Esplin 1894:
[An interesting idea] I noted… one of the pool entrances was in a bathroom stall. Tin man had explained the secret to opening the concealed panel… and it involved one of those joystick-like toilet handle. Which was precisely that… in addition to a handle for flushing the toilet.
[Up, down, forward, back, up, forward, down, clockwise twice, counterclockwise once] I reeled off, to Jacob, as he studied the toilet in question. Or rather, the handle.
[Mom always told me to use toilet paper to flush public toilets…] Jacob observed.
[This is likely why] I agreed. The stainless steel handle had clearly put the lie to its name… and had developed a curious green covering, in addition to brown rust deposits… at least, Jacob hoped it was rust.
[We should have made Tin man do it] Jacob shuddered, [I feel like I'm going to catch AIDS just by looking at it]
[Doubtful. You've already had it] I admitted.
Jacob froze for a moment.
[You gave me AIDS?] he hissed.
[It was a useful vector for the gene modifications of your immune system!] I protested. After some modifications, of course…
[I thought we were friends] Jacob grumbled, wrapping his hand in toilet paper. Several times. Several dozen. Several—
[Jacob, you have to be able to bend your hand enough to grasp the handle] I said.
[and friends don't give friends AIDS. It's rude] Jacob continued, mummifying our hand in crisscrossing layers of toilet paper. Then he froze.
"Oh shit."
[What? What's wrong?] I asked.
"Sonili cut me, remember? Back on the ship… I bled on her… and the floor and—" Jacob began to panic, as his brain caught up to his sarcasm, remembering the odd bits of knowledge he'd been taught in school about HIV, and AIDS. He knew blood was dangerous… and that was about the extent of it.
I started to laugh at my friend.
[I attuned it to human physiology. Besides, it wasn't really AIDS, I just used the viral shell as a vehicle for the RNA payload, and some of the HIV self-replicating sequences] I explained.
[So I don't have super AIDS?] Jacob asked suspiciously.
[I engineered in a generational limit. After that limit was reached, no additional copies of the virus were produced by your infected cells… which left the latent gene modifications to those cells intact… besides, the process itself wasn't destructive, it simply borrowed a cell's manufacturing capability, instead of bursting your cells. In fact, it could be compared to taxation versus pillaging] I said proudly. It had been an elegant solution too. Esplin 469 hadn't even considered utilizing something as archaic as a retro-virus.
Jacob hesitated, his hand was wrapped… but we were still simply staring at the toilet handle. Ah. He was stalling. Jacob wasn't comfortable with long verbal lists of instructions. He was a visual learner.
[I'll do the sequence] I offered.
[No, no. I got this] Jacob blustered.
So I waited.
After several seconds Jacob was still waiting.
[What's wrong?] I asked innocently.
[You were supposed to ask again, so I could give in without losing face] Jacob explained awkwardly.
[Why?]
[Because that way you're very persuasive, and I'm not a chicken] Jacob grunted.
I understood human social cues. It was simply amusing to watch Jacob fall flat occasionally when I didn't reciprocate correctly.
[But if we both know the real reason—]
[Esplin. Please do it] Jacob sighed.
[Very well. You have persuaded me] I said, amused.
Up, down, forward, back, up, forward, down, clockwise twice, counterclockwise once.
"CLICK"
[Okay. Either we did it right… or the handle's broken now] Jacob decided.
A small section of the gray cement wall dimpled, and slid sideways into a recessed housing, leaving a 1x1.5 meter rectangle hole behind.
[Apparently not broken] I said, as Jacob carefully ripped the paper sheath off our hand, and tossed it aside. Then we ducked into the darkness.
[Clearly this isn't the Hork-bajir entrance] Jacob noted.
[That's likely down in the locker rooms] I shrugged.
Jacob laughed.
Then he realized I hadn't been joking.
It would make sense to put one there… at least, in the visitor locker rooms, since those were only used during games (Jacob thought)… and were likely unoccupied the rest of the time.
[That would be a rather sobering sight to face in just a towel] Jacob murmured.
[For the half-naked human, or the hork-bajir?] I asked.
[True…] Jacob grinned.
Then we heard the faint hint of screams.
Then there were no more jokes, as we walked down the spiraling cement steps.
[I wish I'd read Dante's inferno] Jacob said nervously.
[Why?] I asked.
