tapping away at her wrist pad. “Let me see what I can find out.”

“And why didn’t you tell me?” Ki asked her.

Montgomery shrugged. “You’re not my wife,” she said.

Ki muttered, and went to their bedroom to change. Godfrey followed after her. “What happened to your shirt?” he asked.

“Some bitch grabbed me on the transit,” she snapped, pulling it off and throwing it in the trash bin.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said, “I didn’t want you to be afraid.”

“Sure, yeah, you just almost died,” Ki said.

Before he could respond, there was a knock on the bedroom door. “Sorry,” Montgomery called, “but I just heard from Commissioner Stone. We’re getting all of the council members to a safe house on Level 2.”

“Why?” Godfrey called, “If they were gonna to do that, why didn’t they do it last night?”

“Because last night there were only two dead council members,” she called. “Councilwoman Heart and her wife were found dead this morning in their house.”

Godfrey opened the door while Ki pulled on a new shirt. “What happened to her police protection?” he asked.

“I guess she didn’t want to let him in the house,” Montgomery replied, “The officer is stating that he didn’t see anyone around the house, no one knows how the killer got in.”

“Maybe he was asleep on the job,” Godfrey replied.

“It was Officer Derick Donovan, who happens to be a good friend of mine and graduated with the highest marks to come out of the academy in three years,” she replied, “Now would you two pack? One bag a piece, please.”

“Fantastic,” Godfrey said, “House arrest wasn’t bad enough?”

“Like this sounds like a vacation for me?” Montgomery said. She stormed towards the living room, muttering. “Haven’t slept in two nights, damned spoiled brat.”

Montgomery led Godfrey and Ki to the bullet shuttle, a hand on her weapon and her eyes scanning the scant crowd on Level 8. Godfrey considered for a moment telling her to stop scaring his neighbor’s, but then he noticed the dirty and frightened looks Ki was attracting.

Level 2 was as quiet as ever. Even so, Montgomery was alert. She led them through the rows of buildings.

“Where are we going?” Ki asked.

“There’s a collection of safe houses, for when we need to keep someone under police surveillance,” Montgomery said.

“Why here?” Godfrey asked, “Why not on Level 10 with the barracks and prison?”

Montgomery gave him a grin. “Mostly because that’s where people would assume it would be.”

The building was non-descriptive, square with circular tinted windows, with cream-colored walls and a light blue door.

Inside, the furnishing was simple. A pair of off-white couches and some matching chairs sat in a circle in the living room. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a white chrome counter.

Councilman Chan and his wife were there already, sitting on the couch and whispering quietly together. Councilwoman Mostevich was there alone, a screen in front of her while she typed away on a virtual keyboard. Her head snapped up when she saw Ki, though.

“She can’t be here,” she said.

“What are you talking about?” Godfrey asked, “Mrs. Chan is here.”

“Mrs. Chan is Earthian,” Mostevich replied.

“Excuse me, It’s not your place to say if she can be here or not,” Godfrey said.

Councilman Chan gave Ki a wary glance. “I would feel more comfortable if Mrs. Anderson was not here as well. It’s nothing personal, Ma’am.”

“No,” Ki said, “I imagine you wouldn’t want any Khloe woman here right now.”

She turned toward the door. “Wait,” Godfrey said. He’d set down his bag, but he scooped it up again. “I’m not staying without you.”

“You can’t leave, Anders,” Mostevich said.

“I don’t care,” Godfrey said, “If I’m in danger then so is Ki.”

“What is all the yelling for?” Councilwoman Voit asked, coming through the front door.

Montgomery stood at attention. “Councilwoman, some of the others are concerned about the presence of Mrs. Anders,” she said.

“Really?” Councilwoman Voit asked.

“Sonya, you can’t pretend your comfortable with this,” Councilwoman Mostevich said, “She’s a Khloe.”

“Emma, what are you thinking?” Councilwoman Voit said. She put an arm around Ki. “You know, when I came to live here on Station 86, I was so proud. This is the station of First Contact, the beacon of sisterhood with our fellow humanoid species. Haven’t we, as a race, evolved far enough to not judge people by the color of their skin? Or are we really still so stupid?”

None of the council members seemed to have a response to this. “Alright,” Councilwoman Voit said, “now that this is settled, we can move onto more important matters. What’s for lunch?”

While the council members and their spouses ate a meal of simulated roast beef and thick slices of Horchee, a glowing green root vegetable from Toth, several more officers arrived. Montgomery seemed to know them all, greeting each one. They ate sandwiches and sipped klav, coffee and tea in the living room while keeping their eyes on the doors and front windows.

After the meal had been cleared away, Councilwoman Voit said, “It’s time to get down to business now, I think. Ki, Melissa, would you two mind giving us the room?”

“I’ll go lay down, I think,” Ki said, giving Godfrey a kiss on the cheek. She and Mrs. Chan left.

“So,” Voit said, setting her elbows on the table. “I know this is a difficult time. Heather, Shannon and especially Thorn were close friends of mine.”

“It’s been a shock to the whole station,” Councilman Chan said, “I can’t remember the last time someone was killed here.”

One of the officers gave a derisive snort, but none of the others said anything.

“I think that may be a bit more optimistic that realistic,” Voit said, “But we certainly have never had something like this happen. So, thoughts on how we should proceed?”

“It seems to me,” Godfrey said, “that we have more questions than we should right now. We’ve only seen one assassin at a time, but something that she said to me leads me to think there may be a whole organization.”

Voit looked over at him quickly. “Really?” she asked, “What did she say?”

“When I told her that she wasn’t going to do her cause any good, killing people, she said, ‘We just want to kill as many of you as possible’.”

Voit nodded. “She might have meant ‘we’ as in the whole Khloe community. Perhaps she believes that her people are on her side.”

“I think it’s likely that we’re just looking at a lone gunwoman,” Councilwoman Mostevich said, “Only one has been seen so far, at least.”

“Isn’t it possible that there are more people in her organization, just not killers?” Councilman Chan asked.

“It doesn’t hurt to assume that there are more, even if we’re wrong,” Godfrey said.

“Unless it distracts us,” Voit said, “Let’s focus on the one we know is there until we have something substantial to prove that there are more.”

“I hate that we’re on the defensive,” Mostevich said, “Can’t the police find anything?”

“We have them out day and night searching,” Voit said.

“And yet no one saw anything last night when Heart and her wife were killed,” Chan said, earning some glares from the officers in the living room.

“We have to act,” Mostevich said, “We know the killer is Khloe. We need to consider monitoring our Khloe citizens. It might not hurt to have them stay somewhere secure for a time.”

Godfrey raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? No, we can’t do that.”

“It’s not a punishment,” Councilman Chan said, “If anything, it’s for their safety. People are scared, and scared people can become violent people.”

“Your wife could stay with you if you prefer,” Mostevich said.

“That’s hardly the point,” Godfrey said.

“Excuse me.”

The council members looked over. Montgomery was standing in the center of the living room, her arms crossed. The other officers stood around her.

“I know that I’m not a council member, and haven’t earned a voice among you,” she said, “I also know that while my birth parents and foster mother were from Earth, I’m not. But we still learn about internment camps up here on the stations. We still know the term Crystal Noct. And I can promise you that if you lock up Station 86 citizens because they’re from a different planet, I’ll drop my badge right here, right now.” The officers behind her nodded in agreement.

“We need more like you, Sennett,” Voit said, “She’s right. I won’t condone seizing our own people.”

“Me either,” Godfrey said.

“Well, I guess I’m a little more concerned with people’s safety than hurting someone’s feelings,” Mostevich said.

Chan looked back and forth for a moment. Everyone was looking at him, and he didn’t seem comfortable with that.

Finally, he said, “It’s something I don’t think we should rule out, but I’m not sure it’s the time for it.”

“Alright, any other arguments, for or against?” Voit asked. When no one volunteered anything, she said, “Great, let’s get on to other matters.”

The rest of the day was full of virtual meetings with Commissioner Stone and leaders from other stations. Eventually, evening came. Ki and Mrs. Chan joined them for dinner.

They were just finishing their meal when an alarm went off on Councilwoman Voit’s wrist pad. She pressed a button, and everyone could hear the voice of Su, the Khloe ambassador. “I am sorry to trouble you so late into the evening,” she said, “but I have just heard from President Ly.”

