Destiny Abounds (Starlight Saga Book 1) (42 page)

It was a risky business. If Oran Yustari were involved, she’d be feeding him information about what they knew. On the other hand, their choices for gathering their own information were rapidly dissipating. “Kala Tiala disappeared from Kharvid almost a month ago. When the Kalaset received suspicions from one of her associates that something foul had happened to her, they sent us ahead to see what we could find out. We know she last saw Governor Forona Medlava, and that she was likely on her way to see you and another businessman from Kharvid.”

Oran grunted, his face angled away from her, down toward the table. Branwen read what she could off of him, her eyes probing the shadowed recesses of his face for any details that might give away his emotions. She watched as he seemed to transfer quickly between upset, regret, and a thoughtful solemness that was then buried once more as he assumed a falsely humorous mask over his true feelings. “Medlava, hmm? Hard to imagine Tiala with that one. Quite the public servant, but not too high of an opinion of honest folk like myself.”

“Funny, she said something not so dissimilar of you. Except worse.”

“Ah, well. The good Governor thinks of me what I would like her to think of me. It suits me perfectly fine, stuffed shirt that she is.” He tapped out ashes from the end of the cigar again before taking a long draw, sending sizzling embers racing up a fraction of its length. “So Tiala’s in trouble. No one knows where she is, or what happened.” He puffed out the words alongside a heavy breath of smoke that momentarily obscured his face.

Branwen nodded. Yustari might be trying to conceal it, but she could sense his mixed emotions and see the hints of muted dolor in his eyes. “So far, that is correct. Unless you have anything to add.”

Yustari’s eyes narrowed, darting to her face and likely judging whether Branwen was making an accusation or not. He huffed out another smoky breath, apparently deciding not to take offense. “Sadly, I do not.” He sighed, setting his cigar down. “I hear of a great many things, Captain. But I have not heard of any ill business concerning the Kala. I did not even hear of her coming to Odesa. Who was this one other she was to visit, back in Kharvid?”

Another gamble. At least they were in a hall dedicated to such ventures. “Jori Stone.”

Yustari froze. He started moving again an instant later, sucking in a quiet breath. Branwen watched an unreadable emotion flit through his eyes. “Stone. I may know nothing of this matter, Captain, but if I were to look, I would start there. Stone is not a good man.” He grinned, though there was less humor to it than Branwen would have liked, and gestured broadly around at the trappings of his establishment. “And that is me saying that, Captain.”

15.2
- Merlo

“So, you think it was him, Captain?” Merlo had waited as long as she could to blurt it out, as they were now back in another private transit bound for the docks. Branwen hadn’t wanted to force their way through the streets again on the way back, to Merlo’s mild disappointment.

The Captain smiled, but it seemed to hide more than a little worry to Merlo. “Are you going to ask me that after each person we meet, Merlo?”

“Uh, probably, Captain. Till we find who’s behind all of this. Then I’ll stop.” She grinned back at Branwen. Really, Merlo
hoped
that Oran Yustari was involved, the sexist, grubby, oily, distasteful man. She’d love to wave to him as he got arrested. Or punch him in the face. The way he’d kept looking her over had made her want to punch him a few times by itself. “Surprised you could get along with a man like him.”

Branwen nodded at her, seeming thoughtful. “Indeed, I have worked with worse people in my time.” She steepled her hands and leaned her forehead against them. “I also cannot fault someone necessarily for partaking in things that are a part of their culture, at least within reason. After all, many would likely find offense at some of the customs of Fade. And besides, I saw a certain… kinship, I suppose, in him. Of paths seen and roads traveled.”

“Eh, I couldn’t stand him myself, Captain. I guess I agree with the Governor on it. Man seemed like a pig.” Merlo sighed. She had actually been looking forward to the walk back, and getting to jostle around some more Urzrans. She supposed it had been a bit of a stress reliever. “So what now, Captain?”

Branwen just sat there for a moment, not moving, and Merlo was about to ask her again when she finally responded. “Now we try to put the pieces together and hope it takes us far enough to figure something out.” She looked up at Merlo, this time with a frown. “With any luck, it will.”