"Because then I could throw down some disturbingly appropriate quotes," Jacob muttered, our mouth turning dry. He'd never been in a Yeerk pool before… only a pool ship.
[Perhaps next time] I suggested, trying to ignore my creeping apprehension.
"Yeah… next time," Jacob promised.
[I bet you ten dollars we get caught] I blurted. It was best to gain as many advantages as possible. No matter how tenuous. Or imaginary.
[You're on] Jacob agreed soberly.
Helaine-Mtalenon-Ashul:
"I need to use the bath room!" the human female said, altering the frequency of her words, as if attempting some sort of melodic dissonance.
Jacob did this when he was attempting to annoy me.
He often succeeded.
This human was also quickly approaching that goal as well.
I glanced over at Torfan, who was busy inspecting the crude incendiary devices, as well as practicing his facial expressions.
[And why must you do this in human form?] I asked scathingly.
Torfan had neglected to put on artificial skins again. I shuddered, and tried to ignore the fur-less flesh of my comrade. A lack of fur was typically indication of something being very wrong. It was not "arousing," as it was for Jacob… no more than oozing pustules and open sores would be.
"Practice. Prac— I mean. Practice," Torfan said, making a visible effort not to experiment with his vocalizations. To appear more human.
[If this is due to Jacob refusing to let you accompany him…] I trailed off.
"But there was merit in the criticism," Torfan said easily, running his five fingers over a tubular explosive.
"Helloooo?" the woman called.
"I hope you've got some paper towels…" she continued to call out, in a "sing-song" voice (As if speaking and singing were different things. Ridiculous. Both were mere vocalizations. Much like the difference between being wet and being saturated).
"Because there's gonna be a puddle…"
"Ah!" Torfan suddenly looked up, in comprehension.
"She is warning us of impending urination!" he realized, quite pleased with himself.
I closed my main eyes, and tried to hide my embarrassment.
How had it come to this? Torfan had been a promising aristh, not so long ago. In fact, I had been a scientist of the People in the not so distant past. Where had it all gone so wrong?
"Jacob alluded to such things, although he insisted bushes were required to complete the act," Torfan was still prattling on.
And the human was still singing.
[Then go find the human some bushes!] I snapped.
Torfan's mouth hole closed with an audible click of teeth, and he darted out of the room, chastised.
Then I remembered, he was supposed to be wearing artificial skins, or else he would attract attention. (And human civilian warriors).
[Torfan!]
How had it come to this?
Sonili-Esth-Fastil:
I knew how the human had detected my virus… and it was quite simple. So simple I should have realized it.
My programs are not human in origin, although I camouflage them with human coding surface layers… but the core is not human. If the human in question was as familiar with human coding as I presumed, then my virus would have been noticeable as other.
So… if I wanted to catch my quarry, I would have to use human coding to do it.
I had nothing better to do… aside from pick at my mother's command block… but it wasn't going anywhere… whereas the issue of this human might be time sensitive.
And I was bored.
And alone. It had been ten days since Jacob and the rest had left.
I wished Jett had stayed.
So instead, I ignored the mounting loneliness, and began compiling a human virus. It would have to be exquisite, to bypass my opponent's defenses by skill, rather than brute strength. But I believed I was up to the task. After all, it was still based on binary.
Jacob Nyles:
[You know, this mechanic disguise wasn't exactly necessary…] I said. Tin man had insisted on it, before ever agreeing to show me the entrance. The black splotches of engine grease rubbed on my face were starting to itch.
But it did a good job of hiding my scars. Which would make disguises a real pain, I realized.
[Washing the jumpsuit would have also ruined the disguise] Esplin said sourly. It still smelled of another man's sweat.
Which was not okay.
I'd probably been too nervous to realize how much it stank… and itched. Especially around the collar, which was practically starched… by skin secretions. But Esplin would have known… she probably decided not to say anything.
[But we are effectively unrecognizable] Esplin pointed out.
[I'm not talking to you. You gave me AIDS] I sniffed.
[But you are thinking at me] Esplin pointed out smugly.
[Or are you thinking of me?] the annoying little hitchhiker chuckled.
She was distracting me. I realized that, right about the time we reached the bottom of the steps, which opened up into some kind of prefabricated building… almost like a mobile trailer type look… except it was mated directly to the stone wall of the entrance. The cheap spackled carpet deadened our hollow footsteps, but there was a controller sitting at the far end, next to the rather ordinary looking door.