“No trouble at all,” Voit said, “I’m glad you called.”

“President Ly has received your message, and is coming to the station to handle the matter,” Su said. “She will arrive in two days.”

“Wonderful,” Voit said, “I always look forward to her visits.”

“I am sure that the president looks forward to seeing you as well,” Su said.

Voit finished the call and looked around the table.

“What did she mean, handle the matter?” Godfrey asked.

Voit shook her head. “President Ly is very strict with her people. I wouldn’t be surprised if she intends to come hunt the killer down herself. It’s not like we couldn’t use the help.”

Despite the unfamiliar room, Ki fell asleep almost as soon as they went to bed that night. He supposed she had been up hours before him. Godfrey lay next to her for awhile, on the bed that wasn’t theirs. Finally, unable to take the silence and worried he would wake her, he slipped out into the living room.

Most of the officers were asleep. Montgomery and one other were awake, sitting on the floor leaning against the back of the couch. “Everything alright, Councilman?” the officer asked.

“Fine,” Godfrey said, “Just, you know, can’t sleep.”

“I’m going to do a quick walk around,” the officer said, getting to her feet.

“Something on your mind?” Montgomery asked after her fellow was gone.

“Well, all of this going on,” Godfrey said, “It’s also just, you know.”

“Not your house,” she said, nodding. “I know the feeling. I miss my place.”

“How are you still awake?” he asked.

She held up her wrist and tapped a copper band. “Targeted electric hits,” she said, “Stimulates your body the same way as caffeine.”

“Isn’t that unhealthy, though?” he asked.

“If I use it long term,” she said, “Right now, I don’t have a choice. When I take it off, I’ll crash for awhile.”

Godfrey sighed. “It feels like every year we get farther and farther away from being humans.”

“Do you think this makes me less human?” she asked.

“It makes me think you want to be less human,” he said.

She shook her head. “You’re over thinking technology. This is a tool, and it doesn’t make me less human. It just makes me a more capable human.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said, “One of the trademarks of humanity, all of the humanoid races, is that we’re frail creatures with physical and mental limitations.”

Montgomery shrugged. “Do we have to be?”

He got to his feet. “I think I’m going to try to get some sleep.”

She nodded, looking back towards the windows.

Somehow it made Godfrey feel better, knowing that she was there to keep an eye on things. He went back into the bedroom, laid close to Ki, and fell asleep.

When Godfrey first became aware of the screaming, he thought it must surely be part of his dream. But then he saw that Ki was sitting up.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but that sounds like Mrs. Chan,” she said, getting out of bed.

They went out into the hallway. Mostevich and Voit were already there in their night clothes. Mrs. Chan was standing outside of the bedroom she’d shared with her husband the night before, crying. Montgomery came out of the bedroom. “I’m sorry, he’s dead,” she said.

“No!” Mrs. Chan wailed.

“What happened?” Godfrey asked.

Mrs. Chan looked up, right at Ki. “You!” she screamed, “You bitch, you killed him. Why, what did he ever do to you!”

Ki took a step back. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Councilman Chan has been killed,” Voit said, rubbing her eyes

“How did this happen? We were supposed to be safe here!” Mostevich said.

“We’ve been right outside of this door all night,” Montgomery said, “No one went in there.”

“Could they have gotten in from the outside?” Mostevich asked.

“They would have had to blast through a wall,” one of the officers said, “There would be some sort of evidence. There’s nothing.”

“She killed him, I know she did!” Mrs. Chan screamed, pointing at Ki.

“Now look,” Godfrey snapped, “There’s no way Ki would have killed him. She couldn’t have. She was in bed with me all night.”

One of the officers, the one who had left to patrol the night before, said, “But that’s not true, Councilman. You came out here for a time last night.”

“He wasn’t out here that long, Joyce,” Montgomery said, “and we were still just outside of this door. We would have seen her come past. The killer has a personal transporter. She could have come from anywhere in the station. The question isn’t how she got here, it’s how she found out we were here.”

Voit looked up. “A personal transporter.”

“Yes,” Godfrey said.

“Ki, you work at the hospital,” Voit said. “You were issued a transporter for that?”

“Yes,” Ki said. She pulled a chain from around her neck that held the silver circle that was her transporter and hospital credentials.

“There, you see!” Mrs. Chan screamed.

“Mrs. Anderson, will you come with me, please?” one of the other officers asked.

“What are you doing?” Montgomery asked, “Even if she did have a transporter, he still didn’t have time to go from her room to Councilman Chan’s and kill him. Not in the time Anders was in the living room.”

“It’s too much of a coincidence,” the officer replied. She stepped forward, pulling a silver slip of paper from her belt.

“You’re arresting her?” Godfrey cried, “This is crazy!”

Ki held her wrists out, looking frightened. “Don’t be scared,” she whispered to Godfrey. “I’m innocent, so there’s no reason to be afraid of questioning.”

Godfrey thought that she could think that all she wanted, not having grown up on Earth. “No, I’m not letting you take her!” he cried, reaching for the officer who held her.

Montgomery grabbed his arm. “Don’t,” she whispered, “Or we’ll have to bring you in.”

“Listen to her,” Ki said, as she left, the officer holding her wrists, “Listen to Sennett, Godfrey. I’ll see you soon.”

Godfrey felt as though he couldn’t breathe. He watched as Ki was led out of sight, trying desperately to take a breath.

“I can’t, I can’t stay here,” he said and stumbled for the door.

“Godfrey, you can’t leave,” Voit said, “We’re in a crisis.”

“I don’t care!” he cried.

He rushed outside before anyone could stop him. He didn’t even know where he intended to go, just that he couldn’t stay there.

He was a few blocks away before he realized he wasn’t alone. Montgomery, Sennett, had followed him. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” she asked, “Look, there’s a bench over there. Sit down a minute.”

She steered him over to the bench and gave him a push. “She’ll go to jail for this,” he said, “She could be killed there.”

Sennett stood in front of him and crossed her arms. “No, she won’t,” she said, “because we’re going to find the real killer first.”

© 2026 Nicole Luttrell. All rights reserved.

You can download Seeming right now for free on Smashwords.


And, get Station 86 Volume One, in paperback for the first time, on October Second.

0

Nova, Chapter three

Wait, this isn’t the start of the story! If you need to catch up, start here.

And if you want to go all the way back to the start of Station 86, you can get book one for free here.

Michael, Earth

A military base was a great place to be in an apocalypse. Especially when it was a secret base, underground, and known to only a handful of people. The power rarely went out. It was well stocked with food, clean water, and weapons. Lots and lots of weapons.

It was a great place if one wanted to survive a war with armored monsters who just wanted to exterminate humanity and were pretty damn good at it.

It was not a great place to raise a handful of orphaned girls, as Michael was discovering.

Commander Dent, the woman in charge of the base and the leader of the IHP, had done little more than assign them a room to live in and tell Michael to keep the kids out of the way. That room was empty except for four bunk beds and the ugliest carpeting Michael had ever seen in his life. He supposed he should be grateful. Three teenagers, one little girl, and an old man weren’t of any use to Dent. He suspected that the only reason she hadn’t turned them away entirely was that there were so few humans left, it seemed vital to keep as many alive as possible.

They were the only five people in the base who weren’t members of the International Human Protection organization, a quasi-military multi-country organization that was established when things like militaries and countries still existed. They’d been established to keep the stations safe. They sure hadn’t been established to fight the Hollow Suits. Nothing had been.

Certainly Michael, now in his sixth decade, hadn’t any idea how to fight them. Which was why he instead was looking after the children he’d managed to save while traveling from England to New York. Children that, sadly, he had not yet taught to pick up after themselves. This was why he now found himself stalking their room, shoving clothes into a basket and grumbling.

There was a gentle knock at the door frame. He looked up fast, expecting it to be one of the kids and preparing to unload on whatever unfortunate kid it was.

Instead, it was Evelyn, looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a smile that was threatening to turn into a laugh.

She was a tall woman, solidly built with dark hair cut short. An IHP captain who’d been off-planet when the Hollow Suits attacked, she didn’t normally suffer from fits of the giggles. So perhaps Michael could be forgiven for taking this personally.

“You got something to say?” he asked.