15.3
- Sirrah

“But if you don’t think Yustari was involved, then who, Captain?” Sirrah brushed a bejeweled lock of hair from her face and looked around the table. They were once again gathered around the dining table, or “impromptu war room,” as Branwen had dryly referred to it. This time, Sirrah’s nerves were so knotted inside that even she didn’t know how she kept it from her face. She longed for her emotional state to return to what it had been before learning of her mentor’s abduction, for the return of the inner tranquility that had been her constant companion.

“We do not know for certain that any of these individuals were involved.” The Captain also scanned the table, and Sirrah knew she was gaging reactions and reading faces as well. She had been very thoughtful, dwelling deeply on the matter at hand since her return; Sirrah felt it would be impossible to over-appreciate the Captain’s assistance at this point. “So far, we know little more for certain than what we have inferred from Don Mateo’s messages. Has the Kalaset found anything more?”

Sirrah had to shake her head resignedly in response. “Unfortunately, no; they would have contacted me if they had. It is reasonable considering that we have fewer agents in Urzra than in most places, and whoever is behind this has covered their tracks very well. Anyone else sent by the Kalaset is yet to arrive, lacking the use of a ship as quick as the
Destiny
.” The Kala watched Merlo puff up quietly with pride at the hidden complement.

“Well…” Mr. Leonard cautiously attempted entry into the conversation, and Sirrah gave him a warm smile intended to encourage it. “What about if we wait, then? If there are others coming that are more suited to the task, perhaps we can simply pass along all we know and assist them.”

Sirrah watched as Merlo nodded, seeming to find the idea palatable. By force of will, she kept from biting her lip; she couldn’t afford for the crew to give up on Tiala. “It will still be a few days before they can arrive, and even begin their own search. We’re already several steps ahead of them. And I have a very bad feeling about waiting, even aside from my attachment to the matter at hand.” She stated it calmly, though her emotions were anything but calm.

To her great internal relief, the Captain nodded as well. “Indeed. I have a similar feeling myself. Our investigation has no doubt been noticed by others just as well-connected as those who are at fault. With us kicking up dust and drawing attention, I am afraid we are committed to helping more before time draws thin.”

“So, what do we do then?” Merlo, standing near the table instead of sitting, leaned forward over it, resting her palms on the table. “We may not know for sure, but our best guess is that at least one of these three people had something to do with the Kala’s disappearance. Right?”

Branwen nodded. “According to Don Mateo’s notes, yes. He seems to have known more about this than anyone else has discovered so far.”

“And so far we figure Governor Medlava is in the clear. Which leaves Yustari or Stone, neither of which I personally liked.” Merlo continued, still intent.

Prisoner 286, munching on what appeared to be an Erakian core-steak, leaned over her and draped an arm around the smaller woman’s shoulders. “Yeah, well, you like me, so there’s no proof you have good sense.”

Merlo glared at her, while Sirrah saw Branwen smirk covertly. Zimi let out a snort as she failed to suppress a laugh, but then blushed, covering her face and looking away nervously as 286 gave her a long stare. Sirrah nearly sighed. She wished the woman would stop bullying parts of the crew, but there was little to be done about it right now.

“Anyways,” Merlo continued once again, elbowing 286 ineffectually in the ribs, “Those two are our main suspects. How do we investigate them further? They’re our only real leads right now.”

Branwen nodded again, but Mr. Leonard spoke up first. “In most situations, I would suggest we contact some form of authorities. But that won’t work here, I believe. We don’t know who may or may not be complicit in the matter, if we could even get them to render us timely assistance.”

Appearing to recover from her embarrassment and nervousness, Zimi spoke up. “Yeah, no offense to any Urzrans in particular, I ain’t too fond of how their government works these days. I wouldn’t trust ‘em either.”

