An empty room, except for a young woman who sat at one of the tables toward the front. Her short, spiked, copper hair stood out against her dark skin. She stood and waved Daith over.
“Good morning, Miss Tocc. My name is Ufi Ro. I normally work in the treasury department, but they couldn’t locate other counsel on such short notice. I’ll be handling your case today.”
Ufi’s feelings of purity and willingness to help poured from her, grating on the edge of Daith’s mind.
The door to the left of the judge’s table opened and a large bundle consisting of a coat and several scarves entered the room. The shape shimmied out of the over-garments and a heavy-set woman wrapped in a satiny pink dress plopped down in the white chair.
“Good morning, Miss Ro. Good morning, Miss Tocc. Please, be seated.” The woman’s words came crisp and businesslike. She leaned her pudgy arms onto the table as Ufi Ro stood.
“Judge Illu,” Ufi Ro began, “I would like to begin by—”
“Miss Ro, please sit down,” Judge Illu told her, her voice soft. Ufi Ro snapped her mouth shut mid-word and sat down. “Thank you.” Judge Illu shifted her gaze to Daith, her eyes narrowing as if taking in every detail. She then looked back at Ufi Ro. “I hope I didn’t offend you Miss Ro, but there have been some changes you are not aware of. We held a briefing this morning concerning the…event that took place yesterday in Miss Tocc’s hotel room.”
Ufi Ro shot up. “I object to this. I wasn’t informed—”
“Sit down, Miss Ro,” Judge Illu snapped, each word echoing in the large room. The judge immediately softened her voice. “My apologies, of course. Did not mean to offend.
“You were not informed,” Judge Illu continued, “because this case is unlike any other that has occurred on Sintaur. Appointed Official Losa and the other city delegates want to dismiss this trial completely and escort Miss Tocc off the planet, permanently.”
Ufi Ro started to stand, but the look on Judge Illu’s face made her sit back down.
“However,” Judge Illu went on, “I told them to stop running from something they fear.”
Daith hadn’t expected the judge to say this. She wanted to explain how they should fear her, but before she could choose the right words, Judge Illu leaned over the table, her second chin almost touching the crimson stone, and spoke to her directly.
“I am going to ask you a few questions, Miss Tocc. You can lie, cheat, or manipulate me if you wish. If that is what you plan to do, say so right now, leave my courtroom, and get off my planet. I will not waste my time or anyone else’s. I am interested in the truth, Miss Tocc, nothing more, nothing less.”
Daith wanted to shrink down in her chair away from Judge Illu’s piercing gaze. She wanted to run out of the courtroom and take the judge’s offer to leave the planet. And yet something stirred in her that made her want to stay.
“I will answer truthfully.”
“First question,” the judge began, her tone pensive. “Did you cause all the damage and casualties shown on the vidlink broadcast?”
“Yes.”
“Second question. Did you do these things knowingly and willingly, regardless of any mental or emotional manipulation that may have occurred?”
Daith swallowed. “Yes.”
Judge Illu slid her hands under her chin. “Then answer me one more question, Miss Tocc, because what I have been told does not fit with your previous answers. You were winning the battle. You had the power to stop our ships and destroy our cities. But that isn’t what happened. You confused your own ship’s sensors to believe the enemy fleet had been disabled. You sent a cease-fire and surrender to that same enemy fleet. These two acts caused the battle to end. And from what I’ve been told by witnesses, you risked your own life to retrieve three prisoners and a crewmate. You also confronted the man in charge of this entire operation and even after his betrayal, you offered to help save him from dying.
“So my question, Miss Tocc, is this: why?”
Tears rimmed Daith’s eyes and her vision of the judge blurred into a mixture of white, pink, and red. “It doesn’t matter.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Don’t you see? It doesn’t matter what I did afterwards. Look at what happened.” Daith angrily pushed the tears from her eyes. “I killed your families. I demolished your homes. I did it all and I enjoyed every moment of it. Fun, even. Definitely easy. And I could do it again at any moment. Whenever I want. Whenever it wants.” The doors burst open and a blast of wind swept through the courtroom. Ufi Ro’s papers blew out from under her hands and Judge Illu’s coat and scarves swirled above their heads. The wind raged, moving the chairs around the court—they squealed and scraped against the ground. Ufi Ro ran screaming from the room.
