Eomix Galaxy Books: Identity (Book 2 of 2)

by Yelich-Koth,Christa

  Lang barely had time to think about what those words meant when a flash of blue light exploded before his eyes. His body rocked under the electric current that struck him in the chest. For a few moments, he felt himself being cooked alive, his insides overloaded with energy as bloody foam trickled from his eyes and mouth. And then, almost as soon as it had begun, the pain stopped, and the world fell away into darkness.

  *

  Kalil just finished the rest of the klaad he’d been eating earlier when an error message came up on his computer screen. “That’s strange,” he mumbled.

  “What’s strange?” asked Torrak.

  “The computer is telling us the message you sent to Lang didn’t go through. It says a link to Lang’s store isn’t possible.”

  “That can’t be right.” Torrak glanced down at his time-reader and did a conversion to C-Sector 9 time in his head. “His store should be open right now.”

  “I’ll check again.” After a moment, Kalil shook his head. “The computer says his store is no longer linked to the city’s central computer network.”

  “Could there have been a power outage?”

  “If there was, we wouldn’t get a message at all from the network. Do you think Lang manually disconnected his personal computer?”

  “He has no reason to.”

  “Well let me make a request to C-Nine’s mainframe and see what happened to the connection.”

  Moments later the computer confirmed the manual disconnect.

  “I don’t understand,” Torrak said. “Why would he do that?”

  “All I can think of is he wants to access his computer without the city’s network knowing. Maybe he’s making some transactions he doesn’t want anyone to know about?”

  Torrak shook his head. “Lang had a coded system when dealing with illegal transactions. It would be too obvious if he shut down his system every time he did something he didn’t want the authorities to know about.”

  “I don’t know then. We can try him back later.”

  Torrak closed his eyes for a moment. “Something else is going on here. And I think I need to go to C-Nine and find out what’s happened.”

  Kalil snorted a laugh. “That’s crazy. For all you know he’s merely changing or updating his computer system. We haven’t even tried contacting him through the vidlink. I mean, it’ll cost you thirty times more—”

  “Let’s do that.”

  Kalil shrugged. “It’s your money.” He went through another set of screens. “Hmm....”

  “What is it?”

  “There’s no connection to his vidlink. It doesn’t even connect to a recording to tell you what store you’re calling.”

  “I knew something was wrong!”

  Kalil typed in a few commands to recheck his data. The same results appeared. “Are you sure he hasn’t closed down his store?”

  “Maybe, but he’s been running the store for over a century—took it over from his father. I know I’ve been out of touch with him, but I feel like he would have told me if his business had been in any trouble.” Torrak stood, no longer able to contain his pent-up concern. “Something else must have happened. If there was a fire or a robbery, Lang might be hurt. Can you filter through the hospitals and see if he’s listed in any of them?”

  Kalil did as requested and the results came back quickly. “He’s not listed anywhere.”

  Torrak began to pace. “I’ve got to go and find out what happened.”

  “You can’t go to C-Nine.”

  Torrak stopped. “Why not?”

  Kalil threw up his arms in frustration. “What do you mean ‘why not’? You missed finals while in the hospital. You have to take your make-up finals. And it’s not like you have a ton of money or even a way to get there.”

  Torrak put his hands on his friend’s wiry shoulders. He could feel the bones poke through his thin short-sleeved shirt. “I have to do this.”

  “Why? Why not wait a few days until you know for sure if something is wrong with his computer system?”

  “If something happened to Lang, he may not have a few days. Lang is my best link to Opute who may be the only one to help me find Daith.”

  Kalil pulled away from his friend. “Your brain must have gotten melted along with the rest of you.”

  “I have to find her. I have to.”

  “Why? I know you feel guilty about what happened, but it’s not like it’s your fault. Call the authorities and let them do their job. They can probably get in touch with Lang, too.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Then explain it to me.”

