Sajani Tails

      “And it hasn’t done anything since?” Tess asked Ginger.

      “No,” he responded coolly. “I’ve tried a few times, but I think they must have to do something on their end for it to work.”

      “Do they know where we are?”

      “All they could see was my face.” He sounded a little confused by the question. The spark’s metallic cat was rubbing its head against the blank screen.

      “Right, but is there any way they can figure out where we are from this thing? It seems to me if they can find it to talk to us, they can find out where we are.”

      “I’m not sure it works like that exactly. It does something with sound waves, a little like a tuning fork. It just broadcasts out a sound in all directions.”

      “But can they tell what direction?” She was sounding a little urgent and Ginger still wasn’t sure why. Her concern caught the attention of the cat, which jumped down off the communications area and tried to rub itself against her legs.

      “I suppose,” he said thoughtfully.

      “And would the sound get quieter the further it’s away?”

      “Well, yes, and it’d respond to the curve of Terah as well…”

      “You need to turn that off, Ginger,” she said with certainty.

      The cat meowed.

      “I need to run a few more tests…”

      “If they can find out where we are, we can’t leave it on.”

      Slowly he began to understand. While they might not be able to know exactly where they were like he originally thought she meant, they’d be able to follow the sound waves. He began turning a few switches and dials. The light under the screen went dim. “Ok,” he said after a moment. “I think it’s off.”

      “You think it is?”

      “Yes. I can check it against the other vehicle in a moment.”

      “Let’s do that,” she said quickly. “Although it’s probably too late.”