I'd always felt more rested after a star dream, however, and welcomed them when they came.
After a while, the stars gathered close—as if they wanted me to reach out mentally and touch all of them at once.
A soft snore woke me from the trance; Sabrina had fallen asleep behind me.
Travis
Trent fell over on the flagstones, squelching laughter when Sabrina's head drooped and she snored.
It wasn't unusual for someone to fall asleep the first time or three, although the snore was a decided plus. Until that happened, I'd been watching Randl, whose face bore a look as if he were in heaven.
He really was a quick study.
"Up," Trent called, once he was sitting upright and could maintain a straight face again. He and I were standing first, with Bekzi, David, Terrett and Jayna right behind us. Susan had been working on her stance and posture—with great improvement, I noticed. Nathan and James rose with Susan; Randl and Sabrina scrambled awkwardly to their feet, their muscles stiff.
It would happen for a while, until they were used to this.
Randl
"Start at the low end," Trent advised as he pointed at smaller weights at the end of the rack. "We'll do arm curls, first. Take your weights," he tapped the two near the end. "Now, hold them at your sides. Keep your body loose—don't tighten up," he instructed.
"Then, keeping your elbows locked in place at your side, bring the weights up while turning them toward you, until you feel it, here," he tapped my upper arm. "Breathe out on the way up, in on the way down. Don't let the weight drop to your side; maintain control on the way down or you'll defeat the whole purpose. This strengthens upper arms, forearms and wrists," Trent added.
I did as he instructed while he watched. Behind me, I could hear Travis telling Sabrina the same thing. Trent was saving a guffaw for later, when Sabrina wouldn't hear. He'd found it quite humorous that she'd fallen asleep during meditation.
"When we're back aboard ship, we'll work out with the machines in the exercise facility," Trent said. "They'll tone the muscles we can't deal with using free weights. I'll put you on the treadmill, too, to get those legs in better shape."
He wanted me to run. Before, when it took time for my vision to adjust, running wasn't an option. It could be now, and I'd only realized that after Trent's suggestion.
Running. During my childhood, I'd wanted that more than anything. Childhood for me had been anything except normal. I could see intentions behind children's faces. At times, I considered it a cruel joke played on me.
Eventually I'd learned to block what was unimportant, but that talent had come too late for me to make childhood friends.
"That's good," Trent laid a hand on my shoulder. I'd been lifting weights while my thoughts strayed and I'd lost count. "You'll be really sore tomorrow if you keep going," he grinned. "I will have no sympathy."
"Are you being sympathetic now, or is that a dire warning?" I asked, replacing the weights on the rack.
"Both. Come on, bro, breakfast is waiting."
Sabrina
Travis' touch had been purely professional when he showed me the proper way to do arm curls. My previous instructor was clearly of the lazy sort—he hadn't watched me carefully to ensure I wasn't moving my elbows.
As a result, I hadn't gotten much benefit from his instruction. Travis never said a word about that, either, but his mouth tightened when I'd pulled up both elbows the first time. After that, I was doing proper curls and could feel the burn every time I lifted and lowered.
As for falling asleep during meditation, I considered that embarrassment could be a constant during the next three years. I sat at breakfast, consuming my food in silence and wondering what else I'd been doing wrong for years.
"What's on the agenda for today?" Jayna asked. I turned my attention toward her, rather than stealing another glance at Travis and Trent.
"Well, Sabrina, here, is going to introduce us to her workshop, and allow us access to all her records of visitors and suppliers," Travis grinned in my direction—I'd jerked my head around the moment he said my name.
Yeah, embarrassment for three years.
Definitely.
Randl
Her desk was covered in comp-vids and schematics on larger, drawing comp-pads. The rest of her workspace was decidedly neat—as if her design process was delightfully unpredictable, but the application process was determined and well-considered.
Ruther Kend, her father, was on his way as we stood inside Sabrina's laboratory; Travis and Trent were already searching through her records at the appropriate stage of development for her new technology.
