Riggs laughed. “Not the best way to win us over, asshole!”
Cole ground his teeth together, wishing Riggs would calm down. He watched the blonde man pull off his gloves and tuck them into his belt. Every motion seemed both purposeful and relaxed. An odd combination, yet seductive, like watching an expert perform some complex task without pause or worry, just sure precision. The man reminded Cole of one of his old flight instructors: rugged and handsome in an ageless way, a guy who could speak through a smile and somehow make you want to follow him anywhere.
“Actually, Captain Riggs, we’ve found this to be the best way to win people over.”
“Do I know you?” Riggs stammered.
“You may’ve heard of me,” the man said. “My name’s Joshua. Joshua O’Connell.”
Cole felt a twinge of recognition; he looked to Riggs, who was shaking his head.
“How do you know who I am?” Riggs asked.
The man laughed. It was like warm honey being poured into Cole’s ears. The two men by the door joined in, whether by some shared joke or sense of duty, it was hard to tell.
“Your name’s on your flightsuit,” Joshua said, pointing at his chest.
The two men by the door laughed harder. Cole watched Riggs turn red as he glanced down at his chest. Cole did the same, looking at his flightsuit from Parsona, the one with Molly’s father’s name on it.
Joshua waved down the two hyenas by the door and smiled warmly at Riggs. “Normally, I leave these orientations to my subordinates. They break you down, I build you up, that sort of thing. However,” he turned to Cole. “You are causing quite the stir. Got people whispering all up the chain of command. Enough to make my new boss pay a visit.”
“He’s nobody,” Riggs said. “A flunky. You leave him be.”
Cole glared at Riggs, begging with his eyes for him to be quiet.
“Now, now, lads.” Joshua clapped his hands in front of him and left them clasped. The double-fist moved up and down as he spoke. “Let’s not think about what you should or shouldn’t say to me. My advice? Just skip the resistance bit. Assume we’re already the best of friends.” He spread his hands out to include the two goons by the door. “All of us will be on the same team before you know it. The sooner, the better.”
“Cool,” said Riggs. “When do we get to dress in coon skins and tie you guys up?”
Joshua’s smile faded. His bright eyebrows came down over his eyes, draping his sockets in darkness. “Look, boys, I know you have a lot of that Academy nonsense rattling around in your skulls, lord knows we get our share of noobs here—”
“Noobs?” Riggs asked.
Joshua turned to him. His eyes were bright, despite the dimness of the light filtering through the dark ceiling above. “Newbies,” he said. “People that don’t know how to calculate proper jump coordinates.” He walked over to stand close to Riggs; Cole followed with his eyes. “I don’t know where you kids thought you were jumping to, but something got in your way.” He spread his arms. “Welcome to hyperspace. Now let’s stop annoying me with questions and start soothing me with answers.”
“Hyperspace?” Riggs leaned forward against his restraints. “What are you talking about?”
Joshua started to say something, but he turned instead to Cole. His mouth remained hinged open, hovering around a half-formed word. Slowly, his frozen expression transformed into a smile. He snapped his fingers at the two men by the door.
“Why aren’t you just as surprised?” he asked Cole as the other men crossed the room.
Cole pulled against the knots around his wrists, dragging himself up the incline as much as he could. He took a deep breath once his diaphragm had the weight off and then slid back down. He felt winded just from being tied up in the position; it wasn’t conducive to long conversations.
“I’m shocked speechless, is all,” he finally said.
The two men walked toward Riggs, disappearing from view behind Cole’s arm. There was a loud screeching noise as they pushed Riggs’s rack around, lining up the base with the drain on the floor. One of the goons approached Joshua and held out his hand.
Reaching in a fold of his furs, Joshua brought out a bag of purple fluid and handed it to the guy, who set it on the ground near the drain.
“What’s your story?” Joshua asked.
“I’m just a noob,” Cole said, repeating the strange word but without the ancient accent. “A flunky, just like he said.”
Riggs shook his head. “Don’t tell them anything!” With his rack adjusted, Cole could now see him without straining his neck.
Joshua signaled to one of the goons; the man dug a thumb in Riggs’s armpit, causing him to gurgle with pain.
“What can it hurt?” Cole asked his old friend, pleading with him to go along so whatever happened, they’d do it quick.
“Precisely,” said Joshua, turning to Riggs and waving the goon off. “The only way it hurts is if you refuse to talk.” He turned back to Cole and lowered his voice. “Who did you contact with the D-band?”
“The what?” Cole scanned the three men. “Wait, what year do you think it is?” He wondered if Riggs’s time-travel joke had any merit—
Joshua shook his head. “We know what year it is, now stop asking questions and start answering them. Who did you contact with the band?”
“Nobody,” Cole said, wondering how they even knew what the thing was for. “I heard some voices, that’s all.” He glanced over at Riggs. “Please don’t hurt him.”
“What did the voices say?”
“That you were coming. And welcome to hyperspace.”
“You knew?” Riggs hissed. Cole turned to his friend, saw his eyes wide with astonishment. Riggs grunted in agony as the goon dug his furry mitt into his ribs again.
Cole grimaced with empathic pain and looked away. He turned to Joshua. “Please stop,” he begged.
“Are you coming from Lok?” Joshua asked.
Cole swallowed and shook his head.
“Speak up.”
“Never been there.”
Joshua pointed a finger at him. “But you know something, don’t you? You recognized the name of the planet.”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“But not as part of an invasion? Maybe an alien force with a different name?”
“No.”
Joshua’s finger shook. “Tell me what you know about Lok or I’ll have your friend’s limbs removed.”
One of the goons laughed. Joshua snapped his fingers in the man’s direction and the goon fell silent. Cole stole a glance at Riggs, whose lips were pursed thin and tight.
“I know someone who was born there. That’s all.”
“Do you, now?”
There was a knocking at the other side of the metal door. The three men put on their goggles; Riggs leaned away as the man beside him let go of his neck. One of the goons walked over to the door and opened it, letting in a flash of light.
“What is it?” Cole heard Joshua say, his own face averted and his eyes closed.
“Our esteemed guest is on deck, sir,” he heard a voice say.
“Excellent. Tell him we’ll be there in a minute.”
“He wants you right away, sir.”