SENTINEL 555: WAR ✔

22 STRANGE

Speed was an important factor when it came to the CS, Collecting Skulls. Oni didn't have it. Still, as always, Dev was patient as they troubleshooted their way through.

As a consequence, it took ages to get back. Oni didn't mind it because that meant more time in each other's company.

He found out the hard way, however, that no one left the platform until all orbs were once again accounted for. When his orb, rather than zip back down the track and reattach itself to the long lines of ball-shaped machines at the end, it...puttered.

It bobbed along and everyone saw.

As soon as the orb connected to its station, Oni's face warmed. There were a good twenty all in a row for each track. He imagined everyone else came in full tilt, hell, even Pleasant who had her first day at the helm as well.

This weak gesture had Oni ashamed, but Dev cheered, "That was brilliant. Absolutely amazing."

Oni perked up. "R—really?"

Dev scanned the dials above her. "I've never known that a CS could move so slowly and still manage to keep in motion. As the speed charges it, too. One would think we'd run out of power and just end up stranded in the middle of nowhere. But you were able to make it back."

Each word had Oni's ears burning. He imagined a blunt object coming at his face much like that backhanded praise. There wasn't much left of him when she rapped on a screen to check.

"Whoa. It's true. This is the...no, almost the slowest the CS has ever gone."

Oni died a bit more inside. "Yeah. I get it."

"No. This is an interesting find. I wonder if it can be used strategically. You—"

A bang from the door on the floor stole her quiet excitement.

"Get outta there already!" Bray's voice thundered.

They climbed out to more hatred than Oni'd ever imagined. He took little comfort that Dev bore the brunt of it as other head cadets converged and stated their complaints about wasting time. She should have taken over and brought them back in. She should have respected the fact that everyone was now late for supper. She should learn to figure out her own crew.

Dev picked her head up and shoved the girl who had the nerve to state the obvious.

The tension in her body was no act; Dev readied for a fight.

Sen caught her by the hand and interlocked their fingers as he pulled her behind him. Even that didn't seem to help but she calmed with time.

Oni focused on their grip and nothing more. And there was more that should have concerned him. For one, this would have consequences, for her rec-room privileges, and beyond.

And yet, their grip interested him more.

He wondered if he could get away with doing that. While the head cadets converged and sparred verbally with Sen who accepted their complaints and even offered some apologies, Oni tried to remember how Sen'd achieved the hand-holding. Should Oni just grab her hand and not let go? Or sneak in slowly so she wouldn't startle? Or would that be too strange? Timing must have played a factor. Too fast and he'd startle her, but too slow and he'd startle her in a creepy way. At this moment, the execution of this idea seemed far greater in difficult than riding one of the CS.

The reprimands were swift and brutal, and Sen tugged Dev out of the crowd and back into the compound. Pleasant and Oni weren't far behind.

As soon as they were back in the warm hallways of the facility and not the chill of the outside, Dev threw Sen's hand down.