“This right now? This is nothing.” Daith continued, motioning around her. “I’m not even trying. Do you understand that? Do you?”
Judge Illu gripped the edges of the desk. Her stare remained on Daith, ignoring the mayhem around her. With a huge intake of breath, Judge Illu opened her mouth as wide as she could.
“ANSWER MY QUESTION!” she roared.
“I CAN’T!”
The wind stopped. The papers settled. The scarves floated softly to the floor.
Daith cried into her hands. Tears of shame wetted her face. “What does it matter what I did after? How can I live with what I’ve done?”
“You have presented me with a difficult case, most likely the hardest one I’ve ever had to pass judgment on, but I have come to a decision.” The judge paused. “I knew your father.”
Daith felt like she’d been slapped. She looked up. “You what?”
“Oh yes. It’s been…well it’s been fourteen years already. I met him when he came to Sintaur to help with negotiations to end the civil war plaguing our planet. He only stayed here for about a month, but we spent quite a bit of time together.”
“I believe what I learned from him applies to you. He was a fairly quiet man, always in his own mind, trying to piece things together by himself. Incredibly brilliant, driven, and ambitious, but very caring, too.
“Your abilities, they are like the colors of life. Some everyone can see, some only certain individuals can see, and some are hidden among all the other ones. Your father tapped into those hidden ones and saw more than anyone could, but instead of embracing them, he tried to force them into something he could control. He wanted to help everyone. He wanted to fix everything. But it’s not possible. There are too many differences. Joy for one brings sorrow to another. And from that sorrow might blossom a passion that creates joy.”
“What does this has to do with me?”
“You saw all the colors too, didn’t you? That’s why you stopped the war. That’s why you saved those with you on the ship. That’s why you still wanted to save the dying commander. You saw everything.”
Daith thought about her experience on the bridge, how she felt so much around her, how she sensed everything and everyone. How all her experiences before paled in comparison to the new connection she achieved.
“But I can’t control it,” Daith said.
“Of course not,” Judge Illu said, matter-of-factly. “Whoever said it could be controlled?”
“It makes me a danger to others.”
“As a judge, I’ve seen the worst of many individuals. Everyone has the potential to harm someone else or help. You face those same decisions only with larger consequences. You chose to harm the citizens of this planet. You chose to burn down our facilities. But unlike many who enter my courtroom, you were able to escape from your own prison. You saw past the anger and despair and opened your mind to every possibility. And once you saw everything, you made the choice to stop.”
Judge Illu stood, her hefty bosom swelling. “Here is my ruling. Your punishment is to live with what has happened and what you have done for the rest of your life and to share what you’ve experienced with others. It will not be easy—it will be painful and unbearable at times,
but you will do it. It will remind you of your strengths and weaknesses. It will be a guide to you so you can be a guide for others. You lived through something no one else has. You are forever changed. Share those experiences. Be one with your abilities. Do not control them, do not force them, do not push them. They are a part of you and will always be there. Always.”
Opute had been packed and ready to leave Sintaur for four standard days. Meaning he was wearing his clothes and twirling the password encrypted datachip he took from Lang’s killer.
Opute spent the time in his hotel room doing nothing but watching vidlink broadcasts. Hour after hour the media showed shots of Daith’s terrifying scene from the bridge on the Horizon, pictures of buildings on the planet’s surface burned to the ground, and sob stories from one citizen after another about loved ones they lost.
And then in the blink of an eye, the broadcasts changed.
Now the pictures showed rebuilding efforts by the government, clips from Judge Illu who had presided over all the trials and found Daith and her associates free of guilt, and shots of the new “heroes”, including Torrak, Kalil, Nuis and Preeaht.
