Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) Page 7

  “Qilzar,” she said, “you are a selfish, bitter, heartless bully who punishes everyone around you to make up for your own failings. But I have to give you credit, it took a lot of courage to say what you did just now.”

  He turned back to face her.

  “I think it was more difficult to hear the words than it was to say them.”

  “There may be hope for you, yet,” she said with a smile.

  He returned her smile, but before he could say anything, the navigational computer signaled their arrival at Irt.

  Lhvunsa removed a small device from her purse.

  “This device allows us to know where our vehicles are at all times. It also lets us know the status of each vehicle. We each have one. Gsefx invented them about a turn ago. He took a couple of basic vehicle analyzers and reprogrammed them so they’d not only analyze each vehicle’s status, but they’d also talk to each other and alert us if either vehicle traveled outside of a one hundred parsec range. I thought they were just a part of his ridiculous hobby and a waste of time. When I see him again, I’m going to tell him just how wrong I was, right after I strangle him for being so stupid!”

  “That’s quite impressive,” said Qilzar, marveling over the device in his passenger’s hands. “I had no idea Gsefx was such an electronics wizard.”

  “I wouldn’t call him a wizard,” said Lhvunsa, flatly. “All it really amounts to is a lot of excess junk laying around the house. It’s mostly just a big mess.”

  “Perhaps,” said Qilzar, “but Lhvunsa, that device you’re holding in your hand is not something just anyone can throw together. Gsefx’s talents are clearly not limited to accounting.”

  “I suppose you’re right. It still doesn’t get him off the hook. He’s still in deep trouble.”

  “Of that, we’re in solid agreement. Any sign of him, yet?”

  “Not yet, you’ll have to move into a lower orbit. Depending on what side of the planet he’s over right now, this may take a while.”

  Qilzar moved the ship into the lowest possible orbit and accelerated to maximum speed in hopes that wherever Gsefx was, they could overtake him soon.

  Chapter 19

  I Will Never Be Helpless Again

  Lhvunsa stared at the device in her hand, willing it to reveal the location of her husband’s vehicle. As angry as she’d been at Qilzar earlier, she was now more frightened than anything. After all she had been through recently, the thought of losing her beloved Gsefx was too much to bear, especially over something as trivial as his ridiculous music. Even if things weren’t all that wonderful between them right now, she never doubted their love for one another, not for a moment.

  She shook the device, then tapped its side, hoping in vain that such actions would somehow make it find Gsefx faster. It didn’t.

  She knew he’d been looking forward to going away to Alnost this break and relaxing at that new resort. It was all Gsefx talked about, when they talked at all. She supposed getting away would be good for them, but honestly, she didn’t care where they went, or if they went anywhere at all. She just wanted to spend some time together, time where he was really with her and not working. She needed it. They needed it. It had been so long since they had talked, really talked. Not since “the incident,” which is how she’d come to refer to it lately. She couldn’t seem to bring herself to verbalize what had really happened. She focused on the device again, but still no sign of her husband.

  “May I ask you a question?” asked Qilzar softly, breaking her concentration before she could sink any deeper into her thoughts.

  “Of course,” she said, pulling herself away from the device, grateful for the distraction, “ask me whatever you’d like.”

  Qilzar hesitated for a moment, as if he were summoning the courage to ask a question he knew would be better left unasked. Perhaps he was just too frightened to hear the answer.

  “Go ahead, Qilzar,” said Lhvunsa, her curiosity piqued. “I promise I won’t bite … or yell. What’s on your mind?”

  “When we first met,” he said slowly, without turning to face her, “you were angry with me for firing Gsefx, correct?”

  “Yes, and understandably so,” she said, caution now overtaking her former curiosity. “What about it? I thought we just resolved all of that.”

  “Well, yes and no.”

  Qilzar turned suddenly to face her.

  “Lhvunsa, you attacked me quite viciously back in the Pigawitts parking lot,” he said, holding up his hand to ward off any objection before it had a chance to start. “Now, I understand you were angry, and I was deserving of your anger, but I can’t help but think there’s something more going on than mere anger toward me. I think I should know if there’s anything else, any deeper issues that might be going on.”

