Astralis

Episode Ten

"It's exactly like you said it would be. I hate to say it, but I wasn't quite sure I believed you..."

"Well, I assume you believe us now, Tip?" Atta raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. The designed trigger worked immediately. She went into her autonomic state, as predicted. It was brilliant! Never seen anything like it. And I can practically guarantee you there will be loads of new information to analyze."

"Were there any issues administering the tests?" Jason asked.

"She almost caught me drawing her...'blood'."

Atta sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Please tell me she didn't see it!"

"No, no. Nothing to worry about. She is entirely obsessed with T.V., it distracted her just in the nick of time."

Both Atta and Jason released the breaths they'd been holding.

"Good," Jason replied. "I hope you made proper notation for Phin, he will strangle us all if you didn't get what he was looking for."

"Not only did I work up extensive notes, I set up all the different light captures he mentioned in the last meeting, so he can review everything for himself. I'm guessing the most interesting will be the ultraviolet, though our tech will struggle to make any sense of it. She's easily a hundred years ahead of us."

"Excellent. Just let Phin know about your 'guess', would you? There's no lead to thin to follow." Atta paused and gave him a sarcastic half-grin. "And try your best to avoid any more close calls, eh?"

"Yes ma'am." Tip gave her a nervous smile. "Is there anything else?"

"Not right now. Just make sure to attend the meeting at 1700 hours. Phin will want you there to go over all the results."

"Of course."

"And don't forget to update Medea, she'll want to know everything you know in real time."

"I wouldn't miss it."