  Torrak sat, wishing he hadn’t stopped moving. Everything came flooding back to him: the painful expression on her face, her cry to him for help. The guilt he felt overwhelmed him as he sat, preparing to explain to Kalil why he had to find her, and why he couldn’t wait.

  “When my mother died in a vehicle collision last year, I fell into complete shock,” he began. “I barely ate, hardly slept, and felt completely engulfed by emptiness. When I got back from the funeral and went back to class, everything seemed meaningless. No one knew why I’d missed classes and I didn’t understand how anyone could be happy when something so terrible had happened. I started resenting everyone for being able to live their lives normally. And what was the point? Life could end so quickly and no one would even know you were gone.

  “And then Daith came into class. She had spiked her long hair in all different directions, applied multicolored stripes of makeup across her eyelids and over her cheeks, and wore giant, bright blue pants with white spots all over them.

  “She sat down next to me like normal, said good morning, and turned her attention back to the professor.” Torrak paused, smiling at the memory. “Everyone started laughing. I started laughing. So hard I couldn’t stop. I thought I might die because I couldn’t catch my breath. But for whatever reason, that snapped me out of my despair. When I asked her about how she knew to cheer me up, she told me she knew the pain of losing a parent.”

  “She found out your mother died?”

  “No.” Torrak slapped his forehead. “And I can’t believe I didn’t think about it then. I never told her anything.

  “This may not make sense to you,” Torrak continued, “but this is something I have to do. You are my closest friend, like a brother, but my friendship with Daith is different. She filled holes in my life that couldn’t be filled by anyone else. Not because nobody else wanted to, but because nobody else could. Daith was there for me when I needed her, whether I thought I needed her or not. And now I have to help her because she needs me, even if she doesn’t know it. I’m the only one who saw what happened to her.”

  Torrak paused, deciding to tell Kalil what he’d learned from Valendra. “I know this may sound insane, but I think remnants of the Aleet Army may be behind Daith’s kidnapping. Her sister told me some things about her family’s connection to them, and it makes sense. The authorities aren’t going to be able to help. Even if they believed me, they wouldn’t be able to find her. Not if the Aleet Army is involved.”

  Kalil blanched, frightened. “Torrak, what do you mean the Aleet Army is involved?”

  “What I’m going to tell you doesn’t leave this room, right?”

  Kalil nodded.

  Torrak spoke under his breath. “Daith and Valendra are Jacin Jaxx’s daughters.”

  Kalil’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  “Completely. I really do think the Aleet Army are the ones who kidnapped Daith. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do. And even though I don’t know what I could do, I know I have to follow through with this. Lang is the only one I know who might be able to help me find Opute and Opute has the underground connections that may lead me to the Aleet Army.

  “Most important of all, I’m on borrowed time. Sooner or later the men sent to kidnap Daith will realize they screwed up. As soon as they do, they’re going to come back for me. If I stay here, there is nothing to stop them from trying agai
n. I believe they already erased Daith’s sister’s memories, too. And maybe messed with Central Authority’s files.”

  Kalil had been quiet. Torrak knew how hard it must to digest everything he’d heard. But he’d also known Torrak long enough to realize Torrak was different. They all were. It’s why they attended the Academy for Gifted Students. And Torrak’s gift to correctly solve intricate puzzles when others couldn’t was something Kalil couldn’t dismiss.

  “What do you need me to do?” Kalil asked.

  Sweat moistened Daith’s forehead, temples, and underarms. The warmth that flared from inside her body, energy that allowed her to manipulate objects around her, would often bring perspiration. But this felt different. This she exuded from her pores, not because of her unique ability, but because she’d gotten her butt kicked.

  Again.

  With a wipe of the back of her hand across her brow, Daith pushed herself up off the ground for the fifth time.

  “Tired yet?”

  Daith’s teeth ground at Cenjo’s taunt.

  “Not remotely,” she lied, willing her ragged breathing to go unnoticed.