  Lhvunsa felt as if she’d been slapped across the face. How could he have known? How could this ridiculous Dremin read her so well? She felt her blood begin to boil and before she knew what was happening, she was unleashing on her escort once again.

  “How dare you accuse me of such a thing! You are unbelievable, even after all I’ve …”

  She fell silent as she watched Qilzar start to shrink backward in his seat. Before she could decide what to say or do next, she noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. Moments later, she was crying so uncontrollably that she failed to notice her head falling onto Qilzar's shoulder, as his arms gently embraced her. When the tears finally subsided, she pulled herself back into a sitting position.

  “By the Gods,” she said softly, “I am so sorry, Qilzar, not to mention terribly embarrassed. I’ve put you in a very awkward position, I … I don’t know what to say.”

  “Lhvunsa,” said Qilzar in the gentlest voice she had ever heard, “please don’t apologize. When we first met and you began yelling at me as you did, I honestly didn’t know what to think other than you were a horrible person. As much as I disliked Gsefx at that moment, I simply couldn’t imagine him being with someone like you.”

  “Thank you, Qilzar, you’re making me feel SO much better,” she said, managing a sarcastic frown as she wiped more tears from her face.

  “But then, as we began talking, you seemed like a completely different person than the one I first met in the Pigawitts parking lot. Something just didn’t seem right, and so it seems that something isn’t right. Lhvunsa, I don’t mean to pry, but if there’s anything I can do to help, please allow me to do so.”

  Lhvunsa looked at the Dremin who was looking back at her. Dremins were notorious for being skilled bureaucrats who knew every detail of every law, rule and guideline, and who also knew how to bend those very laws, rules and guidelines to their advantage. What they weren’t known for was their empathy, or even patience, toward other beings. But Qilzar was different. There was something about him, something about the way he was looking at her—not in a creepy, lustful way—but in a very un-Dremin-like, empathetic way. It was clear that, even though he didn’t really know her, he cared about her and her well-being, and that was something she really needed right now.

  “Thank you Qilzar, but I honestly don’t think there’s anything anyone can do to help. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

  “I see,” said Qilzar. “So why don’t I believe you?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Lhvunsa, in case you forgot, you were nearly inconsolable just a few …”

  “I remember,” said Lhvunsa, interrupting before he said something that would cause her to breakdown again. “All right, all right, I’ll tell you. But you have to swear that you won’t tell anyone, not even Gsefx.”

  “Gsefx doesn’t know?”

  “He knows some of it, but not all.”

  “I see. Go on.”

  “Swear to me, Qilzar, not a word leaves this vehicle.”

  “Of course, not a word. I swear it on my life.”

  Lhvunsa watched Qilzar as he swore to keep her secret. When she was fully convinced she could trust him, she turned away, took a deep breath
and let it out slowly. The thought of reliving that horrible “incident” again made her want to scream at the top of her lungs, curl up into a little ball, and disappear, all at the same time.

  But haven’t I been reliving it over and over ever since it happened anyway? she thought. Perhaps it would be better to tell someone than to keep it all bottled up inside.

  “Lhvunsa? Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine, Qilzar.” She looked back at the gray-skinned Dremin, who was watching her with more genuine concern than she’d felt anyone show her in a long time, including her husband. “No, Qilzar, I’m not. I’m not fine at all. Our home was broken into a while ago. Gsefx was at work, but I … I was there.”

  “By the Gods! Who did it? Did they hurt you? What happened?”

  Lhvunsa held up a hand to ward off further questions or outbursts of compassion. She knew it wouldn’t take much for her to break down again.

  “I was working from home, as I usually do, and was on the vidcon discussing my proposal for the Klarock Museum when the call was cut off and my vidcon went dead. As I was trying to figure out what was going on, I heard a loud crashing noise, which turned out to be two Bralian thugs breaking down my front door.”

