Blink: 3003 (Book 1)

04

"Three hundred and four," Darien repeated, unbuckling himself and standing up. "We're locked on trajectory for Blink HQ. Should take us two days to get there."

"Smooth sailing from here," Idas put in. "Providing he's not accidentally put us on a collision course for a star."

"That was one time!"

Idas rolled his eyes and stumped over to sit at the communications station. "Alright, smart-mouth. I'll get in touch with HQ. Why don't you give her the grand tour?"

"I know the layout of this model," Amber said as she stood up. "But you've got some...different tech on board."

"You mean the Nav-Rod." Darien motioned her to follow. "C'mon, I'll explain." They walked through the passenger compartment in the middle of the ship that held four private cabins, each with their own beds and washroom facilities. After that was the rear compartment, normally reserved as a cargo hold. This one, however, was being used for something much more interesting.

Looking around the walls, Amber could see snaking power cables that fed into the base of the rod, coming directly from the shuttle engines. They had the look of an additional retrofit to accommodate this bizarre piece of technology. Turning her attention to the rod itself, she felt a surge of deja vu.

She remembered where she'd seen it too. When she touched the shimmering aftermath of Darien's vanishing, she'd seen it, as well as the shuttle interior and the two boys. She wondered if, for that moment she'd been able to look and see where Darien had travelled with his Blink. She still knew so little about it, however, so she kept her musings to herself until she could get some more information. As she stared she could feel an odd sense of connection to this inanimate thing, a warm feeling at the base of her neck.

"So what is it?" she asked simply. "From the looks of all this extra wiring you're feeding it a hell of a lot of power."

"Needs must," Darien replied. "This is a Blink Navigation Rod. It's a subspace transmission device that sends out waves along the frequencies we use to travel."

"What for?"

"Helps to keep us on track. Blink travel is risky business, especially for those of us who struggle to be precise." He pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. "Idas, for example, he needs the navigation rods. Left to his own devices he could transport hundreds of feet from where he was trying to go. Worse, he could materialise inside a solid object. Without these...I guess you could call them buoys, a lot of us would struggle to get around."

She gulped. The thought of vanishing and reappearing inside a block of stone was fairly disquieting. "What about you?"

Darien shrugged. "I'm told I'm one of the most accurate operatives. I could get by without the rod if I had to, but I still like having it – gives me a bit of added insurance."

"What if I-,"

"You've got nothing to worry about," he cut her off. "Once you're trained you'll be able to Blink anywhere without the use of the rods."

"How can you know that?"

"I've been in Blink for a while. I know the signs. Trust me."

"You say that a lot." She ran the fingers of one hand slowly through her hair, still staring at the rod. "So how does Blink travel actually work?"

"It's a combination of willpower and math," Darien answered. "Step one is simply thinking about where you want to be, about believing you can actually transport yourself there. It's about clear and precise thinking. You have to be able to visualise exactly where it is you want to go."