“The girls are so busy with their lessons, they can’t clean up after themselves?” she asked. Her smooth, deep British accent felt even more sophisticated compared to his twang. He was fully aware that he sounded like some outdated country bumpkin cartoon character. Nothing about the two of them matched. Evelyn looked every inch the captain that she was, in a spotless uniform and boots. He was dressed, as he usually was, in a patchy sweater and old sneakers. Not to mention his old body. Still, they had helped each other save their people, and that was enough to make them family as far as he was concerned. She was one more adopted daughter.

“These girls apparently don’t own a stitch of clothes,” he muttered. “Anytime I send one of ‘um to clean up their stuff, it always belongs to everybody else, and she can’t possibly get her stuff before everyone else gets their stuff, and not a damn thing gets picked up until I do it. I tell you, it was so much easier with Godfrey.”

“Of course it was. He was a boy, not to mention an only child,” Evelyn said. “I think you men teach us to depend on you for all these domestic things.”

“Well it ain’t like I’m doing much else,” he muttered. “The girls are basically IHP cadets at this point. They’re with Alomb, going over the new Hollow Suit intel. Ain’t nobody asked me if I want to do that.”

The clothes now collected, Michael shoved one laundry basket under his arm. Evelyn grabbed the second before he could, and the two of them headed to the laundry room together.

“Nobody’s keeping anything from you. And honestly, it isn’t much to tell.”

“Enough that the girls are having a whole lesson about it,” Michael muttered. “But all I know is that Dent was shouting at us as we came in that they were aliens from the Andromeda Galaxy like it was the greatest news ever.”

They reached the laundry room and started loading clothes into empty machines. It wasn’t a busy part of the base just then, with one dryer making a solitary hum. It smelled of the harsh chemical soap that was all the base had.

Evelyn shut the lid of the washer and started it. “It kind of felt that way, didn’t it? I mean, the whole war we haven’t known anything about the Hollow Suits at all. Just that they were big, hulking suits of metal with nothing inside we could even try to reason with.”

“Don’t feel like any of that’s changed,” Michael said. “Ain’t we still hiding from them? Has anyone managed to do any damage to them?”

“No, but we know more now. They’re not machines. They’re sentient beings, like us, the Khloe, Ma’sheed, or Toth. And we know where they’re from. Dent has this theory that if we can communicate with the Andromeda Galaxy, we can find someone there who can call the Hollow Suits back. Or at least talk to us, tell us why they’re doing this.”

“So that’s what we’re doing now? Talking to aliens that may or may not be there in literally another galaxy? We might, in fact, be the last people on Earth alive, and we’re doing what? Yelling please stop hurting us into a void that might or might not have someone in it who might or might not understand us or even give a shit?”

Evelyn leaned against the machine and crossed her arms. “I’m starting to understand why no one’s taken the time to explain all of this to you.”

Michael’s sharp retort was interrupted when a lanky, blond young man came into the laundry. He gave the two of them worried looks. “Should I come back later?” he asked.

“No, of course not, Toby,” Evelyn said. “Michael, have you met Toby yet? He’s one of our new residents.”

“You’re one of those who were healed from the nanites, right?” Michael asked, reaching out to shake his hand. “How you feelin’ after that?”

“Alright mostly,” Toby said. “Some headaches. Most of us have been getting them. But, guess that’s to be expected.”

“Sure. Little metal bugs crawled around your brain, making you act like a zombie. I’m still surprised any of you are up walking around after that.”

Toby gave Evelyn a shy smile. “Thanks to you. I mean, thanks to the cure you brought back from the stations.”

“Glad we could do it,” Evelyn said.

Michael sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs. The washing machine would take only minutes, there was no sense in going back to his room. Evelyn, to his surprise, sat down with him. “Don’t you have something important to do right now?” he asked.

“I am doing something important,” Evelyn said. “I’m checking in with you, Michael. You’re important.”

“You’re condescending,” he replied.

“No, I’m serious,” she said. “The girls depend on you. And those girls are our future. Dent was just saying the other day that the most important thing anyone in the base can be doing is taking care of those kids. If you’re right, and we are the last people on Earth, then the girls are the entirety of the next generation.”

“Oh God,” Michael muttered. “An entire generation that doesn’t know how to pick up their own clothes.”

Something crashed on the other side of the room. Toby, who’d been reaching into the wall-mounted washer for his clothes, had collapsed. Evelyn and Michael hurried over to check on him.

“I’m okay,” he said, as Evelyn helped him sit up. “Sorry, I just got a little dizzy.” He tried to stand up, but his head lolled to the side and he sat down hard again.

“Don’t try to get up just yet,” Michael said, kneeling next to the younger man. He reached out to steady him but stopped. Toby’s eyes were blood red.

“Hey, that don’t look healthy,” he said. “Evelyn, do you see this?”

Evelyn pulled a penlight from her breast pocket. She carefully used it to inspect Toby’s blood-colored eyes. “Probably a side effect of the nanites. Toby, when you’re feeling up to it, I’m going to take you to the medical ward. I want to get some scans of your head to see what’s causing this, okay?”

“Yeah,” Toby said. “I’m okay, let me just-.”

He tried to stand up and started to heave. Michael grabbed a nearby wastebasket, barely getting it in front of Toby’s face before he started puking. He looked up a few moments later, sheepishly muttering “Sorry.”

“It’s gonna happen,” Michael said, giving Toby a tentative pat on the back. “Better not to keep it in.”

Toby’s face changed, contorting with anger. He shoved Michael away. “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not one of your fucking kids.”

“Woah, there’s no call for that,” Evelyn snapped.

Back over the bucket went Toby’s head for another round of heaving. When he again looked up his eyes were their normal shade of brown circled by white again. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Don’t know where that even came from.”

“Heat of the moment. Don’t even think about it,” Michael said.

Evelyn helped Toby to his feet. “Come on, I think you need to lie down at the infirmary for a bit. Get a nice nap in and a good cup of tea.”

“I don’t like tea,” Toby said, even as he slung his arm around Evelyn’s shoulder.

“Ah, don’t be silly,” Evelyn replied. “Everyone likes tea,”

Copyright © 2024 by Nicole C. Luttrell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

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Nova, Chapter Two

Wait up! This isn’t the start of the story. Click here to jump to the prologue.

And if you need to begin at the beginning of Station 86, click here to get book one for free.

Godfrey

Sennett collapsed. She’d been pulling so hard against Godfrey and Liam that they almost fell when that pressure gave up.

“Should one of us go with them?” Liam asked, nodding his head towards Russell and Candace. “Don’t seem like a good idea leaving them alone. Aren’t they both part of the Core?”

“Couldn’t hurt to keep an eye on them,” Godfrey replied. Liam nodded and trotted after the two.

Godfrey scooped Sennett up and took her inside. Owen trailed after him.

Mason, April, and Bailey were in the living room, clearly trying to look like they hadn’t been doing their best to listen through the front door. Mason jumped when the door opened, and turned the wall screen on to a cartoon. “What happened?” he asked, as Godfrey laid Sennett on the couch. “Did Candace hit her?”

“No,” Godfrey said. “Sennett tried to attack that woman, and passed out with one of her headaches.”

“Shit,” Mason said. “I don’t guess there’s any sense in taking her to the hospital unless she doesn’t wake up soon. The only thing they did last time was hook her up to an IV. I can do that.”

“What’s the matter with her?” April asked. She picked up Bailey and held him tight. If the dog had been flesh and blood, instead of a metal terrier, she might have been constricting the poor thing.

“She just got too excited,” Godfrey said. “It’s because of those nanites that were in her brain, probably.”

“Yeah,” Mason said. He placed two fingers on Sennett’s throat. “Yeah, that’s probably it. I’ll get her down to the lab once she wakes up, do some scans. Don’t worry, April. Watch your cartoons, we’ll just let your mom rest for now.”

April curled up on an armchair, still clutching Bailey. She kept one eye on her mother and one eye on the screen. It was clear that she wasn’t as comforted by the grownups as they would have liked.

Soon, though, Sennett woke. Godfrey looked closely at her eyes as soon as she opened them and was thankful to see that they’d returned to their usual brown.

“What are you doing?” Sennett asked, sitting up and pulling her face away from his.

“Just checking,” Godfrey said.