  Qilzar gasped.

  “Bralians?” he said. “On Clangdor? I’ve read that the Bralian gangs were getting bolder and expanding their territories, but I’d never have thought they’d venture as far in as Clangdor?”

  “I wouldn’t have thought so either, but there they were, kicking in my front door and coming into my home.”

  “What did you do?

  “Fortunately, they didn’t see me and didn’t realize anyone was home. I was able to find a place to hide and call the police. But Qilzar, you have no idea how scared I was.”

  “No,” said Qilzar thoughtfully, “I can’t even imagine. How long before the GCP arrived?”

  “Nearly too long,” said Lhvunsa, who was now staring forward, almost in a daze as she replayed the “incident” in her mind and described it to Qilzar. “I watched as they ransacked our home, taking everything of value and stuffing it into these large cases, then destroying everything else.” She felt tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheeks. “Then …”

  “Yes, what happened then? Lhvunsa?”

  “Then … they found me.”

  “Oh Gods!”

  “Yes.” She shivered as a sudden chill overtook her body and she couldn’t go on. She lowered her head and sobbed quietly.

  “Lhvunsa, I don’t know what to say,” said Qilzar in as gentle a voice as she’d heard in a very long time. “I’m so sorry. I cannot begin to …”

  Lhvunsa raised her hand to stop Qilzar from going any further, although she couldn’t seem to stop crying or even look up, she certainly couldn’t take any more sympathy. She just needed to be able to let it out. With the hand she raised, she reached out for comfort and was relieved when Qilzar took it, and held it silently while she regained her composure. Even so, she silently cursed herself for not being strong enough to deal with this on her own.

  When she was finally able to talk again, she sat up, took her hand from Qilzar, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “From the way I’ve acted you probably think they attacked me,” she said, “but the truth is, they didn’t actually do anything to me. They didn’t have time.”

  Qilzar nodded his head but didn’t say anything.

  “One of them wanted to, he kept saying that they should take me with them, that they could ‘have some fun’ before they killed me. But the other one, who was clearly in charge, said no, they needed to kill me right away and then get out of there. That was when the GCP arrived.”

  “Thank the Gods! They arrested them, right?”

  “Not exactly. The Bralians took me hostage, or at least tried to. I must give the GCP credit, their snipers are very good. While the Bralians were negotiating their demands, the GCP killed both of them, with me standing right between them. It all happened so quickly, I didn’t even have time to react.”

  She waited for Qilzar to say something as he digested this last bit of information, but he just stared at her, mouth agape.

  “Qilzar? Are you going to say anything?”

  “I don’t know what to say. You’re fortunate to even be alive, yet you sit there telling me this story as calmly as if you were telling me nothing more than that you had lunch with a friend.”

  As she watched her husband’s boss stare at her in shock, mouth still open, she found herself once again fighting back tears.

  “Qilzar, I am far from calm. You know I’m not calm. I’ve already fallen apart twice and it’s taking everything within me to hold it together right now.”

  “Of course, Lhvunsa, I only meant …”

  “Wait!” said Lhvunsa, cutting him off as she realized that the device in her hand was now flashing red. “I think I’ve … yes, I’ve found him. That’s his vehicle. Oh Gods, no! The engines are off and it’s parked on the planet surface! It appears to need repairs. Come on, we have to go down and help him.”

  “We can’t go down there!” cried Qilzar, suddenly the whiny bureaucrat she’d met in the Pigawitts parking lot once again, and not the gentle, kind soul he’d become over the last couple of sars. “What if there are natives around? These primitive cultures are often quite paranoid and almost always terribly dangerous. Besides, I hardly think you’re in any condition …”

  “We can deal with my problems later,” said Lhvunsa. “He may be in serious trouble.”

  “Lhvunsa, this is a luxury passenger vehicle and while it’s the best on the market, it’s not a military ship. We do not have the capability to rescue Gsefx or even defend ourselves. If we go down there, the only thing we’ll be successful at is getting ourselves caught, right along with Gsefx. Then who will notify the authorities of our whereabouts?”