"Fergue and friends?" Travis straightened from bending over the desk to stare at Sabrina.
"They brought me lunch." She sounded defensive.
"Are there images?" I asked.
"Yeah, come look," Trent said. I walked toward Sabrina's desk while she stepped aside. I could tell that she was suddenly afraid.
Afraid that I would discover something she'd never suspected of good friends.
Betrayal.
Four had come—I could see the images in the vid Trent displayed for me.
"Fergue Biing," I pointed at the image of a handsome man who stood beside Sabrina's desk, his hands in his pockets. "He's all right—for being a cheating asshole," I amended.
Sabrina snorted at my words.
"Ula Karn," I pointed toward the young woman who stood on the other side of Sabrina's desk. "Cheating with said asshole," I said. That resulted in Sabrina's indrawn breath—she hadn't known those two were together—she'd only known Fergue had been hiding another woman behind her back.
"Lorvis Verll," I hastened my next assessment. "Wait. Something is off about her." I considered that for a moment when the fourth person walked into the camera's field of view.
"Oh, no," I whispered.
"That's Akrinn Lemm, Fergue's best friend," Sabrina snapped. "What's wrong with him?"
"It isn't what's wrong with him—well, it is. He just killed Fergue."
Travis
Whoever Akrinn Lemm really was, he had a devious, criminal mind. If we hadn't sent the local police to Fergue's home, then the first person who'd walked through the door would have been killed by the gun rigged onto Fergue's hand.
A spell had been laid on the corpse's hand to activate and shoot, once the door opened. The police had sent a 'bot to open the door. The thing was nothing more than a useless pile of junk, now, thanks to the blast that greeted it.
The most damning evidence of all, perhaps, was the comp-vid lying near Fergue. The last message sent from it had been to Sabrina, telling her that he'd accidentally taken something from her lab and that she should come pick it up immediately.
Somebody knew she was back on Jaledis. They also knew that she'd be looking into the theft of her design upon her return from Pyrik. They probably didn't know that she'd have ASD agents coming back with her, or that she was now an ASD agent herself.
Fergue would have taken the blame for the theft instead of Akrinn Lemm, had Randl not seen Lemm's involvement.
I had suspicions of how Lemm had gotten the information on Sabrina, but that could wait until later. For now, the ASD knew that Akrinn Lemm was guilty of industrial espionage, murder, and could have ties to the events on Pyrik.
Fergue's parents were on the way, but they'd been on a nearby planet when they received word of Fergue's death.
There was the problem, too, of Lorvis Verll, Sabrina's supposed best friend. Randl indicated her as a person of interest, and the local division of the ASD was now tracking her.
My suspicion was that she and Lemm were together—wherever that was. I think Randl was convinced of the same; he merely hadn't said anything to spare Sabrina's feelings.
There is a connection between Lorvis and Akrinn, Randl confirmed my guess.
I'm grateful Zaria gave you mindspeech. Is there anything else you can tell me?
I don't think those two are on Jaledis an
y longer. We should probably look at ships leaving the space station shortly after Fergue was killed.
I've got the locals working on that already, I told him. Fergue died too easy—a clear indication that he knew the killer and wasn't expecting this.
Fergue's bloodied body had a hole the size of a grapefruit in its chest. Akrinn Lemm had aimed for the heart at close range. I doubted there was anything left of that vital organ for the pathologists to examine.
Do you think Akrinn has the same thing affecting him as those on Pyrik? I thought to ask.
I can't tell that without seeing him in person, Randl gave a half-shrug. We stood against the wall in Fergue's foyer, watching while the ASD investigators did their job, cataloging evidence and recording images of the crime scene.
Trent had taken Sabrina and the others outside—it was just as well that Sabrina wasn't seeing this, I think. I had no idea how intimate she'd been with this man, but even without that sort of contact, they'd been close at one time—close enough that she'd find this intensely disturbing.