“Can you describe how you felt back there?” Mason asked.

“How do you think I felt?” she snapped.

“I mean physically,” he replied. “Clearly how you were feeling emotionally was homicidal.”

Godfrey moved out of the way so Mason could sit next to Sennett. Mason carefully set his fingertips against her chin, moving her head up and down, before inspecting her eyes. “Any pain now?” he asked.

“Just a lingering headache,” she said. “But when the attack started, I had this real sharp pain right behind my eyes.”

Sennett glanced towards April, who appeared to be consumed by her cartoon. In a whisper, she said, “I think I really would have killed Candace if I could have reached her. I honestly think I would have just ripped her apart.”

Godfrey nodded. “It sure as hell looked like that was the plan.”

“I want you to come down to the lab so I can run some tests,” Mason said. “I don’t think those nanites are as gone as we thought they were. And I’m going to get ahold of the station you were on when you got infected and see if anyone else is continuing to have symptoms. What station was it?”

“Sixteen,” Sennett said.

Suddenly April shrieked. “Look!” She pointed at the wall screen. “Look, there’s somebody there!”

“What?” Godfrey asked. The adults all turned, but there was nothing on the screen but colorful cartoon characters dancing to some song. “What is it, Little Bit?”

“There was somebody on the screen, looking at me!” April screamed.

Mason turned the screen off. Sennett rose from the couch to kneel next to April’s chair. “Calm down, it’s okay.”

“No, no somebody was watching me. An old man,” April sobbed.

“I didn’t see anything,” Owen said.

“Me either,” Godfrey agreed. “April, it was probably just a reflection or something.”

“Come on,” Sennett said, holding her hand out. “Well go into the kitchen and get some hot chocolate. Then I think we both need a long nap.”

“But he was there!” April said.

“I know,” Sennett said. “Come on, now. The screenman can’t see you in the kitchen.”

“I mean, there is the table screen,” Owen said. Mason shoved him.

Godfrey and Mason were in the kitchen when Russell and Liam returned. Russell sat down hard at the table. Liam went to the replicator and pulled up a few beers. After passing them around, he asked, “Where are the girls?”

“Sleeping in Sennett’s room,” Godfrey said. “Owen’s taking a nap on the couch. I think I’m going to invite him to stay with me at my place when he gets up.”

“You don’t want to stay here?” Mason asked.

“Nah, you guys have enough people here as it is,” Godfrey said. “No sense adding two more when I have a perfectly fine house that’s been sitting empty.”

Mason patted Godfrey’s hand. “You don’t have to go back. It can’t be easy, with Ki gone.”

“Well, I have to get used to it,” Godfrey said. He took a long drink. “I’m a grown man. I can’t spend the rest of my life sleeping on my friend’s couch because I’m sad or lonely or whatever.”

“Have you even talked to her since she left?” Liam asked.

“No,” Godfrey said.

“Well, maybe that’s something you ought to think about,” Liam said.

Godfrey gave Liam a dark look. “Ki’s on Khloe with her family. She’s safer there than she would be here, with the Hollow Suits tearing through the stations. I’m not going to ask her to come back just to put her in danger.”

“Oh yeah,” Liam muttered, taking another drink. “Hadn’t thought about them.”

“Anyway, what happened with Candace?” Mason asked. “Did she get around to telling you whatever it was she wanted to say?”

Liam snorted. “No. She barely strung two words together on the transit down to the first level. Then, she refused to leave the station. She got a motel room and said she was going to stay right here until she could tell Sen what she came to tell her. Which is gonna be kind of hard, since she loses all her words every time she tries to talk about it.”

Russell had been silent through all of this. He hadn’t taken a drink of his beer, or done more than stare at the kitchen wall. Now, he spoke. “It’s something to do with The Core, then. It has to be. She’s come to tell Sennett something about us, and her loyalty chip activated.”

Godfrey exchanged glances with Mason and Liam. “And what in the hell is a loyalty chip?” he asked.

“Well, what does it sound like?” Russell snorted. “It’s a failsafe, in case an agent decides to betray us. Before anything can be divulged, the chip suspends the frontal lobe. If the agent keeps trying to talk, it’ll eventually kill them.”

When he realized the others were looking at him with horror, he said, “We don’t use them anymore. Candace must still have one from before she went to prison. I thought they were all deactivated. Mom-.”

He stopped and took a long drink. “Mom said she deactivated all of them.”

Mason shook his head. He started tapping on the table screen, pulling up pages of blueprints that were too complex for Godfrey to recognize. “I’ve heard of those before. I might be able to do something about it, but I’ll need to do some research.”

“Do you have any idea what it might be?” Godfrey added. “You know her, right?”

Russell shook his head. Finally, he drained his bottle. “I knew a girl when I was a boy. I don’t know who this woman is. And I can’t imagine what could make her come to Sennett for anything. Candace was so devoted to Mom, she’d have done anything for her.”

“Right,” Mason said. “Maven’s your mom. So, you probably wouldn’t tell us what she was planning.”

“If I knew of some grand plan, I’d tell you. The Hollow Suits have changed everything. Until they’re no longer a threat, we can’t waste energy worrying about the aliens.”

“The aliens aren’t anything you’ve got to worry about to start with,” Godfrey growled. “Don’t forget that my wife is Khloe. April’s half Khloe.”

“Yeah,” Russell said. “But she’s half human, too. Anyway, I need to talk to Mom about this. Whatever she’s planning, we don’t have time for it. Once I get word to her, The Core will turn its attention to the Hollow Suits.”

Liam looked like he had something to say to that. But instead, he gave Russell a large smile, that showed every one of his teeth and didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. “I think I need another beer. Anyone else want one?”

Godfrey hadn’t been in his own house in over a month. He lived a level below Sennett, in a not-as-wealthy but still nice neighborhood. There weren’t any false lawns here like Sennett had. No space between the houses. There were modest homes and walkways, with a park near the transit station. With the orange glow overhead, it almost felt like a suburb back on Earth.

Godfrey’s little two-bedroom house, wedged between others just like it, was much smaller than Sennett’s. And yet it felt immense. It was cold, and he couldn’t smell anything. The house hadn’t smelled so much like anything since the day he’d moved in.

He’d been alone then, too. Just a cook, brand new to the station. But the most beautiful woman had grinned at him when he made her traditional Earth food, as she called it. So maybe he wasn’t going to regret this move like his dad kept insisting he would.

Godfrey shook his head. That line of thinking wasn’t going to get him anywhere he wanted to be.

Owen yawned. “Even with that nap at Sennett’s place, I’m exhausted,” he said.

“We don’t have a spare guest room,” Godfrey said. “My wife used it for a home office, so there’s no bed or anything. But the living room couch pulls out.”

“Thanks,” Owen said. He sat down hard on the couch. “This wasn’t exactly the welcome I thought we’d get here. What with that crazy woman and all.”

“It’s always something here,” Godfrey said.

Owen shrugged. Then he laid down on the couch without bothering with the pull-out feature. “It’s always something everywhere.”

Soon enough, he was fast asleep.

Godfrey was so tired that he ached. But he wasn’t ready yet to go into his bedroom. Instead, he went to the kitchen. The simulator battery was fresh, having been purchased sometime before Ki left and he’d gone on an extended sleepover. He made himself a cup of coffee. Then, he began simulating yeast, flour, and salt. When in doubt, bake. It was a motto that had served him well so far, and it didn’t seem like the time to abandon it now.

When he took his wrist pad off to protect it from the dough, he glanced at the screen for the first time since they’d arrived home.

Godfrey had never regretted moving to Station 86. He had, however, regretted running for a seat on the council. Even though he’d retired, no one seemed to have taken notice. Especially Howard and Joy, who were supposed to now be the only council members.

He had no intention of responding to any messages from Joy or Howard, no matter how much help they were asking for. But there were no messages for him to smugly ignore. He was almost disappointed.

While the dough was proofing, Godfrey sat at the kitchen table and drank his coffee. Out of habit, he pulled up the news on the table screen. He scrolled through headlines, not reading the articles attached.