  Lhvunsa turned to face Qilzar squarely.

  “Qilzar, my husband is down there and he’s in trouble. You know as well as I do the authorities are not going to do anything to help. They can’t even if they wanted to; this planet is outside the Galactic Community.”

  She reached over and took Qilzar’s hand. “I told you that Gsefx knew some of what happened, but not all of it. He knows everything I’ve told you up to this point, but what he doesn’t know is just how scared and traumatized I was. So much so, that I started taking self-defense classes.”

  “That’s understandable, under the circumstances,” said Qilzar, appearing a bit uneasy at this turn in the conversation.

  “Including how to handle and fire various weapons.”

  Qilzar’s head snapped back as if he’d been slapped.

  “But … but … but, Lhvunsa, no! I mean, you can’t, can you? If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Relnarian, and Relnarians have very strict beliefs about violence, and killing in particular.”

  “You’re not mistaken Qilzar,” said Lhvunsa softly. “Our beliefs are very strict and leave no room for interpretation. As a Relnarian female, the consequences for going against our beliefs are even greater.”

  Qilzar was nodding his head in understanding.

  “If you take a life,” he said, “you will never be able to bring life into the universe.”

  “That is correct,” said Lhvunsa, her words barely a whisper.

  “So why do so?”

  “I hope I will never have to take a life,” she said, looking up at Qilzar, fighting back more tears, “but regardless of the consequences, I will never be helpless again.”

  She watched as Qilzar turned back to the controls, a stunned look on his face.

  “I understand, my dear,” he said. “Here’s to hoping you never have to take a life.” He pointed the nose of the ship toward the planet and reached over to squeeze her hand. “You’d better buckle yourself in. We don’t know what their primitive atmosphere might be like.”

  “Thank you, Qilzar,” said Lhvunsa with a smile. There really is more to this Dremin than meets the eye, she t
hought as she watched him work the controls.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “Thank me when we are all safely away from this horrible place.”

  Chapter 20

  Rokandrole

  Gsefx had clearly gotten through to the Irtling. It was staring at him, mouth open, in what could only be interpreted as surprise or shock, regardless of what planet one was from. More importantly, it had dropped its weapon.

  It started speaking rapidly, and although Gsefx couldn’t understand a word, it was gesturing in a manner that suggested it wanted Gsefx to repeat the words again.

  “Night is day and day is night, don’t say I won’t ‘cause you know I might.”

  Not wanting to go through the bother of learning a new language just for the sake of a few songs, Gsefx had practiced the bizarre-sounding words over and over until he could easily sing along with the music. Now, speaking them slowly, without the benefit of musical accompaniment, the words felt stranger than ever.

  The Irtling whispered something that sounded like “rokandrole” and took a step toward Gsefx. After a brief hesitation, during which the Irtling gave the appearance of being deep in thought, he took another step.

  “Night is day and day is night,” said the Irtling, motioning for Gsefx to join in, “don’t say I won’t ‘cause you know I might.”

  They spoke the next line together. “You are wrong and I am right, don’t cross my path ‘less ya wanna fight.”

  The Irtling was smiling when they finished and Gsefx was a bit surprised to realize he was too. They still had no idea of one another’s intentions, but at the very least, they had discovered a small patch of common ground.

  Now we just need to figure out what to do next.

  Chapter 21

  Sunset Over An Empty Life

  Henry would later reflect on the surrealism of this particular moment in time. He would explore the ramifications of how, just minutes after his attempted suicide had been interrupted by a four-armed, blue-skinned visitor from outer space, he would be standing face-to-face with that same visitor quoting lyrics from one of his favorite rock songs. But that would come later. Right now, as he stood there grinning uncontrollably at this being from somewhere out in the great beyond, standing not ten feet from him, there was no time to grapple with the deeper meaning and implications of this close encounter. They had found common ground and needed to find a way to build on it, before a misstep on either of their parts sent things uncontrollably in the opposite direction.