The man was dressed as a construction worker, sitting at a folding card table, reading a… really?
[It takes all kinds] Esplin observed, embarrassed.
The dracon beam next to his right hand was quite sobering… but the thing in his left hand was a… Batman comic book. I didn't recognize the issue (which made sense, having been out of the loop for six years).
The guard glanced up from his entertainment, assessed us for a second, and gave a nod. One we returned.
Then the guard began reading again.
[They're very lax] Esplin observed suspiciously.
[They have every reason to be. Earth is a backwater, remember? The Andalites don't even realize we're a threat. Yet] I pointed out.
[So it's likely a soft assignment] Esplin concluded.
"Don't forget the showers," the controller said, wrinkling his nose as we got close enough to smell.
"Can't. Work'n a double shift, gotta hurry," Esplin said, shrugging our shoulders.
The man in the reflective orange vest winced in sympathy, "Ah… one of the recruiters, eh?"
"I'm the dependable one," Esplin confirmed.
"Come, join the Sharing, be like Bob," the guard laughed.
"He joined the Sharing and turned his life around… he's a new man," Esplin improvised. The guard chuckled, waving us through the door.
[Good job] I said tensely.
[Thank you. Now, we just have to…] Esplin trailed off, as the size of the cavern hit us.
I couldn't even see the far side. (Although more of a lack of proper illumination than distance, I hoped.
[I'm surprised undermining hasn't caused any structural issues with the stadium…] Esplin murmured.
[We did walk a long time. We're probably at least two or three hundred meters deep…] I replied.
Then the screaming registered.
My eyes darted to the side… and I saw the cages.
I hate cages.
A pair of hork-bajir walked to one cage, and pulled it open. Nobody rushed them. They just stood there, staring off into space. Like cattle. Defeated.
[There are caps of some kind on their blades] Esplin noticed.
[Wouldn't want any hosts making suicide attempts… especially if they just have to walk into a handler to do it] I said bitterly.
Not everyone had given up. Dotted through the mix of slumped forms, were the maniacs… people screaming and howling, while they could, talking and talking and talking… before their head's got shoved into grey sludge, and control vanished.
[Looks like ten to a cage…] Esplin said. There were wide stairs and walkways as well, since the cages were stacked four high… and I saw several rows stretching into the shadows. It wasn't well lit, the farther from the cavern's defining feature you went… the feature I'd been avoiding looking at… but we were here for recon. Esplin controlled our features, preventing the rage from showing, as we walked along the rough cement bank of the Yeerk pool. It looked to be about a hundred meters at the widest point of the irregular oval shape, with two metal walkways protruding about ten meters out.
[About a quarter the overall capacity of a Pool ship] Esplin estimated roughly, since we couldn't ascertain the depth. It was probably shallow though, since Kandrona was slowed by most fluids.
The hork-bajir we'd spotted earlier were dragging a fighter down the infestation pier.
Now, hork-bajir were big, but the human they had was entirely too small.
"Mama!" the shape was screaming, her voice hoarse from terror and use.
"Mama!"
[Jacob. Look down. Look down!] Esplin hissed, as she lost her grasp of my face… and the rage peeked through.
A little girl.
[Be the monster!] Esplin snarled frantically.
[A hero will get us all killed! Be the monster. Wait to strike!] Esplin yelled, beating at my thoughts… as ineffective as the little girl's fists…
They shoved her head towards the sludge, pinning her there, positioned just so, like a doll. Nose and mouth away from the fluid, so the host couldn't drown themselves… but one ear was submerged… their alien arms and hands implacable. Her legs kicked helplessly, as she flailed and splashed with her little fists.
It was like watching a serial killer drown a child.
[Do. Nothing!] Esplin demanded.
It was so… clinical. Routine. Nothing special was happening.
[Jacob. Please] Esplin whispered.
That was what tore at me. This child's suffering did not reach the controllers, it bored them. They had seen so many examples, so many times. It no longer even amused them. They felt… nothing.
Esplin felt something… there was a shadow of something for the girl… but mostly, the girl was like a TV character to Esplin. The girl wasn't really real.
Esplin felt as I felt… but not about the things I felt. She only felt the emotion. And it was choking her. I was choking her, I realized. I was hurting my friend.
I must feel nothing. I must do… nothing.