Hollow Suit sighting on Level Four proven to be a hoax

Simulator energy shortage continues, people urged to ration use

Protest on Level One turns violent, five injured

Police Commissioner Schultz urges patience from citizens

Godfrey closed the news feed. The people of Station 86 weren’t taking the news of the Hollow Suits well. Of course, he understood. The station had lived through political assassinations, terrorist attacks, AI dogs harvesting them for their organs, and an abrupt change in their governing structure, all in the past year. He, Godfrey, hadn’t been the only one to lose a spouse. Sennett hadn’t been the only one to lose a loved one, though not many had seen their mother blown up in front of the whole damn station. The whole population was likely feeling exactly how he was feeling. Exhausted, on a razor’s edge, and scared. So of course people were reporting false Hollow Suit sightings. Of course, protests were getting out of control. And of course, Commissioner Schultz, Sennett’s serene and level-headed boss, was urging everyone to just calm the hell down.

Godfrey sighed. If he could do something to help, he probably should. He tapped on the table screen again and called Howard.

The line rang for longer than normal, but at last, he saw Howard’s face. He was a thin man, with a neat beard and nearly always wore a politician’s smile. That smile looked genuine though, when Howard saw Godfrey. “Hey, man, what’s up? When did you get back?”

“Just a couple hours ago,” Godfrey said. “Surprised you didn’t know.”

“Well, somebody’s watching the incoming ships, but it’s not me,” Howard chuckled.

Godfrey nodded. “Yeah, looks like you and Joy must be busy enough.”

“We’ve been hopping, that’s for sure,” Howard agreed. “Speaking of which, I can’t really talk right now. But let’s get together in a couple of days. I know Joy and I are gonna need to hear about what went down on Station Central first hand.”

“Yeah, it was like a war zone,” Godfrey said.

“No doubt, no doubt,” Howard said. “But listen, I’d better let you go for now. You get some rest, and we’ll talk in a few days.”

“Oh,” Godfrey said. “Alright.”

“I’m glad to see you home, Godfrey. I was a little worried you weren’t coming back from this one. See you soon.”

And before Godfrey could even respond, Howard had closed the video.

Godfrey sat back in his chair and picked up his coffee cup. Having been dismissed so abruptly, he had nothing to distract him from his worries except for rising bread dough.

Copyright © 2004 by Nicole C. Luttrell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

If you love the story and want to support Paper Beats World, you can do so on Ko-fi.

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Nova, Chapter One

Hold on! This isn’t the start of the story. To go back to the prolog, click here.

To begin at the start of Station 86, click here to get book one for free.

Sennett

Station 86, six years before our story takes place.

Sennett expected Lo to be annoyed with her, but instead, he laughed. “I thought you said you wanted frozen yogurt. Isn’t that the whole reason we came down here?” He was holding two dishes in his hands, his lovely crystal-like hands. She didn’t take one.

The overhead lights on the station were dimming, it must be after six. Some people who’d been to Earth said it looked like something they called twilight. The colors shifted from yellow-white to blues and purples. Lo looked so beautiful in that light. His broad, strong shoulders shook as he laughed at her disdain. His rose-pink complexion was somehow a richer hue when he laughed. His wide nose wrinkled, and he seemed to almost glow.

“Yeah, but I wanted it from Harlequin’s frozen yogurt,” she said. “They’re the only ones that don’t have that weird aftertaste.”

Lo’s face fell. “Harlequin’s is on the other side of the level,” he said. “It’s the farthest one from the transit station.”

Sennett put a hand on her growing belly. “I cannot control these cravings,” she said. “Your child has a discerning pallet already.”

“Honey, it’s been such a long day,” he said.

She sighed and took one of the paper bowls from him. “Alright, maybe this will hold them over.”

Lo put his arm over her shoulder, and they started walking toward the transit. The market level was as busy as it ever was in the evening. People stopped by after work for things that just couldn’t wait. Shops were closing down, and the people who worked in them were heading in the same direction as Lo and Sennett. People were coming the opposite way to start evening shifts at overnight shops.

Sennett ate a spoonful of her yogurt, then leaned against Lo. “What do Khloe crave when they’re pregnant?”

“That’s not how things work with Khloe,” he said. “We don’t really do the whole pregnancy thing.”

“Guess that’s why you were so confused when I was trying to explain it to you,” Sennett said.

He laughed again, and it made her smile. His laugh was another reason to love him. It was deep and loud and vibrated through his whole body.

“That was a surprise. But, you are always full of surprises,” he said.

The crowd around them thinned as they drew closer to the transit station. A train was just pulling away, taking those who had already been waiting. So the two of them had the platform to themselves.

Sennett sat down on a bench and applied herself to her yogurt. Lo stood just at the safety line, watching down the tube for the train to arrive. “You in a rush to get home?” Sennett asked.

He turned towards her, about to answer.

Then there was a sound that didn’t belong on the platform. Didn’t belong anywhere anymore. It was a sound from another time. Sennett didn’t recognize it, had never heard anything like it before. It was loud, so immensely loud, and sharp. Sennett’s ears rang. She dropped the paper cup on the ground to cover them. Then she looked back at Lo.

He didn’t have part of his face anymore. What remained was ragged, bloody, almost as though something had reached out and ripped half of it away. He fell backward, onto the transit track.

Someone was running away. Sennett saw a woman in a denim jacket with brown hair. She didn’t have time to do anything about that. Instead, she went to the edge of the platform. There wasn’t any way for her to get down to where Lo was lying. He wasn’t moving. His glow was gone. “Help!” she screamed. “Someone, help!”

Sennett didn’t find out until later that the sound she’d heard was a gunshot.

Now

The brown hair Sennett remembered was longer. It was pulled back in a dirty bun. The denim jacket had been replaced with an oversized grey sweater that looked like she’d slept in. The woman standing in front of her was a mess. Of course that wasn’t enough for her to mistake Candace sitting on her front step, with a beat-up backpack next to her.

Candace stood up when she saw Sennett, eyes downcast. “Um,” she said.

Sennett froze, still as glass. If she’d been alone, maybe she’d have killed the woman who had no business being here, not at her house and not on this station. But she wasn’t alone. Her family, the people she cared about were around her. Her brothers were there, Mason and Russell. She and Russell share the same dark complexion, though his hair was lighter than her black braids. Mason, her adopted brother, was paler than normal. Godfrey was there, almost as good as a brother, his dark brown curls completely unmanaged after their escape from Station Central. Liam was there. He was tall enough to see above all of them, with reddish-blond hair. And Sennett didn’t want Candace anywhere near this man she was only starting to love.

Finally, April was there. April, the baby who’d been nestled under Sennett’s heart while this woman killed her father in cold blood. For no other reason but that he was a Khloe and she, Candace, had been ordered to do it. April, who had the same pink complexion as her father, with wild hair that she got from Sennett.

“Mason,” Sennett said, “take April inside through the back door.”

“Mommy, what’s going on?” April asked.

“Come on,” Mason said. He picked the child up and hurried past Candace, not even looking at her. April’s AI terrier Bailey trotted after them.

Sennett was still too frozen to speak, but her brother Russell wasn’t. “Candace, what in God’s name are you doing here?” Russell asked.

Of course, he knew her. They’d been raised in the same terrorist group, The Core. He probably knew Candace better than he knew Sennett.

“I, um,” Candace said. “I tried to message you, Sennett. I didn’t get any answer.”

“That’s because I didn’t send one,” Sennett snapped.

“Wait, this is Candace?” Godfrey asked. He put a hand on Sennett’s shoulder. Whether it was to give his best friend comfort or to hold her back was unclear.

“Sorry, who’s this?” Owen asked. It was maybe the longest sentence he’d spoken since Station Central, his home, had been destroyed.

“Someone who really shouldn’t be here,” Godfrey said.

“If you’re here to offer some sort of apology, you can shove it up your ass,” Sennett said. “I don’t want to hear it, and you don’t deserve forgiveness.”

“No,” Candace said. “I mean, you deserve an apology. You deserve a lot more than that.”

“She deserves to live the rest of her life without having to think about you,” Liam said. “So why don’t you take off now.”

“I, I will,” Candace said. “But Sennett, I have to tell you something. It’s important, or I wouldn’t be here. Everyone here in Station 86 is in danger. I came to warn you.”

“Us being in danger isn’t exactly new,” Godfrey said. “Is this about the Hollow Suits? We know about them already.”

“The what?” Candace asked. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is. But this is-.”