  Cenjo’s head dropped in a mock bow. “Then we’ll go on.” He took his stance, different than before. This time his feet planted themselves on the soft, yellow mat equally distanced apart. His arms hung loosely at his sides while his fingers fluttered.

  Daith tried once again to use her gift and sense Cenjo’s emotions and feelings before he attacked. She concentrated on reaching into his mind, but he made his move before she could make a connection.

  Cenjo leapt, flying into the air. Both legs came at her, spread wide. She struck out instinctively at his ankles, but wasn’t watching his body, which had arched backwards. In a swift motion, his legs wrapped around her head, pinning her arms to the sides of her face. His hands on the ground, he pulled her forward, over his handstanding body, and she tumbled across him in an ungainly mess of a roll. He sat up, his back to her, and flipped around, straddling her body.

  Frustrated, Daith squirmed under his hold, her muscles screaming in protest.

  “Tired yet?” he prodded again.

  “I’m not tired,” she snapped, “I can’t move. I thought you were going to teach me something, not throw me around like a limp doll!”

  He leaned toward her, his olive skin dancing with beads of sweat. “You wanna get up, then get up.”

  “Tell me how to get out of this hold,” she said through gritted teeth. Her thighs smarted from the pressure of his legs, her fingers numb from lack of blood flow.

  He laughed. The noise, harsh and cold, unsettled her. It differed from his usual laid back demeanor. “I’m not holding you down. Get up. GET UP.”

  Tears leaked from her eyes. She wiggled in his grip, but couldn’t move. The energy in the room changed. She no longer felt safe. Here she lay, pinned down, helpless. Cenjo had all the power. “I can’t. I’m telling you I can’t!”

  “It’s a good thing Dru’s dead. He’d be so disappointed.”

  Everything went white. Blinded, Daith blinked her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy, hot. They peeled open to reveal her standing, holding Cenjo against the wall, her hand thrust upward against his throat. Eyes bulging, mouth open in an attempt to breathe, he struggled in her grip, feet kicking limply in the air.

  Daith yanked her hand away and Cenjo collapsed to the floor, sucking in large amounts of air.

  “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, leaning down next to him. She watched in horror as red finger-marks appeared across his olive-toned neck.

  “You’re bl—,” he rasped, coughing.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re bleeding,” he managed, massaging his throat. He pointed at her face.

  With an impatient swipe, Daith ran the side of her arm across her face, smearing the blood.

  “Never mind that,” she said, “are you all right?”

  Cenjo got to his feet, his breath coming more easily. “I thought it would help,” he said. “I thought if I made you angry it would catapult your abilities. I remembered how you broke Sequiria’s nose because she made you upset.”

  Daith rubbed the back of her arm against her shirt to wipe off the blood. A red slash now under her chest matched the drops that had dripped there.

  “I don’t know if making me angry helps,” she admitted as they walked toward the center of the simulation room. “My abilities manifest completely out of my control. Like a reflex, but not one I wanted to have.”

  Cenjo’s face fell with disappointment. “I thought for sure….”

  Daith patted him on the shoulder, trying to ignore the sense of defeat radiating off him. “It’s really all right. I appreciate your help. But do me a favor? Don’t. I couldn’t bear it if I hurt you.”

  “I chose to take the risk,” he said.

  “Maybe. But I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. It’s not like I have many friends here. Even most of the crew avoids me.” A lump stuck in her throat. She felt tired of feeling alone. Tired of missing Dru. Of caring for a family that no longer existed, one she no longer remembered.

  “Well I’m not sure what I can do to help, but I do think sparring will help keep you out of your head. Exercise never hurts, either. I hope you’ll continue to train with me?”

  Daith smiled. “As long as you actually teach me the moves next time.”

  “Deal.” Cenjo motioned to her face. “You better head to medical. Commander Xiven would be furious if he knew I didn’t make you check in with Doc Milastow.”

  “All right, all right.” Daith trotted upstairs to the medical bay, glad the sense of failure from Cenjo had faded.

