In her senior year of high school, Natalie Hope reunites with her friends, Adam and Barbara, at the funeral of the fourth member of their once-close gang, Jake. They remember the made-up superhero game they played as kids called "the Astronites," wh...
"I found it less than five minutes ago," Star revealed. "It appears to be a satellite of sorts."
Star highlighted a small black dot on the forward window and magnified the image of a jellyfish-like machine casually passing through the cloudy, dark nebula. Its bulbous head had the flickering lights of a slot machine. Among its antennae-stingers were sharp pincers and rods.
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"Where did it come from?" Victor asked.
"The path it took into the nebula matches that of the creature," answered Star.
"Whose is it?" Barbara asked. "The UEF's?"
Yona shook her head. "No way. Star would've known if it was."
"Can that thing see us?" Adam asked.
"No, it cannot. Not while I am in stealth mode," Star confidently answered.
Victor wagged his finger at the satellite. "Regardless of where it came from, this satellite must be connected to the Elem Fleet's disappearance. We need to find out what it's doing here."
"What should we do?" asked Barbara.
"I have an idea," Star proposed. "If we connect the satellite to my computer system, I can analyze its data. We could bring the satellite into my cargo hold to perform the operation."
"How?" Adam asked. "Wouldn't we have to disable the satellite to move it?"
"Yes, we would," Star nodded. "Or, perhaps, Golden Giant could."
All eyes turned to Natalie. "I can do it," she said. "Just tell me what to do."
On the window, the image of the satellite switched to an X-ray scan of its metal body. Star highlighted one wire in particular running from the core of the head down to the antennae.
"You have to disconnect the satellite's power supply from the rest of its body," Star instructed Natalie. "Once you pull it apart, bring it into my cargo hold."
Natalie took out the pennar. "Gotcha."
She approached the forward window, keeping a sharp eye on the wire she had to disconnect. Upon raising the pennar, Natalie imagined pulling the wire out of its airtight connection. The pennar responded by glowing blue. The black-and-white wire started to wiggle. Natalie pinched her nose and concentrated harder. The wire was putting up a fight, but Natalie was stronger. The wire popped out of its outlet, and the entire satellite went dark.
"Got it," Natalie said with a smile. "Bringing the satellite to the cargo hold now."
Barbara clapped. "Woohoo, Nat!"
"I'm opening the hatch," said Star.
With a surgeon's precision, Natalie maneuvered the satellite below Star's belly and up into the cargo hold. Once the hatch was sealed, Natalie lowered the satellite onto the floor.
