Erin followed after Wen and Erik as they pulled along a disoriented Alex down the hallway. It was just like back on the Nighthawk. Alex had gone out of his senses there, too, if only for a brief moment. That meant that the thing that called them into the base was talking to him again.

  She could only hope that it didn't make the situation worse than it was.

  "Is there a place we can put him until it's over?" she asked Erik as they turned down another hallway.

  "There are some supply closets and offices down here somewhere," Erik said as he and Wen shouldered forward with Alex. "The offices would be better. They should be empty."

  That was if their luck held out, but Erin didn't say that. So far, they had actually done well. However, it would just take one person asking the right questions to blow the entire deception apart. This was why she always felt it was best to infiltrate a place alone. Then, she only had to worry about her mistakes instead of what other people did.

  Creak.

  After a few moments of walking, Erik picked a door seemingly at random and pulled it open with a slight tug on the handle. He barely took a peek inside before leaning in and carrying Alex and Wen with him. Erin quickly looked both ways down the hall before joining them. No one else was there to see them hide. As far as she was concerned, that was the best possible outcome.

  Thump.

  They tossed Alex into a chair in the dark, and after a little bit of fumbling on the wall, Erin found a switch on the wall attached to an ornate lighting system. She flipped it, and two stones began to glow on a metal lamp embedded against the wall. It filled the room with a soft yellow light, revealing all the furniture in the darkness.

  The room was a simple office, with two desks on the far side and two chairs with wheels attached to the bottom out in the open. Alex lay sprawled out on one of them. The walls were lined with wooden filing cabinets, each one distinctly labeled. Some of them were stuffed to overflow, while others lay completely shut, clearly not over capacity.

  Crack.

  "This is a bureaucrat's office," Erik said, stretching his neck from side to side and rolling his shoulders. "No one should bother us in here for a while."

  "Do you know what's wrong with him, Erin?" Wen asked, leaning forward and poking Alex's shirt with one finger. "We're not going to be able to do our job if he keeps knocking out like this."

  "I think I know," Erin said, stepping away from the light and over to Alex. "It's the same as on the way here."

  She paused, recognizing a faint huff of hidden breath in the corner of the room. They weren't alone inside the office. Someone or something was hiding behind the desks. Erin's eyes widened as she quickly ran through her mind for what she should do. In the end, she settled on a tactic that would give away the least to the person listening in.

  "I think he has motion sickness, you know?" She glared at Wen before nodding toward the back of the room. "The shuttle really did a number on him, so it may take him some time to recover."

  "What are you—"

  Slap.

  Erin hit Erik in the stomach with the back of her hand, and he stopped talking. Wen had already picked up on what Erin had noticed, and her hands were in her jacket pockets. If push came to shove, they would have a fight on their hands, and Wen was ready to go. Erin knew she should do the same and opened her gate.

  Pulsing, enervating power branched out from her heart, wrapping around her muscles and out through her arms and legs in a twinning, twisting motion that reached all the way to her fingertips. The power of growth filled her as she activated her curse. However, to be safe, she delved deeper into her gate, opening herself to more power. Pinpricks ran across her skin as seedlings started to grow from her arms beneath her jacket. In moments, she was ready to lash out with all manner of plants at whoever was behind that desk.

  "Right," Erik said, watching unmoved as Wen started across the room crouching, her hands still in her pockets and presumably on her guns. "He was having issues with that."

  "We just need some time in here, and we can make it to our post," Erin said, staying near Alex but keeping an eye on the back of the room. "It's a good thing you knew about this place..."

  "Ah," Erik said. "Private Landson. We always need to look out for you new recruits."

  Erin appreciated that he was picking up on the deception so quickly. In the same situation, Sayed might have questioned what she was talking about. Jean would have been okay, but they couldn't have left Sayed and Artur alone on the ship. There was no telling what they could get up to if no responsible person was watching.

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  "Are you sure no one will get angry that we're in here?" Erin asked as Wen crept the last few steps to the edge of the desk.

  "Private Landson! " A woman shot up from behind the desk, her hair only a little frazzled from a tight bun and her glasses askew. "I thought I recognized your voice."

  She wore the same red and black as all the members of the Military Police. Erin didn't see any rank markings on her uniform, though. She didn't have captain's stripes on her lapel, nor did she have a private's single chevron. With her knowledge of the basics of the Military Police, Erin couldn't make out who exactly she was, and that was odd.

  Unless she was out of uniform.

  "Ma'am!" Erik immediately saluted. "I didn't know you were in here, Secretary Eaton!"

  Erin didn't need to be told that she should salute. Both she and Wen adopted Erik's posture, placing their hands over their hearts as they paid attention. The woman, Secretary Eaton, looked over them for a moment, as if assessing how much control she had in the situation. Finally, her eyes rested on Alex.

