After a moment, I felt afaint spark of energy running through my tendril of power.Bailey? I thought, as loudly as I could. Can you hear me?The respons... was almost instantaneous. I wasn't sure what Abigail meantabout her being distant, as the signal I received was loud and clear. Itwasn't actual words that flowed into my mind, though. It was a mix ofsensations, emotions, and raw concepts. I felt her joy at being able tocommunicate with me and her desire for more head pats. I could also sensea. We moved on to her other subjects, and I was able to keep it light. Im not sure if she actually learned anything, but at least she wasnt a total basket case. By the time we were ready to quit for the evening, I said, That wasnt so bad was it? She answered, This is the first night Ive ever been able to do any of my homework. Thanks, Mr. Joe. I immediately brightened and for the first time thought this might actually work. I thought it might be nice to do something relaxing and non-academic with. All right, Karen, he said gruffly. Up. He saw her muscles tense but she stayed where she was a second too long. He slapped her ass, leaving a visible handprint. Get. Up. he said through clenched teeth. She scrambled to her knees. She was straining to keep herself from pulling away from him as he spread her asscheeks, and by way of acknowledging the effort he said, This is happening whether you like it or not, but itll hurt less if you relax. Without waiting to see whether shed paid any. “Procurement detects nothing dangerous in the exposed compartment. It is a storage area. The door appears to have opened upon your approach; Procurement believes it was auto-activated.“The room contains a single, sealed container with unknown elements inside. Procurement has no record of the container, its origin, or purpose. Plans indicate the room contains critical operating equipment, lethal to human life. Procurement completed a scan of the adjacent spaces and all contain operating.