“That’s all you need to do?” Marina asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I guess,” I reply. “Sam said it’s just constantly sending out the cloaking frequency or the data packet or whatever the hell.”

“Data packet.” Nine groans. “This is boring. You know, I’m actually hoping the jeep blows up so we can see some action.”

“Real nice, Nine,” Marina says.

I wave him off. “Ready to push this thing?”

Lexa puts her hands on the back of the jeep, which continues to idle in neutral. “Ready,” she says.

We all stare at her. Finally, Nine laughs.

“Aw, lady, we don’t push like that,” he says.

Lexa stands back and the four of us—me, Nine, Marina and Ella—all concentrate on the jeep. We shove it forward with our telekinesis. It kicks up dirt and grass, the wheels spinning, moving fast.

“Easy,” I warn the others. “We don’t want it to explode if it hits the force field.”

“A real vote of confidence for your boyfriend’s work,” Nine mutters.

I frown. It’s going to work and—even if it doesn’t—at least Sam is trying, not just complaining about not getting to kill things like Nine is. I open my mouth to respond sharply, but Marina gets there first.

“Do you think it is just coincidence, Nine, that one of our closest allies should manifest exactly the Legacy we need to fight off the Mogadorian invasion?” Marina shakes her head passionately. “It is the will of Lorien itself that we received this gift.”

With that I feel Marina increase her telekinetic push on the jeep, speeding it along at a breakneck pace towards the force field. Nine shuts up and watches with the rest of us. Hidden from the others, I cross my fingers.

The jeep crosses the line I made in the dirt.

Its front end heaves upwards like it just hit a tremendous bump. The windshield and all its windows shatter inwards. There’s a resounding magnetic hum from the force field that I can feel in my teeth.

But it goes through. Mostly intact.

Marina and Ella let out simultaneous cries of triumph. I turn to Nine and grin. He shrugs at me. “Props to Sam,” he says.

Adam runs down the warship ramp to examine the jeep. From the other side of the still-active force field, he yells to us, “It was a little rough, but it worked!”

Adam reaches into the jeep and pulls the cell phone off the dashboard. He tries to hold it between two fingers but ends up dropping it—even from here, I can tell that the thing is smoldering. A wisp of smoke rises up from where the phone burns the grass.

“I think it’s a one-time deal, though,” Adam concludes.

“Better than nothing,” Nine says.

Excited, I take the satellite phone from Ella and dial the number for Sam’s phone.

“Sam!” I exclaim as soon as I hear his voice.

“Hey!” he responds, sounding relieved. “We just heard. Did you guys really steal a whole warship?”

“Never mind that,” I reply. “But yes. Listen—your thing, the cell phone, it worked! It blew up right after and maybe wasn’t the gentlest ride through the force field, but it worked.”

I hear a muffled cheer from Sam. He’s probably covering the receiver with his hand. “It worked! My Legacy worked!” I hear him yell to whoever else is in the room with him. There’s an immediate clamor of voices.

“This is amazing,” Sam says, speaking to me now. “I’ve made more since this morning, just in case it paid off. The other guys here think, now that we’ve got Earth-made technology aping the frequency, maybe it’ll be easier to replicate. You know, without using a superpower.”

“You’re a hero, Sam,” I say with a grin. Next to me, Nine rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling too. “We’re going to start delivering cloaking devices soon. Get your stuff ready so we can pass it out.”

“I will,” he replies. “I—”

A loud bang on his end of the phone cuts Sam off. In the background, I hear Malcolm say, “What on Earth was that?”

“Sam?” I ask, my brow knitting with concern.

“Hey, sorry,” he says. “Something just exploded. Probably the new kids training.”

Before I can respond, I hear an unmistakable popping sound from Sam’s side. The noise sounds like fireworks going off in the distance, but I learned long ago what that sound really signifies.

That’s gunfire.

And it isn’t letting up.

Now, the voices around Sam are hushed. Everyone’s listening. My grip tightens on the phone. I feel a clenching in the pit of my stomach.