  "What's wrong with that one?" she asked. "You said something about motion sickness?"

  "He's having a difficult time adjusting to the shuttles," Erik said, not missing his cue. "We were just assisting him to a spot to rest before getting him back to his post."

  Secretary Eaton raised an eyebrow at him as she stalked forward on her heels. In Erin's eyes, nothing about the woman seemed to belong on a base. She had seen plenty of women in uniform throughout her time as a spy for the People's Revolution. Still, none of them seemed as trussed up as the woman who stood before her.

  However, while she and the revolution understood the basic and early ranks of the Military Police, they had never gotten an agent into the higher ranks. Despite their best efforts, the most they had ever infiltrated up the chain of command was one lieutenant, who had quickly been found out and killed by his captain.

  Of course, that was as far as she knew, and even that was mere rumor. The decentralized way the People's Revolution operated made it impossible for any of them to know everything about the operation as a whole. She knew what her unit was doing, but even that information was now at least a month out of date.

  "I see," Secretary Eaton said, stalking forward with an unsteady gait directly for the door.

  Again, Erin sensed something was off about the woman but couldn't point it out. There was just a general sense of unease at someone who didn't belong. She kept up her salute, though, playing her part.

  "And I take it you're taking on another man's shift?" Secretary Eaton stopped at Erik and looked down on him.

  "Sorry, ma'am," Erik said, his face turning red. "I needed someone to cover me for Klaus to get to an appointment, so I ended up taking a double."

  Secretary Eaton's gaze softened as she put a hand on Erik's shoulder. "You do a lot for that boy. It's a pity he doesn't have a mother to help you."

  "Yes, ma'am," Erik said, looking down at his shoes.

  Cough.

  "Well," Secretary Eaton said after her cough. "Next time it happens, ask your supervisor to change the schedule. If they mention any problems, mention me. We can't have our men working double or triple shifts. We don't need good soldiers burning out."

  "Thank you, ma'am," Erik said, his head shooting up to look her in the eyes.

  Erin had to resist smirking. While the woman still gave off a strange vibe, she was obviously flirting with Erik. She didn't know if this was their first encounter, but she was acting far too friendly for it to be much else. Erik seemed oblivious to it, but that was normal for men. In Erin's experience, men couldn't pick up on a subtle signal. They needed to be bludgeoned over the head to get the message through.

  Whether he noticed it or not, it was a boon to their endeavor. It made the lie more believable and made it less likely that Secretary Eaton would delve further into what they were doing or ask who Wen and Erin were.

  However, that didn't answer the initial problem. Why was Secretary Eaton hiding behind a desk in a dark room? That hit Erin's stomach like a cold stone, sending a shiver down her spine. It was something she would expect to see herself caught doing on an espionage mission. Unless there was a more mundane reason to hide behind a desk.

  "If you don't mind me asking, ma'am," Erik said, still keeping up his salute." But why were you in this office? Your shift should have been over hours ago."

  Secretary Eaton paused, and her left fist clenched tightly. Erin had seen that she had long nails, and they had to dig directly into her palm as she smiled at Eric. For a third time, Erin had the sense that the woman didn't belong in the situation. Something was wrong, even if she couldn't place it.

  "Sometimes, we all need a moment of peace," Secretary Eaton said, resting a hand on Erik's shoulder again. "I was heading home and noticed I was all out of sorts. I needed a moment to put my face back on to face the world. You know what I mean, ladies?"

  Erin and Wen shared a short look before Erin nodded.

  "That's it." Secretary Eaton raised her hand again, starting toward the door and leaving them all behind. "But I'd best get going now. I don't want to miss my shuttle. Make sure you all get to your posts before you cause any trouble."

  She turned and walked out of the room, the door clicking closed behind her, leaving them all in silence. The tension from her presence remained still, and Erin wasn't sure there wasn't a second officer hiding behind the other desk. She didn't want to say anything until they were sure they were alone in the room.

  "Well, that was weird," Alex said from his position on the chair. "Does anyone else think she was weird?"

  Erin glared down at Alex as he spun in the chair, looking between them with a lopsided grin.

  "What?" he asked.

  "And how long have you been back with us?" Wen asked, her hands in her pockets as she looked down at Alex.

  "About the moment she stepped out from behind the desk," Alex shrugged. "I had another run-in with our mysterious figure. It has a series of aetheric stirrings running through the base. When I reached out and touched one, I basically had a forced phone call."

  Erin didn't understand everything he said, but she got the gist of what he was saying. "Does it change the plan?"

  "No, but I have a better idea of where we need to go," Alex said. "Erik, we need to head toward the internal docks for slipships. That's where we'll see it."

  "I can get you there," Erik said. "So long as we don't run into another officer, I think we'll be okay."

  With that, they left the office and headed out into the base.