“Sadly, I must agree.” Sirrah’s voice smoothly slid into the discussion again. “If the Kalaset has not been able to find anything yet, and someone of Don Mateo’s influence could not find her, I don’t believe we will find Kala Tiala by following the same path.” She folded her hands neatly in her lap so they wouldn’t be tempted to show off any signs of her fretting.

Branwen cleared her throat to command the room’s attention, settling her hands on the table. “Agreed. What suggestions do we have, then? If the services of the law are barred to us, we need to seek a trail through more covert means.”

Zimi and Mr. Leonard both opened their mouths to speak, then cut off, looking apologetically at one another. After each made a few gestures at the other for them to go first, Mr. Leonard finally spoke up, 286 rolling her eyes at them in the background. “Um, well. I was just going to say that I can look into it more. But, I don’t know what information I might be able to safely access, compounded by the fact that any sensible villain should well have the sense to hide those kinds of data trails far out of easy view.” Sirrah saw Branwen grin at his use of the word “villain.”

Mr. Leonard smiled and gestured to Zimi as she leaned back in her chair. “But what did you have in mind, Zimi?”

“We may need t’ break into their houses.”

Merlo was taking a drink at the moment and suddenly choked and sprayed some of it out onto Prisoner 286, who, to Sirrah’s surprise, simply sighed and went to get a towel. “We what?”

Mr. Leonard blinked with surprise and Sirrah had to admit, it wasn’t the suggestion she’d expected to come from the young woman’s mouth, either.

Zimi was blushing impressively heavily, and the Captain reached over to put a comforting hand on her arm. “It is not a bad idea, but how would we go about it? Similarly to how we looked into Don Mateo’s home? And whom would we investigate? Stone or Yustari?” Branwen queried, looking not just at Zimi, but directing the question liberally around the table. 286 yawned pointedly, wiping Merlo’s soda off of her ragged black tank top, but everyone else focused on the Captain.

“Well, Captain, I know you liked something about that Yustari guy, but we’re already here in Odesa. We should check him out first. Save time.” Merlo had gone serious again, once more leaning on the table and putting forth her emphatic viewpoint.

In a way, Sirrah wished she could back the Captain up on her opinion of Oran Yustari, but felt she had little ground to do so, having been regretfully absent from the meeting with him. Merlo’s logic wasn’t really assailable though, and Sirrah didn’t feel she trusted her hunches well enough to base such an important decision on them. So she was relieved when, as the Captain looked to her for a further decision, Mr. Leonard interrupted them.

“Excuse me Captain, Kala.” He interjected politely, face lit from below with a soft blue hued light as he messed with a rapidly scrolling data feed on his small personal pad. “There is an important message incoming for Kala Sirrah.” He looked up at them both, crystal clear blue eyes serious. “It’s from the Kalaset, marked with the digital seal of Lumina Kienna on Kepa’ohalei. She says she needs to speak with you immediately and privately.”

Sirrah’s hidden heart lurched in her chest, and she rose smoothly to her feet.

15.4
- Branwen

As most everyone else watched Kala Sirrah depart, Branwen watched Zimi seem to struggle with herself for a moment before making her way around the long table and over to her side. “Capn, can we talk a sec?” She glanced around, somewhat furtively Branwen thought, before leaning in even further. “Like, in private?”

She smiled up at the girl, observing the worry showing clearly in her soft emerald eyes. She wondered what was bothering her; was the situation getting too tense, with the implication that a life was on the line, or was the danger or the involvement with the Kalaset perhaps too much? “Certainly,” she replied, excusing herself and stepping out into the sleek hallway of the Destiny with Zimi and walking off a bit from the open archway of the kitchens.

Once there, Branwen watched as Zimi stared down and clasped her hands together in a motion that seemed somewhere between resolute and embarrassed. It was okay, though. Barring Sirrah’s return, she was content to give the girl whatever time she needed to address whatever was on her mind. “I got somethin’ to confess, Cap’n.”

She nodded down at her young friend. “Of course, Zimi. What is it?” Branwen took up a position beside the medic, leaning back against the smooth metal of the
Destiny’s
main corridor.