I was asleep when Cal came back. He kicked my foot jostling me awake. My head felt full and bloated. Not hurting like from that drink Cal gave me. But sore, like a muscle that’s been worked out for longer than it should have.

  Blueboy was with him and the animal sat facing me, sitting close, towering a good half a meter over me. If Cal gave the word, I was certain Blueboy could have chomped my head off my shoulders in a single bite.

  Unsurprisingly, Cal wore that metal helmet that kept G.I. (the telepath) out of his head.

  “I need water,” I croaked.

  “I brought you some.” Cal knelt down and unscrewed the bottle’s cap and brought it to my lips.

  I drank greedily, but Cal pulled the bottle away. “Slow now. Too fast and you’ll get sick again.”

  I complied, drinking the water slowly. I closed my eyes. It was cold and wonderful.

  “I found your friends,” Cal said conversationally. “Up at the docking bay.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “Stayed back a ways,” Cal continued. “They didn’t see me.”

  Again I made no reply. Just sipped slowly at the water bottle. Letting the cool liquid pool up in my dry mouth and slide down my throat. I wasn’t sure the next time I’d get water.

  Cal sighed. “Either it’s a ship full military spies acting as a salvage unit, or it really is a salvage unit.”

  “I’m hungry.” I said.

  Cal nodded. “I brought you some fruit. Here.” He put something round in my mouth. “It’s like a strawberry,” he said.

  It was nothing like a strawberry but I didn’t argue. I ate several of them.

  “I’m starting to think I made a mistake,” Cal said. “Are you really salvage?”

  I winced. G.I.’s insistent recording played in my head.

  “I see you met the other one,” Cal said. “I’m surprised it didn’t completely fry your brain like it tried mine.”

  He tapped his helmet.

  “It’s… working… on it,” I said through gasping breaths. I was really laying it on thick.

  Cal put a hand on my head. “I’m so sorry. I’m not a monster,” he said. “Really. I just need to know the truth. Why are you here, Candy?”

  It took all my effort not to pull back from his hand. Who did this guy think he was? My savior or something?

  “I’m here,” I said, pretending it pained me to talk. “For the seed core.”

  Through the mask opening I could see his mouth drop. I couldn’t help but smile.

  Cal’s hand balled into a fist in my hair and he yanked back hard. I kept that smile glued to my face.

  “I knew it,” Cal growled. “I fucking knew not to trust you.”

  And just like G.I. instructed (through hours of mind talking) I said, “I command the wind.”

  Cal’s hand fell away. God, I wish I could see his face through that mask. “How?” was all he said. The words almost trembled from his lips.

  G.I. was in my head celebrating. I was too excited to feel its effects.

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  I said it again. “I command the wind.” Even though my throat still hurt, and I probably needed to drink eight liters of water, I shouted it. “I command the wind!”

  Overhead a dragon roared out— I assumed it was a dragon— the first time he heard such a thing since arriving on that floating titan.

  Cal shot a quick glance back over his shoulder towards where G.I. was tied up.

  The ground began to move then— an earthquake. First it started just as a mild rumble. Blueboy leapt up and started running around the tree. More out of excitement than fear, I think. There was a sound, something big breaking. The ground shifted under me.

  I thought of my crew somewhere above me.

  “You’ve been busy,” Cal growled. He stood, unholstered a pistol, and leveled it at me.

  The world around continued to shake.

  I shot G.I. a thought. Ugh, Dude. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

  Quickly and cleanly came the words, Good. Information. Good. Information. Good. Pause. That’s. Pause. Good. Information. That’s. Pause. That’s. Information. Good. Information. That’s. Information. That’s. Pause.

  Stay, the message read.

  It wasn’t like I had a choice.

  Blueboy stopped between me and the pistol. Blueboy growled— not at me but at his master, Cal. What a kick in the balls, I thought.

  “They’re traitors,” Cal said. “They’ve schemed this up.”

  But still Blueboy held his ground.

  “Fine,” Cal said. Lowering the pistol.

  Blueboy didn’t move though. He stayed between me and Cal. My protector.

  “The catacombs it is.” Cal said. “But let’s see how good you do without any help.”

  Without turning Cal pointed the gun behind him and shot three times.

  I cried out. “Good Info!”

  When no response came I sent a thought out. Good info. Stay with me.

  Weekly came back Morse code for “Remember.”

  I was going to kill Cal.

  I didn’t know how long I had been chained up. Three days or ten hours? In all that time, from first learning how to communicate with G.I. to conversing through Morse code, I hadn’t been able to get a clean look at G.I. But in the instants of the muzzle flashes I saw them. G.I. were a humanoid in that there was a head, legs, and arms. But it looked like a leafy shrub had taken over the form. I suspected it would have made great camouflage amongst the forest and wondered how G.I. had been captured.

  I thought of how I had been captured. Not by force but through lies. And now G.I. was dead, or dying out, on the forest floor. Light years away from their home.

  Stay with me, G.I., I prayed.

  “I’m going to let you go now,” Cal said. The ground was still shaking. “You started this. And it heard you.” He again leveled the gun at my head. “You know I wont shoot you. But I think you’ll listen better with a gun pointed at you.”

  The moment I was free I was going to wrestle that pistol from his grip and kill him with it.

  “Now, you probably want to kill me,” Cal said. “And maybe, if you’re quick— a big maybe, and you succeed...”

  Still all around us the world shook. But Cal continued unhurried. “But I’ve killed men before, son. Lots of men. And I’m good at it. You try to take this gun away from me. I will kill you.”

  “That’s not part of the rules,” I said.

  Under his helmet I could see he was smiling. “If I kill you, then this place kills me. Kills all of us. Me and your friends up top. All of it. But I say this with all honesty. I’d rather this place kill me than some kid like you. Do you understand?”

  I made no sound. I wanted to rip his head off.

  “Do you understand?” He repeated.

  Me dying wouldn’t do G.I., or Buzz, or my crew any good.

  “I understand,” I said, finally.

  Cal took the chain off me and I went straight to where G.I. lay.

  I hadn’t known G.I. long, but G.I. was the reason why I was standing and not sill chained to a tree. I had Commanded the Wind. Whatever that meant. G.I. said it was how we could get out. G.I. said it was like starting an engine. I understood engines. On my ship we flip switches, push throttles, engage systems. Here we speak. That was it. No levers, no console. Just words.

  And when I spoke the right words (thanks to G.I.) something woke up.

  “We have to go,” Cal said. “You need to finish what you started.”

  I had no idea what I started. And I didn’t really care. I was going to make it back to the ship and get off this rock, just like G.I. had planned.

  “Thank you,” I said to G.I.’s still body.

  Blueboy shoved his face into my side and tipped me over.

  “Time to move,” Cal said.

  I took one last look at G.I. before leaving that patch of jungle behind.