It took me several seconds to relax my face enough to look up. To let the rage submerge… and I felt Esplin's relief, as the violent flood abated.
[Thank you, Jacob] Esplin breathed.
I must do nothing.
Yet.
Helaine-Mtalenon-Ashul:
"These are the only bushes I could find," Torfan apologized, setting the unwieldy and likely stolen, potted plants down in front of the bound human. She stared at him with what I recognized was confusions.
"Shrubs?" she asked.
"To complete the act of urination," Torfan nodded.
I did not recognize the next emotion, and leaned closer to the display, studying the visual. It appeared to be an indecipherable mix of three or more simultaneous emotions.
"Another alien? How many of you are there?" the human asked, finally speaking.
"I assure you I am quite human. Really. Ree-lly—" Torfan said… flustered to the point of forgetting not to modulate his vocalizations.
"Words are hard though," Torfan said.
"I need a bucket, and someone needs to untie me, okay?" the human said.
"Jacob made no mention of that, only the bushes," Torfan said, confused.
"Which one is Jacob?" the human asked.
[Don't tell her] I told Torfan.
"I can not tell you," the aristh said dutifully.
"The dragon looks like she can take me, unarmed… and this won't work with me tied up. Get me a bucket, please, Mr. Human, then untie me," the human female said firmly.
This one was used to giving orders. Or at least, being assertive.
Torfan hesitated, waiting for my command.
[Very well, do as she says] I shrugged.
Jett could handle the human, if necessary.
And if the human was accidentally killed while being subdued, I would have one fewer headache to address.
"Leave the bushes though," the human said, as Torfan began to remove the plants.
((()))
Torfan returned to the surveillance room, worried. "It has been almost twelve hours. Where could he be?"
[Even if Jacob was captured, we are in no danger. He is already infested, so even if he cannot be controlled, they cannot insert an interrogator, and then remove it] I pointed out.
"I suppose there is no other way to remove an unwilling Yeerk… or at least, I doubt they would have sought an alternative to the three day cycle… since such knowledge could conceivably be used against them…" Torfan mused.
Esplin 1894:
It had been a long walk, since no taxi would stop for us, and the buses had insisted on exact change. Something we didn't have in the pockets of our disguise.
[Just let me do the talking] I said softly, as we entered the warehouse.
[Ok] Jacob said, his thoughts distant… and roiling. The rage had hurt. I hadn't realized an emotion could be strong enough to make me almost physically ill. To drown me… and I hadn't been able to disengage, to float free of Jacob as I had when we were tortured; it had been like touching an electrified cable, unable to let go, as it fried me from the inside out. Jacob had been almost unable to breathe, his lungs hitching with each breathe. Why would such a detrimental thing have benefited the survival of a species? How did such an emotion serve as adaptation? Some rage, yes… but this… this had felt almost like a separate entity, as if I shared this place with Jacob… and another. It was not Esplin 469's latent memories. I am certain of that. He would not have cared about a little girl crying for a mother who could not save her.
"I need paper, and a pencil. Preferably one with an eraser," I said. The andalites looked at me blankly.
I shook our head, and went hunting in the warehouse… eventually finding what I needed… although no eraser. So I would simply have to make no mistakes.
I flipped the paper order-form over, to the blank back side, and began to draw.
It was terrible, and rough, since neither of us was an artist. But I drew lines, and labeled their estimated lengths, giving crude accuracy to the not-to scale, and poorly proportioned sketch.
[Where is Jacob, Yeerk?] Helaine asked suspiciously.
"He's not up for talking. He just wants to hit and break things right now," I said sharply, glaring at the doctor.
"So I will deal with you," I hissed. It was bleed-over from Jacob… but my temper has never been well controlled… since I did not have a temper before meeting Jacob… since my emotions had been rather… muted. Emotional growth was a messy, confusing thing. Especially since it was by proxy…
Helaine looked startled for a moment. I have been sarcastic, rude, snide, and irritated during our prior interactions… but never outright hostile. Jacob had always interrupted my rants… so that I appeared to be a team player to the Andalites, albeit reluctant and impertinent.
He wasn't doing that now… and the doctor was beginning to realize I was on Jacob's team. Not hers. Or Torfans. (Perhaps Sonili's… and Jett's, as an incidental ally…). I was not Helaine's ally.
[Then deal with me, parasite] Helaine barked.