She stopped. She put a hand to her head, as her eyes glazed over. Then, she sat down again on the step, hard.

Pain engulfed Sennett’s head. She thought she might fall like Candace had, but instead, she lunged for the other woman. Liam and Godfrey together barely held her back as she reached, screaming and clawing for Candace. She needed to get her, to grab her and rip into her flesh with nails and teeth.

Russell yanked Candace up, and shook her, hard. Candace’s head flopped around until she seemed to come back to the present. When she saw Sennett reaching for her, she pulled away as though she’d seen a monster. “What’s the matter with your eyes!” she cried.

“Maybe you should get the hell out of here!” Liam yelled. “You’re making it worse, not better.”

Sennett didn’t see Russell hustle Candace off. She only saw red, until she only saw black.

Copyright © 2024 by Nicole C. Luttrell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

If you love the story and want to support Paper Beats World, you can do so on Ko-fi

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Nova, Prolog

Need to go all the way to the start of Station 86? Click here to get book one for free.

There was a yellow handprint on Maven’s desk, just at the left corner. Many years ago a little hand had reached up covered in paint and made the print before Maven could prevent it. It had been a bright hour between meetings of a darker nature, finger painting with her son. Smears of rainbow-colored paint on pages that were supposed to be cats and ships. All hung up for everyone to admire when they dried. None so precious as the smile on Russell’s face also smeared with paint.

She hadn’t washed the handprint off. Even when Russell was a little boy, she’d known that moment would be something she never wanted to forget.

Maven stared at the screen in front of her. She saw a few ships, small ones, flying away from Station Central. They were too few and too small to hold everyone who’d been on the vacation station.

Was Russell on one of them? Was Sennett?

She put her hands over her eyes. Unwilling to turn the screen off, but unable to watch.

To lose Sennett was to lose a dream. She’d been stolen from Maven when she was so young, no more than a baby. By the time they’d found her on that nothing little station that no one had even heard of before it became the station of First Contact, she was nearly a grown woman. Maven never stopped hoping they could be reunited. She dreamed of placing her hands on her daughter’s face and telling her that she loved her. That she loved her from afar and prayed for her every day. Now, that was never going to happen.

To lose Russell, well that was something else.

That was losing the moments when she made him place his hand, now bigger than hers, over the yellow handprint to measure how much it had grown. It was losing dinners spent watching him argue with his father. It was losing the quiet moments when she could just quietly admire the strong, brilliant young man she’d raised. It was losing any chance of him finding happiness, and bringing children of his own into the world. To lose Russell was to lose the brightest part of her life. Maybe the only bright part she’d ever had.

Maven shook her head. This wasn’t helping, this mourning. It couldn’t be the face she showed her generals, and they would be arriving soon. She took a deep breath. “Put it away,” she whispered. She pictured herself taking all of her rage, all of her anger, all of her sorrow, and putting it into a box like one might shove outgrown clothes to be dealt with at a later time. She pulled out a mirror to fix her makeup. Her generals would be arriving soon, and there was much to discuss. There wasn’t any reason to hold back from attacking Station 86 now. Especially since their defenses were lowered.

She had just a few moments to start typing notes for the meeting. With steady hands and dry eyes, she typed.

We must secure the existence of our people and a future for Earth’s children.

When we last left our heroes, all hell had broken loose.

When we last left our heroes, it was the beginning of the end.

Copyright © 2024 by Nicole C. Luttrell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

If you love the story and want to support Paper Beats World, you can do so on Ko-fi.

32

An overdue announcement (Yes, it’s a new book)

I’ve become the thing I’ve most hated. I’ve become that writer who leaves horrid long stretches between their books. I know how you feel, believe me. Tamora Pierce published Tempest and Slaughter in 2018, and there’s no sequel in sight.

Look, we can’t all be Brandon Sanderson, as much as we might want to be.

But that’s done now. The wait is nearly over.

Nova, the fifth book of Station 86, is launching right here on February 5th.

And I understand that the wait has been quite long. Literally, it’s been five years. Things are going to be a bit different this time around. Previous Station 86 books have, first off, been much shorter than this one. None of them before have reached novel length, and Nova exceeds it, clocking in at just under 70,000 words. So instead of posting one episode a week, I’ll be posting three. One on Monday, another on Wednesday, and a third on Friday.

You’re also going to meet a character that, if you only read what’s on the website, you haven’t had the chance to yet. His name is Michael, Godfrey’s father. He’s a survivor of the Hollow Suits on Earth, and he’s been collecting lost children to protect them. This time around, his story became too integral to what was going on aboard Station 86 to leave him to his own devices.

And besides that, I like Michael. I didn’t really mean to make a hero out of him. But here we are.

There is no secret episode this time around. It’s all going to be published here, one chapter at a time, from February 5th to April 17th. And the reason for that is simple. You deserve it.

You, who’ve been reading Station 86 since Seeming launched in 2016. You, who found the series or this blog somewhere along the way and decided to stick around. And even you if this is the very first time you’ve been here. You all deserve a full, complete, good story about a group of people trying to survive against impossible odds. Because while we aren’t facing hollow suits of armor intent upon killing us, we are all trying to survive against what seems like impossible odds.

Finally, I’ll be offering a limited number of beta copies of Nova. And I mean a very few. Because you are all my beta readers. Nova will be available here in its entirety for two weeks after its finale to make sure everyone gets a chance to read it who wants to. If you like it, I’d love it if you’d share it with your friends. It would mean the world to me.

Just in case this is your first time here, or you’ve never heard me talk about this series before, here are links to the whole series on Smashwords. And to help you get into the world quicker, book one is free.

Seeming

You Can’t Trust The AI

Virus

Station Central

0

Station Central, Episode Two

You can preorder Station Central right now on Smashwords.

Sennett

Sennett had rarely traveled off station with April. In fact, she’d very rarely traveled off station at all in her life. And after her experience traveling to Station Central, she doubted that she ever would again. April was miserable. She didn’t want to sleep, didn’t want to read or watch anything on her tiny wrist pad, the virtual screen almost everyone wore. She complained that her seeming cuffs, which made her look like a full Earthian child, irritated her. She was deprived of her normal routine. She fussed with Bailey. She pestered Sennett and Mason to go to the bathroom, go down to see the dining room and little on board shop. She wanted to do anything but sit still in her seat, which is really all Sennett wanted from her.

“Mommy, my wrists hurt again,” she whined, rubbing at the purple cuff with bunnies. “Why do I have to wear this?”

Sennett sighed. It had seemed like a simple decision, making April wear her seeming bracelet that hid her actual image while they were off Station 86. While it was no longer a secret that she was half Khloe, half Earthian, she didn’t feel like April needed that kind of attention while they were on vacation. It was hard, though, seeing her true face hidden. She looked so much like Lo without her seeming.

“Please don’t mess with it,” Sennett sighed. She rummaged around in her bag. “I have some lotion here, just hold on.”

“Attention, Passengers,” a pleasant voice floated over the sound system. “We will be arriving at Station Central in ten minutes. Please take this time to scan your area and be sure that all your personal belongings are accounted for. Your luggage will be sent separately to the hotel you registered with at the start of your flight. Thank you for flying with Station Direct, have a wonderful day.”

“Come on, let’s get your stuff together,” Sennett said. She looked into the travel bag she’d stuffed Bailey into, checking on him. He wagged his tail pleasantly.

Liam stood up, stretching out. “Been awhile since I flew commercial. I didn’t miss it.”

“No kidding,” Godfrey muttered.

They all headed down the aisle, and towards the exit of the ship. Sennett kept hold of April’s hand, as the crowd moved slowly onto the loading bay.

“No one go wandering off once we get out of here,” Liam said. “I ain’t been to Station Central in a while, but the last time I was here it was crowded as hell.”

“We get crowds on Station 86 too, you know,” Mason replied.

Liam shook his head. “Not like this, you don’t.”

Sennett was inclined to scoff at him, as they joined the line for the door. But as they headed out into the main level, she saw what he meant.

People were packed into the level, shoulder to shoulder. They were shouting to be heard by people standing right next to them. Children were whining and crying. Thousands of screens, from wrist pads to large ones mounted on food and shopping stalls were flashing and crackling their audio.

