“Sure, okay.” Patrick grinned. “But yeah. Something that would get you invited up to three or allow you to go up there on your own. What kind of things might be triggering for them?”

“Coincidentally enough, security. I could find a bug and announce it. No, that would put them on alert.” Nat shook her head. “We don’t want them doing a full sweep because they think someone’s trying to bug them.”

“Someone is,” Patrick replied.

Nat rolled her eyes but didn’t bother to reply. Then she sat up straight and snapped her fingers. “I could lose my fob and need a replacement. I’d have to go to three to get it.”

“Fob?” I asked.

“Security fob. It provides a random number to use when logging in remotely. All staff with remote access have them.” Then her face clouded up. “On the other hand, losing one can potentially get you fired.”

“How about one that stops working?” Sheldon said.

Nat brightened immediately. “That’d be perfect. Can you sabotage mine?”

“Piece of pie.”

“Cake,” Nat corrected.

“Bad for you either way. Bring it up to the fabrication area. If nothing else, a good EMP should take care of it.”

Nat gave us a How about that! look and headed for the descending airlock stairway. I smiled at Patrick. “It’s nice to finally feel like we’re making some headway.”

“More so for Nat, I think. She’s uh … ” Patrick hesitated and glanced in the direction of the Halo, where Nat had already disappeared up the stairs. “Jack, she downplays it, but she’s been really bummed about not getting to go to college. And getting out of Dunnville, but that goes without saying. She truly, desperately needs this whole thing to come to something.”

“Yeah, I know. College was all she talked about, that last year before graduation.” I sighed. “We make a hell of a poor gaggle of musketeers, don’t we?”

Just then, Nat came bounding down the airlock steps, a wide grin on her face. “One security fob, freshly banjaxed,” she said, waving the item.

“You checked?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s dead. I guess I have to get a new one tomorrow. Finally, some progress.” She held out her other hand. “Sheldon also gave me a bug to plant.” A small, irregular patch of what appeared to be thin, semitransparent plastic sat in her palm. “This apparently will take on the color and texture of whatever it’s planted on. Should be almost impossible to see, even if you’re looking for it.”

“And the Loranna won’t be able to detect it?” I asked.

“They could,” Sheldon interjected, “if they did a sweep using Covenant-level technology. But unless they have a reason to suspect something, bringing out that equipment would itself present a potential breach of secrecy. Remember, they are trying to blend in.”