Glassmage Oblivion

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Kendra sat at the head of a large onyx table, impatiently waiting for the remaining members of the team to arrive. The room was silent but for the nearly imperceptible sound of air being cycled through vents hidden in the walls and ceiling.

They all hate me, she thought. Every last one of them.

For the past few months, Kendra had come to understand the people assigned to her “team”. They posed as specialists in varying disciplines of science, yet all were geniuses beyond any ability Kendra possessed. Their sole purpose, she divined, was to pick from her mind (in any way possible) the method behind the mental transformation of silica into glass. They could accomplish this feat using advanced computers and their own odd artificial intelligences… though only to a point. There was still much they could not yet accomplish and it infuriated them.

They initially believed that Oanu Nox, hunted and captured by Applewhite, had all the answers. Trapped in that tiny room below with no chance of encountering a single grain of sand, the Master Glassmage was powerless.

Now, they believed it was Kendra who held all the secrets. The problem was, everything she knew was fully represented in the data of her backup phone. Still, they played her, hoping to gain some impossible insight.

It sickened her how quickly she had given up the phone upon her arrival. She questioned whether or not they (Applewhite more specifically) did something to lower her defenses. Kendra’s suspicion was comparable only to her determination.

But Oanu Nox tricked you before you even met with Applewhite, an inner voice injected.

She ignored the comment and smiled when the conference room door opened and the eighteen-person contingent entered. After they were all seated, Kendra stood and brought her bracelet up to speak into it.

“The C.O. won’t be joining us,” Mara Psyn spoke, sighing.

Kendra, dropping her arm, asked, “Why not?”

Across the table, the normally quiet Llen Rowe answered:

“This is our final meeting, Mrs. Sable.”

Kendra simply stood there, confusion evident in her face and posture. “When was this decided? Why wasn’t I informed?”

“You are being informed now,” Mara said calmly. Kendra was sure she saw a smile hidden expertly on the woman’s lips.

“Why are we even here then?” Kendra asked, her words coming out as a rasp.

They all sat silently, watching her with the most infuriating calmness. It was Llen Rowe who spoke again.

“You will be meeting with C.O. Applewhite after we adjourn here. Our purpose right now is to formally ask if there is anything else you wish to share with us in regard to the project.”

The project, Kendra thought. Until now, they had always referred to it as her project.

“Was this requested by the C.O.?” she asked, heart pounding.

Mara stared icily at her. “This group would be very grateful, Mrs. Sable, if you could share any… ancillary data with us. Anything you tell us would, of course, remain strictly confidential.”

Kendra paused for a moment, then allowed herself to calm down. Of course, she thought. They worked for Applewhite (who didn’t?) but they also had their own agenda. This was something else she had learned during her stay in Alhambra Minor. Nearly everyone had something going on aside from his or her usual work and many hid small items they obtained from Trading. Kendra was astounded by some of the collections she had heard about and seen. These people in the room before her, obviously, had their own project with its own goals.