I grinned. It was not a nice grin. There was too much teeth, and teeth always make andalites nervous, I have noticed… because they are prey, and have no teeth.
"The complex is only six hundred meters wide, and three hundred meters long. The pool is roughly a hundred meters long and perhaps sixty meters wide… but we saw human construction equipment supplementing more modern excavation tools… as the yeerks appear to be creating additional facilities and space, perhaps for future expansion. Also, there are seven entrances, with three more under construction," I said, pointing out the relevant details on the sketch, labeling them with X's and numbers.
"How many guards?" Torfan asked, in his human-Cliff morph.
"It fluctuates… but armed resistance is minimal. The dracon beams appear to be reserved for guarding the complex itself, with relieved guards handing their weapon to the oncoming guards. I only counted ninety-seven armed guards at any one time… although there may be additional guards with concealed human weaponry," I said.
[Hork-bajir?] Helaine asked.
"Surprisingly few. No more than two dozen… but they appear to be old… no longer strong enough to be useful in direct battle… or breeding, but still more than strong enough for support roles," I said, carefully avoiding any mention of infestation piers, shielding my thoughts from Jacob.
"Their blades have also been capped, to prevent accidents," I added.
"How many human hosts are there?" Torfan asked, moving closer, to study the map. His T-shirt was inside out.
I pointed at a row of hash marks, "There are five hundred and ninety-four cages, stacked in various amounts ranging from two to four units in height. Each typically holds ten or so individuals… and they're gender specific. Not all of the cages were full… but I'd estimate there are roughly one to two thousand human hosts at any given time…" I said… but there was something suspicious about the number. That many "untapped" hosts would have been noticed, if they disappeared for days at a time… as the rate of infestation turnover had been only (I estimated) one per minute… which translated as 1440 per day… any one host might be trapped in a cage for over a day. That many people would be noticed… unless…
"Shit," I hissed. Jacob jerked out of his darkness for a moment, startled by the curse.
"What is it?" Torfan asked, having recognized one of my "This is important" words.
"They aren't infiltrating this city," (Despite the high concentration of humans in the area) I said, putting my finger on the inconsistency that Jacob had absorbed but not noticed. They're using it as a staging ground.
"Only a fraction of the humans were Caucasian, Asian, or African. Most were Hispanic. In a city as culturally diverse as Houston, there is a higher ratio of Hispanic citizens… but not to this extreme…" I said… not ninety percent.
[What is your point?] Helaine asked… considering she could tell the difference only between African, and non-African variants due to the visible difference in hair structure. Not that she cared anyway.
"What if they're using the Border patrol? To seize illegal immigrants crossing the border… and then taking them to this pool?" I mused.
"To what end?" Torfan asked… although he was clearly uncertain of what a Border-Patrol was, or what border was being crossed.
"The immigrants are isolated, vulnerable. No one in the US knows they are here, and no one from Mexico knows if they reached America. They have dropped off the grid," I explained.
[As Torfan said though, to what end?] Helaine asked, her interest whetted.
"They can disappear, and no one will notice. They could disappear off the face of the earth… and no one will notice," I said grimly.
[An export?] Torfan asked, forgetting to speak.
"Jacob can operate parts of a bug fighter… especially the weapon controls, with minimal difficulties," I said darkly.
Taxxons were ill-suited to the task… as they could not both pilot and fire… and placing two taxxons in close proximity was dangerous, if either sustained even a slight injury during the course of combat, that bug-fighter would be effectively disabled, by the ensuing feeding-frenzy within.
A taxxon-human pairing would still be dangerous… for the human… but a Hork-bajir was more valuable as a front-line fighter than a human, even the elderly Hork-bajir, past their physical prime (which were currently being utilized as gunners)... and humans were a renewable resource.
Hork-bajir were not.
Not to mention a human controller could pilot a bug-fighter effectively, with the proper interface… which might eliminate the need for a volatile taxxon in the first place. They were only used because they were so numerous. Not because they were effective.
"Shit," Jacob agreed, climbing out of his funk, as the implications registered.
"Where is the generator?" Torfan asked.
"Here… but if this is just an export point to the pool ship… before being sent to the Front… hitting the kandrona generator here won't hurt them much…" Jacob grunted, tapping his finger on a building with a crude star, north-east of the pool (the entrance we'd come through was the designated south, since we were completely turned around by the spiral stair case).
