Broken Sky

Chapter Two

There was something unsettling in the way Danny Kou observed people, seeming to react to their movements before they happened. When Pieter Reynard, CEO of Armenau Industries, entered his top-floor Seattle office, his chief engineer was already suffering under that gaze.

As Pieter passed without offering a greeting, Simon lowered his eyes and shuffled his feet. It wasn't just the scrutiny of the head of security making him nervous; he'd brought bad news. But he'd have to endure his misery a while longer—Pieter would not be rushed in his own office. He hung his bespoke suit jacket neatly on the coat stand, brushed a fleck of dust from the sleeve, then poured himself a coffee. Finally, he sat at his desk and motioned for the engineer to speak.

Simon glanced at Danny before handing a tablet to Pieter with the results from the morning's test. "Thirty-seven aircraft were actively refueling on the ground, and one in-flight. It had to make an emergency landing near Lord Howe Island, but no one was hurt." He wiped his sweaty palms against the seams of his trousers.

Pieter had been scrolling through Simon's data. A tiny furrow appeared on his brow when he read the comment about the Australian floatplane but he just said, "Continue."

"The equipment we chose for—" Simon faltered under Pieter's glare. "That, I chose, for this test, had to be operational. It met all our criteria, but I hadn't anticipated that the owners might not be using it properly."

Pieter said nothing. Simon would get to the point faster that way.

"The aircraft was over forty years old and not certified for in-flight refueling." Simon fidgeted with his buttons. "If they make a public complaint, they'll lose their permits. They're upset, but there's no reason for them to check the portal crystals before they ship the old units back to us."

Pieter's family had been in the transportation business for generations. He understood why the tour company had risked fines: profit. A full tank at take-off reduces cargo weight and therefore the number of paying passengers. In theory, an aircraft with a wormhole-based refueling system could fly indefinitely, but was legally required to carry enough reserve fuel to reach the nearest airport.

Simon continued. "The pumping station in Louisiana was destroyed as ... as planned. No injuries there." He subconsciously shuffled a half step back from the desk. "The roof collapsed and tore the fuel manifold apart before the final phase. That was unexpected, and it briefly exposed the wormholes, which led to small fires in several other cities but only minor smoke damage."

Pieter had been reading as Simon talked and had already finished the section covering the secondary fires. He considered the news for only a moment. "It's unlikely anyone will link the events. Our official position is unchanged—the fire forced us to cut the fuel supply as a precaution. Pass requests for information directly to me and prepare for the next round of tests." He said this casually, but an underlying tone made it clear he would tolerate no more delays.

Simon hesitated. He glanced at Danny, standing silently behind Pieter, and retreated another half step. Danny, like Simon himself, was of average height, but muscled like an Olympic gymnast. That and his unrelenting glare made him more intimidating than Pieter, who was broad-shouldered and stood six inches taller.

"There was a second problem," he finally said. "Our instruments recorded every crystal shattering as expected, only not until the pressure rose slightly higher than projected."

Pieter had skipped the actual measurements. He understood the principles but left the details to the engineers. "What caused that?"

"It may just be an instrumentation error, except ... well ... except that the extra pressure works out to be precisely what it would be if there were two more crystals."