Opute had declined an interview.
Opute wanted to get back to his own life. He might not have settled things with Exarth, but he helped avert a war, owned six battle cruisers, and received a comfortable sum of money from Sintaur’s government.
Not bad for a few weeks work.
He was waiting for Torrak to finish up with some publicity event. Opute offered to take Torrak and everyone else back to their respective homes, since their ship had been wrecked beyond repair.
With that thought, he heard a knock at his door.
“Think and it will happen,” Opute mumbled under his breath. “Door’s open,” he called out.
Opute heard the door creak, but to his surprise, it wasn’t Torrak.
It was Daith.
She looked into the room, her vibrant green eyes wide with curiosity.
“I bet you’re ready to get off this planet,” she said.
“You have no idea.”
“You’d be surprised.” Daith walked into the room, her steps soft on the plush carpet. “Probably weren’t expecting me,” she said as she sat in a chair next to the bed. Her hands cupped her knees, her feet raised on tiptoe.
Opute arched an eyebrow. “Not really.”
“I’ll get straight to the point then. I wanted to meet you.”
“Me? Why?”
“You probably don’t realize this, but you helped tip the scales during the battle. I know you felt very confident about your odds—what with the surprise attack and your assortment of new battle cruisers—but you would not have won.”
“You say that now, but who knows how it would’ve turned out.”
Daith smiled softly, her eyes dark. “I do. I would have destroyed your ships without a second thought.”
She may be right, but his pride made him think that maybe he could’ve had a chance.
“So what did I do that changed things so much?”
“You told me I was Jacin Jaxx’s daughter.”
Opute waited a moment. “That’s it?” he asked.
“That’s it.”
“No offense, but so what?”
“While on the Horizon, Trey—Commander Xiven—went to great lengths to keep that piece of information from me. Without it, his story of who I was, why I had the abilities I did, and the reasons why I should help him all made sense. However, that phrase revealed so much. It opened my mind, allowed me to see past the lies to the truth, and let me make my own choice, a different choice. My mind expanded into the universe in ways I don’t understand—pulled into something both beautiful and frightening at the same time.”
“You almost didn’t come back either,” said a voice from the doorway.
Opute turned and saw Torrak looking through the open door.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Torrak said.
“I was leaving soon anyway,” Daith replied, rising from her chair.
“No,” Opute chimed in, motioning for Daith to stay seated, “I’m going to leave. I think you two need to talk.” Opute grabbed Torrak by the arm and pulled him into the room. “This guy is the one who came for you. I joined up for my own personal reasons and by mistake said the thing that kept you from killing everyone.”
“You mean you didn’t sign on to rescue the damsel in distress?” Daith asked, a sparkle in her eye.
“Me? Not in a million. I only wanted Exarth.”
“Exarth?” Daith asked.
“She’s responsible for our friend’s death,” he said, motioning to Torrak. “That’s what got me involved in the first place.” Opute shook his head. “Not that it matters. I don’t think she really exists. I’ve searched for her a long time.”
“From what I’ve seen, she might be worth the search. She’s quite beautiful.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Opute said with a snort. “All I know is—wait—what?”
“You’ve seen Exarth?” Torrak asked.
“I saw a flash of her in Trey’s memories. Moon-white skin, long ebony hair—really very lovely.”
“She’s…she’s real?” Opute sank down onto the bed. “I can’t believe it. After all these years—and so much effort—I really thought she couldn’t be real—and I gave up….”
Daith walked over to the bed and put her hand on his shoulder. A wave of heat spread from her fingertips through his body, calming him.
“You’ve been hurt by Exarth, more than once.”
Opute clenched his teeth. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“I may know more than you think. But please remember revenge can never bring back the ones you love. Trust me, I know.” Daith’s gaze flitted for a moment toward Torrak.
“Exarth deserves to die for what she’s taken away from me.”
“Maybe. But sometimes things aren’t always what they seem.”
The warmth subsided in his body and Daith sat again.