“It’s too loud,” April said, putting her hands over her ears.

“Come here,” Sennett replied, picking April up and putting her on her hip. She looked around, marveling at how bright it was. The ceiling was blue, with strange white things floating across it. Every stall had, in addition to their mounted screens, a bright flashing marquee to display their wares above the heads of the crowd.

“What are those things?” Mason asked, looking straight up at the ceiling.

“They’re clouds,” Godfrey chuckled, looking up as well. “That looks like the sky on Earth. I’ll be damned.”

“Let’s not gawk, boys,” Sennett said. “Come on, I want to check in to the hotel and get something to eat.”

“Me too. I’ve never needed a cup of Klav more in my life,” Liam muttered.

The crowd was so thick that they were having trouble moving through it. Sennett tried to lead the way, and found that she had to almost shove some of the people to get them to move.

“It’s weird,” Mason said, “I’m used to seeing a little more diversity in a crowd, aren’t you guys?”

Sennett looked around. He was right, she saw very few Khloe, Ma’Sheed or Toth people around them.

“Not every station can be the station of First Contact,” Godfrey said.

“No,” Sennett said, “guess not.”

Then she noticed someone in a black uniform. The patch on the woman’s arm was familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. It didn’t look like the Station Central symbol, a single star ringed by ninety-nine others.

“What symbol is that?” Sennett asked.

“Which one?” Godfrey replied.

“That one,” she said, looking back towards the soldier. But she was already lost in the crowd.

“Where did she go?” Sennett whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Godfrey asked.

“I think I’m seeing things,” she replied. “I thought I saw someone wearing the same uniform as the soldiers who came to clean house on Station 16.”

“What? Where?” he asked.

“No, don’t freak out,” she said. “I’m just, I guess I’m not as over that as I thought I was.”

Godfrey turned to her, giving her a searching look. Finally, he put his arm around her shoulder. “That’s what we’re here for, for you to finally get a chance to relax.”

“Yeah,” she said, glancing around them still.

April looked around them as well. “Someone’s calling for Mr. Godfrey,” she said.

“Can’t be,” Godfrey said. “I don’t know anyone here.”

But Sennett could hear someone calling, “Councilman Anders!” She turned, looking behind them.

“We should really keep moving,” Liam said, putting a hand on her arm.

“Wait,” Sennett said.

A man dressed in a well-cut suit was waiving at them. He was a large man, a bit paunchy, with pale skin and almond eyes. He wore a silver pin on his lapel, with a single star over an interconnected S and C.

“I think that man might know you, even if you don’t know him,” she said.

“That’s usually not good,” Godfrey muttered.

The man saw them stop, and hurried up to them. “Councilman Anders,” he said, adjusting his tie. “Good to finally meet you. I’m Gene Tao. One moment, please, my mother’s just catching up.”

“Sorry, but why do I want to talk to your mother?” Godfrey asked.

Gene looked confused. “Well, because she’s Akiko Tao, Chief councilwoman of Station Central. She’s sent you several messages.”

“Ah, now I remember,” Godfrey muttered.

“Godfrey, what’s going on?” Sennett asked.

Before he could answer, they were joined by Akiko Tao. She looked very much like her son, slightly heavy with thick, dark hair and pale skin. She was shorter, though, the top of her head reaching Sennett’s nose. Her makeup was immaculate, and she wore a gentle smile.

“Councilman,” she said, her voice deep and smooth. “It’s so good to finally meet you. If you’d told me you were going to visit Station Central, I would have sent a ship for you.”

“Councilwoman Tao,” Godfrey said, reaching to shake her hand. “I’m afraid you might be working under old information. I’m not a councilman anymore. Station 86 doesn’t have a council at all. That’s why I referred you to Marshal Joy Wheatly when you contacted me.”

Akiko’s smile never wavered. “Yes, I did receive that message. I expressed concern at the time, I believe.”

“You did, yes. However, I’m not in any position to speak to your concerns. If you have questions about Station 86, please feel free to contact one of our Marshals.”

“Perhaps,” she said, glancing around them, “this is a discussion that should be had in private, away from Station Central visitors. Would you join me in my office, please?”

“No, thank you,” Godfrey snapped.

“Please,” she laughed, taking his arm. “It seems clear to me that we have some things to discuss.”

“I think you need to let go of him now,” Liam said, stepping forward.

“I’m okay,” Godfrey said, pulling his arm away from her. “Fine, I’ll come talk to you.”

“Godfrey,” Sennett said.

“I’m fine,” he said, “It’s just a talk. I’ll meet you at the hotel.”

“Glad to meet you all,” Akiko said, before turning to leave. Gene and Godfrey followed, vanishing quickly into the crowd.

“What the hell is all that about?” Mason asked.

“I don’t know,” Sennett said.

“This ain’t good,” Liam said, looking down at his wrist com. “Sen, did you just get something?”

She looked down at her own pad. He was right, she’d received a security notification. She opened it.

There was a picture of a young man in a suit and tie, it looked like an employee photo. Underneath, the message read. All citizens and visitors of Station Central, please be advised that known terrorist Jason Whitehall has escaped from police protection and is thought to be somewhere on the station. If you spot him, please contact authorities imminently. Whitehall is thought to be armed with illegal weaponry, and is suspected in the murder of May Conner.

“We try to go on vacation. Godfrey’s grabbed by the local politicians and a terrorist is on the lose,” Mason muttered.

“Yeah,” Sennett said. “That sounds about normal.”

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Station Central, Episode One

Preorder Station Central now on Smashwords.

Prolog

Once upon a time, a company called Galitech launched a space station. They wanted to see if space habitation would be sustainable for everyday people. They also wanted to make money. So they created Station Central, the vacation destination in the stars.

It was far more successful than Galitech thought it would be. Millions of application were sent in to set up businesses. Everyone wanted to work there. Even the janitorial staff had more applicants than they could ever use. People wanted to live there. People who could afford it wanted to go there. A year before Station Central officially opened, there was already a five-year waiting list at every single hotel.

With its growing popularity came a desire to move out into space and away from the crowded plant.

Galitech was happy to oblige, but there were a few problems with their plan. The first hurdle was that the stations wouldn’t fall under any country’s jurisdiction. As such, there were no official laws. After much research and long boardroom conversations, a decision was made to give each station a council of twelve people who would govern. They created a set of laws that every station immigrant had to swear to. And they established a private army to help council members enforce the law if necessary.

The nations of Earth were less than comfortable with this arrangement. Somehow the thought of huge space stations full of people whose laws were being enforced by a private military concerned them.

To placate the nations, Galitech worked with them to establish the IHP, Interstellar Human Protection, to help keep order among the stations. Galitech created its army anyway but insisted that they were nothing more than private security.

The stations shared a unified money system, the same universal coin that had been used on Earth since 2087. They shared the laws agreed upon before they were launched. Each station had a council, a Galitech auditor and a team of IHP agents. Most stations created a police force. For the most part, it worked out.

There were some issues. Station 97 seemed to think child labor was alright until the IHP stepped in. And no one talked about Station 10, which was shut down without explanation. But for the most part, the stations were doing fine.

Then, the Hollow Suits attacked Earth. Hulking, walking battle armor suits, with nothing discernible behind opaque visors. They appeared on Earth without any demands and without warning. They didn’t seem to want anything, except to kill every human they could find. They were immune to electrical attacks, fire, and water. They couldn’t be starved, because no one could tell what they ate. No weapon on Earth could penetrate their armor. They couldn’t be spoken to, reasoned with, bribed, or distracted from their task. They were also aggressive against cats and dogs. No one could figure out why except perhaps to hurt us by killing our beloved pets.

Earth had no idea how to protect themselves from this attack There had been peace on Earth for a generation, most soldiers had never fired a weapon outside of training. The combined military forces of nations fell in months. The IHP hurried back to Earth, except for one team lead by Evelyn Greenwood.

The Galitech army was still waiting on Station 2. Waiting for an order to move out. There was just one person able to give that command, the Galitech CEO. She was dead on the floor of her board room, her eyes shoved into the back of her head. If the Earthians on the stations weren’t already the only ones left, they would be soon.

With the IHP gone, and Earth gone quiet, the stations looked to Station Central for leadership. There were the Hollow Suits to worry about, but there were also radical terrorists, murderers, and a thousand other things that could get out of hand on a space station.