  *

  Torrak glared at the image on the screen of a small, dinged, vessel with disgust. “They call that a ship?”

  “For your price and such short notice, this is the best you’re going to get,” Kalil replied.

  Torrak groaned. He and Kalil could build a better ship. But unfortunately he didn’t have the time or the money to do so. He had no choice. “All right, I’ll take it.”

  Kalil checked off the appropriate box and a monotone voice told them that they could pick it up the next day. Instructions about the ship’s location appeared on the screen.

  “Trunza Corner?” Torrak said as he read the address. “Great. I couldn’t have picked a worse place if I’d tried.”

  “Where did you expect to get a cheap ship like this? Batat Plaza?” Kalil asked.

  “No. But Trunza Corner is so run-down. I don’t know.” Torrak stared at the image. “It looks like a piece of junk. I should head out there now and take a look at it. What if I have to make repairs?”

  Kalil motioned outside. “Nobody goes to Trunza Corner this time of night. Besides, you still look like garbage.” Kalil crinkled his nose. “And you smell, too.”

  “Fine, I’ll take a shower.”

  “Great. What time should we leave tomorrow to pick up the ship? I figure we’ll want to go pretty early to—”

  “Hold on,” Torrak interrupted. “What do you mean what time should we leave?”

  “We, as in you and me. You don’t think I’m letting you go by yourself, do you?”

  “Forget it,” Torrak said. “You’re not coming with me. I don’t care what kind of condition I’m in. You’re barely over eighteen standard years old and you’ve never even left this city. I’m not going to hold your hand during your first space flight or show you the sights of C-Nine. This isn’t a vacation.” Torrak came off harsh, but he needed to deter his friend. He didn’t know what to expect and he wasn’t about to let Kalil come along if trouble arose.

  “The safest place for me to be is with you. From what you’ve told me, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes back for you. Do you think they’re going to leave me alone when they find out I’m your roommate? I’m not going to wait around to be tortured to tell them where you are and end up with my brain a mushy memory-less mess.”

  “Kalil, you don’t understand—”<
br />
  Kalil’s face flushed with anger. “No, you don’t understand. Whether you meant to or not, I’m involved. You told me everything and now I’m a liability. I will not be the reason they find you. And I know if the situation were reversed, you would never let me go without you. So I’m coming. Period.”

  Torrak couldn’t deny Kalil’s logic. He would be in danger if he stayed here. And if things were the other way around, Torrak would have found a way to sneak aboard Kalil’s ship if necessary.

  “I don’t know what I’m getting into. You could get hurt, or killed.”

  Kalil paled, but didn’t waver. “I may not be the best in a fight, but there are other things I’m good at, and you know it. I’ve got a little bit of money, I’m a good navigator, and you are not the only genius in this house. What if something on the ship dies or you have to break in somewhere that’s protected by a shield code? You might need my help.”

  Torrak reluctantly admitted to himself that having Kalil with him would probably be better than doing this on his own. Flying a ship alone wasn’t impossible, but having someone else around would make things much easier. Plus Kalil’s atypical genius when it came to machines would come in handy. Anything wrong with an object made of wires or metal or circuits, Kalil could fix, even if he didn’t know anything about the machine. It was the reason he attended the Academy at such a young age.

  “You’re right,” Torrak yielded, “I need your help. Just don’t do anything to get yourself hurt, okay?”

  “Trust me. It’s not on my to-do list.”

  The next morning, after a good night’s sleep and thorough showers, the two roommates headed for Trunza Corner. Once they arrived and paid the Anywhere and You’re There! driver, Torrak pulled out the address sheet and headed to his left. Kalil trailed close behind, looking around silently. They made their way through a maze of old, broken-down houses and corner shops, which took up space on the blocks like pieces of litter, until they came to a dirty cream-colored building with a small ship parked outside. They approached the building and knocked on the door. It opened slowly and a large figure crept toward them through the dimly lit doorway. A Corenthian, most likely female from her size, walked forward into the light.