“I guess I’ll see you on the ship,” Opute told Torrak, lost in thought.
“Be there soon,” Torrak replied.
After Opute left, Torrak turned to Daith. He had no idea where to start. What should he say? I’m glad you’re okay? Are you coming with us? I hate you for killing Faan?
Luckily for him, Daith broke the silence.
“I don’t really know where to start.”
“That’s okay. I don’t either.”
Daith picked at her nails for a moment before taking a long breath. “I’m sorry…I mean, for what I did to Faan.”
“No small talk, huh?”
“Guess not.”
Torrak paused. His chest ached. “What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. I thought I’d start by trying to reconcile with who I’ve heard is my closest friend.”
Torrak felt torn. He’d come all this way to find her, to help her, to save her, and she destroyed someone in his life that could have meant everything to him. He wanted to tell her they’d still stay friends, that he forgave her and knew it wasn’t really her who had done it, but he couldn’t. Maybe it still hurt too much. Maybe it would be better with time. But for the moment….
“Look, Daith,” he began, “you’re welcome to catch a ride with Opute and us back to Fior and see your sister, Valendra—although her memory of you may not be the best…” Torrak rubbed his hand across his forehead. “This is a mess, isn’t it?”
“I suppose it is.”
The two of them fell quiet.
Daith spoke. “I guess I just wanted to say thank you for helping me when I was on the bridge. The sensations I felt….”
“I saw some of it.”
Daith’s fingers tightened on her lap. “You did?”
“Yes. In the holding cell I could see the bridge. It was…in my head, but it wasn’t. Like my mind opened to yours and you could see everything inside, but it didn’t feel like a violation.”
“That’s when
you told me to ‘let it go’.”
“Yes. I could feel you expanding with energy. It seemed too much for you to handle. But I didn’t want to at first. I was so angry at you.”
Daith’s eyes rimmed with tears. “I’m really sorry.”
Torrak shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “I know. But I don’t know if that changes anything.”
“Yeah. I also think I’m not ready to go back to Fior yet,” Daith said abruptly.
Torrak looked at her, surprised. “Don’t you want to get back to your life?”
“It doesn’t feel like my life anymore. What I’ve been through—I’m different now. And what I’ve done…. There are too many lives I destroyed. I don’t know how to live with that. I don’t know how to fix it.”
“I don’t think you can.” Torrak didn’t want to sound so harsh, but he couldn’t help it. His whole body hated Daith right now, even though he cared so much about her. She was right. Everything had changed. And she knew that, too.
Kalil’s head peeked through the open door. “You ready to…oh.”
Daith stood. “Guess this is goodbye.”
Torrak swallowed, not wanting things to end sourly. “Look me up when you come back to Fior.”
Daith gave a sad smile. “Yeah…sure…”
Daith stared out the window. She looked through the thickened moisture-protected glass and marveled at what she saw. Lush and diverse plant life blanketed the scene, from the completely clear plaga plant, over four meters tall with translucent sacks, which hung off its limbs, to a complete contrast seen in the morta bush, with a black oily coating on its leaves to keep out the excessive rainfall. Scents filled the entire atmosphere, stimulating her nose and causing her skin to tingle.
“What was I thinking?” Daith said. “I can’t do this. What am I supposed to say to them? What would you say if you were me?” Daith’s gaze shifted from the outside view to Cenjo. He sat on the floor, numerous datapads around him.
“How am I supposed to know?” he answered. “I can’t keep my own thoughts together, much less pretend I’m you. Counselor Imah doesn’t seem to realize that although thought-transference is instantaneous for telepaths, writing takes time.” Cenjo stretched out his legs and scratched at the stubble on his face. Two years had passed since that fateful day on Sintaur and although he sometimes said it itched like crazy, he always had some sort of facial hair. Daith thought he did it to separate himself from the clean-shaven man he’d been during his time with the Aleet Army.
Eomix Galaxy Books: Identity (Book 2 of 2) Page 22