How's she doing? I sent mindspeech to Trent.
She looks green, bro, Trent replied.
Get her out of here, then. If you need to, call the local department physician.
Will do. I'll take them back to the compound, first.
Good idea. Randl and I will be along after a bit.
Is he green?
Nah—looks to have a better stomach for this stuff.
Good. I'll keep you posted if we call for a doctor.
Thanks, bro.
Sabrina
More than anything, I wanted to vomit after seeing Fergue's body, a huge, bloody hole blasted where his heart should have been.
Don't think about it, I scolded myself. I appeared weak enough in front of the others. No sense in making it worse.
"Come on, I'm taking you back to the compound," Trent announced. He'd probably held a mental conversation with his brother before making that decision. I was grateful, to be honest. If I could only make it to my room, I could curl up in the shower and scream or vomit. Maybe both.
Lorvis.
How long had we been friends?
How long had she and Akrinn—I couldn't finish that thought.
They'd brought lunch for me, that day. I'd left to wash my hands, thinking my lab was safe.
With my friends.
Who hadn't really been my friends, as it turned out.
"Baby, no."
Was that Trent's voice? Blackness came before I could sort it out.
Travis
"We have Ula Verll in custody," the local Chief walked up to me as Fergue's body was loaded into a hover-van. "She swears she knows nothing, and is having a meltdown over Fergue Biing's death."
"I'd like to take my associate to see her," I said, jerking my head toward Randl.
"If I hadn't heard the same thing from Director Griff a few moments ago, I'd be asking why," he shook his head. "Come on, you can ride with me."
Randl and I climbed into the back seat of the Chief's hover-car and buckled in for the ride to his office.
Randl
She's not affected, I informed Travis.
"We'd like to interview her, if you don't mind," Travis told Chief Markus.
"I'll come with you," he said and walked us toward the interview room where Ula sat, wiping her eyes with tissues.
"Let me talk to her," I said.
Chief Markus frowned but didn't say anything. Instead, he allowed the scanner to read his right retina before allowing us inside the room.
"Hello, Ula," I said, pulling out a chair to sit across from her. Travis and the Chief stood against the wall behind me. I hoped they didn't look too intimidating.
"You blind?" Ula hiccupped.
"Yes."
"That's fucked up."
"It can be," I admitted. "I see that Mr. Biing's death is a terrible blow for you, and that you genuinely cared for him," I said.
"I loved him," she wiped away more tears. "Still love him. Wait, how can you see that, when you're blind?"
"Call it a gift. You last heard from Fergue this morning, didn't you? He asked you out to dinner, is that correct?"
"Yes. How do you know this?"
"We'll discuss that later. Did you know that Akrinn Lemm was going to visit Fergue after the two of you talked?"
"No. He never said that." She reached for more tissues.
"Were you aware that Akrinn stole something from Sabrina Kend's laboratory last year? Do you remember that day when you, Fergue, Lorvis and Akrinn took lunch to Sabrina?"
"That was a long time ago. Did Akrinn take something?"
"He did. Now, did you also know that Akrinn was the one who urged Fergue to ask Sabrina out?"
"Yes, but it was just—Fergue didn't really feel anything for her."
"He was thinking about the money, wasn't he?"
"I don't feel comfortable talking about that."
"All right. What about Lorvis—are she and Akrinn together?"
"They've been seeing each other on the sly—Lorvis didn't want Sabrina to know about that after Sabrina broke up with Fergue, because Ferge and Akrinn are best friends."
"Do you think that could just be an excuse? Do you think Lorvis could have been distracting you and Fergue while Akrinn took what he wanted from Sabrina's lab?"
"I suppose that's possible, but what does that have to do with Fergue's death?" She covered her face with both hands to muffle a sob.
"Akrinn killed Fergue this morning, shortly after you spoke with Fergue," I said. Ula dropped her hands and stared at me in horror, her mouth working with no sound passing her lips.