"Since the pool is acting as a holding pen, instead of a resupply for the majority of the yeerks in the pool… before taking a host, and leaving Earth," I finished.
[Kandrona generators are not easily built… or replaced. Hitting this target will weaken the Yeerks, and slow down their efforts] Helaine pointed out.
She had a point. Even if it wasn't a prime target, it was still a target… and lightly defended (comparatively).
A soft first strike.
"The distraction would be best, here," Jacob said, tapping the markings on the west side of the sketch, "it's mostly human storage units and rows of shelving, for supplies. We could carry in our distraction in cardboard boxes marked up like supplies, set the fuses, then get into position…" Jacob trailed off, before he made an expanding motion with his hand, "Boom."
[And the cages are on the east side] I noted quietly.
[Yes they are Esplin… yes they are] Jacob agreed softly.
But there was a frightening undercurrent to the placid surface… as if we were not alone in his head, Jacob and I.
"Our mining explosives are bulky. The Yeerks might notice two humans with large bags approaching their kandrona generator, even with your distraction," Torfan pointed out, "And it will take some time to set the devices—"
"Unless we cheat," Jacob said.
[Cheat?] Helaine asked.
"Set up the bomb, in a box beforehand… so you just have to press the button and run, smuggle it in with the firework shipment…" Jacob explained.
"Once the Kandrona generator is damaged, if it destabilizes it will also likely detonate," Torfan warned.
"Isn't that the point?" Jacob asked.
"A large enough kinetic attack can damage the internal components, rendering it useless, safely, without risking an explosion… but if the fail-safes are also damaged… this is a device that mimics the radiation output of the Yeerk's home star… even if it is on a far smaller scale," Torfan said, worried.
"What's your point?" Jacob asked, but I thought I understood.
[It's not the explosion itself that is dangerous. The generator effectively releases small doses of Kandrona radiation, over a period of years. What happens when it's all released at once?] I wondered.
"Is Kandrona radiation harmful?" Jacob asked, thinking of his implant.
[Normally, no more dangerous than "Radio-waves…" but the radiation from a generator is different. It's on a far stronger frequency… somewhat similar to gamma radiation in its stored form, it has to be filtered into a weaker version for the Yeerks to consume] Helaine shrugged.
"So it's like a nuke…" Jacob said.
[Somewhat. It possesses a similar amount of radioactive fall-out, but with only a fraction of the initial destructive power yield] Helaine said.
[Why didn't you tell me about this?] Jacob asked me suspiciously.
[Do you know how a television works, intrinsically?] I asked.
[Well… no] Jacob said, shifting uncomfortably.
[But you just push the button, and set the dial to use it] I continued coolly.
[Don't tell me. Geneticist. Not engineer] Jacob said, surrendering.
[Correct… and I'm not very old, remember?] I said bitterly.
[A better question, is if they knew about this, why did they let us think explosives were a viable option?] I pointed out, my own suspicions rising. They being Helaine and Torfan.
It was Jacob's turn for suspicion.
"If that thing's essentially a dirty-bomb waiting to happen, we can't use explosives," Jacob growled.
[The radiation will be contained by the cavern walls] Helaine protested.
"And what about groundwater?" Jacob demanded. Courtney had done a presentation in ninth grade that was nuclear related, during her "Green" phase. Radiation in groundwater was very bad, we remembered.
"You said it could be disabled, effectively sabotaged to the point of uselessness, right? Without damaging the safeguards," Jacob snarled.
Torfan looked at Helaine, nervous.
"Yes… but it would take a fair amount of time, nearly twenty minutes, for me to accomplish such a task," Torfan cautioned, "And the damage would be reversible, if I am interrupted before completion."
[All or nothing] I noted grimly.
"How fast would it be with two saboteurs?" I asked, studying Helaine.
[It's not the volume of work involved, but the delicacy of subsequent destabilizations and rapid recalculations in the shielding settings] Helaine retorted.
"So it can only be done by one person?" Jacob asked.
[Correct] Helaine said crisply.
"Well then, that makes one of you the sentry for the gremlin," Jacob said harshly. Helaine blinked without comprehension, until we explained what a gremlin was.
[And what will your task be?] Helaine asked.
"I'm always the distraction," Jacob grinned. We had some more details to plan, and things to hash out… organize… as well as another day to wait.
Because we would need Karl for this. And, unfortunately, Tin-man was also needed.