The problem was, that was never what Station Central was intended to be. The leaders were vacation coordinators, not politicians.

But they still had to lead. No matter how distasteful the found what they felt had to be done to keep the stations safe.

Episode One

Godfrey

When we last left our heroes, they were once again recovering from disaster. Godfrey Anders had just stopped corrupt politician, Saul Mai, from stealing the election from Joy Wheatly. Part of Saul’s plot had involved allowing April, the daughter of Godfrey’s best friend Sennett, to be kidnapped by a genetic doctor named Cynthia Oswald. Both Saul and Dr. Oswald were shipped to Station 41, the prison station.

Unfortunately, in the midst of the most recent nightmare, Godfrey’s wife Ki decided that she needed to go to her home planet of Khloe to visit her family. In a message she left for him, she told him that she believed he was in love with Sennett, not her. Unable to stay in the home they built together anymore and worried about further attacks, Godfrey’s been crashing on Sennett’s couch ever since.

Sennett, meanwhile, has narrowly avoided death again. She saved Station 16, a disease research station, from a nanite that turned people into violent, rage monsters commonly called berserkers. She also managed to uncover the truth about the Hollow Suits and carried this information back Station 86. In the process, she was infected by the nanites. While she was given the cure, no one is sure how long it will last, or what the long term effects might be.

Godfrey was the first awake most mornings, due to his childhood on farm time. He woke, his blanket tangled around him. Soon, he knew, there would be four adults and one child vying for bathroom time. Wanting to take himself out of that equation he got up, taking a sweater and jeans with him.

In the bathroom, he shaved, then ran a comb through his mess of dark curls. His face, he thought, was looking haggard. The bags under his eyes were becoming more and more apparent. Sighing, he dabbed on a little concealer.

Just as he was starting to brush his teeth he heard a tiny knock on the door. “Hello?” April said. “I have to use the bathroom.”

“Hugug,” Godfrey called through a mouthful of toothpaste. He opened the door, admitting April and her AI dog, Bailey.

April was a striking child, with a mess of wild brown hair and bright pink skin that was her Khloe father’s legacy. Bailey had the body of a terrier, but with silky smooth metal skin. He wagged his tail when he saw Godfrey.

Godfrey headed for the kitchen, considering what he might make for breakfast. April had never had poached eggs before he’d moved in, and she seemed exceptionally pleased with them.

He went to the simulator, sighing. Before Earth had gone dark, he’d gotten regular shipments of fresh, real food, for his lunch booth. Now, he was regulated to simulating raw food and cooking it. But at least he could still do that, he reasoned.

Sennett’s adopted little brother, Mason stumbled into the kitchen just as Godfrey put a plate of eggs and sausage on the table. “You packed for Station Central?” he asked. “Sennett wants to leave right after April gets off school.”

“I know,” Mason replied. He was looking at the table screen while he picked up a sausage link and bit it in half. “I did it last night. I need to get over to the greenhouse and meet Jackie before we leave. And I’ll have to stop by my lab at school. One of the liver plants is stable enough to move, I think.”

Mason was twenty and looked every bit the college student he was. He was heavy, with dyed blond hair and enough tech to concern Godfrey most of the times. But even he had to admit, the young man was bright.

“You’re sure Jackie can be trusted in my greenhouse?” Godfrey asked, putting another plate on the table. “And with those organ growing plants?”

“Sure, she’s my assistant,” Mason shrugged. “You met her yourself, did your whole vetting thing before you agreed to let her around your precious plants. She’ll be fine.”

April and Bailey bounced in next. She was now dressed in a purple shirt and blue leggings. She settled into her chair, where Godfrey had just set a plate.

“Thank you, Mr. Godfrey,” she said, digging into her eggs.

“No problem, Little Bit,” he smiled. “Your mom up?”

“I’m here, but don’t make anything for me. I’m gonna just have klav,” Sennett said, walking briskly into the room. A tall woman with ebony skin, she had her thousands of braids pulled away from her face by a metal band. It was strange to see her dressed as she was, in a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt. She normally dressed in a suit, as a detective. Her brown eyes, flecked with gold, flashed across the faces at the table, before running a hand over her daughter’s head.

“I’ve got to head to the barracks and finish up some paperwork before we leave on vacation. And check in on Patty.”

“How is she doing as interim commissioner?” Godfrey asked.

“Hating every single second,” Sennett muttered. “But it’s just until Commissioner Schultz comes back from leave.”

The last person who came into the room was Liam. He was a pale man, thin but muscular. His goatee, which had been unruly in the past had been trimmed neatly now that he was living with Sennett. He wore a tight sweater over a pair of jeans that had a fade mark near the pocket in the shape of his missing holster.

“Here,” Godfrey said, holding out a plate for him.

“Thanks, Man,” Liam said. He carried it over to the simulator, making himself a cup of steaming black coffee. “You want one?”

“Sure,” Godfrey said, sitting down at the table with his own food.

Sennett, a cup of hot klav in her hand, sat down next to him. She started tapping on the table, pulling up morning news feeds. “I haven’t seen anything about the Hollow Suits yet. Guess that might be a good thing for us. Travel will probably be restricted after the news breaks.”

“Might not be able to get home, if that happens,” Godfrey said. He started scanning the feeds over her shoulder. “I talked to Marshal Joy the other day. She and Marshal Howard are working on some things to boost protection. She didn’t want to go into it though.”

“Of course not. The fewer people who know the details, the better,” Sennett said. She tapped on the table, taking over part of it to read her mail. “I guess the other stations can handle the Hollows how they want, there’s nothing we can do about it. But I think we stand a better chance if we’re talking to each other.”

She was beautiful in the morning, even while she was scanning over her email. Ki’s accusation before she’d left wouldn’t leave Godfrey’s mind in moments like this. She’d accused him of loving Sennett more than he loved her. Most of the time he didn’t think it could be true. But there were moments.

Suddenly, her face hardened. She shut her email with a swipe and took a sip of her drink.

“What’s wrong?” Liam asked, glancing over at her.

“Nothing,” Sennett said. “I just got an email from someone who shouldn’t be emailing me. April, go get your shoes and jacket, please.”

“Okay!” April said, scrambling away from the table.

“You excited for your last day of school, Little Bit?” Godfrey asked.

“Yes!” April said, and ran from the room.

Sennett turned back to the table. “I just got an email from Candace Campbell,” she said quietly, glancing at each of them in turn.

Godfrey sat back in his chair, whistling. “What did she say?” he asked.

“Someone needs to fill me in. Who’s Candace?” Liam asked.

“She’s the bitch who murdered my husband. Shot him in the back in the middle of the street.”

Sennett sat back in her chair. “She’s saying she needs to talk to me about something that she doesn’t want to say over mail.”

Mason propped his elbows on the table. “So, what if it’s about your birth parents?”

Sennett gave him a sharp look. “Why the hell would she want to talk to me about my birth parents, Mason?”

“Well,” he said carefully. “You said that Core person on Station 16 told you your parents were still alive and that they were looking for you. Candace was a member of the Core.”

She shuddered. It felt like the Core had been stalking her, ever since they’d shot her adopted mother’s ship out of the sky. They’d been the ones who’d set the berserker virus free on Station 16, which had infected Sennett.

“We don’t know that,” Sennett said.

“Actually, we do,” Mason said. “It’s in her file from the prison.”

“How do you know that?” Liam asked. “Prison records are supposed to be sealed except for to officials.”

When the others at the table looked at him, he shrugged. “I’m a criminal. It’s my business to know my rights.”

“I’m just saying, what if it’s about your birth parents?” Mason asked.

“Then I still don’t care to talk to her. Mom was the only parent I needed, Mason, especially if my birth parents are Core members.”

She got up, grabbing her mug of klav. “I’m taking April to school now. Everyone, please make sure you’re totally packed by the time I get home so we don’t have to wait.”

“I’ll keep after them,” Godfrey said, grinning.

“Thanks,” she said, turning towards the door. “Oh, and Liam. Patty’s going to meet us at the loading dock tonight.”

“What the hell for?” Liam sputtered.

Sennett turned back towards him. “What do you think? She signed off on you traveling. She needs to make sure you aren’t carrying anything illegal.”

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