"Akrinn set Fergue up to take the blame for what he stole from Sabrina," I went on. "Akrinn then sent a message to Sabrina from Fergue's comp-vid, telling her that Fergue had taken the designs she'd been working on. Those designs, by the way, were recently employed to fire on a ship approaching Pyrik. The ship was destroyed and the crew was killed. Sabrina's comp-vid received the message sent by Akrinn. A spell was laid on Fergue's body, and a laser pistol was placed in his hand. The spell activated when the door opened and the pistol fired."
"Oh, gods, is Sabrina dead, too?"
Chapter 9
Sabrina
"Take it easy, you've had a trying day," someone said when I jerked awake. When had I gotten on a bed? I couldn't remember that.
"I'm the local agency physician," the man said. "Your Captain called for me right after you fainted. How are you feeling?" he thought to ask.
I felt awful, but didn't want to tell him that. "All right," I croaked. "Can I have water?"
"Yes."
I blinked as Jayna came into view, carrying a water bottle. "Need help sitting up?" she asked.
"Maybe. My head is swimming," I confessed.
"Just as I suspected," the physician said. "Give her water and whatever she can hold down. If things get worse, let me know."
Jayna helped me sit up; I slurped as much water as I could before lying down again and closing my eyes. Maybe meditation would keep terrible thoughts from overwhelming me again. I started by shoving everything out of my mind and thinking about nothing.
Travis
What do you mean she fainted? I sent.
Physician says she's fine; she was overwhelmed, that's all.
Is she all right now?
Jayna says Sabrina's meditating, probably to get this shit out of her head. Lorvis was her best friend since primary school. That's a big betrayal, bro, laid on top of seeing an ex killed like that. Kooper says he's notified her father.
You think her parents can help?
No idea. When she comes out of her funk, I'll ask.
We're almost done, here. If we don't leave soon, Chief Markus may grab Randl and never let him go after watching him question Ula.
I hope Randl knows how to refuse politely, Trent observed.
Chief Markus doesn't stand a chance against Kooper. Kooper has plans for Randl, and Markus isn't a part of t
hat.
My worry is that Randl would feel smothered in a smaller environment, just as he was in New Fyris. Somehow, I get the feeling that he was made for bigger things.
Yeah. Look, Randl and I will be on our way in a few. We'll talk when I get there.
Sabrina
I did and didn't want to see my parents. They'd liked Fergue. I'd liked Fergue, until he went behind my back. If you wanted someone else, it was courtesy to notify the one you were already with, so they could make a decision to welcome another into the relationship or walk away. After all, multiple mates were a common thing in both Alliances.
Now I knew how bad the betrayal was—not just by Fergue, but by Lorvis, and that was so much worse.
"Sabrina?" Travis' voice was followed by a tap on my door, which stood slightly ajar.
"Yes?"
"We'd like to come in."
"That's fine." I didn't ask who we were—it didn't matter.
He, Randl and Trent walked in together. I drew a breath and let it out slowly. "May I have your personal comp-vid?" Travis held out a hand once he reached the side of my bed.
I knew this was coming. All along, Lorvis and I had a connection application on our comp-vids, so one would always know where the other was. She also suspected the reason I'd returned and passed that information to Akrinn the moment I reached Jaledis.
Fergue and I were both supposed to die, with Fergue taking the blame for industrial espionage.
Without Randl's gift and my conscription by the ASD, I would be dead. I'd have marched right into Fergue's home demanding answers, and I'd have died.
Simple.
Easy.
Lorvis didn't care that I'd die. Those words echoed through my mind as I handed my comp-vid to Travis.
"This it?" Director Griff appeared inside the room and lifted the comp-vid from Travis' hand.
"Yes." I hung my head. How had I been so blind? I then reconsidered my phrasing. Randl was blind, and he could see better than I. I was gullible—something Randl had never been.
MindSighted: BlackWing Pirates, Book 1 Page 12